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“For fuck’s sake.”
“Looks like you’re doing the dishes by yourself.”
I walk out of the kitchen and smile at Jake, who looks my way. I see that Chase, Summer, and Brady have already left, so it won’t be weird when I suggest to Jake that we follow suit.
“You ready, buddy?”
“Sure. I have homework. Which is stupid.”
“I hate homework, too,” Johnny says with a knowing nod. That boy has started idolizing Jake, and I think that’s pretty damn cute.
“Everything okay?” Jake asks when we’re in the truck and headed back to the ranch.
“Sure, why wouldn’t it be?”
“It seemed kind of tense when we came in for dessert.”
I shake my head and silently curse my brother. “Nah, it’s all good. Thanks for humoring the little ones.”
“They’re okay,” he says. “Hey, are you sure it’s okay that you have to take on the afternoon chores now that I’m doing football? I could quit and go back to handling it.”
“Are you implying that I’m not as good as you at taking care of my own horses?”
I glance over in time to see him grin. “Yeah. Because I am better than you, old man. But for real, you’re busy.”
“So are you, kid. It’s fine. Besides, football will be over before we know it, so I say you just have fun. I like doing the afternoon chores.”
“You do?”
“Sure. It gets me out of my office and into the barn, and just like you, the horses are my therapy, so it’s all good.”
“Does that mean we don’t have to go to real therapy?” There’s hope in his voice, but I shake my head.
“No way. We’re going next week.”
“Well, damn.”
“Hey, baby girl,” I croon to Lullaby and lean in to kiss her nose. I wasn’t lying to Jake. I do love being out with the horses. I have since I was a kid. My dad and Rem always called me the horse whisperer.
So, I take my time mucking out their stalls, filling their water troughs and feed bags, and then because I’m not ready to go inside, I take a turn with each of the horses, brushing them down and checking them over to make sure there aren’t any injuries or insects causing trouble.
Ladybug nuzzles my shoulder, asking for extra pets and maybe an apple. I just happen to have one, so I offer it to her, and she happily munches away.
“You’re just a precious girl, aren’t you?” I pet her neck and kiss her cheek. “You’ve been good for our boy. Jake sure loves you.”
Her head comes around at the sound of his name, and I smile.
“Yeah, you love him, too, don’t you? All of you do. I think you’ve helped each other heal from some shit that no one should have to deal with.”
I brush her back, enjoying the feel of her hair under my palm.
When the horses are cared for, I pull my phone out of my back pocket to check it and then swear when there’s nothing from Polly.
It’s been five days without even one word from her. Summer advised me to let her catch her breath, but I’ll be damned if I’ll let her ghost me.
If she’s decided that a relationship with me isn’t what she wants after all, well, she can damn well say it to my face.
Grimly, I make my way back to the house. It’s starting to get dark, and Jake should be home from practice soon. He’ll want dinner and to tell me all about his day and about how excited he is for tomorrow night’s game. So, there’s no time now to go find Polly and figure out what’s going on.
