AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter Seven
Spencer spotted Nate as he lifted the weight away from his chest. The other man grunted, but the movement was smooth. He got it all the way up, held it, and started to lower it. Spencer kept his hands right there, because the last thing he wanted was Nate to drop the buck-fifty weight onto his chest.
Ginger would never forgive him.
“Got it,” Nate said, and Spencer took hold of the bar between Nate’s hands and helped get the weight back to the rack. Nate slid out from under it and sat up, grinning. “That was one-fifty.”
Spencer held up his hand and gave Nate a high-five. “Nice one, man.” He enjoyed working out with Nate in the mornings. Ted joined them almost every day, but he hadn’t arrived yet this morning. “Ted’s gonna be mad he missed it.”
As if summoned by his spoken name, the door opened, and Ted Burrows walked in. He looked about the way he always did—happy to see another day, and Spencer braced himself for Ted to say something about the glorious sunshine.
“It’s a beautiful day,” Ted said. “I ran out to Sunset Point and back, so I’m late.” He took in the bench press and Nate sitting on the weight bench. “I missed it, didn’t I?”
“One-fifty,” Nate said, getting up to clap his best friend on the back. They were really like brothers, and while they’d included Spencer in their camaraderie, he knew he’d never have what they had.
Nate and Ted had shared much more personal things, and they’d been in a terrible situation together, that Spencer would simply never understand. He still smiled at their brotherhood, and he still loved them. He didn’t want to go to prison to find the kind of relationship they had, but he would like someone he felt absolutely safe with. Safe to be his worst self, and safe to try to be the best self he could be. Fail, and try again.
An image of a certain strawberry blonde, with blazing green eyes full of trouble, filled his mind. He hadn’t been back to Sweet Water Falls Farm in a week now, and he was moving there this weekend. Nerves skittered through his body, and he turned away from Ted and Nate.
Luke came into the shed, his phone at his ear. “…I have to go, Ma. Yes, I’m here. She’s fine. I’ll call you later.” He hung up and grinned at his friend. Lucas Holt had been released from prison last, and he’d married Hannah Otto a few years ago. They had a baby boy now, and Spencer had seen all of the men who’d come from the River Bay Correctional Facility turn into completely new men.
He wanted to do the same.
They’d had big changes in their lives, and they’d made the best of bad situations. They’d become different people, and he found nothing but inspiration in the men he’d grown to know and love.
“Where’s Dallas?” Luke asked, glancing around though there was nowhere to hide. “He said he’d come this morning.”
“He texted to say he might not make it,” Nate said, stepping over to hug Luke too.
Ted, the big teddy bear that he was, embraced Spencer and said, “Morning, bro. I can’t believe you’re leaving.”
Ginger had just told everyone yesterday at their Sunday afternoon picnic. They set one up every Sabbath afternoon on the deck at the Annex, and since Hannah and Emma were both great cooks, everyone on the ranch ate like kings at least once a week. At least in the summertime.
“Yeah,” Spencer said.
“This is a good move for you?” Ted asked, pulling back and looking at Spencer. He’d been there yesterday, but his toddler had been crying, and he hadn’t had a chance to come talk to Spencer yet.
Which was fine. Everyone else had mobbed him, and Spencer almost wished he’d been able to sneak away from Hope Eternal Ranch like a thief in the night.No, he told himself. He wasn’t going to be like his dad in any way, and slinking away in the middle of the night was something he would never, ever do.
Spencer knew what it was like to wake up in the morning and have no indication of where his parents were. The panic that something bad had happened. The pure fury that he’d been left behind. The hurtful realization that he—even as someone’s child—wasn’t good enough to be told what was going on.
He would absolutely never, ever do that to someone.
“This is a good thing for me,” he confirmed to Ted. At least he hoped the move to Sweet Water Falls Farm would be good for him. He had high hopes, and every time he thought about it, the change felt right.
“Good,” Ted said. “Slate says y’all are goin’ to the beach tonight.”
“Yeah,” Spencer said. “Anyone’s invited. I could take Missy and Frannie for you if you want.”
“Maybe,” Ted said, stepping back over to the door to open it. His four ranch dogs, whom he’d named after the original judges onAmerican Idol, came trotting into the weight shed. When he’d first started letting them in, Nate and Luke had complained. But Ted had set up a little area for them between the wall and the sink, and the four blue heelers trotted over there without any direction from Ted.
He refilled their water bowls and tossed in their bones and balls before caging them inside with a baby gate. Spencer smiled through it all, and he wondered if he could get a dog when he moved to the farm.
He’d gotten a few texts from Clarissa over the past week, mostly about his culinary skills, of which he had very few. He was thirty-seven years old and still alive, so he could definitely do a few things in the kitchen. The feel of a wooden spoon wasn’t foreign to him by any means. He’d much rather use a spatula for the meals he made, which included a lot of pancakes, fried eggs, and grilled cheese sandwiches. No wooden spoon required.
She’d told him she’d outlined a schedule for their training, which would begin bright and early next Monday morning, and Spencer had simply agreed with whatever she’d said. She’d been unsuccessful—obviously—in talking her father out of hiring Spencer, and he found himself with excited nerves to move into his own cabin now.
His fingers flew over his phone as Luke said he was going to jump rope if anyone wanted to join him. Spencer did, so he better get this text sent quickly.
