"She just turned two,” he says, and I hit his shoulder, just like I used to do all those years ago.
"Shut up,” I say. “A doctor, a husband, and a father."
"Not the husband part,” he says. “Two out of three isn’t so bad." He looks at my grandfather and then back at me. “Why don’t we catch up soon?" he says, and I nod at him as he walks over to his brand-new BMW.
"Doctor?" I say, shocked. “Harlow broke her arm once." I watch him drive away. “He threw up on her."
"People change," my grandfather says, and I look over at him, nodding.
"Don’t I know it,” I say, and he puts his hand on my shoulder.
"It’s good to have you home," he says, and the guilt slowly comes back.
"It’s just a visit,” I say, and he nods.
"You came." He squeezes my shoulder.
"Figured it was time,” I say. Someone opens the barn doors, and the horses run out into the fenced area.
I walk over to the fence and lean my hands on it. “Your father said you got hurt."
"Yeah." I don’t look at him because being here with him is strange. Standing beside this man who helped make me who I am, I can’t explain this feeling that creeps into me. "I’ll be okay."
"So why did you come?" I can see him in my peripheral vision as he watches the horses run. “If you don’t want to be here …”
“It’s not that I don’t want to be here, Grandpa,” I say softly. “It’s just …"
"Oh, I know," he says, pushing off the fence. “I know,” he says softly. “Why don’t you take your horse out for a bit?"
"I was going to say hi to Grandma,” I say. He puts his hands in his back pockets, and I wonder if my dad ever got compared to my grandfather.
"You say hi to her when you bring back the horse and stay for dinner." He turns and starts walking to the barn. “And I’m not asking you, Reed Barnes,” he says over his shoulder.
"Yes, sir,” I say, walking into the fenced area and going to my horse.
He comes to me, not sure. "It’s me,” I say, holding out my hand while his tail flips one way and then the other. I rub his neck. “Let's go for a ride,” I say, getting onto his back without a saddle. Grabbing his reins, I kick his sides, and he starts slow. “You got lazy,” I say, and he huffs back.
Eventually, he takes off a bit faster, and I enjoy the wind on my face. I don’t even pay attention to where he’s going, and by the time I look up, I see it. It’s the red barn, but it’s not red anymore, and it looks like it’s falling down. I gasp out in shock as I remember how perfect it was. My eyes fixate on the barn as I remember the last night I was here.
Kissing her, tasting her, making love to her. I close my eyes, and I’m brought back to six years ago.
It had been two months since I left home. I was riding high, nothing was standing in my way, and I was making a name for myself. I opened Facebook one night and saw that I had about fifteen messages. Most of them were from my family members but one was from Hazel. Her picture was of her and her grandfather.
My heart sped up for a second when I saw her name. I opened the message.
Hey, it’s me.
I know that this is out of the blue but can you call me, please.
It’s important.
I deleted the app and deactivated my account that very same night. I had one goal and one goal only—to succeed. I couldn’t reach out to her because I didn’t trust myself not to feel the guilt. So I pushed her to the back of my mind. I put her and all the memories we had together in a nice beautiful box I never touched.
Glancing back at the house, I find it looks just as bad as the barn, and I wonder if she ever came home. I wonder if her grandfather decided to sell the farm and follow her. It wouldn’t surprise me since he was all she had. I knew that her leaving was going to be a big deal to him even though he pretended he couldn’t wait.
I take one last look at the barn and the house and make my way back to my grandparents’ farm, not knowing that all the answers to my questions were right in front of me.
Chapter 6
Hazel
I pull open the glass door, and the cold air hits me right away. I make sure Sofia walks in before me. She slips her hand in mine as we walk in. "Good afternoon," the lady at the desk says with a smile. “How may I help you?" Her blond bob is as perfect as the makeup on her face.