Will you ever truly be ready unless you actually make an effort to move on? That question my mom asked rings the loudest.
I’ll never forget Hadley and what we shared, but it has been five years since she left. That’s half the time we were together, but it’s time to let her go. She isn’t coming back, and there’s no place in my life for her, even if she did.
Drinking my beer, I clear my mind and count stars. A little while without my mind moving in circles is what I need, and the rest will fall into place. I have to trust in that.
Gavin
“Are you watching hair tutorials?”
My body flinches and tenses upon hearing the unexpected voice. “Jesus, you scared the hell out of me.” I drop my phone next to my hat on the table at Cup-O-Joe and turn to look at Sutton standing behind me.
“Sorry,” she laughs. “I didn’t mean to.”
Scratching my beard, I chuckle. “It’s okay. I was just focused and not paying attention to anything going on around me.”
“Hairstyles, huh? Are you opting to be a stylist?” she teases.
I shake my head. “Definitely not the career for me. Penny wants to be able to braid her hair, and all I know about braiding is you have to split the hair into sections. I’m lost after that. I figured some of these videos would help.”
“I can teach you,” Sutton offers.
“Really?” I look up at her with the hope that someone can help me understand how the hell I have to move my fingers and the strands of hair to make it look decent.
“Sure. I love braiding. I can teach you the regular braid, and we can get real crazy and learn how to French braid.”
“Whoa, whoa. One step at a time. Let’s leave the crazy stuff for another time.”
Laughing, Sutton nods. “Just let me know when and where.”
“Thanks. Do you want to take a seat?”
“Yeah.” She sits across from me with a smile before taking a drink from her coffee cup.
“How was Nashville?” I move my hat to the empty chair next to me, so she has space on the table to put her cup down.
“It was great. It was the first time I went to a music awards, and the experience was amazing. I met a lot of people, singers I admire.”
“Your performance with Knox was really good.”
Sutton’s eyes widen. “You saw it?”
“We were over at Abbie’s house for dinner, and the show was on. Congrats.” A carefree smile appears over her coffee cup before she sips it.
“Thanks. It was a lot of fun, and I owe it all to Knox and Harris. Never in my wildest dreams did I think that the first time I attended the ACMs, I would be performing at them.” Her hazel eyes sparkle with pride.
Sutton relaxes into her seat as she smiles at me while telling me more about who she met and her recent plans to move to Everton, which catches me by surprise.
“It makes sense, you know? I spend more time here than in Nashville, and paying for a room for weeks while also paying for rent kinda hurts the wallet. I ain’t no superstar yet.” She winks and chuckles.
Smirking at her, I shake my head. I’ve spent more time at Cup-O-Joe than I planned, and I’m running late to get to the ranch for work. “I gotta go to work, but thanks for offering to help teach me to braid hair. I was going to ask Abbie, but you beat me to it.”
“I’m glad I did.”
Well, I’ll be damned. She’s flirting with me. Unsure of how to respond, I nod once and put on my hat. Before standing, I say, “Can you meet this afternoon? Around five?”
“Sounds perfect. You can come to The Farmhouse,” she tells me, talking about Averly’s bed and breakfast.
I nod and head out with a smile after having coffee with Sutton. Unplanned and unexpected, it was nice to sit with her for a few minutes and talk.
…
“Braiding is really easy, actually.”
I sit on the couch in the guest house Sutton is staying in that’s a part of The Farmhouse and watch as she ties the end of the three pieces of rope I brought from the ranch. She sits next to me, taping the end of the ropes to the top of the coffee table so it won’t move.
“Okay, show me your ways.” I nod, focusing on the instructions she gives me, observing as her hands bring one rope over another.
I keep my eyes on the workings of her hands instead of where her thigh brushes against mine, glad we’ve got our jeans as a barrier. Sutton’s warmth isn’t lost on me, and her proximity makes me as uncomfortable as I’m intrigued by the woman who unconditionally offered to help me so I can do the hairstyle my daughter wants.
“Now, you try.” Sutton hands me the ropes and watches intently, waiting for me to start.
I take a deep breath and hold the three strings in my two hands, bringing one over the middle rope. When I grab the other to bring it over to the other side, I move the same rope I just moved, breaking the braid before it even becomes one.
“Crap,” I murmur and try again. After getting two sections braided, it falls apart again.
“Okay, let’s go slow. This isn’t some kinda braid race to win a trophy at.” Sutton places her hands over mine. My body tenses before I take a deep breath and relax. Her hands hold mine as they guide me to create the braid.
I imagine having someone by my side as I raise my daughter, helping me tackle these kinds of things. As much as my cousins are always there
