“You got a horse?”
“Yep, Ferrari, speaking of, I should go say good morning.”
I walkedoff the porch and around to the small fenced side yard. “Hey, boy!”
He stomped his feet. I petted his face and stroked my hand down his neck and along his withers. “You like your new digs? I think Coop is going to build you a stable. Did you meet Coop?” The horse nuzzled my cheek.
“Here’s the thing, I do not know how to take care of you, I need to learn, but right now I don’t feel that great, so it’s not a lot of attention, sorry about that. Rest up, I’ll feel better and then we’ll do some riding.”
I couldn’t actually believe I was saying it.
“I gotta go back to the house, I’ll come visit you in a bit.”
I returned to the house.
Andrew asked, “So why do you need a guard?”
I tried to think of what to say. “Not entirely sure, there was a stranger on my property a few times this weekend, better safe than sorry.”
He said, “That sucks, you called the police? You’re out here on the edge of town…”
“Yeah, I think that’s why Coop is nervous about it, I’m out on the edge of town. I’ll probably hire some security until I can?—”
“Coop told me he already did.”
“Oh, really, he did?”
“Yeah, he said that the security team was coming at 11.” He looked at his watch.
“Well, good, you’re just filling in until then.”
“Keeping the bad guys off your lawn, that’s my job.”
“I need to go sit down, you cool?”
“Yeah.” He went back to sitting on the porch, staring out at the grass.
29
LEXI
2004 - LAUREL RIDGE
Cooper came back while I was sitting in the living room in the nest I had made in the chair. I heard him speak with Andrew and then he went into the kitchen and moved around in there. I waited for him to come say hi, but then he didn’t and it was awkward because it dawned on me that he wasn’t speaking to me.
I finally got up and went down the hall. He was opening the silverware drawer, looking for something. I said, “Hey.”
“Hey.” He didn’t turn around.
I said, “Can we talk?”
He turned around, brow up, a kind of irritated expression on his face. “Sure, babe, bout what?”
“Feeling better, still weak, but yeah, feeling better.”
“Good, glad to hear it.” He looked around, anywhere but at me.
“You’re mad at me.”
