Boone mouthed a choice directive at his brother and then flipped him the bird in case he hadn’t gotten the message.
“You still want to hit the clearing if it’s just me?” Ash asked, ready and expecting to be turned down. But Willow surprised him with a shrug.
“I guess I wouldn’t mind the company.” She turned her attention to Boone. “Enjoy your makeover. I hope I get to meet Casey and your swearin’ baby girl while I’m in town.”
The departing Murphy grinned. “Casey would love that. My swearin’ baby girl would too. How about when Eli and Beth are back in town? We can fire up Eli’s grill, introduce you to the chickens… Colt and Jenna should come too, of course. It’ll be one big family reunion.”
“It’s a date!” Willow exclaimed.
Ash cleared his throat. “Yeah. Great idea, big bro,” he lied. Because finding his way back to some semblance of normalcy with his own brothers wasone thing. But how much did Colt Morgan know about Willow’s time on Ash’s tour…or why she left? He guessed that in several days, he was about to find out. And he doubted there’d be boxing gloves or headgear to cushion any potential blows.
And with that, Boone and Cirrus disappeared back into the barn, leaving Ash and Willow to chase the soon-to-be setting sun on a ride to and from the clearing.
“Are we racing too?” he asked.
She shook her head. “Let’s take our time.”
Ash tilted his head toward the sky that was now swathed in streaks of blue, orange, and pink. Then his eyes fell back on her, a girl on her horse, backlit by the golden hour.
“What?” Willow asked, and he realized he was staring.
He huffed out a laugh. “Nothing.”
She bristled. “Fine. Don’t tell me what you were thinking when you obviously have something on your mind.”
Ash grabbed the straw hat that had been resting on Midnight’s withers and placed it on his head. “You don’t really want to know what I’m thinking, Wills…Sorry.Willow.” He tapped his heels and urged the mare forward. “Come on. Let’s enjoy the ride.”
And they did. At least, Ash did. They took it slow, just like she’d wanted, and made their way to the clearing in what for him felt like an almostcomfortable silence. There was still tension between them, but he could feel something in her demeanor softening.
They had a bit of sunlight left when they reached their destination, so they both dismounted, tied off the horses, and then made their way to the giant maple. Willow lay down just outside the shade, tossing her hat to the side and crossing her hands behind her head.
“Do you ever watch the clouds at the end of the day like this? How they change color and shape and then sometimes disappear?” She tilted her head toward where Ash still stood. “Or am I the only weirdo who does that?”
Was that an invitation to join her? She wasn’t telling him to piss off or hitting him over the head with pottery, so he decided that it was and lay down beside her. He set his hat on the grass between them, ensuring he was a safe couple of feet away.
“You’re not a weirdo,” he finally replied. “At least not for meditating with the clouds.”
She grabbed his hat and tossed it at his head.
Ash laughed, and then they both sank into the quiet as wispy white cirrus clouds slowly sailed through a sea of pink until they seemed to vanish into mist.
“What if I did want to know what you were thinking?” Willow asked after neither of them had spoken for several minutes.
Ash answered her but kept his eyes trained on the sky above. “Then I’d probably have fed you some corny line that belonged in a song about how you looked beautiful backlit by the setting sun. But I know I have no right to look at you like that, so I kept my damned mouth shut.”
He hoped she knew the bite in his tone was aimed at no one other than himself.
The air went still again for a handful of seconds before she said anything in response.
“Do you regret what happened four years ago?” Just like that, after two days of dancing around the elephant that was far too big to even fit in the room, Willow was done pulling punches.
“Every day,” he admitted. Though she had to know that much. He didn’t blame her for walking away from him and never looking back, but he’d made it clear on more than one occasion that he hated himself for how it all went down.
In his peripheral vision, he saw her roll onto her side to face him, but he wasn’t ready to do the same. So he focused on the clouds while she apparently focused on him.
“Hating you is exhausting,” she told him.
He sighed. “If that’s true, then there must be a shit ton of exhausted people in my life.”
