I handed him the sticky pad and pen I was holding. “I’ll destroy this after I log in and save the information to the desktop.”
He nodded as he jotted down the login info and handed me back the notepad. His finger brushed against mine when I reached for it, and I pulled away quickly.
He turned back to the trailer he was working on, and I walked toward the office, glancing down at the paper in my hand. His email was written at the top, and his password caused me to come to a stop.
HORSEGIRL1
He’d always joked that I was his password, but I sure as hell hadn’t expected that to still be the case.
three
. . .
Axel
I madean effort to attend Sunday dinner at my aunt Ellie and uncle Keaton’s house because I’d missed the last two. They lived next door to my parents, and we’d been going to Sunday dinner there for as long as I could remember.
A week had passed since Wren had come to work for me, and it was a relief to have someone taking over the books, since the work had been piling up. But having her there was difficult to process for too many reasons.
I’d been restless ever since she’d started, and the weekend had been a bit of a reprieve.
I’d basically grieved the loss of my relationship with Wren over the last two years. It was probably the most meaningful relationship I’d ever had in my life, and the loss of her had been difficult.
And now she was back in Rosewood River and working for me.
Ignoring her was difficult but necessary.
“I love hambies,” Melody said as she lifted her hamburger up and took a bite.
Everyone chuckled as we continued passing platters of potato salad and corn on the cob around.
“Are we not talking about the elephant in the room?” my mother asked, and I glanced up to find her watching me.
“Ahhhh… are we referring to the fact that Wren Waterstone is not only back in town, but also working for Axel?” Rafe said with a raised brow.
“I don’t think it qualifies as an ‘elephant in the room,’ since we’re all aware that she’s here, so there’s no secret to uncover.” I forked some potato salad and popped it in my mouth.
I didn’t want to talk about it.
Our relationship was complicated.
Wren was not only my best friend; she was also a part of me in a way that I couldn’t explain, in a way I actually didn’t realize until she’d walked out of my life.
“I haven’t met her yet,” Lulu, Rafe’s fiancée, said. She hadn’t grown up in Rosewood River. “But Emilia said she’s amazing.”
“She’s always been really sweet, and famous in the equestrian world. I haven’t seen her yet since she’s come back home,” Emilia said. She and my cousin Bridger had just moved in together. “I just hope she won’t blame me for what they wrote about her and her family in ‘The Taylor Tea’ yesterday. You know, some people think I have a say in what goes in that column.”
More laughter bellowed around the table.
For the longest time, Bridger had been convinced that Emilia was the author of “The Taylor Tea,” the anonymous gossip column in the local newspaper, and he’d been brutal to her about it. Emilia’s family owned theRosewood River Review, so people just assumed she had a say in what they printed, which was not the case.
But my radar was up now that they’d mentioned something being written about Wren and her family.
“What did the article say?” I asked, trying to feign indifference.
Easton looked at me. “You didn’t read it?”
“I worked a long day yesterday, so reading a gossip column isn’t high on my list at the moment.” But it sure as shit was now.
