Page 92 of We Drank the Dawn

He lifted it, popped the top, and turned it upside down.

Relief coursed through my body, my shoulders falling a few inches.

Beer slapping the ground filled the silence between us. I stood and watched the opportunity get whisked away. It hurt a little to watch the amber liquid disappear into the soil, but I knew it was better there—foaming with the earth, beyond rescue. When Peter opened the second, I grabbed the third. Then two streams of beer made puddles at our feet, lifting bits of decaying leaves and swirling in the dirt.

When it was finished, Peter tossed the bottle on the ground. For a long moment, he was silent, not looking at my face. I detected a little bit of red climbing up his cheeks. Mine warmed too. I hadn’t meant to embarrass him. Hell, I didn’t even know where all that came from in me—that defiant rage and desire to do the right thing. Maybe I was getting older, just maturing out of mere necessity.

Or maybe…I was tired. Tired of trying so hard and having nothing to show for it. Tired of the constant uphill battle. Tired of everyone around me holding their breath, waiting for me to go off the rails again.

My throat tightened as I realized how easily I could throw it all away.

Peter’s voice jerked my gaze away from the foaming puddle. He whispered, “I’m sorry, Cooper.”

I waited, not sure what he was apologizing for.

“I didn’t know you were recovering.”

“I thought everyone knew that.”

“Maybe I knew at some point, but I forgot.” He took a deep breath. “I wouldn’t have brought it back to the campsite, if I’d realized.”

“Don’t mention it.” I waved him off. “You hungry?”

Dinner at a local hamburger joint went fine. When we walked in and found a bar, Peter suggested we take it to go, and I appreciated that. We ate at the campsite’s picnic table under the street lamps and made a little small talk. Conversation came easier now that I’d said my peace, and surprisingly, my harsh words hadn’t scared him off. In fact, they did the opposite. Once he put his weapons and sorry attitude away, he became half-way decent company.

By the time we finished and took showers at the bathhouse, we went into the tent. The late October air chilled my long, wet hair, so I snuggled into my sleeping bag. Just as my eyes started to close, my phone vibrated not too far from my head. I swiped it up and read the text notification.

Tag

Hey Coop sorry I didn’t respond earlier. I just finished running broncs to the chute so I can finally think. I’m so glad everything went smooth. Thank you so much for taking the sheep. That takes a load off.

Me

No problem. How did they do?

Tag

Crushed it. They’re getting a lot of attention.

Me

Cool

Tag

How are you?

Me

Sober *whew emoji*

Tag

Proud of you.

Me

No big deal.