Callie squeezes between the two of us. “So, I guess my part is over?”
“Thank you, Cal.” Lauren wraps Callie in a hug. “Don’t worry. Jax owes me a shift at the booth still, so I’ll come find you in a bit.”
“I’m holding you to that.” Callie points her finger at us and raises her brows.
Lauren giggles and leads the way as we weave through the crowd, keeping an eye on each other while trying not to make it obvious we’re sneaking off.
When Lauren takes a sharp right turn between two of the buildings, I glance around and follow her. It isn’t until we’re safely behind them and winding down a path in thetall grass behind that I ask, “Do you know where we’re going?”
“Olivia did a little research. She said this trail should take us behind some trees and completely out of the way from everyone.”
The path we are on is hardly one at all. It’s a clearing in the knee-high grass that’s maybe a foot wide.
“Are you sure this is the kind of surprise I’ll enjoy?” I do my best to keep my voice light. “I’m kind of fond of my life, so I don’t think I’d like to be murdered.”
She laughs. God, I needed to hear her laugh. I swear it’s already dragging me out of my weird mood.
She crinkles her nose. “Youthinkyou don’t want to be murdered?”
“I don’t know. Maybe I’d find a little Romeo and Juliet situation romantic in the moment,” I say, hoping to get Lauren to laugh again.
It works, making my heart pulse quicker in my chest, and for a moment, I’m able to focus solely on Lauren’s glowing face. The sight of her makes three little words pop into my head. It’s getting so damn hard to hide my love for Lauren because everything she does is a constant reminder of how I feel for her. It’s one thing to hide it from the rest of the world, but hiding it from her much longer might actually be the thing that kills me.
Lauren sits on a boulder just off the path, patting the spot next to her. “Romeo and Juliet committed suicide. It wasn’t murder.”
I frown as I join her on the rock. “I’m sorry I’m not the Romance King.”
“You might be. You have your shining moments.” She nudges my leg with a smile.
It’s hard to see the good in myself right now. The letter Iripped open this morning was a not-so-gentle reminder of the ways I’ve been a failure before, but I’m not about to ruin our day by talking about my wounds.
I rest my hand on her thigh. “How are you feeling today? Any better now that all the set up for the booth is taken care of?”
“Sort of.” She shrugs. “I still have a lot to do that goes beyond this festival.”
“Is there something we can do in the short term?”
“I guess another cowboy would help.” She swats away a blade of tall grass that brushes her knee. “I’ve been stretched thin trying to do both the management and the cowboying. I know you’ve been helping in your free time, but we need another person, or maybe even two, who can dedicate full-time hours to the ranch.”
“I’ll help you write an ad tonight.”
She shakes her head. “I can’t. I told Charlie I’d hang out with him later. I’m feeling guilty.”
Me too.“I bet Charlie would be willing to help you with the ad. He loves you, and he’d do anything for you.”
She plucks a blade of grass and crinkles it in her hands. “I can’t ask him to do that.”
“Why not?”
“He left this town to get away from the ranch. I don’t want to force him back into that world while he’s here. It’s not fair.”
I dig the toe of my boot into the dirt. “Have you ever considered it wasn’t fair of him to leave without talking with you first? He didn’t even pause to consider how you might have felt about taking over the ranch. He didn’t care if you would accept the responsibility or not. He just decided it was time to leave.”
A bird chirping in a tree overhead fills the silencethat washes over us. My words and harsh tone surprise even me. The events of this morning are definitely adding to my reaction, but I suppose I never processed how upset I was with Charlie for leaving. No one saw it coming. He always said he’d move back after college, but he didn’t. It stung to know he didn’t trust me enough, or care enough about me, to talk through the pros and cons or give me a heads-up. It was further proof that even the people closest to me don’t think I’m enough.
“It wasn’t like that,” Lauren whispers.
“Maybe not, but it still wasn’t fair.”
