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“Well, I knew that,” Austin said, holding rein on his desire to pound out his brother’s knowledge.
“Her horse is Apollo. He’s in section H8.” Adam grinned. “I checked. He’s still here.”
“So, what? I’m supposed to stake out Apollo’s stall until she comes and then pounce on her?” Austin took another bite of the corn dog, trying to work out his next move.
“Well, it’s a start, at least. She’s still here. That’s the important part.” Adam turned toward him, all humor gone as he looked at him straight on. “It’s time to end this once and for all. Either fix it and make it work, or let her go and move on.”
Austin’s stomach roiled against the corn dog, and he shoved the last bite into the mustard and handed it to Adam, who grinned and took it from him. “She probably won’t remember me or will run the other way.”
“Nah, she’ll remember you. Who doesn’t remember their first broken heart?”
Austin winced as guilt ravaged him.
“It’s not your fault, bro. You had to look toward your future, and she didn’t want a rodeo life.” Adam took the last bite and tossed the sticks and cup into the garbage nearby as Austin watched without really seeing. “As Pops said, resentment ruins a relationship.”
Austin snapped his eyes up to his brother, but the truth hit home, just as it had when Pops told him the first time. It would have been resentment. He would either have given up the rodeo life and gone to college like she wanted and resented her for it, or she would have given up her dream of becoming a vet to follow him around the country from rodeo to rodeo, and she would have resented him.
“But now that she’s doing the rodeo thing…” Adam left the words hanging. “It’s worth a shot…or at least wrapping it up so you can move on. You know, Annie’s been asking about you.”
Austin narrowed his eyes. There was nothing wrong with Annie. She was always around, a barrel racer who started breakaway roping when they brought it to pro level. Nice gal, pretty, too, but…but she wasn’t Charlotte. It wasn’t like he hadn’t dated; he had, but they never went past three, maybe four dates. As soon as the gal insinuated those serious kinds of questions, he got scared. He couldn’t see himself settled…at least not with anyone besides Charlotte.
They had dreamed together. Since they had dated from their freshman year through graduation, they had plenty of time to dream of possible futures. Hers always included gymnastics and being a veterinarian, and his the rodeo. One part of the dream was the same…a large ranch with many horses. He had seen himself retiring at a place like that, but she saw it as the place where they’d raise a family.
The closer to the end of high school they came, the more Austin realized he couldn’t see a way to make both dreams happen. It was like Pops said: It was either breaking their hearts then or losing their love through resentment. That’s what happened with Pops’ first wife. She had resented the rodeo and made their marriage a living you-know-where.
“Come on.” Adam nudged him toward the stables. “You could reminisce and stew all afternoon, but it won’t get you closer to a resolution.”
The sun sank behind the mountains, coloring the wide-open sky in deep hues of purple. Charlotte used to love watching sunsets like this from the hill with the large willow tree on his parents’ property. Would she be watching this one now?
“It’s about feeding time,” Austin said, trying to distract himself.
“Then I’ll feed Buckley when I feed Turbo, and it should be the perfect time to catch Charlotte feeding her Apollo.” Adam grabbed his arm and pulled him inside the stuffy stables.
The scent of horse and hay instantly calmed him. At least enough that he shook his arm out of Adam’s grasp to walk on his own. “Which one is H?”
“Thataboy,” Adam said, smiling. “Two rows down. Go get ‘em…or should I say her.”
“Ha,” Austin said, continuing to walk as Adam stopped at the aisle that would take him to their horses. He knew if he even slowed his pace, his mind would get the better of him and talk him into delaying the meetup.
He wiped his palms on his jeans, then fiddled with his hat as he turned down aisle H. The empty aisle almost had him stalling, but he continued forward, feeling a pull he couldn’t explain. Then he heard it…the sweet, soothing sound of a woman’s voice—Charlotte’s voice. It drew him to her, and there was nothing he could do to stop it, nor any sense left in his mind to think about what he would say. So, when he finally came to the stall and could see over the gate to where Charlotte squatted, lovingly rubbing oil on her horse’s hoof, he just stood speechless.
Finally, feeling like a voyeur, he cleared his throat and said, “There’s quite the sunset tonight.”
Charlotte’s movements froze as the tickle of a familiar voice slid down her spine, leaving her insides quivering. So…he had come.
A war battled inside of her, one part wanting to scramble over the wall and escape and the other wanting to turn and rush into his arms. Which one would he want? And why did that matter to her?
She continued to rub the oil into Apollo’s hoof, taking her time, and closing her eyes in prayer for strength. There were a lot of things she was, but a runner wasn’t one of them. She faced her obstacles head-on, and right now wouldn’t be any different. Drawing in a deep breath, she set her shoulders and turned.
She had expected to see Austin’s cocky expression, one filled with knowing he had been in the right. So when she faced eyes that were filled with regret and expectation, she stepped back, grateful for Apollo’s steadfast strength behind her.
“I can’t believe it’s you,” he said, his voice deep and filled with longing.
She swallowed and pushed her chin out slightly. “Well, I guess it is.”
He searched her eyes, relentlessly pulling at her and making her want to push away from Apollo’s side and into his arms…arms that had once been her refuge; but he had stolen that away, along with all of their dreams for the future.
“Still doing the rodeo thing, I see,” she said, doing her best to keep her choked voice sounding neutral.
