The smell of smoke had ebbed away and now there was only the faint aroma of charred wood from the old stable door that was propped up close by, covered by tarpaulin. It was one thing that had survived the fire, and I was insistent that it was used in the new stables. Me and my brothers had our names carved into it and trashing it would feel like throwing away part of ourlegacy. It might have been a new start for us, but it was good to keep some of the old, too.
“It’s a big day, boys,” Calvin said, wrapping his arm around Ella’s shoulder.
“Sure is,” Nash replied. “You excited for your new stables, guys?” His smile at Mikey and Tally told me he was just as thrilled.
“I mean I didn’t spend any time in the old ones,” Tally replied, “but I’ve seen the plans. It’s going to be incredible.” Her hands were shoved into the back pockets of her jeans as she looked over to the team waiting to start. “I just feel honored to be a part of it all.”
The eagerness shining in her eyes was catching because seeing her made me desperate for us to get going, to start working together. To fulfil all our ambitions.
“It’s sad the old stables have gone, though,” Mikey added. “But not much we can do about that.” He nodded at the new security cameras around the yard. “I’d like to see them try again, though.”
“If I ever get hold of the basta?—”
“Gunner,” Nash growled, his eyes moving in the direction of his kids.
“Let’s forget about them for today,” Shane said, slapping my back. “Just remember your mom would be proud of you boys.
The three of us exchanged a look, a mixture of sorrow and pride. Shane was right, she was always telling us how everything we did was incredible, but it clutched at my chest that she wasn’t here to see what we were starting. Admittedly, it hadn’t come about for the best of reasons, but maybe we could take a positive from it; the new, state of the art stables were just the beginning of a brand new future.
“We ready to go?” I was anxious to get started. It was time to move on and leave the sadness of the last week behind us.
“Hey, Bertie, you think we should bury something in the concrete?” Wilder asked, his hair blowing in the breeze as he held his Stetson at his side.
Shit he was just too easy. “You maybe,” I replied.
“I vote Wilder,” Nash cried at the same time.
“Dicks,” he muttered. “I was thinking of some sort of time capsule if you must know.”
“I think that’s a great idea, Uncle Wilder,” Bertie cried, clapping her hands excitedly. “Can we Momma, can we?”
Lily gave Wilder a tight smile. “We’re a little tight on time, baby. They’re about to pour.”
“We can do something really quick,” Wilder offered. “I have a tin box we could each grab something from the house.” He breezed over to Markus who was talking to the guy operating the machine pouring the concrete. “Hey, Markus, can we delay for say twenty to thirty minutes?”
“Sure, we should be okay, right, Eddie?”
Eddie nodded. “Twenty is the max. I don’t want it going off.”
“We can manage that.” He turned and gave us all a thumbs up. “Let’s go guys. Get something for the time capsule.”
“Okay, let’s go.” He gathered Bertie up and grabbed Lily’s hand. “We have twenty minutes.”
“Honey, give Billy to me,” Ella offered. “You’ll be quicker without him.”
As Lily led a toddling Billy to his grandmother, Wilder jumped excitedly on the spot. “Come on people, come on.”
It was typical of Wilder, to have an idea and expect everyone to run with it. What was also typical of him was to have the most thoughtful ideas that we would all be grateful for in the end. I had a feeling that this might be one of them.
As I followed Nash, his family and Wilder back to the house, I wished that Cassidy was there. She had gone back to work that morning; in fact, she’d gone back to her apartment the nightbefore and I’d hated every minute that she was gone. I also hated that she wasn’t here to add something to the capsule because as far as I was concerned she was now a part of this place. She was a part of its future. She was my future. So, as I wandered back to the house, I took out my phone and called her knowing she would be on lunch.
“Hey, sweetheart.”
That beat before she answered me was always filled with excitement. The anticipation of her sultry tone, the wonder of what she might say.
“Hi, baby. This is a pleasant surprise.”
Yep, sultry and sexy and I was already halfway to a stiff dick and now was not the time. I adjusted myself and carried on walking toward the house.
