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“Thank you,” I whispered, looking down at the snow.
“I told you I wouldn’t let you die,” he answered with a hint of teasing, and I bumped him with my shoulder.
“That’s not exactly what I meant,” I said, and he chuckled. “Today’s been a lot of firsts.”
“I’m assuming you’ve never seen a bear before now?” he asked, and I shook my head no. “They’re pretty common here, I see at least one, if not two, every year. Hence why we carry guns just in case.”
“When’s the first time you ever saw one?”
“I was four and out fishing with my Papaw. We didn’t catch anything that day, that’s for sure.” He chuckled and looked down at his pants, brushing some snow off.
“I don’t blame you; I would’ve left the fish for the bear too.” I picked at the fraying shoelace on my hiking boots.
“The first time Cassidy saw one I had taken him fishing, too.” He chuckled to himself, leaning back against the palms of his hand after laying the shotgun across his lap.
“Everyone in town says you’re really close with Cassidy, even after…” I paused. “Ithappened.”
He glanced my way. “Always have been. He may be seven years younger than me, but it’s been a long time since I felt so far apart in age.”
“Which makes you thirty-six,” I muttered under my breath. There was the confirmation that he was ten years older than me. Ten entire years. There wasn’t that much of an age difference between either of my siblings and myself.
“Yes, Miss Tenley. I am thirty-six.” He furrowed his brows. “You seem a little shocked.”
I watched him for a moment, pulling my lips between my teeth before sighing. “Just trying to come to terms with the fact that you are ten whole years older than I am.”
It was his turn to be stunned. “What?” His cyan eyes widened.
“I’ll be twenty-seven in January if that makes things better,” I replied.
He chuckled. “I turn thirty-seven in March, so not much,” he responded with a soft smile.
“I like when you smile,” I blurted out, and his brows twitched before I slapped a hand over my mouth. “Maddie always warned me to think before speaking.” I lightly bumped my lips in reprimand.
Except Weston gripped my fingers, stopping me from hitting my lips, and pulled them away from my mouth. “It’s easy to smile around you,” he whispered. His hand stayed wrapped around mine while we gazed at each other, soaking in the simplicity of each other’s company. I’d known him for less time than almost anyone else in my life and yet, I was comfortable with him. He was a better friend than most.
Weston let go of my hand and then spoke. “Who’s Maddie?”
“Oh, my older sister.” I looked down at my fingers that had been in his hand wishing for a moment that neither of us had gloves on.
“You mentioned you have a brother and sister that you were close to growing up,” he prompted, and I nodded.
“We were practically inseparable. Doing everything together. I had a soccer game, they were both there with my parents. Luke had his football game, we were there. Maddie was at a dance competition, we were there.” I sighed, smiling to myself as beautiful memories flashed through my head. Bittersweet memories.
“Are you still close with them?” he asked, and I looked up, meeting his eyes. His fingers were mindlessly tracing the shotgun.
“Not as much. They live outside of town, both of them married. It was like the moment they had families of their own, I was less than them. Like I wasn’t good enough because I was single and working towards a career. It’s not like I chose to not get married. My intention was to get an education to be able to support myself until I got married. Never thought I’d make it all the way to twenty-six single.” I started to draw shapes in the snow.
“I wanted to be a husband and father more than I wanted to inherit this ranch. Remington had the right idea when he gave it up for his wife,” Weston mindlessly said, and I blinked in shock.
“So it’s true. You own this entire place.”
He nodded yes.
“But you don’t want it?” I continued.
“Oh, I want it. Wanted it. I never thought about doing anything else. If Remington had accepted it instead of becoming an accountant, I would’ve begged him to let me work here for the rest of my life. What I am saying is, if I’d met someone while away who asked me to do something different like his wife had asked, I would’ve passed on inheriting this place in a heartbeat. My Papaw always said that this life isn’t worth anything if you have to live it alone. That all the things in the world would never be as valuable as a family.” He stared at the bear that lay still in the snow in front of him. He chuckled to himself. “And yet, here I am.”
“You and I both,” I muttered in reply. “At least you have your siblings and parents.”
