Page 41 of Say I'm Yours
“Probably right. That woman would hire one of those planes that writes messages in the sky if it meant me doin’ what she wanted.”
It’s cute how happily they irritate each other. “You know you’d be lost without her.”
He grunts. “Don’t ever tell her that.”
“It’ll be our secret.”
My dad continues to fix the board, and I breathe a sigh of relief.
“Cooper, huh?” he asks as he climbs off the ladder.
I guess I’m not out of the woods.
“It’s not like that. I don’t know if we’ll be more, but he’s a good man. He came out here to help you on his day off.”
“Uh-huh. So, you gonna fix things with Trent?”
He walks over to the tool bench and sits. This can’t be good. He’s hunkering down for a real conversation.
“He doesn’t love me. How do you fix something like that?”
He jerks his head. “You know, it’s not always easy, but you have to fight, baby girl.”
“It’s not that simple. I can’t force him to become an adult.”
My father took it the hardest when Scarlett died. He felt like he failed his little girl, and he became extra protective of me. I think he also likes that Trent is a protector. Daddy respects the law and knows that Trent upholds it, not breaks it.
My father leans forward and touches my cheek. “I reckon you can’t. You’re a smart girl, and you’ll know who’s right for you.”
Therein lies the issue, I don’t know what’s right. My heart and my head don’t ever agree when it comes to men.
I smile and touch his hand. “I get my smarts from you.”
He winks. “I know it. You get your fight from your mama. That woman can argue herself in or out of anything. Enough talkin’, let’s get back to work.”
“I’m going to check on Cooper and help him with mending the fence. You all right in here?”
Daddy scoffs and waves his hand. “Don’t you worry about me. I’m as strong as an ox.”
He’s a mess.
I start to walk out toward the field where Cooper is working—with his shirt off—and let out a heavy sigh. Why can’t the man keep a shirt on? I think about how he didn’t hesitate to come out here. He actually offered to spend the day working on our farm. Not many men would spend their day off doing hard labor, let alone have it be their idea.
My father was right. I do know who is the right man. I don’t know if I can let go of the other one. My mind drifts to last night and this morning. How I felt being in Trent’s arms. How he said things I’ve been longing to hear.
I take my phone out of my pocket and send a text to Trent.
Me: I know you’re with your family, but we should talk about what happened today.
They do this trip every year, and one of the rules is no phones unless it’s an emergency. This doesn’t qualify as one.
“Hey!” Cooper calls out when he sees me.
I wave and start moving in his direction. “Hey, how’s it goin’?” I ask as he wipes sweat from his brow.
“Good. I’m about done here. I wanted to help your dad on gettin’ his tractor workin’. I think it might cut down on some of the other things he’s let slide. If we have some time, maybe we can get the horses some exercise?”
“You really don’t have to do that.”
