“Do you mind if I, uh, come with you?”
Hollie tossed a glance back at her girls. “Ladies, can Cade come with us?”
“Cade! I beg of you!” Izzy yelled.
Nora chanted his name on repeat, kicking her feet like a maniac.
The smile and slow blush rising into his cheeks thawed something deep in my spirit. I forced down the lump in my throat, denying myself an emotional response in front of Cade, who needed to see me happy for him to go have a great time.
Hollie asked, “Do you have swim trunks?”
“Yes ma’am.”
“I’ll drive you down to the cabin so you can change.”
Cade pulled open the passengers’ door and slipped onto her leather interior seats, leaving streaks of dust on everything he touched. I’d worry if I didn’t know how down to earth Hollie was. He shut the door behind him and smiled but his top teeth bared down on his bottom lip just a little. “Dad, are you gonna be okay?”
My voice scraped against my swelling vocal chords. “Better than ever—proud of you.” My gaze flicked to Hollie, whose eyes softened when they met mine.
She held a phone symbol up to her ear and mouthed,I’ll call you later.
I gave her a nod.I’ll be waiting.
“Thank you, Hollie.”
She smiled. “You need anything from the store?”
I scrunched my forehead, thinking hard. I needed an entire grocery list, but I couldn’t recall a single specific thing with the way my head swam. Instead, I blurted, “How about some hazelnut coffee cream?”
“Wait.” Hollie’s brows rose. “DidIget you into that?”
“Well, I just thought after running around with kids all afternoon, you might need some coffee. I—could make us a pot.”
She narrowed her eyes, hearing the invitation in my words. She dragged the stick from park to drive, flashing me a curious smile. “Alright then. I’ll pick some up.”
“Cool.” I rapped the top of the vehicle, backing away. “Y’all have fun.”
“I love you, Dad.” My entire world sought my gaze, his green eyes swirling with hope and fear and courage beyond his years. I’d lay mylife down right now, no questions asked, for that boy. He’d been my gravity—anchoring me to this world during the longest years of my life. When the pain was so bad I had no right-side up. If it hadn’t been for my son, curled up in his toddler bed needing me to be dad, I would’ve just let my future go. Would’ve given myself over to the bottle and never looked back.
Shit—this would be harder for me than him, wouldn’t it?
Emotion welled up in my eyes and I wished I hadn’t left my hat in the truck bed so I could adjust it lower on my forehead. “Love you too, Buddy. See you later.”
Then they drove off.
And for the first time all summer, I was truly alone.
I stood by the circle pin, where Harlan, Tag, Cade, and I observed the new horse—a painted mare who got dropped off this morning by a local farmer. Apparently, the farmer had bought her at an auction with little knowledge of her history and he’d missed classic signs of abuse that Tag could spot from a mile away. He hoped Tag could work some kind of miracle on her, and knowing Tag, he definitely could.
Cade, standing on the fence beside me, jumped down and tore off toward the barn. An immediate, easy smile lifted my cheeks when I saw Hollie and the girls making their rounds. Daily, they came down to see what us cowboys were up to, and now I craved the hottest hours of the afternoon.
Yesterday, Cade had spent the entire day in San Antonio with them. When I asked how it went, he told me it was the best day of his life. After they got back, we unloaded the Costco haul, then Hollie and I had a cup of hazelnut coffee on the front porch of my cabin. It was short, only fifteen minutes or so, and we mostly discussed how Cade did, but I enjoyed every second of it. We could’ve sat there and said nothing and I would’ve enjoyed it. Just being in proximity to her buoyed my spirits somehow.
She lifted her hand and waved at me, a slow smile curling her full lips. She had cut off shorts, a beige t-shirt, and sandals. Her hair wasdown, no clip, allowing her wild curls to dance in the scorching breeze. Garrett running around on Hollie was absolutely unfathomable to me. She was the total package: breathtakingly beautiful, funny, selfless, easy to talk to, and an incredible mom.
My hands clenched the top rung of the fence as I briefly imagined Hollie crying or feeling afraid of him. She told me he was a cheater, but there was more to the story. I could sense it when I looked in her eyes. Her nervous ticks raised red flags left and right, and I justknewthat bastard did a number on her. I wished I had a full picture of their history because my brain constantly entertained ideas that made me ill with rage.
I pushed off the fence. “Hey.”
