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An hour passed, and my patience ran out. The need to check on Wyatt overrode my earlier resolve to give him space.
I found him outside on the front steps, the phone still clutched in his hands, his fingers white from the grip. I settled beside him, and the door creaked as Finn and Grady joined us, forming a silent, supportive wall behind him.
“He’s dead.” Wyatt’s voice was a whisper. He didn’t turn to look at me, his gaze fixed on the horizon as if searching for answers in the fading light.
Words failed me. How did you comfort someone over a loss that was as complicated as their relationship had been? Instead, I slid my arm through his, resting my head against his shoulder. When he leaned into the gesture, I breathed a sigh of relief.
Finn and Grady settled onto the nearby porch swing, its gentle creaking soothing.
As the sun dipped below the horizon, we sat together, collectively marking the end of a chapter in Wyatt’s life.
Though I’d never met Jake Collins, his existence had irrevocably changed mine by bringing Wyatt into my life. Amidst the tangled feelings, there was a deep-seated gratitude for that.
Chapter 34
Long Black Train - Josh Turner
Wyatt
Iwas itching to put all this behind me—the endless questions, the stacks of paperwork, everything that tied me to my dad. I wanted it to be over.
The coroner listed the official cause of death as an overdose. The news blindsided me; I’d only ever thought alcohol was his vice.
Mark Dwyer, once he’d sobered up, spilled to the police how deep my dad had gotten with Richie Marcano, a loan shark he had a history with, suggesting his death had come before he completed the sale of the farm, leaving Richie to back out to avoid any legal entanglements.
The situation was a mess.
Kinsley’s support was constant, almost suffocating. No matter what, she was there, always offering to help, always trying to fix things for me. She saw me as someone who couldn’t handle his own problems, someone who needed her to step in and save the day. That relentless attention, though well-intentioned, made me feel even smaller, reminding me again and again that I was the one who needed rescuing because of the disaster my dad had left in his wake.
Armed with the death certificate, I met with Emily Thompson at Maple Trust Bank to wade through yet another sea of paperwork. This time, it was to take over the farm, along with the hefty debt of $17,659. I had no clue how I was going to manage that.
“Any organs you don’t need anymore?” Finn joked as we stepped out into the afternoon sun, leaving the bank behind us.
I had left Kinsley at the farm, knowing she’d offer to bail me out financially if she were here. I couldn’t let her do that. I also just needed a break from her pity looks, or I was going to snap.
“I think our best bet is to keep winning at rodeos,” I suggested, trying to lighten the mood.
“Right. Winning. And after that?” Finn pressed.
“What do you mean?”
“Are you planning to come back here? Live here and dive back into the cattle business?”
“I haven’t figured that out yet. I mean, I guess I’ll come home.”
“And Kinsley’s okay with that? You being out here? She’s moving in with you?”
“Uh…” I hadn’t thought that far ahead.
Would Kinsley even want to move in with me? If I got the farm back on its feet... But it’d be a far cry from what she was used to.
“Maybe we can hit the rodeo circuit for a few more years and save up.”
“I don’t have a few more years. My farm’s on the line if I don’t head back…But, we’ll do what we can to make money this year,” Finn reassured me.
Back at the farm, Kinsley was nowhere in sight, and I couldn’t help but feel relieved.
“I’m going to go for a ride,” I told Finn, trying to sound casual.
