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CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

ARI

I tried really hard to not let what Jeff had said to me back at the house affect me. I knew he was stressed, and Scott was going out of his way to flirt with me right in front of Jeff. I tried to make small talk with him on the way to meet Gunner’s parents.

Ellie had sent me a text, saying things were moving slowly with Gunner and his dad. She said they had barely had said two words to each other since his parents had arrived last night.

Ellie was waiting for me on the porch. She practically came running over to Jeff’s truck. As soon as I got out of the truck, she grabbed me and hugged me.

“How are you feeling?” She whispered in my ear.

“Fine.”

“Lying bitch. Did you tell him?” Ellie asked as she pulled away to look at me.

I shook my head. I could see the look of disappointment on her face.

“Hey, sis. No love for your big brother?” Jeff said as he walked up.

He took Ellie in a big bear hug and spun her around. She started laughing and then told him to put her down.

“How are things with Gun and his dad?” Jeff asked, looking up to the house.

“Well…um…they really need to spend some time alone together, I think.”

Gunner had sent Jeff a text and said that his dad’s old best friend, Drake was so happy to see his dad that he pretty much came and took him to the barn for awhile.

“I was hoping maybe you could talk Gunner into heading down there,” Ellie asked Jeff.

“Yeah sure, Ells, I can get him to do that. You okay with that, Ari?”

I smiled, trying to act like I really gave a rat’s ass what he did. At this point, I was so tired and weak that I probably wouldn’t have cared if he said he was going to Rebecca’s.

“Yep, no worries. Y’all have fun catching up.”

Ellie took me by the arm, and then we started to walk into the house.

The first person I saw was Grace.

She smiled and walked over to give me a hug.

“Congratulations on your engagement, Ari and Jeff. I’m so very happy for both of you.”

Jeff and I both said our thanks, and then Jeff was somehow able to talk Gunner into heading down to the barn.

As soon as they left and it was clear they were gone, the attack began.

“Why the hell have you not told him, Ari? You said you were going to tell him this morning!” Ellie yelled.

“Oh, Ari, honey. I have to agree with Ellie. You need to let him know,” Emma said as she wiped her hands on her apron. She walked over to give me a hug.

“Wait…what are we talking about?” Grace asked as she looked between the three of us.

“Well, um…” I had to start laughing. Jesus, everyone was going to know before Jeff. I needed to tell him tonight.

“I’m pregnant. I haven’t actually told Jeff yet, but that’s because some bitch he slept with before we became a couple is now saying she’s pregnant with his baby. It’s really a soap opera that’s not worth watching.”

Grace got up and walked over to me again. She took me in her arms.

Oh shit, here come the waterworks again.

I pulled back some and smiled. I looked over at Emma and Ellie.

“I was going to tell him this morning. I got up early and headed to the barn to clean out the stalls before Mr. Reynolds came. I needed time to think. Y’all know how the horses calm me down. How was I supposed to know that his son was going to be the one coming? Or that his son was going to catch me listening to “WooHoo” and singing out loud about oral sex? Sorry, Emma and Grace. And how was I supposed to know that he would flirt non-stop with me the whole time? Then, to have Jeff accuse me of purposely flirting back with Scott just to make him mad, that was the topper. I swear that I think Jeff wanted to fight with me. So, by the time all that shit happened, sorry again Emma and Grace, I just wasn’t really in the mood to tell Jeff. What would I say? Hey, guess what, dickwad? I’m pregnant. He might have accused me of doing it to steal Rebecca’s goddamn thunder. Sorry, Emma and Grace.”

I looked around at the three women who were just standing there, staring at me. Poor Grace looked even more confused, Emma looked like she was trying to process what I had just spit out, and Ellie, that bitch, was trying to hide the fact that she was laughing. Some best friend she is.

“Okay, well…wow, Ari, honey. Let’s pour some sweet tea and go sit out on the porch. I think we could all use some fresh air right about now,” Emma said as she pulled out four mason jars and filled them with ice and tea.

***

When we were outside, I sat down in the rocking chair and just rocked. Closing my eyes, I pictured holding a baby while rocking her to sleep on this porch. I loved it here so much. I loved the country air, the smells, the sounds, and the dead silence. I took a deep breath and opened my eyes. I had three women just staring at me. What the hell?

I panicked. “Oh. My. God is there a bug on me?” I said.

Standing up, I started jumping around while Ellie laughed her ass off.

“Ari, for Pete’s sake, sit down girl. There’s no bug on you,” Emma said with a laugh.

***

We talked for a good thirty minutes about me, the baby, Jeff and Rebecca. I was emotionally exhausted and tired of talking about me.

Just then, a BMW pulled up. Emma had a huge smile on her face.

“Looks like Jim, Michelle, and Lynda are here.” Emma got up and started to walk down to greet them.

I glanced over at Ellie, who had a sour look on her face.

“Heather is going to freak. Have you talked to her?” I said.

Ellie shook her head then looked at me. She clearly didn’t want to talk in front of Grace.

Lynda came running up the steps and then hugged Grace. “Aunt Grace! Oh gosh, I’m so happy to see you. Where is Uncle Jack?”

Grace let out a giggle as she returned Lynda’s hug. “He’s with Drake, Gunner, and Jeff down at the barn sweetheart.”

“Is he okay, Aunt Grace?”

Grace smiled and nodded her head. “Excuse me sweetheart. Let me go say hello to your parents.”

Lynda turned and smiled Ellie.

“Ellie! How was the honeymoon? I’m sorry you had to cut it short. I hate that Uncle Jack had a heart attack, but I sure hope this pushes him and Gunner to make up.”

Ellie and Lynda talked for a few more minutes. I tried desperately to tune them out. There was something about Lynda that I didn’t like.

Just then, Josh pulled up in his truck. I tried to see if Heather was with him. He parked and got out alone. Shit.

“Holy hotness. That boy has me drippin’ in my panties every time I see him,” Lynda said as she started to walk toward the steps.

I glanced over at Ellie to see she was at me. Yeah, I really don’t like this bitch at all.

“Um, you know, Lynda, our friends Heather and Josh are kind of…well….”

Lynda spun around and looked at Ellie. “Kind of what? Are they seeing each other?”

Just then, Heather pulled up. Shit, this is gonna be interesting.

Josh turned and watched as Heather parked. She got out, looked up at Ellie and me, and waved. Her smile faded for a quick second, and then it was replaced by a totally fake-ass smile. I looked over at Josh. He quickly turned away from Heather and said something to Grace. Then, he started to walk down toward the barn.

Oh shit. Ellie and I glanced at each again, and I was pretty sure that Ellie’s face matched mine. What the hell was going on with those two?

“I guess we’re about to find out now. Aren’t we ladies?” Lynda said with a snarky attitude.

“Hey, y’all! Looks like everyone decided to get here at the same time,” Heather said with a laugh.

“Hey there, Heather It’s so good to see you again, especially so soon after the wedding. I’m surprised to see that you didn’t come with Josh,” Lynda said.

Fucking bitch.

Heather looked at Lynda, confused as all hell. “Why would I ride with Josh?”

“Oh, well, your friends here seem to think that y’all are a couple and all. I just thought if you were then you would have driven out here with him.”

Heather actually looked like she was about to throw up. Huh, she looks like how I feel. She quickly peeked at me and then Ellie and then back to me again. I just shrugged my shoulders. Hell if I know what to say to that. Josh and Heather had been going back and forth for so long. When he took her home the other day, I thought for sure they would have moved on, especially when Heather sent a text to me, saying Josh and her were polishing off a bottle of wine.

Heather’s shoulders slumped as she took a deep breath. “No, Lynda, Josh and I are not a couple. We’re just friends.”

Lynda did a little hop as she made a high-pitch sound. Then she started to make her way down the porch steps.

“Uh, Lynda, where are you going?” Ellie called out after her.

“I’m gonna go say hi to a certain cowboy who makes my panties melt. I’ll catch up with y’all later!”

I walked up to Heather slapped her on the head.

“Hey! What the hell did you do that for?”

“Oh. My. God. Heather! You just gave her permission to go after Josh. What’s wrong with you? The last time we texted it sounded like you and Josh were moving past this whole friendship bullshit.”

Heather tried to smile at me as she looked at Ellie and then back at me. The minute I saw the tears, I knew. Grabbing her hand, I pulled her into the house and up the stairs to one of the guest bedrooms. Ellie followed right behind us.

The second the bedroom door shut, Ellie and I both said, “Spill it!”

Heather sat down on the bed and just lost it. I’d never seen her cry like this before. A part of me wondered if it had to do with her parents. She had tried to be so strong, putting up a front for everyone.

Ellie dropped to her knees on the floor in front of Heather while I sat down next to her on the bed.

“Oh, Heather, no. What did that bastard do?” Ellie said rubbing her hand up on Heather’s shoulder.

It took Heather a minute or two to calm down.

“Shit, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to break down like a baby,” Heather said as she looked back and forth between us.

“Heather, what did Josh do? He seemed so sad when you pulled up and got out of the car.”

“Oh. My. God. Ari! I messed up so bad with him, and I don’t think it can ever be fixed.”

I looked at Ellie with a confused look on my face.

“Wait…you messed up? Josh didn’t do anything to you? What in the world could you have possibly done to him?” I asked as I ran my hand up and down her back.

Heather shook her head. She took a deep breath and then slowly let it out.

“The other night, after the whole jail thing, Josh brought me home. It was so wonderful to just spend time together. I mean, we talked, we laughed, and we drank lots of wine. Then, he just stood up, and grabbed me, pushed me up against the wall, and then kissed the living hell out of me.”

Ellie looked up at Heather and smiled.

“And what happened after that?” Ellie asked.

She looked at me and gave me a quick wink.

“I fucked up.”

Wow. For Heather to say that, I knew this was not going to be good.

“I’m sure it’s not that bad sweets. Tell us what happened,” I said as I moved to sit down on the floor next to Ellie, so Heather could look at both of us.

“Well…considering I was totally about to ask him to take me to my bedroom…I felt the need to just blurt out that I’d never been with anyone. I thought it would have scared him off but it did just the opposite. The look in his eyes changed from pure lust to.”

“Pure love?” Ellie asked as she wiggled her eye brows up and down.

“No! I don’t think it was love. Shit, I don’t know what it was. All I can remember is that he called me princess and said he would never do anything I wasn’t ready to do. Then I had a flash-back….”

Heather broke off her sentence while she tried not to start crying again.

“It’s okay, sweets,” Ellie said.

Just take your time,” I added.

“So, anyway, I had a flash-back to my father calling me princess on my sixteenth birthday, and I just panicked. I started to push him away, and I yelled for him to put me down and …..oh god. He was so confused! I’ll never forget the look in his eyes.”

“What happened after that? Did he get mad?” Ellie asked.

Heather let out a small laugh. “No…it sure as hell would’ve been easier if he had. He did just the opposite. He was so sweet and he admitted that he had feelings for me. He said that he had feelings he had never felt for any other girl.”

My heart started to pound. Man whore Josh was in love with our Heather, and Heather had just admitted she wanted to have sex with him. Holy hell. This was good!

“And…what did you say?” I asked.

“Ari, I messed up so bad. I told him that I didn’t feel the same way and that we would only ever be just friends. I wasn’t exactly nice in the way I said it either. He told me he was leaving, and that if I let him walk out the door, he would never again ask me out or anything. We would just be friends.”

“You let him leave, didn’t you?” Ellie said as she looked at me. She had the saddest look on her face.

My heart was breaking for Heather and for Josh.

Heather started to cry again, but this time, she buried her face in her hands.

“Yes! Then, I got your message Ellie. I tried to call Josh a few times, but I kept getting his voice mail. Then I called again later that night and some girl answered his phone. She said he was drunk, and he kept talking about me all night to her and her friend. The girls were super sweet. Both are married, and they were out for a girls’ night. They pretty much kept all the skanks away from Josh.”

Heather finished telling Ellie and I the whole story, describing how the two girls helped Heather get Josh back to her apartment and then how Josh had left the next morning before Heather had woken.

I called him as soon as I realized he’d left. I told him that I wanted to talk to him, but he said he wasn’t in the mood for any more rejection. I thought that maybe after a couple of days out here together, he might let me try to explain, but now…fuck…now that trampy little Lynda is here. I didn’t even think about her being here for Emma and Garrett’s party.”

I stood up and walked over to the window. It looked like everyone had come into the house, but I saw Josh leaning up against his truck, talking to Lynda. He looked nervous while he kept looking back at the house. I bet he was wondering if Heather was watching him talk to Lynda. Lynda was so close to him that she might as well have been straddling his ass.

Little tramp.

I turned to look at Heather and Ellie sitting on the bed. I had the strangest feeling that this was going to be a very long and painful twenty four-hours.

Turning back toward the window, and I saw Jeff, Gunner, Drake, and someone else who must have been Jack walking up from the barn. Lynda ran and jumped into Jack’s arms. Then, she turned to hug Gunner. Jeff and Josh were talking off to the side. They were both laughing like they didn’t have a care in the world.

Fucking men.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

GUNNER

The moment my dad had stepped out of the car, I had been a nervous wreck. Ellie had been amazing. She immediately walked up to him and she introduced herself. My father had fallen in love with her in mere seconds.

Last night had been a bit awkward, but today was like a dream. Sitting in the barn with my dad, Gramps, and Drake, I’d never laughed so hard in my life as we spent the day shooting the shit. I saw a side of my father I’d never seen before. He was relaxed and actually enjoying himself. He seemed…normal to me.

He asked a lot of questions about Ellie and our future. When I told him we wanted to start a family right away, he smiled and gave me a wink. I had thought he would have given me a lecture about how we needed to wait.

Gramps leaned over and whispered something in my father’s ear. He started laughing and called Gramps a wise old man.

Why couldn’t he have been like this my whole life? It sure would have been nice to grow up with a normal father instead of a prick.

As we started to walk back toward house, Lynda came running toward us before she jumped into my dad’s arms. He gave her spin as he told her how grown-up she she looked.

As Jeff and Josh stepped aside to talk about something, I looked back at the house, wondering where my Ellie was.

“Oh my gosh! I’m so excited about the party tomorrow, Gramps!” Lynda said as she hugged Gramps.

“Yeah, well, after fifty years of Emma putting up with me, the least I could do was throw her a damn party,” Gramps said.

Everyone laughed as Dad, Uncle Jim and Gramps started to walk back up to the house.

Lynda made a bee-line toward Josh, practically throwing herself into his arms. He seemed a little taken aback. Pushing her away slightly, he looked back at the house.

“Hey, um Lynda. Um do you think I could talk to Jeff and Gunner alone for a bit?” Josh said as he gave Lynda that famous panty melting-smile of his.

“Oh, sure, Josh. Yeah no problem, I’ll just see y’all inside,” Lynda turned to head back into the house.

“What the hell is going on, Josh? I didn’t hear from you again last night or this morning. What happened between you and Heather?”

Jeff asked confused as hell as he looked back at Josh and then me.

Josh threw his hands into his hair and let out a sigh.

“I kissed Heather.”

“About fucking time, dude. Jesus, it took your ass long enough,” Jeff said as he slapped Josh on the back.

I knew there was more though.

“Yeah… well, I didn’t get the reaction I was hoping for. I mean, at first, she was really into it. Then, all I did was tell her that I would never push her to do anything she wasn’t ready for, and she pretty much did a one-eighty on me.”

“What do you mean? What did she say?” I asked as I watched Josh kick the dirt with his boot.

“She basically told me to stop touching her. I tried to tell her that I had feelings for her…strong feelings.” Josh cut off his sentence as he leaned over, putting his hands on his knees.

In the four years I’d known him, I’d never seen him this affected by a girl.

“Dude, are you okay? What the hell did she say to you?” Jeff asked.

Josh stood up, leaning against the truck.

“Jesus Christ, y’all. I’ve never felt like this before. This is why I never wanted to get involved with anyone. I just wanted to avoid the same shit my dad went through.”

Josh took a deep breath and then looked up at me. Motherfucker. I could see the hurt in his eyes.

“She pretty much told me that she didn’t feel the same way I did and that we would only ever be friends. I’d never felt so gutted in my life. I was almost one-hundred percent positive that she felt something for me. At least, her kiss sure said she did.”

“What happened after that?” I asked.

“I told her that if I walked out the door, I would never again ask her out again or bother her about wanting anything more than just friendship. Then, she just let me walk out.”

“Damn, Josh. That really sucks, dude,” I said.

“Yeah, the worst part was I got trashed later. I ended up spilling my guts to two girls who were out on a girls’ night out. I guess Heather called, and one of the girls told her I was drunk. Long story short, I woke up this morning in Heather’s bed. She was on the sofa sleeping. She had left a voice-mail the night before, saying she wanted to talk. I wasn’t really in the mood for more rejection, so I just left without waking her up.”

“Oh hell, Josh, that was a stupid-ass move. Maybe she wanted to explain why she freaked out. I mean, I’ve known Heather a long time, and I can honestly say that I’ve only seen her date a few guys at most. Maybe the idea of getting closer to you scared her.” Jeff said.

Josh started kicking the dirt again. He looked up at the house when Ellie, Ari and Heather all come out. Heather looked directly at Josh with slight smile. Just then, Lynda walked out the door and walked up in between Heather and Ari. She said something that caused Heather to frown, and then she turned around and headed to the other side of the porch.

“Josh, go talk to Heather,” Jeff said, giving him a slight nudge.

“Dude, she doesn’t want anything more than friendship.”

I was watching Lynda closely. She obviously had a thing for Josh, and if I knew Lynda, she would do whatever it took to get what she wanted.

“I agree with Jeff. Dude, you need to go talk to her.”

Looking back to the porch, I smiled at Ellie as she gave me that beautiful smile of hers. I’d never get used to how this girl made me feel.

“Okay, I’ll go talk to her, but if she turns me down again, this will be it. I’ve never in my life begged or chased a girl, and I sure as shit am not about to start now.”

Josh started to walk toward where Heather was sitting at the side of the house. Lynda came running down and stopped him. He must have told her that he needed to talk to Heather because her whole body sagged as she turned to head back up to the porch.

Ellie and Ari started to walk toward us, Ellie gave me a strange look. I knew what she was trying to tell me, but I’d already figured out that Ari hadn’t told Jeff about the baby yet. He would have said something to me by now.

“So, standing out here guy-talking huh?” Ellie said reaching up on her toes to give me a kiss.

I picked her up and deepened the kiss. It took everything out of me not to let out a moan. Shit. The things this girl did to me drove me crazy. I just wanted to load her up in my truck and take her home.

Ellie slightly pulled away from my lips and smiled. “I love you, Drew.”

“I love you more, Ells.”

“Yep, the whole newlywed thing is starting to get a little sickening, y’all. Take it back to your house if you’re going to hang all over each other,” Ari said as she gave us a smirk.

“Don’t be jealous, baby. That’ll be us soon,” Jeff said as he put his arms around Ari.

He placed his hand on her stomach, Ari jumped and stiffened. She tried to relax before Jeff noticed, but it was too late. He turned her around, giving her a funny look.

“Ari what’s wrong? Are you still feeling sick?”

Just then, Mom called us all to come in so we could talk about the party tomorrow. Ellie told Jeff that Ari was fine, and then she took Ari’s arm in hers as they walked up to the house together. Jeff grabbed my arm, holding me back.

Motherfucker. Please don’t ask me…please don’t ask me.

“Gunner, has Ellie mentioned anything about Ari’s appointment yesterday? She won’t talk to me about it. I know she had the genetic testing done. She’s a nervous wreck. I think she’s worried about the results. I just wish she would talk to me,” Jeff said as he ran his hand through his hair and down the back of his neck.

“I know Ari was upset about a few things yesterday, the test, the whole Rebecca throwing them all in jail, and then you sticking up for Rebecca. Did you ever find out if she really tried to call you?”

“She said she tried to call. I don’t know what to think anymore. She seems to be telling me the truth, but Ari is so damn sure that Rebecca is lying. I just don’t know anymore, Gunner. I want to believe Ari, but...fuck I’m so damn confused. I just want to do the right thing for both Ari and this baby. I don’t know what to believe anymore.”

I just stared at him. “You need to believe the woman you love and who loves you, not some crazy bitch who never thought to call you until after she was seven months pregnant.” I turned and walked away from him.

Stupid fucker. Even I thought Rebecca was lying. A part of me wondered if Jeff was hoping this baby was his.

***

We spent the next few hours talking about the party tomorrow. I kept looking from my grandparents to my parents. My mother looked scared. She kept asking my dad if he was okay, and I could tell he was trying to be patient. My dad had changed. I wasn’t sure if it was from the heart attack, from being home again, or from maybe realizing what he had lost out on. I mean, it had only been a week since he’d refused to come to my wedding. What changed?

After dinner, we sat on the porch for a while. Josh and Heather’s talk must not have been a good one because they pretty much avoided each other all afternoon and evening. Lynda took full on advantage and never left Josh’s side.

“So, I have the guest rooms all made up. Grace and Jack, you take the room with the queen bed in it. Lynda, you can have the room next to the bathroom. Jim and Michelle, you can take the other bedroom.” Grams said. Turning to Heather she asked, “Heather would you like to bunk with Lynda?”

“Actually, Emma, Heather’s going to stay with us.” Ari said.

I took a quick peek at Lynda. She looked like she was about to have a heart attack herself.

Josh snapped his head over toward Heather. Lynda leaned over and whispered something to Josh. He just smiled at her. Then he glanced back at Heather, and she didn’t even try to hide her reaction. She just rolled her eyes as she stood up.

“Thank you, everyone, for a lovely evening. Ari and Jeff, if y’all don’t mind, I think I’m going to turn in. I had a late night.”

Everyone said good night to Heather as she made her way to her car. Josh never took his eyes off of her for a second.

Everyone went up inside, and I was left sitting on the porch by myself, waiting on my mom, Grams and Ellie to finish up plans for tomorrow. I heard the screen door shut, and I looked up to see my dad walking toward me.

I sat up a little straighter, force of habit I guess. Shit, something’s never change.

“Drew, I um, I’d really like to talk to you for a few minutes if you’ll let me.”

Huh, this was new. He’s asking me for permission for once.

“Sure, Dad. Yeah, that’s fine.”

He sat down next to me and didn’t say a word for close to five minutes.

Finally, he let out a sigh. He leaned back and smiled.

“Do you know where my favorite place in the world used to be when I was growing up here?” he asked as he looking over at me.

“I didn’t know you had a favorite place here. You always made it seem like you hated it here,” I said turning away from him.

He’d never said one good thing about the ranch. He’d only talked about how much he hated it.

“I guess I deserved that one.”

“I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to hurt you.”

My dad leaned forward, putting his arms on his knees, as he let out a nervous laugh.

“When Garrett called to tell me you were getting married…”

He paused, clearing his throat.

“I, um…I have to admit that it killed me when it wasn’t you who called to tell us. I mean, I understood the reasons why it wasn’t you, but the look of pain on your mother’s face about gutted me because I knew it was my fault. I took something that she loved very much away from her.”

I didn’t even know how to respond to him. My dad had never opened up to me like this before. I just sat there, stunned.

“Then, Dad told me where on the ranch you would be getting married.” Shaking his head, he let out another small laugh.

“Drew, I think it’s about time I told you the truth about why I was such a damn hard ass on you your whole life.”

“Dad, really, it’s alright. I don’t want you to get yourself worked up when you’re here to relax.”

My dad smiled at me, leaning back into the chair again.

“Ever since you were little, I could see you were gonna be just like your grandfather, kind heart but hard-as-hell shell. I remember taking you out to a spot here on the ranch. I sat there with you as we watched the cattle. One of the calves was hurt, and you begged me to do something to help her. You couldn’t have been more than five years old. I told you that she’d be fine. I said I’d let Gramps know, so he could make her better. You looked up at me and smiled. I’ll never forget what you said to me then.”

I tried so hard to remember what he was telling me. Honestly, I couldn’t recall my dad ever being at the ranch with me. Every time I came to visit, I remembered coming by myself. Either I’d fly on a plane on my own and Gramps and Grams would pick me up at the airport, or if we were stationed close by, my parents would drop me off and then turn around and leave.

“What did I say, Dad?”

He turned to look at me with tears in his eyes. Motherfucker.

“You stood up and put your hands on your hips. You told me flat-out, ‘I’m gonna grow up and be just like Gramps. I’m gonna help all the cows, and I’m gonna be a rancher, a really, really good rancher Daddy. I’m even gonna marry me a girl right here on this very spot.’”

I let out a laugh. I remembered telling Gramps millions of times that I was gonna be a better rancher than he was. I stopped saying that when I was old enough for him to slap me on the back side of my head while he told me that no one, except for God, would ever be a better rancher than him.

“Something happened to me in that moment, Drew. I panicked. When I was growing up, I had wanted nothing more than to be just like my father. I wanted to walk in his footsteps and to take over the ranch someday. Jim couldn’t have cared less about the ranch. He’d always wanted the big fancy house in the city. I’d wanted the country life. I’d wanted to marry me a girl in the same exact spot you said you did when you were only five years old.”

I was so confused that I had to shake my head. “Wait…you always said how much you hated it here. If I ever even talked about the ranch, you used to get pissed at me. I always ended in a fight, and then you’d threaten me with military school. If you wanted to run the ranch, why did you leave?”

My dad stood up, walked over to the edge of the porch, and leaned against the post.

“Drew, I left because I was afraid. I was afraid that I’d never be able to walk in the footprints of my own father. I almost killed your grandfather once. During my senior year of high school, I was helping him bring in the cattle for vaccinations. Dad was yelling at me to do it a certain way, but I thought my way was better. Long story short, his horse reared up, and he fell off. He almost got trampled to death, and it was all my fault. He never once said it, but I knew that it was. I was a stubborn asshole who had to prove that I could do it better than him.”

Holy shit. I’d never heard this story before in my life. My dad turned to look at me, and I could see the tears glistening in his eyes.

“I knew at that very moment, I had to leave. I’d only ever wanted to be a rancher, so college was out of the question for me. I went into town the next day and joined the Army. This was my easy out. So, that day, when you were five and you declared your dream to me, I panicked again. I thought the only way to keep you from making the same mistake as me was to keep you from following that dream.”