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“It’s been hot lately,” Beth’s father said.
“You don’t have to go,” Beth said.
“But I’m going to.” Trey tried to smile at her, but he couldn’t quite pull it off. He put his hand on top of his hat and nodded. “Goodnight, Beth.” He faced her father again. “Sorry to make you drive all the way out here.”
“It’s okay,” Clyde said, his keen eyes missing nothing.
Trey nodded and headed for the front door. Clyde said something behind him, but it wasn’t to him, and Trey didn’t have the mental energy to find out if Beth would put any action behind what she’d said.
She didn’t, and a sting punctured his heart. As he drove back to Bluegrass, he realized she actuallyhadput an action behind what she’d said.
She wasn’t ready to date, despite the almost three years since Danny’s death. So she hadn’t come after him. She hadn’t texted him, and she wouldn’t either. If Trey wanted to go out with her, he’d have to ask again.
“Maybe just let it lie,” he told himself as he trundled down the dirt road toward the homestead. “Your life will be so much easier.”
He parked, still undecided as to what to do about Beth, and went to see what his brothers were doing. Spur and Olli had hosted a couple of movie nights, but tonight, the homestead was full of soda, candy, and laughter as everyoneexceptSpur and Olli had gathered in the living room for a night of video games.
“Trey’s back,” Conrad yelled, and an uproar filled the house. Trey just wanted to go to his room and figure out what to do about Beth, but he found himself swept into the group of brothers, each of them vying for him to be on their team for the next race.
19
“You just text her,” Blaine said to Trey. “Ask her how she is, and if you can come over.”
“I don’t want to intrude,” Trey said. “I feel like I’m pushing myself on her.” He turned his back on Blaine to hang up a length of rope he’d just coiled. “No one wants to feel like he’s the only one interested in the relationship.”
“You don’t know she’s not.”
Trey turned back to Blaine, and he looked so frustrated. Blaine knew the feeling keenly. He and frustration were good friends, especially since last weekend when he’d made a mess of things with Tam.
They’d texted and talked a little bit since, but things weren’t the same, and Blaine knew it. Tam had to know it too. Sometimes, in the past, they just ignored the awkward things between them, and they eventually went away.
Blaine didn’t think that was going to happen here. Not only that, but he didn’t want to act like a seventeen-year-old. He wanted to have a meaningful, open, honest relationship with Tam.
“You think Tam and I are a couple, right?”
Trey looked up, surprise in his eyes. “What?”
Instant embarrassment shot through Blaine. “Nothing,” he said.
“It’s something.”
Blaine turned away and bent to pick up some errant reins. He ran his hands along the length of them, feeling the dust and dirt, and it grounded him. “Tam asked me to be her fake boyfriend for when Hayes came into town,” he said, looking out the open barn door. The sun seemed dimmer today, as there had been a big fire a bit up the road, and the smoke was hanging in the air today.
“I didn’t really want to, but I started thinking about her in a new way, and we started dating.”
“For real?” Trey asked.
“Yes,” Blaine said, ducking his head. He started rolling up the reins. “For real. Hayes didn’t believe it. We ran into Alex last weekend, and she didn’t believe it either. Now, I’m so deep inside my own head, and…” He exhaled heavily. “It’s been a hard week. She’s just working a lot.”
“You still disappear at night,” Trey said. “You’re not going to see her?”
“I’ve been spending a couple of hours with Featherweight.” He handed the reins to Trey, their eyes meeting. “I’m pathetic, just like Alex always said.”
“No, you’re not.” Trey yanked the reins from Blaine, his eyes flashing with anger. “Don’t say that. She doesn’t get to have any influence over you anymore.”
“Yeah, but she still does sometimes,” Blaine said. “Ihatethat she does.”
“Then do something about it,” Trey said.
