Page 42 of Boss and Brat

“If you say so.”

Mary jogged off toward the parking lot, her long brown hair swinging behind her. The rest of the teens piled into cars, laughing and shouting across the gravel. The entire scene felt too bright, too normal, like he’d wandered into someone else’s life for a minute.

He led Storm into the stall, but his hands wouldn’t stay steady. Mary’s words kept echoing.

My mom talked to your mom. She said you’d be there.

His throat squeezed. His mother always did that—made plans for him, spoke for him, smiled for him. Pretended everything was fine. Pretended he was fine. Pretended he wasn’t drowning under all the expectations she stacked on his shoulders.

He rubbed Storm’s neck, trying to breathe through the knot in his chest. The smell of hay and leather usually calmed him, but not today.

“Ethan.”

He turned. Carter stood just inside the barn, arms crossed, eyes sharp. He wasn’t scowling—more like he’d walked in on something he didn’t like.

“You good?” Carter asked.

Ethan nodded too fast. “Yeah. Just finishing up.”

Carter stepped closer, boots crunching on the straw. “That girl giving you trouble?”

“No,” Ethan said. “Just… church stuff.”

Carter’s jaw tightened a little. “You don’t owe anyone an explanation.”

Ethan shrugged. “Try telling my mom that.”

Carter said nothing for a moment. He just watched Ethan, eyes steady in a way that made Ethan feel seen—really seen—and that scared him more than Mary’s questions.

“You don’t have to go back there,” Carter said. “Not if you don’t want to.”

Ethan swallowed hard. “Yeah. I know.”

But he didn’t. Not really. His mother had a way of pulling him back into her world, no matter how far he ran.

Carter reached out and took Storm’s reins from his hands. “Go take a break. I’ll finish up.”

Ethan blinked. “You sure?”

“Yeah,” Carter said. “You look like you need air.”

Ethan let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. “Thanks.”

Chapter Seventeen: Ethan

Ethan stepped out of the stall, brushing straw off his jeans. Carter watched him for a second, something unreadable in his eyes, before turning back to the horse.

Ethan walked toward the barn doors, the sunlight spilling across the dirt. His chest still felt tight, but the pressure eased a little knowing Carter had stepped in—again. And that scared him too. Because every time Carter showed up like that, it got harder to pretend he didn’t want him to.

Ethan sat on the bench outside the stables with a cigarette burning between his fingers. The late-afternoon sun hit the gravel in long streaks, warm but not enough to loosen the knot in his stomach. Smoke curled up past his face, sharp and familiar, something to hold on to while everything else spun.

He heard Carter’s boots before he saw him.

“You hiding out here?” Carter asked.

Ethan shrugged. “Taking a break.”

Carter leaned against the post beside him, arms crossed. He didn’t say anything at first, just watched the smoke drift. Ethan hated how seen that made him feel.