AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I take it she wasn’t pleased?” His smile dies on his lips and something between us shifts.
“She’s fine. You’re just lucky it wasn’t my father,” I joke.
“I should get back out there.” He gives me a slight tip of his chin before sliding past me without another word.
I stare after him for several seconds, wondering what the hell caused him to go from hot to cold so quickly. I thought he’d find the news of my mother catching me quite humorous. Hell, when I think about it, it really is kind of funny and totally my luck too.
I shake off the sick feeling that settles into the pit of my stomach and slide into the kitchen, assuring myself that I’m looking too much into it and at the same time wondering why the hell I care so much.
—-
It’s well into theafternoon by the time my mother and I finish with the garden. To my surprise she doesn’t bring Thad up again and I sure as hell wasn’t going to either.
Of course, not talking about him didn’t mean I wasn’t constantly looking over my shoulder the entire morning hoping to catch a glimpse of him.
It’s ridiculous really–this obsession I have with him. It’s like the moment I walked into my parents’ kitchen the morning after I arrived and saw him sitting at the table I have thought of nothing else.
Thad didn’t show for lunch, then again neither did any of my brothers. My mother took them all sandwiches out to the field where they’re working after we were finished eating.
I volunteered to run to the market for her, feeling like getting off the ranch for a few hours would help me clear my head.
While out, I stop by the library and use one of their computers to check my email and send out a few responses to emails I’ve received over the last couple of days. There’s nothing too interesting, although I did get some additional information on a potential role I’m interested in. I’ll need to keep an eye on it. Which means I will have to make it a point to come to town at least every couple of days as to not miss anything of importance. I’d hate to miss out on a potential career changing role because my family is still stuck in the Stone Age.
My parents don’t have internet and the cell service on the ranch is nearly nonexistent–hence why they still use a landline which is almost unheard of in this day and age. Hell, I didn’t even own a cell phone until I moved to Los Angeles. There was no need for one.
“Laken?” a male voice says from behind me right as I’m powering down the library computer.
Turning, my stomach bottoms out when I meet the gaze of the one person I honestly believed I’d likely never see again. Brylan Rivers. The boy I left behind.
He’s exactly as I remember. Tan skin, short blonde hair, clean shaved. The all American boy I gave my heart to at sixteen years old.
He’s a little broader now, more filled out than he was in high school. But other than that he is just as he was the day I left.
“Brylan. Hey.” I stand, offering him a friendly hug. “How are you?” I step back, forcing a smile I hope comes across as easy.
“I’m doing pretty good.” He shifts from one foot to the other. “What are you doing in town?”
“I’m home visiting for a couple weeks.” I shrug, leaving out the part where a couple weeks could end up being a hell of a lot longer if luck doesn’t go my way. “What about you? Last I heard you were in Arizona.”
“I was. I just finished up my last semester at Arizona State. I have to go back to finish up finals next week but then I’m officially a college graduate.”
“Wow. That’s amazing!” I say, probably a little too enthusiastically. “Congratulations.”
“Thanks.”
“Are you moving back here or are you staying in Arizona?” I ask because it feels rude not to at least show some interest.
“I’m moving back for the summer. My Uncle Steve helped me land a pretty amazing internship with his buddy’s law firm in Cheyenne. I’ll be working there while I attend law school at the university this coming fall. Until then I’m taking a much needed break.”
“Sounds like you deserve it. Law school,” I say, pretty impressed that he’s stuck to his guns and is doing what he always said he would do.
I have to admit, back when I was forced to endure him and his football buddies chugging beer out of a bong and getting so drunk they could barely hold their own heads up nearly every single weekend, I had a hard time picturing him doing anything law related. He was always super smart but in high school he cared more about partying and football than anything else. It’s good to see that people really can change.
Unfortunately for me, I feel like I’ve been standing still for the past four years.
“Yeah, it’s been a lot of work. I’m looking forward to spending some time with my family and hanging out.”
“I bet. How is everyone?”
