Page 88 of Beat around the Bush
“Oh, yeah. He’s a really nice guy,” Oakley piped in. Reed turned his attention to her as she spoke. “They were talking about him in the group text last night before she left. She sent a whole bunch of outfit options, and settled on this-”
“Sounds like she had a good time,” I interrupted. Oakley was good at rambling, and I could tell she was nervous. Reed had that effect on people when he got that murderous look in his eye. Not that he wanted to hurt Oakley, but probably the guy who Brandy went out with.
“Anyway, we’re going to head out to the barn, get started on some stuff,” I told my mom.
“Can you work on cleaning the water buckets and filling them?” Mom asked, slipping into her authoritative tone she spoke in anytime it came to the rescue.
“Yep. We’ll do those first.” I grabbed Oakley’s gloved hand, leading her outside and away from pissed-off Reed.
“Sorry he’s such an ass,” I apologized as we headed down the porch steps.
“He’s a little scary,” she admitted.
I sighed. “Really?” The last thing I wanted was for her to be scared of my brother.
She laughed. “No, Lennon. He’s not. He’s just scared to admit his feelings.”
I eyed her as we walked hand in hand through the crisp morning air. “What feelings might those be?”
She shrugged. “I’m not one to say.”
“What’s that mean?” I asked as we entered the barn.
“There’s a history there, right?”
I nodded.
“Well, he obviously doesn’t hate her,” she said.
I scoffed. “If there’s one thing I know for certain about Reed and Brandy, it’s that they cannot stand each other.”
“Has he ever told you why?” she asked, curious.
“No. Has Brandy told you?”
She shook her head as I grabbed two scrubbing sponges from the shelf by the meds room. “No. She hasn’t told Lettie, either.”
Oakley took one of the sponges from me. “I wouldn’t worry yourself with those two,” I said. “It’s pointless trying to figure them out.”
She looked around us at the stalls, seeming to drop the subject. “So tell me how to do this.”
“Well, my mom’s got a certain way she likes it done. Empty the water outside of the barn. That part is important because you don’t want their shavings all wet. Then scrub any algae out,rinse really well, and fill them back up. We do it a few times a week.”
She smiled. “Where do we start?”
***
An hour later, we were on the last stall. Oakley was braiding the horse's mane while I stood by the bucket, making sure the hose didn’t slide out.
“You’re very lucky, you know,” Oakley said, glancing over her shoulder at me and taking account of my backwards hat for the tenth time.
“I know,” I admitted, taking her in. She was so peaceful, her delicate fingers spinning the dark hairs, looping them over each other.
She frowned, sensing I wasn’t thinking about the ranch. “For growing up on a ranch.”
“I’m lucky for a lot of things in this life, Oak.” One of those things being her.
I could list all the things I was grateful for, but my mind would always go back to her.
