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“Whoa, Remi. Take it easy,” Ben said, getting smoothly off the horse himself.
Ben took three steps in my direction, and though the yard was lit by the pole lights, the top half of his face in shadow cast by the brim of his cowboy hat. “Did something happen with Dylan?”
I was embarrassed and conscious of Dylan getting closer. “We had a misunderstanding, that’s all. I just don’t want to make a scene in front of the guests, and I don’t want to talk to him tonight. Tell Aunt Marin, I’m sorry. And please don’t let Dylan follow me!”
I ran into the house without waiting for an answer, leaving Uncle Ben standing in the yard. I grabbed my bag and went to the rental car as quickly as I could. I barely got inside and started the engine before Dylan arrived at breakneck speed on the horse. My heart was pounding as I put the car in gear and tore out of the lane faster than I should. I was so anxious to see him and now I was so hurt. No matter what my heart wanted to believe, I just had to believe my eyes. I had to look at his actions.
Over the weekend, I’d allowed myself to believe things would change, but the fact was he would be traveling the world and I wouldn’t be able to be go with him. I’d just be setting myself up for more of the same heartache I’d suffered for years.
I glanced in the rearview mirror and the lights of the ranch diminished behind me. Dylan wasn’t following. He wasn’t coming after me. Pain shot through my entire body like an explosion. My chest literally hurt.
What the hell was I thinking? All the years of healing and coming to terms with the loss of Dylan, now dashed into oblivion. Now, it was worse. Deeper. I didn’t know if I’d ever be able to recover.
I closed my eyes to push the tears out to clear my blurry eyes, and a string of silent sobs started to erupt from my chest. I just destroyed my relationship with Alan… now I had nothing.
I slumped toward the steering wheel, my body curling around the source of the pain, my head dropping as I cried my heart out.
My head snapped up at the honk of a horn and flash of lights. “Oh, God!”
The sound distorted as a car coming at me swerved to my left. My heart felt like it was going to fly from my chest as I jerked my rental car back into my lane.
I sucked in my breath, gripped the steering wheel tighter and pulled the car off to the side of the road as I fell apart. I allowed myself a good five minutes of broken sobs trying to purge my misery. The fear of almost having a head-on collision added a layer of shock.
In a few minutes my life went from perfect, my future bright, to almost losing it in an accident.
I sat up and wiped the tears from my face, taking deep breaths to calm myself. I drew in a ragged breath and sniffed. My life in Memphis waited for me. My goal to become a pediatric cancer doctor was still there and if I couldn’t have personal happiness, maybe I’d find fulfillment in my work.
As I started the engine again and pulled back on to the highway to make my way to Jackson, I decided I’d just revert to the wall of isolation and focus that had protected me and gradually made it bearable. I knew what I had to do.
Dylan
I galloped into the yard just as Remi pulled away and ripped down the lane. The taillights of her car distorted by the dirt her wheels were turning into a dust could behind her.
I jumped off the horse and dropped the reins, not knowing what to do with myself.
“Dylan!” Ben scolded. “You know you shouldn’t ride the horse that hard in the dark. If he fell into a gopher hole and broke his leg he’d have to be put down!”
“Fuck!” I yelled. I pulled my cell phone from the clip on my belt and hit Remi’s speed dial. In less than a second, it went to voice mail. Clearly, her phone was off, or she had blocked me. “Fucking hell!”
Ben grabbed my discarded reins before the horse wandered off. “You know better than this. What’s going on?” he demanded.
I paced back and forth. “I don’t know. Remi said she wasn’t coming and then she showed up.”
“No, I mean between you. Your dynamic has changed. Spill it.”
“On the trip to the park, we sort of…”. Telling my uncle that our relationship had changed in the way it had would be uncomfortable. “We realized we cared about each other.”
Ben shook his head. “You’ve always cared about her, Dylan. Marin and I wondered what was taking you so long to figure it out. When she left Clemson, we thought that was it, but we saw how you looked at her at Esso’s and were confused when that other girl showed up here. You said you were breaking up with her.”
I sighed heavily, anger rushing through me. “I did! When I saw Remi, I realized I never wanted to be away from her again. She’s amazing, except I see that she doesn’t trust me. She didn’t even give me a chance to explain.”
“Isn’t she seeing someone?” His face took on a perplexed expression.
“I guess…” I stopped as realization dawned. “She must have ended things if she showed up here.”
Ben’s lips pursed and his eyebrows rose. “Hmmm… And she gets here, and you’re at the campfire with Christy practically on your lap.”
“Next to me, and that’s all. I just got sick of acting like a dick! I was awful to her all day. I was trying to get through the day so I could have a conversation with her in private. Right?”
