Page 55 of Don't Take the Girl
"Hey, I'm sorry about the other day. I wasn't trying to blow you off, but I had to take that call," he tries to explain, and I start jogging.
I'm not mad at Trigg, though I didn't love riding back to Fairfield with my ex-boyfriend's new girl. It didn't matter that I was the only one in the car aware of the relationship; it was still uncomfortable. The entire way back, I analyzed her every move, her scent, her laugh and compared myself to everything she is and all I will never be. And then, when I came home, it was more of the same. Girl talk used to be a safe space, but right now, it's just another space to be reminded of all I've worked so hard to let go of. I just need a minute to myself to hear my own thoughts.
"You're upset. Let me make it up to you," he says, riding alongside me, his horse walking as I run at a slow and steady pace. I ignore him in hopes that he'll give up, and I can return to the peace I had found prior to him spooking that damn deer, but then he says, "Unless you'd rather go dress shopping and watch your best friend marry my brother." His words make my heart stumble in sync with my feet, and I lose my balance, tumbling into the grass. "Whoa." He dismounts the horse. "Are you okay?"
"What does it look like to you?" I say as I huff a strand of hair out of my face. "What makes you think I care?" I say irritably.
"You mean besides the fact that you fell over when I mentioned Dallas marrying someone else?" I scowl, hating how my body once again betrays me. "I know he means something to you."
"Yeah?" I say, brushing my palms together to rid them of the dirt. "And how would you know that?"
He extends his hand toward me. "Let me give you a ride, and I'll tell you."
We never did circle back to the talk he promised we'd have, and the fact that London told me his uncle Baylor is the only one who knows who I am and what happened all those years ago tells me I need to get on that horse. From the few interactions I've had with Trigg, he seems nice enough, and London didn't give me any reason to believe he's an enemy. But if he's digging into our past, I want to know why. London saved me last time. Maybe this is how I save him.
"Fine," I concede, taking his hand.
He helps me up, and I wince when I put weight on my right ankle. "What hurts?" he asks quickly, shouldering my weight.
"My ankle. I may have twisted it. I just need some ice, and I'll be fine."
"Then we'd better get you home," he says before helping me onto his horse. "This is Knickers, by the way."
He stabilizes me as I awkwardly try to put my foot in the stirrup while not putting too much weight on my rolled ankle. We're a mess of limbs for all five seconds, but it doesn't go unnoticed that he was careful about where he placed his hands, never touching me inappropriately, even though it would have made my ascent easier. Once I'm up, I scoot back, giving him enough space to hop on. With both of us on, Knickers shifts beneath us as Trigg carefully guides her forward, his hands steady on the reins before turning us around.
"What are you doing? Fairfield is the other direction."
"I know, but we're closer to the ranch, and you're injured. While I'm not particularly fond of my brother at the moment, I don't care to hear about this later."
Wait. My stomach drops. So, Londondoestalk about me with his brother, despite looking me straight in the eye yesterday and insisting otherwise. Not only do I come up in their conversations, but apparently, I "get under his skin" enough for Trigg to notice and comment on it. I file this revelation away. There's something both validating and terrifying about knowing I still affect him, that I'm not as erased from his world as he pretended. But I can't process that right now, not when I'm already struggling to breathe normally just knowing he's living three miles down the same winding road.
I force myself to push the thought down, to focus on this moment, this conversation, because whatever complicated mess of feelings is churning inside me about London, about us, about the lies and half-truths, I’m no closer to unraveling them now than I was yesterday, and I’m not ready to face him again.
"Take me to Fairfield, and he'll never know," I anxiously rush out. "I don't want to go to the ranch… I can't. I need to go to work. I'm not a trust-fund baby like all of you. I don't have an inheritance waiting for me that allows me to come and go as I please. I have to work to pay my bills, which means you need to turn this damn horse around."
"I'm not sure what you heard or what you think you know about me, but I'm not a trust-fund baby either. I work for a living."
I adjust my hold on his waist as Knickers walks in the wrong direction. "Last time I checked, your last name is Hale. You mean to tell me your father isn't leaving you any part of the business or the property? And was it not you who proclaimed moments ago that this was your land?"
"Yes and no. I suppose this spot is as good as any to start story time. I wasn't lying when I told you this property is mine. I have the documentation to prove it. The back sixty acres of the one hundred acres Fairfield sits on is leased to them by us."
"I was under the impression they were your competition, and there was bad blood between the two families," I say as I recall my conversations with Asha. "Why would you lease land to your rival?"
"I didn't. My grandfather drew up the contract, and Mr. Fairfield's father, who owned the front half of the property, signed it. The rivalry wasn't always what it is now. It's grown into this as the expiration date nears."
"Expiration date?"
"Yes, the lease reaches maturity next year, which means the property reverts to us."
"Surely Mr. Fairfield would offer to buy it. They have structures on the land. A good amount of their operation is run on that back half."
"Mr. Fairfield can offer us all the money in the world, and we couldn't take it. Hale property can't be sold. No piece of it can be sold as long as there are living descendants."
If Asha knows this, she hasn't told me, and considering girl talk over ice cream the other night consisted of her grilling me on every detail of the wedding she missed, leaving no stone unturned to determine what Trigg's game was, I think she would have. We spent hours trying to piece together reasons why he was in the stables that morning we ran into each other, and why he's seemingly gone out of his way to date me when there's clearly animosity between them. I tried my best not to take that last part personally. Is it that far-fetched that he might actually be into me? I know now there's more to it, but still. My arms tighten around his waist as I rest my chin on his shoulder, deep in thought. It isn't until I feel him tense beneath me that I realize the level of comfort I just took upon myself.
I clear my throat and ignore it. If I don't make it something, then it's nothing. "There has to be some sort of loophole."
"There is…marriage," he says, his tone indifferent. "If a Hale marries a Fairfield, they can keep the land."
