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I fell asleep right there in the stall with Eugie, still waiting for the one word from her I was never gonna get.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Very early the next morning, I woke startled in the horse stall with Eugie still in my lap. I stood and stretched, the muscles in my back screaming at me.
“Come on, boy,” I told him. He followed me out the barn and into the lane. It was bitterly cold and I wanted to sprint down to the trailer but poor Eugie was too stiff from old age to go any faster than a soft trot.
“Okay, old man,” I told him and picked him up. I wrapped him in my coat and we headed for the trailer. Inside, he immediately curled up on the banquette and I let him, even throwing a blanket over him before patting his head.
Too cold to just lay down, I showered and warmed up as best I could. My bed felt uncomfortably small for some reason and I tossed and turned for two hours, obsessing over what had gone down with Cricket, wondering what the hell was going to happen with my dad, if he was even going to do anything. I thought about the possibility of going to jail for a very long time for the “errands” I ran for him. I contemplated all of it and came to one conclusion.
No matter what the hell happened, the idea of Cricket marrying anyone else other than me made me sicker to my stomach than every awful scenario I could think of.
My eyes were wide open when my alarm went off, but I let it beep over and over, a welcome distraction from my thoughts.
“Dang, dude,” I heard a groggy Bridge complain.
My palm, the same palm Cricket had kissed, slammed down on the off button.
“Sorry,” I said, bringing that palm to my chest, desperate to rub out the ache she’d put there.
“Where were you last night?” she asked, rubbing her eyes.
“Oh,” I cleared my throat, “I fell asleep in the horse barn.”
She giggled a little and sat up. “Oh really?” she teased. “Did you, perhaps, fall asleep with anyone else?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact, I did.”
Her eyes widened and she swallowed. “What? I was only teasing! She wouldn’t do that.”
I couldn’t help my chuckle. “It was Eugie. I fell asleep with Eugie.”
Her shoulders sagged in relief. “Good.”
At the mention of his name, Eugie climbed off the banquette slowly and stretched before making his way over to me. He rested his head on my shoulder and watched me.
“What’s up, dude?” I asked him.
“He probably needs to pee,” Bridge explained.
“Probably,” I said, standing up and opening the door for him.
Eugie found the least snow-covered grass he could and relieved himself. I stood at the door, freezing my ass off in only my track pants and waiting for him to come back inside when he unexpectedly took off down the lane. I narrowed my eyes and saw Cricket walking toward us.
Without thinking, I bounded out into the cold snow, no shoes, no shirt and bed head. “Cricket,” I said, when I reached her.
Her eyes widened. “Oh my God,” she said, looking down. “You have to put on a shirt.”
“Why did you leave like that last night?” I demanded, ignoring her request.
She peered at my feet. “You’ll lose your toes,” she said and started walking toward the trailer.
I followed her. “Answer me, Cricket.”
“Not here,” she said, scanning around her.
I quieted down with the assumed promise she would eventually talk and we entered the trailer just as Bridge was emerging for the day. She kissed Cricket’s cheek hello and winked at me then left to meet an already approaching Jonah.
