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It’s the first real, true smile that she’s given me, and I try not to be jealous of garlic bread. One day, I’ll make her smile like that.
“What about you?”
“I’m easy. I like everything.”
“That’s a lousy answer. What’s your absolute favorite?”
I take a bite of my taco and mull over the question.
“I guess if I had to pick one, it would be steak with a big baked potato.”
“Mmm, that sounds good,” she agrees, and I smile at her as she reaches for her second taco.
“So, your favorite subject in school was English then?” I ask, and she nods.
“Yeah, I’m terrible at math and science, and history never really interested me, but I’ve always loved to read and write.”
“I was the opposite. I loved math.”
She shudders dramatically, and I laugh.
“It’s not so bad,” I tell her, and she gives me a dry look.
“I’ve done it and yes, it is.”
I laugh and grab my second taco.
“Do you work with the horses on the farm?” she asks. I take it as a good sign that she wants to learn about me.
“Yeah. My brothers Wyatt and Remy all work with horses. Kai is the only one to do more animals. He has cows and chickens too. We all help each other out though.”
“That’s nice. You guys must be close.”
“We are.”
We each grab our last taco and dig in.
“Have you always lived in Sequoia?”
“Yeah, the farm was our parents before we all inherited it. We went to the high school and stuff in town.”
“Did you go to Sequoia University too?”
“No, none of us did.”
Monty nods, and I’m relieved she doesn’t think less of me for that. Sometimes people learn that I only have a high school diploma and they think I’m an idiot.
The truth is that I didn’t see the need to spend thousands of dollars for a degree that I would never use. I already knew how to work on a farm, and my parents are still able to help if we have questions.
“Ready to go?” she asks as she tosses her napkin down on the tray.
“Yeah, let’s go home.”
Monty blinks a few times, and I swear I see tears gathering beneath her lashes. My heart drops to the floor, my chest tight with the need to fix whatever I just broke.
“Home,” she whispers before clearing her throat.
Just like that, my strong, independent woman with the weight of the world on her shoulders squares her jaw, pushing away the raw emotions that just bubbled up.
