Page 43 of The One for Me
Ifly through the cold air, letting it burn my face and lungs. I love the winter. The smell of snow and the freshness that lingers in the air.
My favorite thing in the world is riding Simba as the flakes flutter around me. The ground being covered with the promises of untouched land. It’s beautiful and hopeful.
I hear the quad coming up behind me, and I lean into the gallop. “Come on, Simba,” I urge him forward. I’m getting closer to where I left Zach and the kids, but I hear the motor of the quad getting louder behind me.
Damn it. I can’t lose. Sean is a very sore loser, but he’s an even worse winner. I will never live it down, and I’m sure he’ll find a way to make me pay.
Just as I reach Zach and the kids, I push Simba just a bit faster, and I fly by them, a smile on my face and laughter in the air behind me.
I circle back around and the kids are both laughing. “You beat him, Aunt Dev.”
“I sure did.”
“I bet I could beat you!” Hadley taunts Austin.
“No way. I’m a better rider. I’ve had a horse my whole life and you’re agirl.” Austin sneers the last word as though it’s a curse.
Oh, these two are either going to fall madly in love or they’re going to kill each other.
Hadley refuses to let the insult go. “You’re a stupid boy, and you don’t know how good I am on a horse. I’m the best there is, right, Uncle Sean? You think I can ride a horse better than Austin, don’t you? All girls are better than boys.”
I look at Sean, who appears to be struggling with this particular minefield. “Sean, what do you think? Are girls better than boys?”
“Umm.”
“Don’t answer that, buddy,” Zach warns.
Sean starts to speak again and then stops. “I think we’re all going to head back, right?”
“But it’s so nice. And my horse is so happy,” Hadley says with a pouty lip.
It is not nice, it’s freaking freezing.
I clear my throat. “I wish we could, but Austin has his big tournament tomorrow and we can’t be out too late. Not to mention, our fingers might fall off soon with this cold.” Sean is coaching with Jasper tomorrow. Well, he’s helping or whatever they’re calling it.
“What game?” Zach asks.
“I play baseball like Sean does. I’m a catcher too.”
“Really? Logan plays, but he’s a pitcher. Like I was.”
“How old is he?”
“He’s almost eleven, and he has some real skill.”
I smile. “Austin is the same with skill. He’ll be ten in a few months, but this league is all twelve-year-old kids, and he was brought up to play with them.”
Sean steps over to my horse and pats Simba on the neck. “He has some real talent even at this age.”
“Sounds familiar, huh?” Zach asks.
God. Boys and their baseball. My entire childhood felt as if it revolved around Sean and what games were happening. If I wanted to be around him, it was the sacrifice I made. No one could’ve known that it would lead him to this life. “I remember all too well having to hang around the field if I wanted to see you. It was fun, since I loved watching you play.”
“I loved you being there,” he admits. “For a long time, I thought you were my good luck charm. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve wished you were in the stadium on nights when nothing was going right. If I could’ve just seen you . . .”
My heart sputters as we stare at each other. He’s saying things that I still don’t understand. How is this the same boy who used to tell me I was dumb? Now he’s saying he wished I were there when he was having a bad day. It’s like two worlds colliding and throwing everything off balance.
When my world fell apart, I wanted him there with me, so at least I understand his sentiment.
