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"Resilience, huh?" I repeat, feeling the term resonate somewhere deep within me. It's not just the sunflowers or even Jules; it's the idea of starting something sturdy and beautiful from the ground up.
"Ry, you know I don't meddle," Parker starts, which means he's about to do just that. "But you two..." He trails off, tilting his head towards Julia and then back at me. "You've got something good sprouting here."
"Maybe," I concede, because as much as I want to put up walls, Parker has always seen through them.
"More than maybe," he insists with a knowing look. "Don't mess it up."
"Wasn’t planning on it," I say, watching Jules laugh at something, the sound carrying lightly on the breeze. It's a sound I could get used to.
"Good." Parker claps me on the shoulder before settling down on the steps of the porch. "Because from where I'm standing, Ry, you'd be a fool to let her go."
I don't respond to that, letting the silence between us fill with unspoken understanding. Instead, I focus on the warmth of the setting sun and the woman who might just be the sunshine breaking through my grumpy clouds.
I take another sip of my beer, its cool bitterness a contrast to the warmth spreading through me. Parker's words echo in my head, and I can't help but steal another glance at Julia.
"Bro, you're not getting any younger," Parker says casually, though I know he's been thinking on this for a while.
The corner of my mouth twitches upward. "Thanks for the reminder."
"And if you honestly want to die alone, here with your horses and wooden sticks, then that's up to you." He leans back, stretching his legs out before him, eyeing me with a mix of humor and seriousness.
I let out a half-hearted grunt. Dying alone has never been the plan, but I've been good at avoiding anything that might resemble a plan when it comes to personal ties.
"However, that one right there." Parker nods subtly toward Julia without lifting his gaze from the horizon. His words hang in the air, heavy with implication and brotherly concern.
I follow his nod, watching as Julia gently pats down the earth around a sunflower. She's diligent, attentive—cares about the roots she's planting, just like she cares about her business, her life. It hits me then, how much I admire that about her, even as I've been holding back parts of myself.
"Point taken," I say quietly. The sun dips lower, casting an orange glow across the field. Something inside me shifts, something I've been holding onto tightly for too long. Maybe it's time to let go.
Parker's voice, mellow yet edged with mischief, cuts through the quiet. "She's a good one. If you let her go, hell, I might try to go after her myself." He tilts his bottle toward Julia, winking at me over the rim.
I feel the heat rise in my chest, a mix of protectiveness and something wilder. My grip tightens on the cool glass bottle in my hand, condensation slick against my skin. That brother of mine knows exactly what buttons to push.
"Like hell you will," I shoot back, the words coming out sharper than I intend. I lock eyes with Parker, who’s barely holding back a grin. He knows how to rile me up alright, always has.
"Then what are you waiting for, bro?" Parker nudges me with his elbow. "Go on, Ryan. Make your move before some other guy sweeps her off her feet."
I look back at Julia, her laughter floating across the yard as she stands and brushes dirt from her hands. Her smile is pure sunshine, and damn if I'm not ready to bask in it.
"If anyone's going to have that woman, it's gonna be me," I say, more to myself than to Parker. It's a declaration, a promise I didn't even know I was ready to make until this very moment.
"Then saddle up," Parker says, giving me a playful shove. "Time to ride into your own sunset."
He's right. It's time to step out of the shadows. Time to let Julia see the man behind the cowboy—the man who's been hiding in plain sight. And maybe, just maybe, it's time for a little less grumpy and a lot more sunshine in my life.
"Alright, enough with the metaphors," I grumble, but there's a lightness in my chest that wasn't there before. Parker’s got a point. It's time to come clean.
"Look, Ry," Parker leans in closer, his voice taking a serious turn now. "Julia needs to know who you really are. No more hiding, man. She deserves that much."
I nod slowly, knowing he's right. Keeping my wealth a secret has become second nature, a protective measure against users and gold diggers. But Julia... She's not like anyone else.
"Tell her who you actually are, what you’ve built, what you’ve accomplished," Parker continues. "That this," he gestures around us, "is you choosing a simpler life now. But Ryan, you can't truly open your heart up, invite her into your world until she knows the truth. The whole truth."
"Damn it, Parker," I mutter. The thought of coming clean to Julia sends an unfamiliar thrill mixed with fear coursing through me. How will she react? Will she see me differently? But the bigger question is, can I bear losing her if she does?
"Think about it, Ry. If she's the one, she'll stay. And if she doesn't..." Parker shrugs, leaving the sentence hanging, unsaid but understood.
"Then she was never mine to begin with." My voice is steady, but inside, my heart is racing. For once, the idea of vulnerability doesn't seem so terrifying, not if it means having a chance at something real with Julia.
