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Chapter Seventy-Nine
Wyatt
“I can’t believe that you just let Olivia and Lucy go without even asking them where they were going!” I looked at Beau and Austin in disgust.
“You do know I don’t control her, right?” Austin raised an eyebrow at me. “She’s gone camping with Sadie and Arya, and it’s not like she has to tell me exactly where she’s going to be.”
“Well, where did they go? And why aren’t they back yet? I thought they were coming back this morning.” I glared at them.
Chet laughed. “Dude, chill out. They went camping for one night.”
“Yeah, but who knows what could have happened?”
“Dude, Sadie knows the area like the back of her hand. Everything’s fine. Trust me.”
“Whatever.” I looked over at my mother. “Mom, at what point do we have to call the police to put out a missing person search?”
“A missing person search?” She pressed her lips together and if I hadn’t known better, I might have thought she was trying not to smile.
“Son, I don’t think that’s necessary.” Dad put an arm around my shoulder. “They said they’d be back later this afternoon, and we all know that Sadie is very capable of going on a camping trip. It’s not like she’s gone to Utah or someplace that she doesn’t know. She’s just out on the ranch.”
“Well, it’s very irresponsible if you ask me.” Everyone was staring at me, and my face was getting hot. “I’m just concerned about them, okay? I would’ve thought you guys would’ve been concerned as well.”
“Oh, Wyatt, Wyatt, Wyatt,” Beau chuckled. “So, you guys want to play some catch? I’ve got some time, and Wyatt, you could use a distraction.”
I still didn’t think they were taking this seriously enough, but maybe Beau was right. I just needed to take my mind off Sadie. “Fine, let’s do it,” I grumbled. I followed my brothers out of the kitchen into the backyard.
Austin picked up a football from the door, and I held my hands up. “Hey, pass it to me,” I shouted, and he did.
I caught it and ran down the path towards the fire pit and then kept going. It felt good to stretch my legs and run with the air in my face. I needed to talk to Sadie. I needed for us to have a real conversation. I really felt like she was avoiding me now. I felt like I fucked up everything, and all we’d done was kiss. What if we’d had sex? What would she have done then? Would she have taken a trip to the moon or Mars or something? Did I have to call Elon Musk and tell him, “Hey, if Sadie Johnson calls you asking for a ride, don’t let her go”?
“Hey, pass it to me, you old butthead.” Austin ran up and grabbed the ball out of my hand.
“Hey, what you doing?” I tackled him to the ground and grabbed the ball.
“Yo dude, chillax.” He wiped the mud off of his face. “I thought we were playing flag football.”
“Since when did you think we were playing flag football? We said we were going to throw the ball.”
“Well, let’s play some flag football.”
“Um, I don’t have time for all this,” Chet said. “I have got some work to do.”
“What work do you have to do, Chet?”
“Excuse me,” he frowned at me. “I’m not a bum, you know?”
“Could have fooled me.”
“Whatever, Wyatt. Take out your anxiety and your stress on someone else. I’m not your punching bag.”
“You know what, Chet? Shut up.” I grabbed the ball back from Austin, jumped up, and went running. I threw it to Beau who jumped up and caught it like a professional.
Beau had been the star football player when he was in high school. In fact, he could have gone pro if he’d wanted to, but he hadn’t been willing to let go of his responsibility to the family. He was also a talented filmmaker, and when we were young, he’d always talk about going to Hollywood to direct movies. I knew he’d given up that dream to look after Horseshoe Ranch and be the caretaker of the family business. I often wondered if he ever resented the family because of that.
“Hey, Beau!” I shouted.
“Yeah, butthead?”
