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But it’s deep. The kind of grief that comes from somewhere buried too far down, something you don’t fully understand until you lose someone who mattered.

I feel it in my own chest, my throat tightening as I take a few steps back, giving them space, letting them have this moment without me in it.

Time stretches, but I don’t mind.

The horses shift quietly in their stalls, the soft rustle of hay and the steady rhythm of breathing filling the silence between Jude’s broken exhales.

After a while, Dex looks up at me over Jude’s shoulder.

I nod.I’m okay.

He nods back, something grateful in his eyes.

Jude eventually pulls away, dragging a hand over his face before sinking down onto the hay-covered floor, his back hitting the wooden wall behind him.

For a moment, he just sits there, staring at nothing.

I step closer to Dex, lowering my voice.

“Does he have beers in the house?”

Dex glances at me, confusion flickering across his face.

“Trust me?” I ask softly.

There’s a beat. Then he nods, pulling his keys from his pocket and placing them in my hand without another question.

I head back toward the house, the quiet inside almost unsettling compared to the warmth we left behind at the ranch.

The kitchen light is still on.

I open the fridge, grabbing a handful of beers without really thinking, then head back out, the cool air hitting me again as I make my way toward the stables.

Both of them look up when I step inside.

For a second, I hesitate. Then Dex gives me a small smile.

So I walk over and sit down beside them, close enough to Dex that our shoulders touch, the warmth of him grounding me.

I hand each of them a beer.

They take it.

We open them at the same time, the soft hiss cutting through the quiet.

I take a sip, then exhale slowly.

“This part of life sucks,” I say, not looking at either of them.

Jude’s gaze shifts to me. He studies me for a long second, then nods once.

“Yeah,” he mutters. “It fucking does.”

I nod. There’s nothing else to add to that.

When I glance at Dex, his eyes are already on me. He mouths a quiet thank you.

We sit there like that for a while, the three of us.