I chuckled sadly. “Thanks, Levi. And no, not really, but I don’t have the energy to talk about it either.”
Levi nodded. “Understood. If you find that you do, you know where to find me. Horses are great listeners too.” He winked at me before heading back into the barn. Levi was right. I needed my main man, Cash.
The barn was quiet, as it was still early and there were noclients here yet. Once I got Cash out of his stall, I took my time grooming him, making his dark coat shine. Sometimes just grooming a horse, just being with them, was as cathartic as riding. And this horse, he knew me so well, he could sense my emotions. Cash kept turning to touch his nose to me anytime I was near. It was always his way of telling me that he was there. I held his head in my arms and just rested my forehead against his, breathing him in. We stayed like that for a moment, and I could feel my entire body finally relax, the tension melting away.
After moving the horses onto the property, I discovered a river that ran through the hills, situated to the right of the barn. It was behind the land that one day I wished to build a house on. It was a quiet spot filled with so much beauty, nestled between the hills, the gentle sound of the river flowing, and the wildflowers that I imagined would eventually bloom in the spring. I rode Cash over to the river and breathed in the fresh winter air when I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket.
Dean:
We still on for tonight at 6?
Shit.I totally forgot that I told Dean I would be at his house tonight. He told me that he had something to tell me. Could it be what Noah told me? Was I seriously going to go to Dean’s and relive this heartbreak all over again in front of him? I blew out a heavy breath. Fuck these men and the power I gave themto hurt me. Not this time. I would go to his house and face this head-on. Give him a piece of my mind with no regrets.
Yes, see you then.
I slipped my phone back into my pocket and spent the next hour just hanging out with Cash by the river, thinking through everything that I was going to say to Dean tonight.
Chapter 22
Dean
ItfeltlikeIhadn’t seen or spoken to Addison in a week when in reality it had only been one day. I also couldn’t shake the unsettling feeling that gnawed at me from the inside out. She would be here any minute, and I was going to lay it all out. No more withholding the whole truth from her. She deserved that much from me, and I felt like such an asshole that I withheld it from her in the first place. I knew I’d made a mistake.
I was putting the finishing touches on the dinner I’d prepared for us when Coal’s head popped up at the sound of a car door closing. Several moments later, Addison knocked on the door as she opened it. “Hey, I’m here,” she announced. Coal quickly got to his feet and trotted toward the front door to greet her, his tail wagging furiously as he took off.
“In the kitchen!” I shouted across the house to her as I put the chicken stir-fry into the oven to keep it warm until after our conversation. After closing the oven door, I turned around to see her, and our eyes locked immediately. She looked tired, defeated, sad, even, but beautiful nonetheless. She was wearing an oversized sweatshirt with leggings, and her long hair waspulled into a loose braid that hung over her shoulder.
I quickly made my way around the island and wrapped my arms around her, bringing her into my chest.
“Hey, baby,” I whispered against her hair. I took a deep breath, inhaling her sweet citrusy scent. As my body relaxed at having her in my arms again, I noticed that hers didn’t. She didn’t melt into my body the way she usually did. She felt stiff, tense. I released her and stood back, holding her at arm’s length and searching her green eyes. “You okay?”
She quickly nodded and moved out of my arms toward the table. “So, what did you make us?”
I sighed. Something was definitely off, but I wasn’t going to press the issue just yet. “Just chicken stir-fry, nothing crazy.” I poured her a glass of wine and handed it to her. “I figured we should talk first though.” She took the glass from me, immediately taking a long drink before nodding in agreement.
We settled into our seats at the table and sat in an unusual, uncomfortable silence. I took a sip of wine and decided that now was as good a time as any to start this conversation. “So, like I mentioned in my text yesterday, there’s something I need to tell you.”
Addison’s eyes drifted upward from her wineglass, locking on mine. “Okay, tell me.”
I took a deep breath to settle my nerves. “As I said before, I’m sorry for not telling you about Noah when I made the connection. But there’s more to the story than just that. You and I have actually spoken on the phone before.” I paused to gauge her reaction, but oddly enough, there was none.Without thinking too much about it, I continued, “Noah begged me to act like I was his friend on the phone with you and that we had some guys’ trip planned. I didn’t find out until after that he was actually meeting up with another girl. I didn’t know anything about your relationship. I just went along with it because at the end of the day, he’s family and he sounded desperate. Given his track record, I shouldn’t have trusted his intentions when he asked me to help him. It was really fucked up for me to keep this from you, I know that.”
I reached across the table and took her hand in mine. She looked at our hands but not back up at me.
“Addison, I’m so sorry. I’m an asshole for what I did, and I’m an even bigger asshole for not telling you the minute I knew that your ex-fiancé was my cousin.”
She remained quiet. It unnerved me that she showed no reaction to what I had just unloaded on her.
“Addison, please look at me.” She released my hand and sat back in her chair, dropping her hands into her lap, finally bringing herself to look at me.
“Is there anything else you want to tell me? Is that everything?” she asked in nearly a whisper.
I tilted my head, confused. “That’s it. I wanted to lay it all out, and I wanted you to hear it from me and not Noah. That was what he was alluding to the other day at your farm.”
“I already know that it was you on the phone with Noah,” she admitted.
Now I was confused. “What? How?”
“Noah. I met him last night for dinner to hear him out.He told me that you were the friend on the phone. But he also told me something else.” She glanced back down at her lap. “I saw the texts between you two.”
