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I found Lock in the barn. If he was surprised to see me, he didn’t show it. We shook hands in silence, and he waited for me to speak.
“I’m told Saoirse has left for Mars.”
Lock grunted. “You had a Caleb run-in, I take it.”
“I did.”
“He’s not pleased with the state his aunt arrived in. She put on a brave face for him, but he’s not stupid.” Lock folded his tree trunk arms, sending the distinct message he wasn’t impressed with me either.
“I’ve come to fix the mess I made. I would have been here sooner, but I’ve been with my sister in the hospital.”
The hardness in his gaze softened a fraction. “How is she?”
“Doing as well as can be expected. She and Nellie will be going home tomorrow.”
He lifted his chin. “Glad to hear that.”
“Is Saoirse—”
“Look, Luca. My wife and I don’t have secrets from each other, which means after Saoirse unloaded on Elena, Elena unloaded on me. The origins of your marriage won’t go any further if that’s how you want it. To be frank, I don’t give a damn how things started between you. What I care about is where you go from here.”
I nodded in agreement, unsurprised Saoirse had spilled everything to Elena. I was glad she had someone to confide in.
“That’s what I care about too. That's why I’m here.”
Eyeing me, Lock wrapped his thick fingers around the end of a shovel. “I’m sure Saoirse has shared some of the ugliness she grew up witnessing. I got out, went away to college, and she was left in the middle of it. If she’s gun-shy about marriage, she has every reason to be. If you’re not able to understand her reticence, you’re not the man for her.”
His blunt tone made me grimace. “I do understand it. I’m here to tell her I do.”
His fingers flexed around the shovel. “Don’t let her get away with making excuses out of fear. If you allow her to convince herself she doesn’t deserve what she really wants, she’ll live with regret forever. I know because I almost did it to myself, and I would have beennothingwithout Ellie.”
“I don’t even know if she wants to see me, but I’ll try, man. I’ll keep trying.”
“She’ll want to see you,” he gruffed. “You’re going to need to get on a horse to find her. Remember how to ride?”
“Uh…” I scratched the back of my neck and scanned the horses in the stalls behind him, landing on my old friend, Barney. “It’s like riding a bike, right?”
Lock pushed out a rumbling chuckle. “Sure. That’s one way to look at it.” He started toward Barney, but before I could take a step to follow him, he spun back around and leveled me with a hard stare. “One more thing. If I ever hear about you yelling at my sister the way you did a few days ago, you will deal with me. I’m not a violent man, but when it comes to my family, I don’t play games. Got me?”
“I got you, Lock.” I didn’t look away from him. “Give me time, and I’ll show you you don’t have to worry about Saoirse with me. That’s never going to happen again.”
He nodded once. “Good. Now, help me get Barney set up and I’ll point you toward Saoirse.”
Chapter Forty-four
Saoirse
I’dspentthedayout in the fields with my father. He’d given me half his tasks, and we’d still managed to have more than enough work for both of us.
More than ever, I understood his need to be busy. When I was checking fences and moving cattle from one field to another, I didn’t have time to think about the life I was missing.
ThemanI was missing.
Dad headed back to the barn, but I wasn’t quite ready to be around the rest of my family, so I rode Athena to our favorite spot by the stream and let her graze while I dipped my feet in the water. The cold ripples around my tired legs were heavenly. I stood there, my face tipped to the endless sky, and closed my eyes.
I loved it here, but I could never live here. The peacefulness of wide-open spaces made for a beautiful place to retreat to, but the city was where I belonged.
A few more days, and I’d go back. I’d said in the letter I’d left for Luca I’d be gone for two weeks, but I was hoping he’d be open to speaking before then.
