Page 65 of Say the Words
“You’ve got a big heart. Who would want to trample that?”
Maybe that was what it boiled down to. I did have a habit of seeing the emotional side of things, as my father and brothers had pointed out a million times. I’d practically hyperventilated in Brides Galore’s parking lot earlier just from seeing Eden and Aunt Darlene share a sweet moment. That might have proved Ty’s point, but it didn’t make being left in the dark any easier to take.
“Are they protecting me, or protecting themselves?”
Ty flinched like I’d brandished the pitchfork at him. He slipped out of the barn, and I went back to mucking. He wasn’t a gossipy man, I reminded myself. He probably didn’t have much interest in listening to me vent my frustrations over family secrets. Still. He didn’t have to bolt at the first sign of serious talk.
That was Bret all over again. A pro at meaningless conversation disguised as heart-to-hearts. Did it really matter what someone’s favorite movie or color was if you didn’t care about their actuallife? Ty wasn’t chatty with small talk like Bret, at least, but he didn’t often invite deeper discussions, either.
Those times he did, though—oof. I could get used to him opening up a little, like when we talked about him growing up on the ranch, or our conversation about my mom. But expecting confidences from a man like Ty would be a recipe for heartache.
The time it took me to muck stalls had improved since that first miserable day, and I managed the whole dozen in just under two hours. Each one was cleaned, sifted, and laid with fresh bedding by the time Ty returned to check my progress.
“Not bad,” he said with a nod as he passed the first few open stall doors. “You’ve really taken a shine to this.”
“You don’t have to sound so surprised.” Frankly, it surprised me, too, but the lilt of amazement in his voice when he offered such praise made it feel like my every achievement amounted to an unexpected event.
“I wasn’t kidding when I said I thought you’d be long gone by now. Most would.”
“I guess I’m not like most.”
His mouth curled into a slight smile. “No, you are not.”
I would take that as a compliment. Our silence stretched on, each apparently waiting for the other to say something more. When we didn’t, I was left gazing into his eyes, basking in their golden glow.
“Should I get the feed started?” I blurted. Talking about the horses was much easier than talking about anything else running through my mind.
“They’ll take their meals out in the pasture. No need to feed and water tonight.”
“Is that it, then?” I stretched my arms to work the kinks out of my shoulders. I might not mind doing the work, but I’d discovered all sorts of new aches in places I was sure had never hurt a day in my life. Not to mention all the fun new smells. I didn’t mind the definition in my arms, though.
“It’s a different schedule when they’re out all night.”
We walked to the pasture fence and looked out across the fields. The horses wandered, grazing lazily in the fading heat. It would have been a more pleasant sight if I weren’t already tired to the bone.
“I guess it’s lucky we’re done early,” I said. “I should leave soon to get ready for my family dinner, anyway.”
Ty glanced from the pastures to me, the arch of his eyebrows silently asking for more information.
“Wade and his crazies are coming over,” I explained. “My nephews, I mean.Marilynwill be there. It’s going to be so many levels of awkward, you have no idea.”
“Yeah. About that.” He tried to clear his throat, but the sound got strangled somewhere in his chest. “I think I should tell you, your dad called and invited me to your family dinner tonight.”
Of course he did.
TWENTY-TWO
june
I had justenough time to speed-shower and change clothes before the squealing started. The boys’ shrieks echoed up the stairs and straight into my eardrums. Before I made it halfway down the stairs, Dylan and Beau attacked me in an energetic cuddle of little hands and arms that threatened to pull us all down in a heap.
“Auntie June!” Dylan shrieked up at me. “Do you want to play chase? You can be it!”
“We’re gonna chase you!” Beau gave me a slobbery, sticky hug.
Five and three years old, Wade’s little boys didn’t have a slow speed that I had ever seen, and they always tried to suck me into a game of their own invention. These tended to include a combination of tag, hide and seek, and someone getting thumped on the head for mysterious reasons. Usually, the thumped head was mine.
I hugged them back hard. They were a handful, but I never quite got enough of them during my short visits. “How about after dinner?”
