Page 2 of Why We Break

It hasn’t always been that way. There was a time when he was—God, Hannah, we are SO not going there right now. We hate him, remember?I think to myself, not believing I even let my brain veer down that path.

I hear Caroline shuffling around which pulls me from my internal thoughts. “Han, I love you, and I know you think you’re Superwoman. And normally I’d agree with you, but even you can’t help deliver a calf, get the other cows back in, and fix the fence by yourself. Plus, it’ll take us a bit to get there, and it’ll be getting dark soon.”

I withhold the frustrated scream I want to let out, but knowing she’s right, I finally say, “Fine.”

My best friend knows that’s as much enthusiasm as she'll get on the topic and she hangs up as I run to the old, beaten-up Polaris I use to get around the farm. After jumping in, I turn the key and pray the engine turns over and works without a fight for once. Thankfully, it purrs to life, and I take off toward the chaos in the fields only stopping to open the gate.

It’s not until I’m halfway across the pasture that I realize I didn’t bother to grab a new shirt in my haste to get here. I feel a shiver run through my veins as the wet clothes cling to me in the breeze of the October afternoon. As soon as I pull up to the heifer, I see I was right. The poor thing looks completely exhausted, and she doesn’t seem like she can even hold her head up. I see the nose and feet and know I don’t have long considering she hasn’t moved since I noticed her from the window. I give her a minute to see if she makes any more progress on her own, not wanting to startle her while I call the emergency vet line. Dr. Ava Bozeman’s assistant answers and tells me she’s out on another call across the county, but she will be there as soon as she can.

Realizing I’m going to have to help her, I reach out my hand and nuzzle her wet nose. “It’s gonna be okay, Momma. You’re doing so good.” She blows a weak, tired breath on my hand, and I continue to comfort her for another moment until she’s ready.

I start to pull the calf the way my grandfather taught me when I first moved in with him as I see Seth’s truck pull down the dirt driveway. Knowing I don’t have time to wait on them, I continue pulling the calf until it finally comes free just as Seth, Margaret, and Will pull up beside me.

“Oh my gosh, Hannah, this is wild!” Margaret yells as she gets out of the back seat. “Are they going to be okay?”

Knowing Margaret is pretty new to the whole farm life, I give her a weak nod before answering, “I hope so,” before turning back to the red heifer laying at my feet and her new calf and saying, “it looks like the hard part is over now, Momma. You did so good,” while giving her a reassuring pat.

“You want us to work on getting them back in while you take care of them?” Seth asks, pointing to where I had momentarily forgotten half my herd was attempting the great getaway of the season.

“That would be great. Thanks for coming. I told Caroline not to call you, but we all know she doesn’t listen for shit,” I say begrudgingly.

“Yeah, great idea, Scott. Patch a fence, deliver a calf, and get all your runaways in after dark by yourself. That’s real fucking smart,” Will says sarcastically with an eye roll. “Go on up man, I’ll be there soon.”

Have I mentioned I can’t stand this man?The fucking audacity he has sometimes will never cease to amaze me.

I glare at him and am preparing one of my usual snarky retorts when we hear a loud crash back in the direction of the house. Startled, I look up just in time to see my pet pig Leroy break loose from his pen and take off in the opposite direction toward his favorite mud puddle.

Things could always be worse though right?

CHAPTER 2

WILL

One thing about Hannah Scott—her life is anything but boring.

Seth, my roommate and best friend, and I had been debating walking over to Maracas, the local Mexican restaurant, for dinner when Caroline called us to come help. Seth teaches construction and coaches baseball at Springside High, where I’m the head football coach, and he’s been my closest friend since I moved back to Springside after college.

As soon as we got the call, we jumped in Seth’s truck, bringing Margaret along for the ride since she lives in the apartment next door. It only took us about ten minutes to make the drive to Falling Oaks Farm from downtown, but it looks like we’re here just in time.

As I take in the roaming cattle, the broken fence, the heifer and calf still lying at her feet, the setting sun, and the apparent runaway pig—not to mention the fact that Hannah’s in a sports bra, soaking wet from head to toe, and dirty from pulling the calf—all I can do is shake my head at her antics.

“Damn, Han, what’s got you all wet and bothered?” I tease with a smirk, offering her a hand while Seth takes his old Ford off toward the break in the fence, and Margaret jumps on Hannah’s ancient Polaris toward Leroy.

“Hmm, I know it’s unusual for you to have a woman dripping at your feet, so I wouldn’t expect you to know what to do about it anyway,” she snaps, refusing to take my hand and pushing herself up to her full almost six-foot height.

I roll my eyes at her and try to ignore how tanned her long legs still look, despite the fact that it's fall, and we’ve been back to work for months.I wonder if they would feel as good wrapped around me as they did the time we—damn it, Will—you cannot be thinking about that right now,my subconscious screams.

Shaking my head to get rid of the thought I turn my attention back to the heifer lying at our feet. “You know you’re gonna need to keep an eye on these two throughout the night to make sure they’re okay, right?

“Really? I had no idea, Doctor Will. Pretty sure you’re forgetting that I’m the one who taught you all of this farm shit. Not to mention, I’ve lived on this freaking farm for more than ten years. But by all means, please continue to mansplain how to take care of my animals, though.”

Hannah turns and twists the water spigot on the fence line beside us, before leaning down to clean her hands and arms as she continues to glare at me in contempt.

I’m getting ready to snap back with an equally sarcastic response when Theo’s black truck races down Hannah’s driveway. Theo’s one of my closest friends, but it definitely hasn’t always been that way. I’d been ready to beat his ass when he insulted Caroline and the previous fire chief Huey on his first day of work. Huey’s always been a bit of a stand-in father for me after I caught mine having an affair with a woman named Sandy during my sophomore year of high school. If it wasn’t for Mayor Brian coming to me as soon as it happened and asking me to bring Theo on as an assistant football coach to help get the town back on his good side, I’d probably still hate him. But he's long since apologized for his misstep, and outside of becoming a part of our group, I have to admit he’s a hell of a coach.

I chuckle when I see Caroline’s entire chest hanging out the window waving at us while Theo gestures for her to sit her ass down and wait for him to stop. She and Theo couldn’t be more opposite, but somehow they work.

Caroline and I have been friends since high school. When I walked into the locker room and heard the Austin brothers talking about sneaking up to her place while her parents were out of town to force her into going out with them, I’d come unglued. I knew her parents were always leaving her home alone—Caroline called them free spirits, but I just called them assholes. Either way, I instantly felt like she needed someone to protect her.

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