“I love you, Mad.” Her eyes softened when I said the words. “I can’t even begin to explain how much.”
***
There needed to be that awkward moment when we were with one another and Raven was there too for the first time. Mike apologized, and she let him the entire time, saying nothing. Then when he was done and she continued to stare at him, she tried her best to hide her laughter when she braked.
“My goodness, Mike, you act like you and I were a couple.” She shook her head. “I flirted, you did too, but it was nothing more than that, never would have been. You don’t think I saw the way you looked at Maddison? Everyone saw it. You two being together was inevitable, and I’m just glad you all finally figured it out. It was exhausting watching the two of you dance around one another. But you should know that I do plan on getting every last dirty little detail out of Maddison about you, because that’s just how I am. Nosy.” With a shrug, she spun around and left him staring after her with a blank look on his face.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Maddison
“When do you two get possession of the house?” Chloe walked alongside me, each of us holding the reins to our horses. Grace was just ahead, unhooking the gate so we could get out to the fields for our planned ride. Dusty, Grace’s horse, trailed behind mine obediently. She’d gotten him on her sixteenth birthday, and I swore to it, no one could ride him but her.
I’d chosen to ride Storm. He was generally my go to. But today he seemed a little rambunctious, constantly stomping his feet and whipping his head.
Grace went for my gran’s horse, and the sweetest of the bunch, Sadie. She was mellow; she reminded me of the way I felt after I left the second house Mike and I looked out.
Stoned.
I smiled to myself as I led mine and Grace’s horses through the gate, followed by Chloe.
Once the gate was closed, we each mounted our horses, and again Storm did a wild little dance, and he turned me in a complete circle.
“He’s full of piss today.” Grace looked at him with wide eyes, and I laughed at her.
“He just needs to blow off some of this pent-up energy, don’t ya?” I said this while rubbing my hand over his neck.
“You girls got your phones?” Uncle Reed hollered out, and Grace held up her phone and gave it a little shake. “How long are you planning on staying out?”
“Dad.” Grace handled her father, as in she had this way about her that had him folding. Who was I kidding? It was the same with my father. Colt couldn’t stand seeing me upset or wanting something he couldn’t give me. He’d cave every time. “We’ll be out like we usually are.” I absolutely loved Grace’s little twang when she said her R’s; it made me smile every time.
“Just be careful.” He gave me a please don’t make me have a heart attack look, and I looked over at Chloe as we shared an awed look. Her dad, Ben, was the same way with her too; to them, we would always be those little girls that needed their daddy to fix everything.
I sent a quick text to Mike and tucked my phone back in my pocket. “Okay, ladies, are we ready?”
We shared a nod and took on our original stance. Each lined up side by side just waiting for the right moment. Then Grace did the whole “giddy up,” and we were off, racing side by side through the fields.
This used to be something the three of us had done every Sunday, since we were finally considered old enough to ride alone. Grace didn’t get the all clear in the beginning, she had to wait until she got a little older, but now she was with us every time. To be truthful, she was a better rider than both Chloe and me; the girl was born to ride.
I loved the way the wind blew my hair as the horse raced along. I loved the galloping feeling, the adrenaline coursing through me. It was all such an exhilarating feeling.
We rode through the fields, down by the creek so the horses could get a drink and then rested next to an old rundown shed that was nearly falling in from the years of neglect. It was the perfect space to let the horses graze, though, and the large tree with low branches, so close to the ground you didn’t even have to jump up to reach them, gave us all a place to sit.
“So.” Chloe was the first to speak as she leaned back and rested her entire body along the large truck. “I may have gotten drunk last weekend and made a pass at Landon.”
“What?” Grace grew interested. “Mike’s friend Landon?”
“The very same one.” She smiled and offered me a wink. Chloe was always so quiet and reserved.
“Alcohol apparently makes me braver than I truly am, though, and now I can’t look him in the eyes without wanting to run away and hide.” Her smile turned downward in a dramatic frown, which made both Grace and I laugh. “It’s not funny, guys. He called me kid.”
“You’re twenty-two.” The age difference wasn’t terrible. What, like, five years?
“Welcome to the little girl club.” Grace mumbled this, and though I tried not to laugh at her, I couldn’t seem to stop myself. “Yeah, yeah, don’t be a dick.” I still found it difficult to hear Grace cuss; it seemed so wrong. “I’m stuck in this little girl’s fantasy about a guy that doesn’t even know I exist, and you’re living with a hot man who adores you. Blah, blah.” She
