Butcher holsters his gun in the back of his cargo pants and tips his head. “You trying to convince me to go out with her or turn me off?”
I shake my head, trying to rattle my brain back into place. “Neither. Where is she staying?”
“Nope.” He smirks and turns away from me. I’m about to yank him back when he faces me again. “Check campus. I won’t tell you more. If she means that much, you’ll find her.” He walks away.
“Cowboy, you can’t be serious. You know the rules. She’s like a princess. Striker will kill you. She’s like Lia’s little sister,” Jumper adds.
“Too late. She’s mine now. I’ll go ask Striker where I can find her.”
Jumper looks at his watch. “Not at this hour. It’s almost two in the morning. He’ll shoot first and ask questions later.”
“Son of a bitch.”
I return to my room and slam the door. I jump in the shower, hating that I’m washing her off me, but I won’t get any sleep if I don’t. I can’t believe I didn’t get her number, or that I let her escape me. Didn’t I tell her she was mine now? I replay everything in my head and realize I didn’t do anything but grunt at her and demand shit.
I’m royally fucked.
Andi
The next morning,I’m so sore down there. Every time I move, I feel him.
I make it to the veterinary surgical nursing lab and slide into my seat beside Lennox. She eyes me and leans in close.
“You have a hickey on your neck.”
I slap a hand over the mark. I saw it last night when I got back to my dorm, but this morning it completely slipped my mind. I was running late. I just jumped out of bed, threw on a T-shirt, jeans, and a denim jacket. I barely turned on the bathroom light to brush my teeth, wash my face, and pile my hair into a messy bun before grabbing my stuff and bolting out the door.
“I know.”
“I want details after class.” She smirks.
I met Lennox in August when I moved here. She was new to the area too and doesn’t talk much about her past. We both love animals, but she wants to get her veterinary medicine degree, while I’m focused on my veterinary nursing diploma. I earned my associate’s in veterinary technology at Purdue and transferred my credits here to finish my bachelor’s degree.
Lennox has dark brown, almost black hair that falls to her mid-back, dark brown eyes, and a huge smile. She’s twenty-one and has taken me under her wing. We had talked about getting a room together this semester, but my mom and stepdad thought it would be better for me to keep my private dorm room in case we didn’t get along.
I couldn’t stay at home anymore. My mother and grandmother asked me every day if I was ready to practice. They’d bug me about needing points or I wouldn’t be able to make it back to the championship. I tried to tell them I couldn’t do it, but every time they just said I needed to get back on the horse and I’d feel better.
Lennox knows I don’t want to barrel race anymore, and she doesn’t judge me for it. She doesn’t call me a quitter and say I’m being childish. Every time I think about getting back on Raine or any horse, I see Raine’s hoof coming for my face. I see her kicking me as her body went over the top of me. Truth be told, I never even wanted to be a barrel racer. I got into it because my mom was so heartbroken over my father’s death at the time,and I didn’t want to rock the boat. By the time she got with Jon, it was too late to walk away. Everyone was so proud of me. Aunt Hailey is the only person who listens. I made her swear she wouldn’t tell Uncle Ethan, her husband, that I hated it.
Ethan barely left Forging Forbes Ranch with his sanity. I’m struggling myself. Being a Forbes means you either raise horses or race them. I don’t want to do either. I want to take care of them and other large animals.
Ty, my best friend since diapers, is studying animal therapy. He and his brother are working with Raine on their farm in Oklahoma.
When I was back in Indiana, I was seeing a psychologist, but I stopped when I moved here. She treated me after my father died, but I didn’t feel like she could connect to me as an adult. My mother and grandmother had insisted I go see her, though. She only made things worse. I felt like she was on their side about riding and racing. They thought she could make me get back on a horse.
I know I need to see someone soon here because my nightmares have returned, and I’m barely sleeping. I was going to talk to Lia last night to see if she had any suggestions, but things didn’t go as planned. I know she and Striker have been in therapy since her father attacked her months ago. Maybe she’ll have some recommendations. I can talk to her at my hair appointment this afternoon. Part of me wants to cancel going to the baby shower tomorrow because it’s at the clubhouse I ran from last night.
Ugh, my life is becoming way more complicated than I wanted it to be. When I moved here, I just wanted to finish my degree and then decide where to live. I don’t want to go back to the ranch. Hailey has offered to hire me, but that’s too close to my mother. Ty wants me to move to Oklahoma and help on their ranch, but I’m not sure I want that either.
I love my mom very much. She struggled for a long time with depression after my father’s death, until she found Jon. I don’t know or care to know which one is her true love, but Jon takes good care of her and my little sister. He helps manage the ranch and the breeding program, but he’s never been a father figure for me. My uncle Ethan has. He and Hailey would take me to their farm down in Santa Claus, Indiana. That’s where I developed my love for caring for animals.
I was beginning to like Eastport before last night, but now I’m not sure where I want to settle.
As the surgical lab progresses, I take notes. When I’m called up to demonstrate some of the techniques we’ve learned, I stay focused on the class, even though my mind keeps drifting back to Callum. I wonder why he regrets what we did. I also wonder if he went out and found a more experienced partner after I walked out. When the class ends, Lennox and I pack up our bags.
“Want to grab some lunch and discuss whatever is bothering you?” Lennox asks.
I purse my lips as I think about everything. I do need someone to talk to about this. This isn’t something I could discuss with Ty either. He might have just came out, but until six months ago, he was in love with me. It was his way of avoiding the fact that he was gay and didn’t want to disappoint his dad or brother. In the end, everyone was happy for him to just be authentic.
