“Oh, I think you are wrong.” And there was that sass as she arched her brow and puckered her lips. “You don’t see the way Terrance looks at you when you aren’t paying attention.” Now she was intrigued. “I’ve caught him a few times, but you also have to understand that you are still his best friend’s little sister, and that could very well be the end to his relationship with Rhett. It’s a bold move, so I think you should be patient.”
“I’m eighteen and still a virgin. I’ve never even kissed a guy unless you count little Jimmy Jones slobbering on my cheek in the fifth grade. But even then, Rhett threatened to beat him up when he found out, and he and my daddy have made sure no other boy has come within a foot of me since. At this rate, they’ll be doing a remake of the 40 Year Old Virgin, starring yours truly.”
Silence settled around us as both Chloe and I stared at Grace after her crazy rant. She even took in a deep breath and slowly let it out after.
“Oh, my hell, will you two say something already?” she practically growled, and it was all I could take.
“Sweetheart, I think you need to accept that you have two men that are going to make it difficult for you. It’s gonna take a special and dedicated man to break through the barriers that those two have built around you.” I felt for the girl, I truly did, because Reed and Rhett were for sure gonna drive her insane for years and years to come. But the guy had my most sympathy; I just hoped whoever she ended up with, he was strong enough to survive.
***
We spent close to three hours out riding, but at that point, my ass was numb, and I was damn hungry. When we got on top of the last hill that overlooked the land, I could see the house up ahead, and it was that moment my stomach growled. I could almost taste Gran’s homemade butter biscuits and gravy. It may be close to noon, but it never failed she’d make them for the three of us every time.
“Race ya home!” Grace hollered out over her shoulder as she took off. Chloe and I knew we didn’t have a shot at catching her, so instead we galloped along toward the house.
“Landon is a sweet guy.” Chloe gave a little shrug, and I could sense she was still so embarrassed. Maybe by her actions or his rejection, who knew? It could be both. “Just give it some time and then talk to him again. He’s not the kinda guy that would call you out on something or embarrass you on purpose. Most likely he’ll just choose to forget all about it and you two will be fine moving forward.”
“Or I could just ignore him and it all together.”
Chloe was so easily embarrassed; she always had been.
As we reached the gate, Grace was waiting there for us. “You two have got to be the slowest,” she joked.
“It’s only because you’re a showoff.” I grabbed the reins and positioned my foot in the stirrup, swinging one leg over and off Storm when he chose that very moment to start one of his fits. The unplanned movements made me lose my balance, and my leg twisted, causing a pain to shoot through my hip.
“Damn it,” I yelled, only managing to spook the horse even more, and he began to buck hard. I tried to grip the reins harder, but the burning of the rope triggered my release, and I felt my body falling, only I didn’t hit the ground, not fully. My head collided hard with side of the fence, and then I was being dragged along, and Storm’s fit intensified. My body felt like a plastic bag blowing in the wind, being whipped around from side to side and then back again. I tried my best to pull myself up even though I’d never felt pain like I did in that moment. I could faintly hear screaming, and at one point it sounded like a cry of pain. Pressure behind my eyes, a nauseated feeling in my stomach. I looked up to see someone running toward me just when my eyes began to droop, and my body went lax.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Mike
“You cheated,” Garrett laughed as he pushed my hand away from his eyes. “You can’t claim a win if you don’t accomplish it fairly.”
“Aww, did you come up with that all on your own?” I continued to taunt Garrett because, damn it, it felt too good not to.
“You are such a dick.”
“I heard that,” our mother warned from the kitchen and peeked around the wall, giving Garrett a warning look. When she disappeared again, I chuckled.
I heard a phone ring in the other room, and Garrett looked back over his shoulder, giving me the perfect chance to get one up on him once more. When he swung back around just in time to see his character fall to the ground in defeat, he glared over at me, mumbling words under his breath.
“Hey, it ain’t my fault you weren’t paying attention.”
Garrett hit rematch and got settled with a determined look on his face. I broke out in laughter, and he flipped me off just as our mother entered the room. I waited eagerly for her to lay into him, but she just stood in the open doorway of the kitchen. Then I saw it, the fear in her eyes, her chest rising and falling so fast that, had my own heart not been beating rapidly, I may have commented on it.
“What’s wrong?” I finally forced my legs to move, and I stood up, turning completely around to face her.
“There’s been
