Me and Eli and Addie and everyone who's put work into this ranch.
But standing here, watching Addie ride while Eli stays on the opposite side of the pen, it doesn't feel like victory.
When Addie finally dismounts, grinning and breathless, she doesn't seem to notice the tension radiating between me and Eli.
"He felt amazing today," she says. "Like, really amazing. I think we're ready."
"He looked good," Eli says.
"Really good," I add, forcing warmth into my voice. "You're both ready."
Addie beams and leads the colt toward the barn to cool him down, already talking to him in that soft voice she uses when she's pleased.
Leaving me and Eli alone in the pen.
I turn to face him. He's already heading for the gate.
"Eli."
He stops. Doesn't turn around.
"Are we okay?" The words come out quieter than I meant them to.
For a long moment, he doesn't answer. Just stands there, shoulders tight, hands flexing at his sides.
Then he turns. Meets my eyes.
And there's something in his expression that makes my stomach drop.
Not anger. Not coldness.
Resignation.
"We're fine," he says.
The word lands wrong.
He walks away before I can respond.
I stand there in the empty pen, dust settling around my boots, and feel the distance between us stretch into something I can't cross.
By noon, we're in the east pasture repairing fence.
The work is mindless in the best way. Physical. Pull wire. Hammer staples. Move to the next post. The sun beats down, sweat soaking through my shirt within the first twenty minutes, and I focus on the rhythm of it.
Anything but the distance between us.
Eli works ten feet away, methodical and silent. We've repaired fences together a hundred times over the years. Knew how to do it as teenagers. We know the rhythm. Who moves where. When to hand off tools. When to step back so the other person has room to work.
Today it feels choreographed. Careful.
I yank wire tight and hammer a staple into place, the impact jarring up my arm. Move to the next post. Repeat.
My phone buzzes in my back pocket.
I ignore it.
It buzzes again. Then a third time in quick succession.
