Page 44 of Edge of Unbroken

“I’m picking up an order for Soult.”

The man looks up at me and his expression changes from neutral to delighted. “Ronan, is that you?”

I nod and smile at John Stacy, the owner of the tack store.

“Good lord, I had heard you were back, but wasn’t sure the rumors were true because you haven’t been seen,” he says in a booming voice. He walks around the counter and offers me his hand.

I shake it, noting the feel of his rough, calloused skin against my palm. Typical hand of a person who engages in hard manual labor.

“How are you, John?” I ask as he claps my shoulder with his free hand, still holding on to me with the other.

“Well, you know, same ole, same ole.” He gives me an admiring once-over and chuckles. “You’ve grown. Last time I saw you, you were still a boy.” He scans my face, lingering on the scar around and under my left eye. It’s faded a bit but is still red, raised, and noticeable. “But you’ve really come into your own.” He nods appreciatively, focusing his gaze away from my healing injury and onto my eyes. “You’re a monster,” he says. “How tall are you? Six-two, six-three?”

I laugh. “Something like that.”

“Have you been here long?”

“Couple of months,” I say with a slight frown.

He studies me again, clearly curious to know more but too polite to ask. “Huh, so Randall wasn’t fibbin’,” he muses. “And how long are you in Montana for this time?” he asks and motions for me to follow him to the back of the store.

“Not sure exactly. Hopefully not too much longer.”

John glances over his shoulder at me as we walk. “Missing the city already?”

“Mostly the people in the city.”

John grins. “Ah, I sense there’s a girl.” He pushes back a large barn door that leads to the storage area.

I nod, feeling the sting of not being with Cat. “There is.”

“Yes,” he hums. “Well, they say absence makes the heart grow fonder. Some people worry about long-distance relationships, but I think they underestimate how incredible they can be in terms of growing your connection as a couple.”

“How so?”

“When you’re not able to see each other all the time, you’re forced to communicate in other ways and on a deeper level. I know you kids have it easier now with your video calls and texting at your fingertips, but when I met Maureen we had to write each other letters that took days to arrive, and we only occasionally got to talk on the phone. It teaches you patience and it makes the time you do have together that much more special. It builds a strong foundation, and you’ll find that almost nothing will be able to shake that.”

“I only get to talk to my girl once a week,” I say, not totally sure why I’m sharing this info with John.

“Oh, well, then you understand what I’m talking about. How do you feel when you hear her voice?”

“Like my heart is about to give out. It’s the best part of my week.”

“There you go,” he says. “Alright, here you are.” He points toward a pallet stacked with boxes of medicine. “You have a truck, I assume. I can load this for you with the forklift.”

“Yeah, that would be great.” I check my list. “I also need poly rope and four bags of grain.”

“Poly is on the wall to the far left. I’ll load the grain for you, too.” He shuffles away while I make my way out of the storage room and toward the rope.

I measure and cut what I need and walk out of the store where John is just placing the pallet on the truck bed. He finishes off by loading the sacks of grain, and I shut the tailgate, then walk back inside and wait for John at the counter.

“Alright.” John exhales as he makes his way back toward me. “How much rope did you end up getting?”

“Seventy feet of the three-eighth.”

He jots it down on a piece of paper. “You got it. I’ll add it to Perry’s tab.” He smiles at me. “It’s good to see you, boy. I hope you’re doing alright.” His eyes flick to my scar, probably wondering how I got it. It was a gnarly laceration and the scar is a good size, cutting through the length of my left eyebrow and continuing under my eye on my cheekbone. It’ll be obvious even once it’s completely healed.

“I’ll see you later, John,” I say, and turn to leave. “Tell Maureen I said hi.”

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