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"I'm sorry that happened to you," Hayden said. Austin laughed a little and shook his head.
"That's interesting. You're sorry. You're sorry that my father died, and you didn't even have the decency to attend his burial? “Your father didn't even come yet you open your mouth and tell me that we were brothers?" He asked, then shook his head.
"Get out of my sight," he said. Hayden looked at the man and nodded. There was nothing else he could do, and he knew there was nothing that he could say. He turned around and left.
Lee was outside when Hayden stepped out and looked at her then dipped his head, acknowledging her presence, then he seemed to linger like he was trying to make the decision between going to her and just going on his way. He started walking to Lee. She watched him approach her, tall and sturdy with that dark look on his face. He was handsome in the electric lights that shone from the bunkhouses.
"Hi," she said, and he nodded again. He nodded a lot.
"Hello," he replied when he was standing beside her.
"Something tells me that didn't go too well," she said, and he laughed a little.
"It went about as well as I expected it to. You might not know this, but he can be a very…difficult person to talk to when he's deciding to be unreasonable," he said. Lee nodded silently. They stood together just staring. Lee found that there were often gaps in the conversations that Hayden started, not because he didn't exactly have something to say but because he was just like that. It was like he would say something then think about it and about the next thing he wanted to say before he continued. It was nice, made it easy to keep the thoughts in order.
"He once snatched me off a horse and put me to the ground when I said something I shouldn't have. Truth is that I was to blame for that one," he said.
"I'm sorry about that. I know what it feels like when the bond between you and someone you considered family is breaking. It's difficult to accept," she said.
"You know?" He asked and she nodded.
"Yeah," she said. He looked at her and she saw understanding creep into his eyes.
"What's going to happen to him?" She asked.
"What my father said. Police or something. It's just a stolen horse that was retrieved. It'll be fine," he said. There was another stretch of silence.
"Pretty foggy mood tonight huh? I can play the guitar if you want. I don't exactly know if music is your thing, but it is mine and I'd like a little bit of company if you're feeling up to it," he said. Lee smiled and nodded.
"I think I'd like some music very much," she said.
Lee waited outside while he got his guitar and when he found it, he walked to a tree on the property then he sat down and blew breath through puffed cheeks.
"What do you like to listen to?" He asked.
"I listen to everything as long as it's not sad and I don't have to spend the next hour or so fighting the urge to cry so…long as it's not that, fire away," she said. He laughed a little then started playing.
Lee watched the way he played, letting the tunes start to seep into her and each note made her feel a bit calmer, a bit moregrounded and she soon found that she had a soft smile on her face. When he started singing, his voice had a casual strength to it that made her more than excited to listen and it soon started to make her feel a bit emotional. It wasn't even in the lyrics. It was in the way he sang the song. There was so much passion and something akin to sorrow, though the lyrics were happy and she did start to find herself fighting tears.
"I don't…this song is sad," she said and they looked at each other for a while then burst into laughter.
"I'm being serious," she said.
"There's nothing sad about this song. That's like the happiest song I know," he said.
"If that is your happiest song then you haven't been happy a whole lot, have you?" She asked. He shrugged.
"I am now," he said. Lee paused. She didn't know why exactly. Perhaps it was the way he said it or the sudden affection in his eyes and she looked away. She had seen those before, and she didn't know what to do with them.
"You're really happy?" She asked. He shrugged.
"I'm smiling and it seems like all the dark thoughts in my head have faded away, so I think that's…I think I'm happy," he said.
"I'm glad," she replied and meant it.
"Hey, uh. I know you're going tomorrow but I was wondering if you wanted to…I don't know… go out for a drink or something? I know this place where we can find happy music. Really happy ones this time," he said, and she tilted her head to the side.
"I don't drink," she said.
