Page 16 of Spur of the Moment
I shook my head, letting out a sigh. “Despite popular belief, they don’t hand out jobs or tell you what you’re meant to do in life.”
“Do you know what you want to do?”
“Honestly, no. You guys have it all figured out and I feel like I’m the only one still lost.”
“You’ll figure it out, Lettie. You always do.”
I stared down at my coffee. “I hope so. It’s frustrating to have spent all that time at school and still have no path.”
“It’ll come to you one day. When I started working at the feed store, I never once thought I’d own the place, and now look at me. Don’t try to force it. You’ll know it when the work starts feeling less like a job and more like a passion.”
I sipped my drink, the caffeine making its way through my system. “I’ll let you know when that happens.”
He sat back in his chair, studying me. “So, do you know how long you’re staying?”
“I’m not sure. I’m going to Montana for the auction in Billings. Dad has some horses he’s got his eye on that I’m picking up.”
“You’re driving six hours with a trailer alone?”
I pursed my lips. “I’m going with Bailey.”
He tried to hide his smile behind his coffee.
“What?” I asked.
“Nothing. Enjoy your trip.”
I rolled my eyes at the smile that stayed plastered to his face. If Lennon thought there was something going on between me and Bailey, he was sorely mistaken.
***
Bailey was leading an elderly rescue horse to the pasture when I pulled up to the ranch. I parked Reed’s truck outside of the white barn and was getting out of the truck when I saw Bailey gently pulling the halter off of the chestnut horse. Once free, the horse turned and took off at a gallop through the field, his tail sticking up behind him. There was something moving about watching a once-neglected horse have all the freedom it ever dreamed of.
I rounded the truck to open the tailgate and grabbed a bag of grain, turning with it to find Bailey standing directly behind me.He grabbed the bag from me and set it on top of two other bags in the truck bed before picking up all three of them together.
“Do you ever take a break?” I asked as I grabbed another bag.
He carried them into the barn, setting them on the floor in the room where we kept all our medicine, supplements, and feed. I followed, setting my one bag on top of his three.
“Yep.”
“Really? When?”
He brushed past me as he headed back to the truck to grab the rest of the bags. “Took a water break earlier.”
I followed, watching the muscles in his back move as he walked, his white shirt stretched across his form. “For what, two minutes?”
“Something like that,” he said as he grabbed the remaining three bags, tossing them onto his shoulder to close the tailgate with his other hand.
“I could have closed that.”
He ignored me, making his way back to the feed room. I didn’t bother to follow him this time. Instead, I walked over to the fence surrounding the pasture. I laid my arms across the metal fence, resting my chin on top of them to watch the horses graze. The only sounds were a distant whinny and the breeze blowing through the fields.
I deserved the cold shoulder from Bailey. He didn’t have to ask for me to know he wanted answers. I just didn’t want to give them. I was scared that the answers I had would changeour relationship, but a part of me felt that the way I’d been neglecting to be honest was changing us already.
I heard Bailey’s boots a second before he showed up at my side, resting a knee on the fence and dangling his arms over the top. We both stared out at the field, feeling tranquil with the silence and peace this ranch brought. This is what I missed; what I had longed to come back to.
“I’d like to leave at sunrise tomorrow. Get to Billings early so we can get our hotel situated,” he said, keeping his eyes on the land.
