Page 81 of Say I'm Yours
“Yeah, you’re angry. Yeah, it sucks and it’s wrong, but he’s your guy. We’re dumb. We screw up like it’s our job. So, you can sit here waitin’ for him to come back when we both know that ain’t happenin’, or you can go find him.”
I lean back in the seat and let what Cooper says penetrate. Trent has told me time and time again he needs me to not let him fail. He’s asked me to step in and help. I just don’t know how.
“He needs you, Grace. If you love him, then do what he needs you to do.”
“I don’t even know where he is,” I say frustrated.
“I can’t believe I’m helpin’ his dumb ass,” Cooper complains. “Think about where you’d go to get away from life.”
Where would he go? My mind reels with the possibilities. I’ve already checked most, but . . . maybe I just missed him. Cooper is right, though, I need to find a place he’d go to escape.
“Thank you, Coop.”
I give him a hug and make my way out the door.
“I saw you guys a week ago,” Cooper calls out.
I stop and turn around. “You did?”
I haven’t seen Cooper since the night I almost set my house on fire. I thought about dropping by, but I wasn’t sure what to say or how he’d feel about it. Presley told me he’s fine and to stop being an idiot, but I didn’t want to make him uncomfortable.
“You looked happy.” Just a day ago, I was extremely happy. “He makes you smile, Grace. You don’t see other people when you’re with him. I see that now. Go get him before he regrets this more than he already will,” he moves close to me.
“You’re a good friend, to me and to him.”
He chuckles. “Until I tried to steal his girl.”
I smile and touch his arm. “I’ll remind him of this moment.”
“Go.”
I turn and rush out of the hospital. I need to do what I promised to do and pull him back. He isn’t drifting, he’s floating away. I hope I’m strong enough to carry him back to shore.
Chapter 19
There are only somany places he can go without his truck. I check the lake where his father collapsed, his farm again, and my family’s store. I didn’t think he’d be at the last one, but I’m trying not to leave any stone unturned.
I sit in my car and drum my thumbs against the steering wheel, talking to myself. “Where would you go?”
A smile forms across my face as it hits me, and I berate myself for not thinking of it sooner. I throw the car in reverse and head off to get my horse.
He better have the excuse of a lifetime when I find him. He can run, and turn off his phone, and try to shut the world out, but there’s no way I’m going to quit on him.
Not this time.
I get to my parents’ house and head to the barn.
When I get inside, I’m so focused on what I need to do to get to my and Trent’s spot, that I almost miss the amber light shining from the stable where my old horse used to sleep. I never could let Lightning in there. It felt wrong.
I open the door, confused about who was in here and why they left a light on, but then I see his body on the ground. Anger boils over as I realize he’s been here the whole time. Hiding at my parents’ house instead of coming home.
“Trent?” I ask as he gets to his feet.
The disappointment I was feeling fades away the second his eyes find mine. This isn’t Trent. This isn’t an angry man who ran away because he was afraid of losing his father.
This man is shattered.
His eyes are red rimmed from crying, he reeks of alcohol, and he’s destroyed. I can see the pain and hurt splayed across his face.
