Page 13 of Spur of the Moment
Lennon shrugged. “We love you even if sometimes it doesn’t feel like it, little sis.”
Callan nodded in agreement. “Always.”
Beck looked over his shoulder at the three of us. “I didn’t ask to go on a sappy trail ride.”
“Race you to the barn?” Reed challenged Beck.
“You’re on,” Beck said right before kicking his horse into a gallop.
“Hey!” Reed yelled before following in his dust.
“Do you think they’ll ever grow up?” I asked Len and Cal.
Lennon smiled. “Lettie, you’re nine years old.”
“Yeah, but evenIknow they act like boys,” I stated.Childishboys.
“That’s because theyareboys,” Cal pointed out.
“You guys don’t act like they do,”I said.
Cal nodded. “Fair.”
“They’ll mature one day, Lettie. Just gotta deal with them until then,” Lennon said.
Callan had never acted like Beck and Reed. He was always mature in his own way, always offering to help our mom clean or take on extra chores.
Reed and Beck were the two who were crazy, always causing problems and getting into trouble by our dad. Then add Bailey into the mix, and they were really stirring up trouble.
Lennon was a lot like Callan, less interested in causing havoc and more into taking on responsibilities. It’s funny how a ranch can mold people differently. The ranch matured Len and Cal, teaching them important life lessons, while Reed and Beck used it as their playground.
That wouldn’t be the case for long though.
Reed was four years older than Beckham, and it was slowly starting to show. While Beck still thought their childhood games were fun, Reed was beginning to grow up more, becoming the respectable teen our dad urged him to be.
We approached the barn, Reed and Beck’s voices drifting out from inside. Len, Cal, and I pulled our horses to a stop beside the pasture fence. The two of them dismounted as I took my time, looking out at the cows, wondering which mama’s calf would end up being mine in the spring.
They were busy taking the bridles off their horses when I dismounted, and the second my feet hit the ground, the world spun. It felt like I was tilting backwards, so Iclamped my eyes shut to stop the sky from turning into the ground. My mind felt like a cloud, my fingers going warm and cold at the same time.
“Lettie?” I heard who I think was Lennon say, but then my back slammed into something hard and metal, and I struggled to catch my breath.
Something fell to the ground -a bridle, maybe?- and a hand wrapped around my arm, pulling me upright and into what had to be a chest. “Lettie, what’s wrong?”
Lennon. That was Lennon’s voice.
My hands pressed against his chest like an anchor, trying to keep the boat that was my mind from rocking against the waves.
I was so dizzy.
“Did she eat this morning?” Callan asked.
I managed a nod, but it made my head swim faster.
“Reed! Beck! Get out here!” Cal yelled.
I heard boots pounding on dirt as Lennon grabbed my chin, making me look up at him. My eyes were open now, but there were two of him. “Are you hurt?”
“No,” I croaked.
