Page 9 of Unexpected Second Chance For Love

Austin set his half-finished beer on the counter. “If you need anything, let me know.” He lingered in the doorway before finally stepping onto the porch and offering a wave over his shoulder as he left.

Payton watched him go, excitement bubbling in her gut. She usually dreaded Mondays but this time, the day couldn’t come soon enough. She was anticipating time with the horses. It had nothing to do with their handsome owner.

CHAPTER 4

The smell of a barn always soothed Austin. He’d grown up on a ranch, after all, and riding was in his blood. Then, as an adult, he’d found healing in horses when nothing else had helped. He’d been on the brink of personal ruin, alcohol and bad decisions leading him to one crisis after another. Then he’d found the equine therapy program and it had saved his life. He wasn’t being dramatic, it was facts. If he hadn’t turned this life around, he would have sunk to lower depths that would have likely killed him.

As he stood in front of his favorite mare, Mabel, he smoothed her mane and let his mind wander to the past weekend. It had been uneventful, as was his usual, except for being overly focused on the comings and goings of Payton.

She left early in the morning Saturday and didn’t return until well after dark. The same for Sunday. She’d mentioned working with her family and he found himself wondering what kind of trips she was leading. Hiking was popular with tourists this time of year. He knew the Walker family had been through difficult times, first losing their mother when Griffin was a senior in high school and then losing their father a little over a year ago. The siblings had pulled together to continue the family business. Much like his own had when he left town a decade ago.

He brushed off the similarities between himself and Griffin. He would have expected Griffin to understand the urge that led Austin to leave town rather than face reality—after all he’d done it himself. Yet Griffin judged Austin for leaving. He nearly ran him out of town himself. It was bad enough for Austin that his then girlfriend’s parents had been angry, but his friends were as well. The unexpected pregnancy had devastated their close-knit group. Add the fact that Austin and Emily hadn’t been a couple when the pregnancy occurred—his best friend Tom had a huge crush on Emily for years. Despite a mutual attraction, Austin hadn’t gone there—until he had. One night and one too many beers in the field behind his family ranch where the friends hung out and Austin and Emily had made a baby.

That was the night that everything had changed. He and Emily agreed that they were too young to be serious and wanted to date before they settled down. Tom had drummed up the nerve to ask her on a first date, which had gone fine for Emily and amazing for Tom. Then she called Austin in a panic. He’d driven over to her house, terrified she was sick, only to find her huddled on the bathroom floor in tears. And two pink lines on the stick on the bathroom counter.

And that had been the end of his world as he knew it.

Austin didn’t believe in regrets or rehashing the past, except he couldn’t ever quite get Emily out of his mind. He was consumed with the what ifs—what if he hadn’t gone to the party that night? What if he hadn’t proposed in an attempt to do the right thing? What if she’d never stepped in the car that night and gotten in the accident.

Austin imagined that he was here at the Rolling R under different circumstances. He would have stepped into the management of the ranch as expected and he and Emily would have a nearly ten year old child. Yet here he was, standing alone in a cold barn, his life nothing but a series of painful memories.

“Ready for me?” Payton’s voice broke through his thoughts.

She stood in the doorway of the barn, her blond hair shining in the sunlight. Austin’s breath caught and he suddenly had to remember how to breathe. Austin wasn’t one to be overcome by his feelings, but something about Payton broke all his rules.

He had never felt like this with anyone before. He’d never allowed himself to feel close to anyone since Emily. Yet Payton had somehow snuck under his barriers and was treading too close to his heart.

“I’m as ready as I’ll ever be,” he replied.

She strode into the barn, her long legs encased in denim. She held a book in her hand and tilted the cover so he could see.

“The first step is to assess where you are and what is needed to move the program to fruition,” she announced.

Austin pointed to a hay bale which made a convenient seat. “We can sit and go over it together.”

Payton sat on the hay without hesitation. He followed her lead and waited for her to begin. He intended to take her offer of consultation seriously. She was the expert in this area and he needed the help. Austin wasn’t too proud to admit when he needed assistance. His own therapy had taught him that.

“So what have you done so far?”

Payton turned to face him and tilted her head expectantly. Austin outlined his plan and his goals for the program. Her eyes lit up with interest and he felt the stirring of hope for the first time. Payton was the only person who didn’t tell him his ideas were outlandish or unattainable. She gave him her full attention and asked thoughtful questions.

“I know I haven’t done much yet,” he admitted. “But I want to do this right.”

“You’re going about this exactly as you should. Your program sounds wonderful and I’m so happy to be able to help.”

Payton looked genuinely happy. Her smile was bright and reassuring. Austin felt himself relax for the first time since returning home.

“Thank you.”

Wildwood Falls held so many painful memories, it was refreshing to create new ones. She was the last person he would have expected to be a part of rebuilding his life.

The woman in front of him was as strong as she was beautiful. He pictured the girl she had been and contrasted it with the person she was now. Up close, he could see the hints of her freckles scattered across her cheeks. She wore her long hair in two braids today, just as she had when they were younger.

Austin gave into the urge to tug on one of them. Payton shot him a look that landed straight in his gut and brought him back to the past like a time machine. Falling into old habits with Payton felt like the most natural thing in the world. It was also a dangerous idea. Because he could sense the tension simmering between them under the surface and it would only take one spark to set them ablaze and burn down everything around them. And Austin needed to remember this was not their carefree youth, but the present in which his former best friend would likely take any opportunity to punch him in the face.

Besides, he was too old and jaded for Payton. She was barely twenty-two to his twenty-nine. The past decade had aged him more than he could describe. Losing his best friend, then his wife and child within quick succession of each other took its toll on a man.

Payton swung her braids to her back, as she did when she was younger, which always provoked another tug. In the past, he hadn’t thought much of it, but now her slight smirk made him wonder if she did it on purpose. Leave it to Payton to be a brat, even as an adult.

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