Page 26 of Somewhere We Belong

Sleep had been evading me since she had been here, and as I looked over at the clock it was already two in the morning. I groaned silently, feeling tired, but my brain was going a mile a minute. Sliding out of the bed slowly, I left Atlas and Theo cuddling. They looked so damn cute together I almost went back to bed.

When I couldn’t sleep, I usually walked around the house or if it was later, I would get started on my day early, but two am was too early to do anything. I slipped on my sweats, walking out of the room quietly. I headed to the kitchen, but as I passed the girl’s room, I had an itch to check on them.

Just a quick look and that was it, just to make sure they were ok. I tried to rationalize that it was to make sure that they were sleeping comfortably, but a tiny part of me had started to worry about Nova. She had been reserved and quiet the last few days,a complete one-eighty from the sassy woman she had been a few days ago.

The door was ajar and as I pushed it slowly it creaked a little. Sol laid in the middle of the bed laid out like a starfish. I smiled until I realized Nova wasn’t in the bed with her. The bathroom was right behind me, but it was also empty. Just as I was about to go looking for her, a soft cry caught my attention.

I froze, hearing a sniffle and another soft cry. As quietly as I could, I peeked into the living room to see Nova facing away from me holding her hands to her face, softly crying. Something touched my hand, almost making me scream when I saw Sol. She grabbed my hand, pulling me away towards their room.

“She doesn’t like to be seen crying,” she whispered, after I knelt down. “Mommy worries about a lot of things.”

“Why do you say that?” My chest constricted as I realized Sol and I saw everything.

“All my friends have dads, and I think they help mommies not be so sad,” she said, and I saw so much of myself in Sol even if she was much more mature than I was at her age. “Please, be nice to my mommy.”

“You know not everyone grows up with a dad. I didn’t,” I said, hoping she realized she wasn’t the only one without a dad. I ignored the comment about being nice to her mom, because of course she would call me out.

Sol hugged me before going back to bed. Damn little girl was too smart for her own good. I heard Nova sigh as I debated if I wanted to go check on her, but her daughter saw right through me. I knew I was mean to her, but there was just something about Nova that… honestly, I had disliked her for so long that I didn’t even know why I was so mad with her all the time anymore.

Sable ran through the field barking at any stray cattle we had as I rounded them up to keep them moving forward. Theo and I liked to move them a few times a week to have them rotating in a certain spot before we made a big move to another part of the ranch. That usually involved having a few more people help us if we could find them.

It usually happened when Atlas was in town or Theo’s brother could help us. We occasionally had some people going through town looking for work as they traveled. We needed another cowboy, but this job was demanding and not many people enjoyed the solidarity, which is why we kept the herd pretty small. It helped that Theo enjoyed working with animals instead of people.

Once we got the cattle settled, we usually rode around the perimeter to make sure we didn't leave anyone behind like a heifer and her calf. I waved at Theo as I rode to him, a small smile was on his lips as he looked around.

“The herd is looking good, better than last year,” I said, bringing my horse to stand next to him.

“I think it's the best one we've had in a while.” He took off his cowboy hat, and wiped sweat off his brow with his hand. “Our calves are doing great this year.”

“We’ve had a successful rate of pregnancy this year too,” I said, looking for a few of the calves.

“Yeah, that doctor from Monroe was the way to go.” He nodded.

“Do you need me for anything else? Since the rain has let up, I was going to go to the girl’s house and check on the roof,” I said, feeling my face heat up.

He raised a brow.

“Do you want to go do it?” I clipped, knowing he would say no.

“Wasn't Marv supposed to fix it?

“So she says. I was going to call him to see what was going on, but if I can repair it, it might be better to get it done sooner,” I said, rubbing my neck.

He scrutinized me. Yes, I knew it was unlike me to want to help her, but something about Sol last night made me rethink my attitude.

“Ok, I think I can do everything else.” He smirked at me. “You know she really isn’t that bad. Nova does what she can for Sol, and she works hard to do that.”

It was my turn to just nod.

“I’ll see you later,” I said, before he decided to push the issue more. I should have just lied and said I had a motorcycle to work on, but lying to him always felt wrong even if it was a white lie.

I tied up my horse, gave him some love and an apple before I walked to the house. It was quiet as I shut the front door, and took off my boots, relieved Nova wasn’t in the living room. I had left early this morning to avoid her, and luck seemed to be on my side.

After getting a glass of water, I went down the hall to grab my phone. I needed to call Marv and see what was going on with her roof. Just as I passed the door, Nova exited the bathroom running into me, in just a motherfucking towel.

“Jesus Christ!” she squeaked, stepping back.

My arm shot out, catching her before she fell. Her eyes were wide as she stared at me. Her eyes trailed down my body to where I was holding her.

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