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I didn’t think of him often, the little brother we’d lost to our abusive father, but he snuck up on me sometimes. Now that I thought about it, baby Crew looked a lot like him.
Despite the ache of loss and grief, I smiled. No matter how long someone had been gone, they never truly left, it seemed. They always lived on if you chose to see them.
My feet pounded against the sidewalk, my heart racing in time with my strides. It wasn’t recommended that I run. In fact, I was pretty sure I wasn’t supposed to be running. But I needed to do something. Pain spiked through my muscles and the tendons in my knee, but I relished it. It had been too long since I had a good workout. It was time I got back to taking care of my body and building up my strength. Since Cypress Falls didn’t have a great gym that I liked, I decided to go for a run.
And damn, it felt good.
Sweat slicked my skin as I passed groups of people. Even though it was early, they had started settling up already for Friday Fest. None of them really paid me any mind, though. In a breath I was gone anyway.
I was beginning to pass the last buildings of Main Street when something strained. Hot pain lashed up and down my leg and I stumbled, almost falling face-first through a large window of a brick building. I groaned, bracing myself against the windowpane and shifting my weight to my good leg.
Maybe running wasn’t the best idea after all. I gave myself a few moments to catch my breath and lower my heart rate. The sudden pain receded, but I waited until I got the courage to test it out. I leaned gingerly on my bad leg. My knee twinged, but the intense pain didn’t return, not even when I put my full weight on it.
“Heard.” I acknowledged the signal my body was sending me. “I get it. No more running.”
I looked up at the window of the building I faced. My sight caught on a For Sale or Lease sign taped in the corner. I didn’t know why, but I started reading the fine print, my brows raising. There was a loft bedroom apartment on the top floor.
I cupped my hands against the window and tried to get a good look inside. The glass was dirty and it was dark, it seemed like a large, open space. I stepped back, putting my hands on my hips. I wasn’t sure what was in the building before, but it was in a good location. Close to downtown without actually being a part of the main shopping district.
I grabbed my phone and snapped a picture of the sign with the realtor’s contact information.
I didn’t know what I’d do with a building near downtown Cypress Falls, but I did need a place to live. And it didn’t hurt to keep my options open.
I ended up at Friday Fest that evening anyway.
It wasn’t much of my choice, to be fair. Knox and Annabelle were passing out fliers for the annual Willow Hope Ranch Fundraiser Gala. I happened to get reigned into helping.
The two had brought a pair of their most tame horses and they really drew the attention of the people walking around the festival. There’d been a crowd around the horses since we arrived.
Annabelle was in her element, grinning like a pageant queen and passing out fliers from atop her horse. Knox stayed on the ground, softly introducing people to the animals while I stood beside him with a stack of papers in my hands.
As the sun began to set, the street lights and electric lamps lining main street flickered to life. Some of the vendors started packing up their booths as the vibe slowly shifted into nightlife. Soon, the bars would be serving on their outside patios and makeshift beer tents as the bands performed on temporary, outside stages.
As the crowd in the street thinned, I leaned over to Knox, who was finally free to talk for the first time that evening.
“The annual gala, huh?” I stared at one of the few pamphlets I had left in my stack. Memories of all the past galas surfaced in my mind. I’ve attended since we were in elementary school.
Knox straightened his hat. “Yup. It happens every year.”
I studied the paper with narrowed brows. They’d never passed out fliers during Friday Fest. In the past, Knox’s mother, who also had run most of the ranch, planned and coordinated the whole thing. It was always one of the most anticipated events in the town. I wondered if attendance had fallen off after…after everything that had happened at the ranch a few years ago.
“How is your mama doing, by the way,” I asked, hesitantly. I hadn’t asked about her since we started speaking again. Knox’s mother had been in the hospital since she was attacked in one of the barns one night…by his own brother. He was in prison now, and they didn’t like to talk about it. No one blamed them. It was a black stain on the once prestigious Evans family and I wondered how much exactly that affected the ranch.
Knox stroked the glossy, brown neck of his horse, pausing before he replied. “There’s been no change.”
My chest tightened. No change in the last three years? Last I knew, she was completely comatose. Hooked up to machines to keep her alive. “I’m sorry, man.”
Knox nodded stiffly.
“We should be getting these horses back home,” Annabelle interrupted our conversation as she slid down from her saddle.
“I can help you,” I offered. I didn’t want to stay. I hadn’t wanted to come in the first place. Wren and Atlas had come by, pushing Crew in the buggy, but I hadn’t seen Ellie with them. I didn’t know if she was here—like it was my business anyway.
Annabelle glanced from Knox and then to me, sucking in her bottom lip. She took the reins of Knox’s horse, as well as her own. “Actually, I can probably get these girls back home just fine on my own.”
Knox frowned. “What do you mean?”
Annabelle jutted out her chin. “I can drive that big ol’ truck, you know. It’s not hard and these two are as docile as can be. It’ll be fine. You and Ty stay and have some fun. It’s been a while.”
