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And it had been clearly wrong of me.
“And also,” Hazel continued. “Why the hell would you tell theonlywoman who you’ve ever really cared about to leave? You’re crazy about Cheyenne—we all can see it. You’ve never been like this with any of the other women in your life. You’re sabotaging a relationship with who might be your soulmate.”
“Yeah, because you knowsomuch about soulmates, Hazel,” I snorted, shaking my head and going back to brushing Roanie. “You’ve hadonereal relationship in your entire life, and that didn’t exactly work out for you. You dodge the poor guy the moment he walks back into town.”
“Low blow,” she snapped. “And just so you know, I’mworkingon that, but that’s completely irrelevant to your situation. You have agoodwoman, and she was willing to change her life to see where things go with you.”
“Yeah, and I fucked up and she nearly died,” I exploded, tossing the brush into the bucket of tack hanging on the wall. “And can you believe shewasn’tmad at me for that? What kind of person wouldn’t be mad?”
Hazel’s face softened. “Someone who loves you, and recognizes that it’s just a simple mistake—it’s not like you did it on purpose. Also, yousavedher and Takoda’s life. That meant a lot to her. You’re beating yourself up for something that just doesn’t even matter.”
I let out a heavy sigh. “I don’t know.”
“Come on, Wade, don’t be so damn hardheaded about it. She’s not out for your money, she’s beautiful, strong, and so independent. I canseethat the two of you love each other.”
Love.
The word left my heart skipping a beat. “I don’t know about that. I mean, yeah, we have a good connection, but I’m not some hopeless romantic that falls in love with someone on a whim.”
“Oh mygod,you are literally the most frustrating person I have ever met,” Hazel groaned, running her hand over her face. “It’s like you justwantto be alone for the rest of your life, even if that means hurting yourself in the process. It’s not fair to you, or Cheyenne.”
“She doesn’t want a family, anyway,” I snapped.
“Yeah, okay, yet she treats her dog better than some treat their kid. She’s got such a strong maternal instinct. That’s just her past getting to her head. She’s got some baggage, and I think that the longer she stays here, the more she’s going to see what real love in a family is like. We’re weird, and Dad is totally a grouch, but we all love each other unconditionally, and I think she’s already seeing that.”
I hesitated, the truth in her words slapping me across the face—thatwas why she wanted to stay. I’d been so dumb in the argument, looking past what she was saying, ignoring everything butus.
I’m such an idiot.
“I guess maybe I should go talk to her,” I said quietly, my eyes dropping to my hand, which was resting on my mare’s neck. “I didn’t really hear her out the night that she told me everything.”
“Yeah, she told me that you just sat there, barely responding to anything other than wanting her to leave. Like why do you have to be such an asshole sometimes? And yeah…” she chuckled, “…I can call you an asshole because you’re my brother. I love you, but like I said, you’re an asshole sometimes.”
“Yeah, yeah.” I laughed, shaking my head at her. “For that, you can put my horse up for me then, so I can go locate Cheyenne and speak with her before I chicken out.”
“So youarescared of what you have with her, huh?” Hazel called after me as I headed to the door of the barn,
Fucking terrified.
I didn’t acknowledge what she said though, pretending like I hadn’t heard her. I took some deep breaths as I made the short walk back to the house, seeing the sun in the middle of the sky. Thankfully, the rain had eased up for the time being. There was a chance for some in the upcoming days, but nothing major. I opened the side door, slipped off my muddy boots and headed toward the kitchen.
However, only my mother was there to greet me, a smile on her face. “Hey, hon, what’s up? There are some leftovers in the fridge from lunch if you’re hungry.”
“Nah, I’m not hungry. I was just hoping to see if I could find Cheyenne.” I peered through the kitchen into the sitting room, just to see if she might be in there.
“She’s not here.”
I turned back to look at Mom, her brows furrowed in a confusing way. “What do you mean? Where’d she go? I didn’t see her take off on any of the horses?”
“She’s not on a horse. She took the ranch truck into town. I figured you would’ve known that she was going to buy a vehicle down at that little dealership on the corner. Just about everyone knows about it. Hazel and Blake are going to meet her there to bring the truck back home in a couple of hours.”
Why didn’t Hazel mention this? Or did she think I already knew?
“But Cheyenne is coming back here, right?” Concern oozed from my words, and suddenly, I was left wondering if I had already missed my chance to work things out with her. “Like she’s not leaving straight from the dealership, surely?”
Mom gave me a weird look. “Iknewthere was something wrong between the two of you. You’ve been avoiding the house like a plague, not even coming up for meals with all of us. What’s going on with you, Wade?”
“I just need to talk to Cheyenne.” I already had the talk with Hazel. I didnotneed to hear it from my mom.
