Page 13 of Rusty

Janice hesitated, slowing down but not quite stopping.

"Please!" Rusty called, his voice tinged with desperation. "Just . . . let me talk to you."

Snickers, unsettled by the sound of his voice, turned and ran away, too. All these living beings, fleeing from him like he was radioactive. He had to prove that he wasn’t.

“Janice,” he called more quietly. “Just give me five minutes.”

Janice paused now, turning back to look at him. Her eyes were wide, like a deer caught in the headlights. Then, as if a decision had been made, she took a deep breath and walked slowly toward Rusty, stopping a few yards away. Her red hair danced around her shoulders in the gentle breeze, contrasting against the afternoon sun that bathed the scene in a warm, golden light.

"Rusty, I. . . ." Janice stammered, her voice barely more than a whisper. “What do you want?”

Rusty couldn't stand by and watch Janice suffer.

"Janice," Rusty said softly, his hazel eyes filled with concern. "I saw what happened earlier, and I can't let you keep talkin' to yourself like that."

"Wh-what do you mean?" Janice asked, confusion mixed with vulnerability evident in her expression.

"Callin' yourself clumsy, worthless, a failure. You don't deserve that, darlin'. You're none of those things," Rusty insisted, his words firm but gentle. "You're strong, talented, and so much more than you give yourself credit for."

As he spoke, Rusty could see Janice's eyes welling up with tears—whether from relief or surprise, he couldn't tell. But heknew that his words were striking a chord within her, and it stirred something inside him, too.

"Maybe you're right," Janice admitted, her voice cracking. "But it's hard not to feel that way sometimes, when everything seems to go wrong."

"Believe me, I know how that feels," Rusty confided, a hint of sadness in his own voice. "But beatin' yourself up over it isn't gonna change anything. In fact, it'll only make things worse."

"Then what am I supposed to do?" Janice asked, her voice wavering between desperation and hope.

"Let people help you, Janice," Rusty replied gently, his gaze never leaving her face. "I want to help you, but . . . that means we'll have to spend time together. And I know that's somethin' Chuck doesn't want."

"Rusty, I don't want to cause trouble for you," Janice said, her eyes darting to the ground.

"Helpin' someone I care about ain't trouble, Janice," Rusty reassured her with a soft smile.

Janice’s eyes widened. “You care about me?”

“Feelings like that don’t just stop,” he told her, trying not to say too much. Of course he cared about her. He goddamn fucking loved the girl. But it wasn't enough. They couldn't be together.

Janice bit her lip as she considered Rusty's offer. There was a flicker of hope in her eyes. "What about Chuck?" she asked hesitantly. "I don't want to make things difficult for you."

Rusty shrugged, a determined glint in his hazel eyes. "Don't worry about that, Janice," he said confidently. "I'll handle it. You just focus on getting better and feeling more like yourself."

"Are you sure, Rusty?' Janice pressed, her voice laced with concern. She tucked a strand of her fiery red hair behind her ear, a gesture Rusty remembered all too well.

"Positive," he replied, giving her a reassuring smile. "Besides, all I’m doing is helping you feel good about yourself. Nothin’ more than that.”

“Right,” said Janice, looking down at the ground. “Nothing more than that.”

Rusty watched as Janice turned and walked back toward the art therapy session, her shoulders straightening ever so slightly as if some weight had been lifted from them.

As Rusty turned back to Snickers, he caught sight of Midnight grazing nearby. You'd never know that not so long ago he'd been such an angry horse.

He felt a glimmer of hope. It was small, but it was there.

"Alright, Snickers, sorry I startled you," Rusty murmured as he settled down with the mare once more, opening Anita's romance novel to where he'd left off. "Let's get back to the panty-melting."

CHAPTER SIX

Janice

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