Brice
I'm at my parent's place and working on the pigpen my mom wants. She's been hinting at a pen to raise some baby pigs and I need the distraction, so it works out. I try to keep Kayla out of my head, and the harder I work, the easier that seems to be. The harder the work, and the more tired I am at night, the easier it is to fall asleep. Though really, trying to fall asleep without her is very difficult, if not impossible.
I've already pulled weeds all around my place, the clinic, and my parent's place, fixed a few stalls in my parent's barn, organized all the files in the clinic and changed the oil in my truck, as well as my parents’ cars. Nothing seems to be enough to get her off my mind. But all I need is time, right? Keep busy and eventually, it will get easier.
I told my parents what happened. They say some time apart is probably what we need, but my dad admitted he wouldn't have left. He said it's the equivalent of going to bed mad. You just don't do it. I understand, but I just didn't see a solution.
Over the last few days, I have considered moving to Dallas many times. For her I would, but I know I'd be miserable, and that would seep into the relationship as much as I'd try to prevent it from happening. Not to mention there is no way I can hang around those people at the gala and bite my tongue again. Next time, I'll tell them exactly what they can do with their opinions, and that will probably make the front page of every Dallas paper.
So that leaves me right back here. Working to forget about Kayla, which isn't helping, but at least things around here are getting done. I think my mom is enjoying this because she made me a to-do list around the house of all the things my dad hasn't gotten to yet, including repainting the house.
I'm so focused on the to-do list, I don't hear anyone walking up to me until I turn and find Sage and Colt standing there. They just watch me, but I can tell they know exactly what’s going on. If my mom didn't tell them when they got here, I'm sure the gossip tree knows by now.
"I'm going to go have some tea on the porch with your mom," Colt says before squeezing Sage's hand and kissing her cheek.
We both watch him walk up to the back porch where Mom meets him with a tray of drinks and I'm sure a snack of some kind.
"Did you draw the short straw?" I ask Sage.
"No, I volunteered to come talk to you."
Sage was the girl I had a crush on in school, but everyone knew she and Colt were thick as thieves even if no one knew for sure they were together. A few years back, Sage asked me out, and I jumped at the chance. What guy doesn't want a date with the girl he crushed on all through school? But it was clear from that first date we were better off as friends.
We talked a lot, and she shared what was going on with her and Colt at the time. After some brainstorming, we decided to go on a few more dates to see if we could get him to finally make a move. It worked exactly as we had hoped it would. They have been together ever since. When Colt took Sage down memory lane with a scavenger hunt around town before he proposed, he asked me to be a part of it.
Sage takes a seat on the stack of wood I've been using to build the pen."Why don't you tell me what happened so I'm not going off what the town gossips have filled in?" I can only imagine what the town gossips know, and what details they’re making up. So, I launch into the story of Kayla having to go back to work and the long-distance we did and the gala, her friends, what they said, and our fight after I told her I loved her, her lack of reaction, her parents seeing it all, and me leaving.
"I feel like I need a bottle of whiskey after that," Sage jokes but rubs her stomach.
She looks back over at Colt, who hasn't taken his eyes off her. She smiles at him and he smiles back at her. I want that, what they have with each other. I've watched each of her brothers find it and many other couples here in Rock Springs, including my best friend, Ford. Until I met Kayla, I was thinking it just wasn't on the cards for me. But the universe is a cruel bitch and ardently likes toying with people.
"Listen,” Sage says. “After school, I left and traveled a lot. I experienced many different lifestyles and ways of living. I saw people who were obvious soul mates and some in miserable marriages. Even though I was trying to find where I fit, the problem was, I already knew. I was just scared of the answer. I spent many days asking for a sign of what I should do. When my family's ranch went up for sale, it was the sign I needed to come home."
Sage's birth parents were very abusive. Blaze and his family lived next door to them, and Sage and Blaze became best friends. So, when he went to his mom for help after finding out what was happening with Sage, they took her in, no questions asked, and ended up adopting her into the family. A few years later Colt needed a home, and they took him in, too. But by then I'm sure there was already something between Sage and Colt, even if they didn't know what it was right then.
"But I know Rock Springs is where I'm meant to be. I was miserable in Dallas,” I say. “I miss Kayla so damn much, I’ve thought of giving all this up and moving there for her. Yet I know within five years it would destroy us. If I lasted that long. I couldn't even handle a weekend there, or even one event."
Sage smiles, looking back over at Colt again."You know what you want, just like Colt did. But Kayla is like me. She’s going to need some time to figure it out. Thinking about making so many changes in her life, well, it's a lot. Don’t forget she has a company to worry about, too. But she needs help and a reminder of what she has here. Though Colt let me have my space, I often wonder if I would have come home sooner if he hadn't. If we had kept talking, things would have been so much easier and we wouldn't have lost so much time. Anyway, just something to think about."
"I don't know what to even say. We had that huge fight and her parents saw it all..."
"You’re overthinking this. A simple ‘I miss you’ text can go a long way. Photos are even better, just no dick pics, okay?"
"So what you’re telling me is if Colt had sent you a dick pic you wouldn't have beelined home to take a ride?"
"Brice!"
Her face turns bright red. To this day, one of my favorite things to do is embarrass Sage and get her to turn as red a tomato. It takes a lot to get to Sage, but when you can, it's fun as hell.
Sage yelling my name causes Colt to come our way and I just chuckle.
"Colt, I'm sorry for the inappropriate thing I said to your wife, but in all fairness, she started it."
He takes one look at Sage's still red face and smirks."What did you do?"
"She brought up dick pics," I shrug.
"Now you've done it," she says.