Page 76 of The Lies We Told Ourselves

We were the only two who suspected the truth at the moment. I knew she was feeling bad enough about the whole thing. I didn’t want her to have to face answering everyone else’squestions until I could persuade her that none of this was her fault.

Xander walked into the house at that point, storming into the kitchen with a scowl on his face that rivaled even mine. “Now I remember specifically telling you that you were going straight to bed. What I’m confused about is what you think you heard me say.”

He crossed his arms, staring me down.

“Val—”

“Is a dog. Get your ass up the stairs.”

We glared at each other across the kitchen, and I was about ready to see how hard I could bounce this cast off his skull.

“How about we look for Val?” Delaney said calmly, walking between Xander and me as she tried to break the stare down. “Reece can get you settled upstairs.”

They were clearly forgetting that not only was I a grown man who could do whatever the hell he wanted to do, but there was also a door behind me I fully intended to escape through.

Before I could turn and storm away, Reece’s hand slipped into mine.

“We can check the barn together,” she said gently, not even trying to tell me I had to wait behind. “But your family is trying to tell you they’re worried about you, Booker. They just need some reassurance.”

I saw Xander’s expression crumble at that moment. I’d never seen him look like this before.

“I was so scared, Booker.” Xander shook his head as he spoke. “I thought we’d lost you. All these years I’ve spent sulking at the bottom of a bottle, and now I’m finally getting my life together, I lose you. We’re supposed to be rebuilding something here. We can’t do that without you.”

I strode across the room to my brother and pulled him into a hug. Xander clung to me, and I felt his shoulders shaking as he let his emotions go.

It was selfish of me not to even consider what they were going through right now.

But this was Val. She’d been by my side for years. There were days when the only time I spoke was to Val. It might be stupid to admit, but she was my best friend. I couldn’t rest if she was out there somewhere hurting.

“I’m right here. I’m fine, Xan.” When I leaned back to look at him, he quickly swiped the tears from his cheeks and gave me a weak smile. “I’m sorry for scaring you.”

“Let’s check out the barn,” he said, rolling his eyes. “I know there’s no persuading you once you’ve made up your mind.”

We didn’t even make it a step because Trace was suddenly there, throwing his arms around us both as well.

“I’m not missing out on the Farrington bro hug,” he said, pressing his face against my back. “Let’s maybe just get together for things like dinner and carnivals in the future, though, yeah? I’m not sure my old heart can take emergency calls to the ER anymore.”

The girls joined us then, joining in the hug on each side, and I suddenly found myself in the middle smothered by people who cared about me. Even the dull ache in my arm and the throbbing in my head couldn’t take away how much this moment meant to even a grumpy ass like me.

A noise came from behind me as someone cleared their throat uncomfortably.

Hank stood by the door looking awkward at having interrupted our strange scene.

“Erm, good to see you on your feet, boss.” He gave me a lopsided grin as he pulled the hat off his head. “Cole is out in thebarn with Bullet. He wanted to know if you wanted an update before he left.”

“Bullet?”

“Yeah. He thinks he can save him. He had a dislocated front leg that he reset and a couple of broken ribs, but he can pull him through if you want him to. I wasn’t sure. Given everything that happened, I thought maybe you’d want…”

“Whatever he needs. Cost isn’t an issue,” I said in relief.

I’d seen poor Bullet as they loaded me onto the stretcher, and I’d been around horses for long enough that I knew Cole was coming for one reason only. Most vets would have just shot him and called it a day. The fact that Cole was even willing to try meant I’d made the right move in picking him to work with the ranch. He was a good man, and he cared about the horses nearly as much as I did.

“Oh thank god,” Reece rushed out a sigh.

I was surprised to see her tucked under Xander’s arm when I looked at her, but I was just glad that Xander had finally pulled his head out of his ass for long enough to see how good of a person she was.

He gave me a slight shrug when he saw me looking at him, and I turned back to Hank.

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