Page 134 of Saving the Halfback

He shrugged. “You made it look easy, fun, even.”

Football gave me raw adrenaline. It gave me a physical outlet, and though riding was still a physical outlet, there was also a calming element to it. I started moving Titan through imaginary obstacles, changing his direction, his timing. He was so obedient and willing.

“I still remember how they introduced you,” Ethan said before calling out into the arena, “Please welcome young Bailey McCormick and her horse, the Fearless Titan, to the ring. Bailey may only be eight years old, but keep your eyes on her, she’s going to be a great up-and-coming rider.”

I laughed at his enthusiasm.

“I don’t see you smile like that often,” I said, walking Titan up to him. Titan was breathing hard, but his body was relaxed, clearly happy with his exercise.

“I don’t see you ride like that often,” he said. “I have to go. Your dad needs a hand in the field. He’s training Chase right now. I just wanted to see if you needed help putting him away before I leave.”

I reached down, patting Titan on the neck. “I think we’ll be fine,” I said with a smile. He nodded, then backed away from the fence. “Thank you, Ethan, for helping me.”

“I’m here for you, B.”

I walked Titan around the ring a couple times to cool off before getting down and walking him to the barn. As I stepped over the threshold, the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. Titan could sense it, too, because he lifted his head, his ears facing forward, trying to listen for whatever was making me uneasy.

“He’s not here. He’s not here. He’s not here,” I whispered to myself, taking another step into the barn. Titan pulled back, clearly not liking my energy, or perhaps, he sensed something. Maybe something was wrong. My eyes started to dart around.

A noise at the other end of the barn had me jumping, and Titan side-stepped me, as if I were the crazy one. Ethan walked in, and I frowned. “I thought Dad needed your help.”

“He does. I’ll be there. I just forgot, I brought Titan a treat today. Can he have it?” From his pocket, he pulled out a shiny red apple. I could already hear Titan taking a deep breath, trying to pick up the scent of the apple.

“Sure, I can give it to him in his stall.” It wasn’t good to give him treats while un-tacking; it could lead to bad manners. I reached for the apple, but Ethan pulled it back.

“It’s my treat to give him. I’ll wait.” And he did just that. He didn’t rush me, didn’t seem bothered when I would stop now and then, taking a deep breath while removing the saddle from Titan and checking him over after our ride.

I walked Titan to his stall, where fresh water and food waited, meaning Ethan had already done my chores. Ethan held the apple out to Titan, who was all too pleased to munch on it. He gave a little chuckle, then turned, walking out. “See you later, B.”

There was no way he knew—how could he?—how much that meant to me. He’d derailed a panic attack before it happened. One had been brewing, of that I was certain.

I didn’t know how long the battle would last, but the little things the guys were doing made me hope that, maybe, the end was near.

With chores done earlyon Saturday, and the guys out most of the night, pulling hay off the fields, my mother and I hung out all evening together. I knew she had been busy lately, but I hadn’t kept track of what she was doing. The property we’d purchased across the way, in the lot behind ours and on the other side of the creek, had a house on it. The owner of the property passed away, and his children wanted nothing to do with it, so myparents bought it from them, as is, which meant all the clutter was included as well.

Mom had been organizing homes for the animals for the last few weeks, however it was more difficult to find homes for all the belongings. We made dinner that was easy to reheat because we knew Dad wouldn’t leave until the field was done, and then we sat together in the living room, binging rom-coms.

I was surprised it was still fairly early when Chase and Dad walked in the door. “Dinner’s in the oven!” Mom called.

Dad went straight for the kitchen, while Chase reached around to the key hooks on the wall and grabbed the truck keys. “Mind if I take the truck?” he asked me. “Just dropping Ethan off.”

“Me too!” I jumped up.

“Hey!” Mom said. “Want me to pause the movie?”

“No, watch without me. We won’t be long.” I followed Chase out to the truck, Ethan holding his hand out as he stood by the driver's door. I laughed. “Did you dive into a mud puddle?” I asked.

Ethan huffed out a breath, glaring at Chase’s grin while taking the keys from him. “I may have gotten a bit stuck,” Chase admitted. “And Eth may have tried pushing while I gave a bit too much gas to the truck…and the other farm hands may have seen the whole thing.”

I rolled my eyes. Oh, man, Ethan would never live this down. I didn’t spend much time with the farm hands my dad employed, but I knew they liked to rile one another up.

I got into the passenger seat and Chase got in the back. Ethan was quiet for the most part, just listening, while Chase talked about what they did today. He figured the whole team should come and haul hay bales instead of working out in the weight room. It was more of a workout. He was lucky it was a cool day;I told him to just wait until he had to do it in the heat and sun of an August day.

It was starting to darken outside, making it easy to see the flashing lights up ahead. “What…” Ethan mumbled. He still made us drop him off at the shop, and at first, I thought the cop cars were parked at the house next to the shop, but I was mistaken.

Ethan pulled the truck up as close as he could and handed me the keys, telling me to go home before getting out and walking up to an officer—his cousin.

“Look,” I said to Chase, pointing to the large glass window of the shop, which was now shattered. “Did someone rob the shop?”

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