Chapter Thirty-Six
Summer
Jake picked me up at the airport.
He tipped his hat up from where he stood at the baggage claim as I rode down the escalator. I’d never get tired of seeing that signature move of his. He was still just as gorgeous and fit and his smile instantly affected me, lighting off a flurry of electrical charges deep inside me. I fought the urge to bolt and throw my arms around him. I needed to be cool. He hadn’t asked me to come see him, he’d asked me for Brady’s sake.
And for all I knew, maybe he was married now. And maybe he had kids or maybe his wife was pregnant. The thought suddenly made me sick to my stomach.
As soon as we were close enough, he wrapped his arms around me and I settled against him like we’d never been apart. A small sound rose up the back of my throat as he squeezed me tight but I didn’t let it escape. He kissed the top of my head, the way he always used to and I was that wide-eyed girl again. We didn’t say anything for several long seconds. We just looked at each other.
He finally spoke. “It’s good that you came. It’ll make him really happy to see you. Thank you…”
I held up my hand. “There was no way I wasn’t going to come.”
I scanned the baggage carousel for my suitcase and tried to think of how to broach the subject of all the time that had gone by. Time in which we hadn’t uttered a single word to each other. We’d both decided it would be for the best—that way, we wouldn’t hold on. We’d be able to move on with a clean slate. Yeah, fat load of shit that had been. Well, for me anyway.
“How is… everything else with you?” I asked.
He fidgeted and grabbed my bag, then took my hand, startling us both. But neither one of us pulled away. I’d forgotten how strong and solid he felt. I was genuinely curious to know what he’d been up to and how he was doing but at the same time, I was worried that maybe he wasn’t single anymore. For my own part, I’d had a string of bad dates that had led absolutely nowhere.
As we walked to the truck I took in my surroundings, everything so beautifully dusted with snow. I remembered it all so well—it was so raw here, such beautiful land.
“Everything is great,” he answered with a shrug. “Can’t complain.”
I nodded and gave him a smile but secretly, I was bummed out by his response. I’d been hoping he’d had as hard a time forgetting about me as I had about him. But apparently, such wasn’t the case.
“How’s Aria?” he asked, obviously trying to lighten the mood.
“Doing well.” I closed my eyes as I thought about Brady and my stomach flip-flopped. “How is he?”
Jake’s fingers tightened on mine and he tossed my suitcase in the back and opened my door. “It’s been rough. But you know Brady. Tough as nails son-of-a-bitch.”
“I wouldn’t expect anything less.” I climbed into the old truck and for a second it felt so familiar and comfortable, like pulling on the perfect pair of broken-in boots.
Our conversation stayed light and he basically filled me in on town gossip and a few of the characters they had the previous summer, and I told him about Deena and what life with her was like. It didn’t take us more than a mile before we were completely at ease with each other again.
We pulled into the ranch and I was relieved to see that not much had changed. There was a new covered arena, which was a nice addition. And it looked like there were a few more head of cattle grazing in the pasture. “Place looks good.”
He nodded and pulled in front of Brady’s truck. He killed the engine but made no motion to get out. Instead, he turned to look at me. “It’s really good to see you.”
I placed my hand on top of his. “Ditto, Scary Spice.”
He chuckled as I got out of the truck and walked up to the house, side by side with him. Everything was just as I remembered it—the birds singing, the fresh scent of earth and horses in the air, the cool breeze that ruffled my hair.
Jake opened the door for me. “He’s in his room.”
I headed to the back of the house. An older Bob greeted me in the hallway and I dropped to my knees and hugged her. “Bob, look at you.” Her tummy was saggy from nursing puppies. “Did you keep any of them?” I couldn’t help but be excited about the prospect. Even with the heavy atmosphere, there was something about puppies that was always a balm for sadness. Jake smiled and helped me to my feet. “I kept two, I’ll introduce you to them later.”
I nodded and we headed toward Brady’s room, where I could already hear the low murmur of voices. I spotted Rue first. She was seated at the foot of Brady’s bed. When she saw me, she jumped up and threw her arms around me. “Summer!”
A lump formed in my throat and I hugged her tightly, spotting Brady in his bed. He still looked robust but maybe a bit slimmer. But there was color to his cheeks which was a good sign. He didn’t look anywhere near as bad as I’d worried he would. He smiled and whispered, “You came home.”
“Of course I did. I came to see you.” I kissed his forehead. He looked past me at Rue and as always that thing they had between them—the silent communication of total understanding occurred. She left the room and took Jake with her, closing the door to give Brady and me privacy.
Those wise, warm brown eyes of his still had that stubborn, rebellious light they always had. “I appreciate you coming home for me, but tell me there’s more.”
I sat down at the edge of the bed. “What do you mean?”
“Jake.”
I shook my head. “I came back because Jake said you were sick.”
“I’ve been sick for a couple of weeks now,” he answered and then gave me a devilish smile. “But that isn’t why I asked Jake to reach out to you.”
“It isn’t?” I asked, frowning with confusion.
He shrugged. “Well, he thinks it’s the reason.”
“But it’s not?” I asked, shaking my head as I smiled at him. “What are you up to, Brady?”
“I had to do something.”
“About?”
“About that man.”
“Which man?”
“Jake.”
“Why? What’s wrong with him?”
“He’s suffering in the worst way. He’s mopey an’ he doesn’t laugh about anythin’ anymore and I’m getting sick of it, frankly.”
“Suffering?” I repeated, frowning down at him to let him know I didn’t comprehend what he was talking about.
“Sufferin’,” he said with a clipped nod. “I reckon from a broken heart.” He took a deep breath. “And I can’t handle one more day of watching him sulk.”
“When I asked him how he was, he said everything was great.”
“What was he going to tell you?” he scoffed at me. “That he was miserable? That he’s not the same Jake he used to be? That he keeps to himself and works way damn more than he should? If it weren’t for him, this whole place would’ve gone to hell since I’ve been bound to this goddamned bed.” He cleared his throat and took a deep breath. “He never should have let you go.”
“I made up my own mind to leave, Brady. It wasn’t Jake who let me go.”
He nodded but didn’t look sold. “And I guess he thought he had to let you live your dream, and he didn’t want to get in the way.” I sighed as I thought about Jake and all the hours and days and months that had gone by and how I felt exactly the same about him now as I had when I’d left.
“About three months after you left, he flew out to California to see you.”
“What?” I asked, shocked. “I never saw him.”
“I know. But he saw you.”
“What do you mean?”
“He saw you with someone,” Brady continued. “Said something about a man who was working with you.”
A man who was working with me? There weren’t any…oh, unless he meant…
“Matt?” I asked with a frown.
Brady shrugged. “Dunno. But Jake said you looked happy and he didn’t want to interfere if you were.”
“Matt is my friend. He works and rides at Deena’s,” I started.
“Friends can be a blurred line, girl,” Brady started.
“Um, not in this case because Matt’s totally and completely gay!”
“Oh.”
I shook my head as a smile spread across my mouth. “So, Jake flew all the way to California to visit me, saw me with Matt and then turned tail and came home?”
“Having your nose rubbed in something don’t exactly feel good,” Brady responded.
“Well, if he’d bothered to play detective, he would have found out that he would have had better luck with Matt than I would,” I laughed. “There hasn’t been anyone since Jake,” I continued, the laugh dying on my lips. “Jake was… not easy to get over.”
Brady smiled and reached for my hand. “And he would say exactly the same thing about you. I think the two of you need to talk.”
“It’s been too long.”
“No. It’s never too long. Take it from someone who knows,” he continued, eyeing me narrowly. “Don’t let something good pass you by.”
I looked at him but didn’t say anything. In the last ten minutes, he’d said more to me than he’d said the entire time I’d worked for him. “Brady?” I started.
“Hmm?”
“You aren’t really that sick, are you?” I asked him with a smirk.
“Well, I think I’ve got one hell of a flu.”
“So, the whole reason you wanted me to come back—” I started.
“Was for Jake,” he finished. “Truth be known, I’m sick to shit of that boy walking around here like he just dropped his ice cream.”
“You’re something else, you know that?” I asked with a smile as I shook my head and playfully swatted his arm.
“Whatever I am, you gotta do something about him,” he answered and then yawned. “I’m tired now.”
I squeezed his hand gently and left the room.