“I’ve seen my brother and Emerson making out more times than I can count. Plus I watch movies.” I shrugged. My brother dated his cousin Emerson, and she and I were very close.
He chuckled. “Is there anything that you don’t do well?”
“Well, I’m not a good writer like you are. You’re always writing those songs for me.” I handed him the water bottle back. “Speaking of which, you promised to write me a new one for my competition this weekend.”
He did a slow nod, the corners of his lips turning up. “I wrote it. You want to hear it?”
“Of course I do.” I moved to sit up on my knees and faced him.
He pulled his phone from his pocket and opened his notes app. “This is going to be your good luck song from now on. You sing it in your head before every competition, and then you go out there and kick everyone’s ass.”
“This must be some song.” I bounced up and down, anxious to hear it.
“‘That’s my Horse Girl, sitting up high. She shines brighter than all the stars in the sky. Soaring through the air, with strength and grace. Try to catch her, and she’ll put you in your place. She’s got big dreams, just watch her fly. In a heartbeat, she’ll pass you by.’”
“Best one yet. And you tied in our saying.” I dove forward and hugged him. Axel and I had made a pact many years ago that, if either of us ever needed the other, we’d always be there. We were best friends, after all.
“In a heartbeat,” we’d always say.
“I’m going to memorize it and say it in my head anytime I have doubts.” I shrugged.
“You don’t need to ever doubt yourself, Wren. I saw your talent the first time I saw you on a horse.”
I pulled back and settled beside him. “Well, you’re still faster than me.”
“Not for long.” He stood and reached for my hand. “Should we ride?”
“Always. Let’s go, Cowboy.”
He tossed his hat on his head, and we both climbed onto our horses and took off racing one another, just like we always did.
one
. . .
Axel
I’d been workingout on my ranch since five o’clock this morning. I was already over this day, and the sun hadn’t even come up yet.
My phone rang, and my cousin Bridger’s face lit up my screen.
“Hey, you’re up early,” I said as I set my tools down and walked toward the house to grab a fresh cup of coffee.
“Yeah, I’m heading to the city for meetings. I just wanted to let you know that I got a text from Brenner letting me know that he found someone who can start today, but it’s through a temp service. He knows you need help right away, so he’ll keep looking for something more permanent, but for now, you’ll have someone for the next few months. He said he sent you an email with the info, but I wanted to make sure you knew you had help coming today.”
Bridger had asked his right-hand man, Brenner Layton, to interview a few candidates for me, since I was drowning with work. I owned Chadwick Trailers, a company I’d started from the ground up right out of college. I built custom horse trailers, and I designed them for people all over the country. Businesswas booming, but my office manager, Loraine, had up and quit two weeks ago with no warning. She’d left town with some random dude and sent me an apology text that contained more emojis than actual words.
She hadn’t included the middle finger emoji, which seemed most fitting, because leaving me high and dry was a big fat “fuck you,” in my eyes.
“That’s the best news I’ve had all day. I haven’t had a second to check my emails, as Jonah called in an hour ago. Apparently he’s been puking all night, and he’s down with the flu. Benji sent me a text a few minutes ago letting me know that Marina tripped over the dishwasher and tore her shin open, so he’s at the hospital with her because she needs a few stitches. So it’ll just be me and Coby today, and I have a ton of orders to get started on. And shit is piling up in the office, and I haven’t had a minute to go through it.” Marina was Benji’s wife, and they had a little boy named Brenton. He, Coby, and Jonah had worked for me the last couple of years. I had a great team in place now.
When everyone showed up.
“Yeah, you’ve missed the last two Sunday dinners, and everyone’s worried about you.”
I paused in my kitchen, where I filled my mug with steaming hot coffee. I took a sip before replying. “I’m just buried. I’ll get caught up soon. I appreciate you having Brenner find someone so quickly. That’ll help a lot.”
“No problem.” I could hear the concern in his voice. “You’re going to need to bring on more help, Axel. Utilize Brenner. He’s happy to handle the interviews for you. You’re growing quicker than you planned, so you probably need to hire more employees. Stop being a stubborn fucker and ask for help.”
