Chapter 17
Ava
It didn’t tear me apart.
My first ride since the accident, I’d anticipated panic or overwhelming sadness. But, once in that saddle, things just felt right. Whole. The sun blazed above, and we were drowning in sweat by the time we returned to the stables, yet eager energy coursed through me.
I ran the brush over Sugar’s withers, catching Eli’s sidelong glances as he gave Chuck the same treatment. He flicked his eyes back to his task, but every so often they’d return to me. We played that game for several minutes until I stopped and waited to catch him. It didn’t take long.
I’d expected him to ride with the same authenticity as his boots, which were clearly not made for ranch work, so the confidence he displayed on Chuck threw me. I didn’t know what to think. “Is there something you want to say?”
He cleared his throat. “You’re buying a ranch. What are you gonna do about a ranch manager?”
Ah. Business was better than personal, right? “I had one lined up,” I told him. “Augustino. He used to work at Hidden Meadows. He’s amazing with horses and can fix just about anything.” If he’s still around. I chewed my bottom lip. New priority: call August.
“Why did he leave Hidden Meadows?”
“The ranch was hit with pretty negative media attention. Almost everyone left.”
“Guess you’re all set, then.”
Hopefully. Maybe Eli would have better luck with a trainable ranch hand?
Except, who would train them? I had too much on my plate to take on another role.
“You know, if you could just get someone good with horses, my guy might be willing to train them for you. He might even know someone who’s looking for work.
I could ask. I have to call him anyway.”
“Sure, I guess.”
Eli resumed brushing. This time, his eyes stayed on the roan. Once we’d watered the horses, I followed him back to the house.
He stopped at the front door. “You want some lunch. I can make sandwiches.”
“Actually, I should call August.”
The little hollow at the hinge of his jaw flexed. I should’ve been relieved. The flirty smiles and playful banter had finally stopped. Eli lingered in the doorway as I pulled out my cell.
“Want me to stay and talk to him?” he asked.
Our ride was nice. Really nice. I didn’t want to tarnish it. “No, we have catching up to do.”
His shoulders held an edgy tension as he closed the door behind him, leaving me alone on the porch.
I pressed a hand into my chest. No matter what I did, guilt surfaced.
Why did everything have to be so complicated?
This call was complicated, too. I’d ghosted August for almost a year.
He may not even want to talk to me. My heart hammered as I put the phone to my ear.
Each ring forced the muscle higher up my throat until, when he answered, I could barely speak.
“?Bueno?” Yes? He sounded just the same as I remembered him.
“H-hi, August.” I waited out an elongated pause. Why didn’t he reply? Maybe he’d deleted my contact? Maybe I was just some random woman calling him?
Finally, he said, “I am looking at my phone, and I cannot believe it.”
The familiar meandering lilt of his accent, the playful fall of his words, was like hearing my favorite song on the radio. “I know. I’m sorry. It’s been a while.”
“I started to wonder if maybe you changed your phone?”
“No. Same number. Same ol’ Ava. I’m sorry I didn’t call you. I have no good excuse.”
“No. Not the same. But still, I am happy to hear your voice.”
I twisted an errant strand of hair around my finger. “You’re not mad?”
“Mi Amor, I can never be mad at you.”
He’d always called me that, even in front of Jason. Something about it now coaxed my heart back into my chest.
“I am thinking maybe you are mad at me?” he said. “That is why you don’t call?”
“Of course not! Why would I be mad?”
He didn’t respond right away, and in that time, I tried to imagine his point of view. Losing his best friend, then the severed contact with his best friend’s wife?
“I thought … Maybe he was gonna be okay, no?” he said. “This is why I pulled you away.”
I’d lost my mind in front of all those people. He’d been the one to take me aside while the paramedics arrived.
“Yeah. Me too.” I let out a watery breath. “I’m sorry. I was never mad at you. If anything, I blamed myself.”
“Mijo, that is crazy.”
August's words poked air holes in my heavy conscience. “I should’ve asked him to wait a few more days. Or been outside, managing the crowd. Or picked up that stupid trash bag.” Its sudden flurry into the air had spooked the horse. So simple, so preventable.
“All the time, you are thinking this?” When I didn’t answer, he let out a low whistle. “So, you are calling me? Does this mean you finally say yes and marry me?”
An unfiltered laugh burst out of me. Another thing he’d say in front of Jason. “And disappoint that long string of devoted fangirls?”
For as much as he joked, he knew my heart lived in Jason’s tender embrace.
I hadn’t realized how much I’d yearned for a connection to him.
Someone who knew him as I did. My trepidation suddenly seemed so foolish.
“Actually, I’m calling to see if you knew anyone looking for work?
I have a friend who needs a ranch manager. ”
“You are that friend?”
I laughed again. “No, but I’m still planning to buy Hidden Meadows. And I still want you on my team, if you aren’t already spoken for.”
“You even have to ask? What’s it called? The one for your friend?”
“It doesn’t have a name. It’s a boarding ranch thirty minutes south of Phoenix.”
“What they are offering?”
Shoot, I should’ve asked. “I’m not sure. But they’re having trouble finding someone, so I suggested a trainable ranch hand. The problem is, there’s no one here to train them.”
“You are there?”
“I am, but I’m swamped trying to get Terry to sell me Hidden Meadows.”
Confusion tinted his tone when he said, “He not wanna sell to you?”
“It’s kind of complicated.” Just ask, Ava! “I was actually wondering if you could help train someone?”
August’s end went silent. It occurred to me then that he might be out of state. Happy in a current job. That maybe I’d put too much hope in this plan.
“I’m so rude, I didn’t even ask where you are these days. Or how you are! Are you still in Arizona?”
He laughed. “No, but tell me where and I will come by. We will talk more then.”
I hesitated. Maybe this was too big an ask. “You don’t have to. I don’t want you to uproot your life. I don’t even know if anything will pan out.”
“But you asked for my help.”
“I did.”
“So, I say yes.”
I sighed. Who could argue with that? “Okay. I’ll text you the address.”
A genuine smile traced my lips on the drive back to our apartment. I couldn’t wait to see August! Finally, our past felt in reach. A slow revival, but each connection brought us closer.
The bland browns and tans of our two-story complex came into view. I glanced at Nina. She folded and unfolded a drawing Bill had made for her. The kind where when you creased the paper, it changed into something else. “You ready for some lunch, Crackerjack?”
If she answered, I missed it because when I pulled into the parking lot, my eyes fell on a familiar black Mercedes.
“You have got to be kidding me!” Steven approached my truck in full-suited swagger before I’d even finished pulling into a spot.
“F-ried funnel cakes! Nina, I’ll be just a second.
” I slid out of the truck with the engine still running and closed the door behind me.
“Ava! I’ve been trying to call you.” His friendly tone only raised my guard.
“And I’ve been trying to avoid you. What are you doing here?”
He tucked his hands in his pockets, but his feigned bashfulness didn’t come close to genuine. Though his hair looked a little disheveled. Odd for him.
“I wanted to see you,” he said.
“And you knew I’d be here … how?”
He shrugged. “I didn’t. It’s just a coincidence.”
Like I was buying that.
“I’m here to see Mark,” he said. “We’re friends.”
Mark? Who’s Mark? I glanced over my shoulder at the complex as a disheartening realization hit me. My landlord. And he was probably one of Steven’s clients! Double-fried funnel cakes! Fine. So, he knew where I lived? That didn’t have to be an issue. We were both adults.
“You look good,” Steven said, pulling my attention back to him. No matter the weather, he never sweated in his crisp business get-up.
Does he bathe in antiperspirant? “What do you want?”
“Grab dinner with me.”
“No.”
“Why not?”
Seriously? “Because you are trying to steal my ranch out from under me.”
“I wasn’t trying to steal it. I had assumed you moved on. Got over it.”
I blinked at him. “Got over what? My husband’s death?”
“Yes. No. The whole ranch life.”
“Why would you think that?”
“Come on, Ava. You’re a rock star in the office. You could make a killing in real estate. Wouldn’t that be better? For Nina?”
“I think we have different definitions of success. Garcias don’t thrive under artificial light and cedar-scented diffusers.”
“Fine, you can have a window office.”
“You’re missing the point. I want my ranch. The second I said it, you should have validated that and backed off.”
“Ava.” He ran a hand through his hair, moving the slicked spikes more out of place. “There are tons of ranches for sale. Cheaper. In better shape. Closer to town. I have three properties sitting on my desk that you’d probably love.”
“Wow. Are you trying to sweet-talk me out of my dream? Real classy, Steven.”
“No. I’m not telling you to give up your dream. Just be practical. Running a ranch is nothing like running an office.”
“I see. Have you run a ranch before?”
This was dumb. Arguing with him would only kill brain cells.
His focus would always be on the next sale.
On pleasing the client. “Listen up, because I won’t repeat myself.
Terry and I have a deal, and I’m going to the bank tomorrow to get a preapproval.
So, show those better, cheaper properties to your client.
And don’t call me. Unless it’s to congratulate me on my new ranch. ”