Eli nods. "Yeah. Good call."
It's the first thing he's said that sounds like agreement instead of control.
The storm rages on outside, rain pounding, wind screaming, time stretching thin. And we stand here, shoulder to shoulder without touching, talking about horses and weather and equipment like none of the rest of it exists.
Like this isn't avoidance.
Like we don't both know exactly what's sitting between us, waiting for one of us to stop pretending.
Eli reaches for the halter at the same time I do, our hands brushing for half a second before he pulls back like he's been burned.
"I've got it," he says.
The words are sharp. Unnecessary.
I still my hand but don't step away. "I wasn't taking it from you."
"I know," he says, already turning away, like that settles it.
Something tightens low in my chest.
"You don't have to shut me out every time we work together," I say. Calm. Measured. "I can handle a halter without everything turning into a standoff."
He stops moving.
Slowly, he turns back to face me.
"That's not what this is," he says.
"Then what is it?" I ask.
The colt shifts between us, sensing the change, and I step closer to his shoulder, narrowing the space without meaning to. Eli mirrors it automatically, muscle memory kicking in, both of us angling in like we always used to.
Too close now.
"Don't," he says quietly.
"Don't what?" I ask, lifting my chin. "Work?"
His jaw tightens. "Don't pretend you don't know."
I feel heat rise in my neck, not embarrassment. Anger. Old and familiar.
"I'm not pretending," I say. "I'm standing here."
"That's the problem," he snaps.
The words crack the air between us.
I blink. "Excuse me?"
"You show up," he says, voice low but tight, "like you never left. Like nothing changed. And you expect me to just—" He cuts himself off, dragging a hand through his wet hair. "You expect me to pretend this is fine."
"I never asked you to pretend," I shoot back.
"No," he says. "You just walked away and let me do it all for you."
The argument ignites all at once, like it's been waiting for oxygen.
