Page 32 of Spring Forward

Honestly, I think Buttercup has forgiven Eden, she’s just being stubborn about it now because she likes the extra attention and the treats. Eden is using any trick she can on this horse, not that I can blame her since the horse in question is one of the sweetest that I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with.

When I step into the house, it’s quiet, but I know August is around here. I peek into the kitchen to find Noel making sandwiches and his face lights up when he sees me.

As much as I want to go to him and wrap him in my arms, I’m afraid I’ll blurt out my decision and I can’t tell him until after I have a serious conversation with my brother. I clear my throat and give an awkward wave which has amusement dancing in Noel’s brown eyes.

“Where’s August?”

Noel arches an eyebrow in question but doesn’t ask before nodding toward the stairs. “He’s in his room. I believe he’s building something.”

I nod once and before I can stop myself, I’m racing across the room and launching myself at my man. He catches me easily as his laughter fills the room. My hands cradle his strong jaw, and I pull him toward me. The kiss I give him is filled with something sweet and precious which he returns tenfold.

Even though my body heats up with how good it feels to be in his arms, I pull back and wiggle a little. Noel lets me down, not letting go completely until I’m stable on my feet. With a grin, I turn and hustle out of the room, the sound of his hard exhale making me smile.

Once I get to August’s door, I knock and then stick my head through the slight opening. My brother is sprawled out in the middle of the room and surrounded by blocks. My eyebrows pull together because it looks like he was trying to build something but isn’t, or maybe he can’t.

His head comes up and he looks at me with wary eyes. My steps are cautious as I walk deeper into the room and close the door behind me. I don’t like the way he’s looking at me, but I’m not surprised either.

He probably expects me to talk to him about where we’re going next. I would usually have the next contract set up and be planning for it. But the pull to stay, the way Noel’s words and promises have wrapped around me, hasn’t allowed me to even look through my email to see if there are any requests for my services.

“We’re going to be leaving, aren’t we?” Even though my brother tries to keep his voice steady, he can’t hide the slight wobble, dejection is threaded through each word.

I sit on the edge of the small bed he’s been calling his and pat the spot next to me. August gets up slowly and approaches, his feet dragging in a way they never have before.

“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about,” I tell him honestly. “This is the time when I start looking at what comes next.”

August swallows hard and I can see his internal struggle. It’s written all over his face. It breaks my heart and gives me hope.

“I don’t want to leave,” he finally whispers just when I think the silence between us will last forever.

I blink a few times at my brother and, as his words sink deeper, I find a smile lifting my lips. He does a double take when he sees my reaction, confusion in his eyes as his eyebrows pull together.

My hand covers his and I give a squeeze. “That took a lot of courage to say to me,” I murmur, my words gentle and filled with pride. “I’ve been pulling you all over the country for so long and you’ve gone along with it every time. You’ve never put up a fuss about leaving friends and places behind.” I tilt my head to the side as I study him. “Why is it different this time?”

August’s words are impassioned, “Can’t you feel it, Dela? This place is different. This place feels like,” he pauses before swallowing hard, the next word breakable, “home.”

“Auggie,” I breathe out, my heart soaring because he feels the same thing I do.

He’s never asked me for much, even though I’ve tried to give him everything. He’s been game to follow behind me as I try to find a way forward. In the last eight years, we’ve been each other’s home, even though I was never really sure if he even knew what that felt like.

Now we have a chance for more.

“Please,” he pleads, his eyes wide and round like he can get me to agree with him, to stay, with just a look.

“I think,” I pause as the feeling of freedom and peace I’ve been struggling against out of fear find a permanent place in my soul, “you’re right. I think we should stay.”

The moment stretches between us, and I watch as my words, even though they aren’t what he was expecting, work their way through my brother’s mind. One moment he’s sure I’m going to move us along and the next he sucks in a sharp breath before he grins at me. The smile on his face is so big and wide.

It would all be worth it for that smile alone.

My mind flashes back to a time when I thought I was going to lose my little brother just like I lost my parents. I sat next to his hospital bed, his hand so small in my own. I was filled with fear I’d never experienced before at the thought of the last of my family being gone. He’s been all I had left for so long.

But that’s not true anymore.

This ranch, and the people in it, have opened their family and their hearts to me. And to August.

We have so much more now. I’m not going to lose it.

August slams into me so hard I almost topple off the bed, but even if I did fall it wouldn’t matter. His arms wrap around me as he hugs me as tight as he can.

---