Broken Hero

I’m so angry I can barely stand still. “Kyle is my scumbag ex-boyfriend. He texts me at least three times a week. Do you want to see the conversation? It’s very one-sided. Sometimes he begs for me back and sometimes he calls me a bitch.”

Oliver’s face is stone. “The text was sweet.”

“Because he’s ashamed. I caught him in bed with my former best friend. Trust me when I say that I have absolutely no intention of taking him back, no matter how sweet his texts are. I could have told you all of this, if you would have just asked me.”

He’s silent for a few painful heartbeats. Then he moves, taking a hesitant step towards me. “Shit. Lucy, I…”

“And you’re wondering why I slept with you?” I hold on to the barn door, praying my tears don’t fall. “It was because I wanted you. I wanted you more than I’ve ever wanted anyone before. Because you’re… because somehow, for some reason, I like you. But not right now, Oliver.”

I leave before my tears fall.

He doesn’t follow.

Shit.

It’s like I’m back at Boot Camp, when everything you did was wrong. With pouring rain and mile-long hikes, with heavy equipment and grueling conditions, our drill sergeant screaming down the heavens with obscenities.

Talk about having my ass handed to me.

I misread the situation. It’s a tactical error-a blunder-but it’s a fucking costly one. Lucy leaves without another word, and I’m left stewing in my own anger and despair.

Her scumbag ex-boyfriend.

I ignored her for a solid week after taking her to bed. By any account, it’s an asshole move. I had pulled away instead of confronting her about it, and I’m not too proud to admit that I recognize the pattern. Lucy had gotten close. I had said things… spoken about things I hadn’t for a long time.

If we got closer, she would want to know more. She’d want me to open boxes I’d sealed off long ago. Could I handle that? Did I even want to?

She called me a coward.

I toss a beam so hard against the barn door that it chips the red paint. It’s not an epithet I’m comfortable wearing. I slept with you because I wanted to, she’d said. I had wanted her too-badly. I still do. That never changed, not even when I thought she’d cheated on her boyfriend with me.

I head back to my office and pull up Lucy’s schedule. Business is picking up for both of us, it seems. She’s booked nearly every day this week and the ranch is hosting two yoga classes. It’s partly because of the high season, but some of it is due to good old word of mouth. Claremont has never had a spa before.

Lucy has a client booked at noon tomorrow. Perfect. I have to make this right.

I could call her or shoot her a text. But face to face communication has always been my thing. And with her… with this… I want to see her reactions. Know what to say.

Sleep doesn’t come easy that night. It’s hot for the season, but I know better than to blame my restlessness on the weather. This time, it’s entirely of my own making. Lucy’s disappointed eyes, shiny with tears, are fixed in my mind. I replay her heated words over and over again. Coward.

The memory mingles with the feeling of her soft lips pressing against my neck, her body nestled close. For a moment, it had felt like something more. Something I don’t have the words to explain, not even to myself. I toss and turn in bed, throwing the thin sheet off me. I’m up before the break of dawn.

Time moves impossibly slowly during the day. Austin can feel my restlessness. He lies at my feet, glancing up at me every so often.

When the time comes, I head down to the staff kitchen. There’s a giant cardboard box of ice cream in the freezer, bought for the staff BBQ, and I’m going to raid it. I’ll go to the spa with an apology and a store-bought ice-cream cone. It’s not exactly flowers and chocolate, but it’ll have to do.

I hear the sound of tires on gravel and then the patter of small feet running up the front steps to reception. Sarah is early. Voices echo as the girls chat with Mandy. The kids. Lucy liked talking to them before. If I bring them along… she’ll have to talk to me.

It’s a dirty move, but I’ll use every trick in the book to keep me in the game.

I push open the door to reception. Sophia is on her tip-toes, getting a mint from Mandy, her hair in two ponytails. “Thank you.”

Nora is sprawled on the floor. She has grabbed one of the huge plastic sunflowers Sarah put in the corner and is holding it in front of her face. “Look! I’m a lion!”

Sophia glances over. “No, you’re not.”

“Yes! This is my mane. Rawr!”

I lean down and scoop her up. Nora shrieks in delight, her little legs kicking, and throws away the sunflower. “Ollie!”

“Hi, kiddos.”

Sophia hugs my leg and I pat her head. She’s getting tall.

“Mom didn’t say you’d be here,” Nora says.

“He works here, silly,” Sophia tells her little sister. “He’s always here.”

She looks up at me for reassurance at the same time as Nora frowns. Uh-oh. “Most of the time I am, yeah. This is my job. But sometimes I’m out to meet suppliers. Where’s your mom?”

Mandy answers with a smile. “Sarah is upstairs grabbing a few documents. I told her the girls could wait with me.”

“Thanks.” I set Nora down and squat to their height. “How do you feel about having some ice cream? I think we have two cones left, and they really need to be eaten.”

Nora gives a shout of happiness and Sophia grins. She’s lost another tooth. “We’d be doing you a favor by finishing them?”

“Yes. A huge favor. I’d be in your debt for a very long time.”

“How long?”

I pretend to consider it. “A month.”Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.

Sophia makes the decision. “We’re in.”

We head to the kitchen and began a painstaking debate about what flavors to choose. I grab two chocolate ones for me and Lucy. I don’t know what she likes, but hell, no one can say no to chocolate.

Nora giggles. “Uncle, you can’t have two ice creams.”

“One is for Lucy. She’s the nice lady you bought cookies from. She works here too.”

“She does?” Sophia looks around the kitchen, as if expecting Lucy to pop out from beneath a counter. “Where?”

“Out by the spa. It’s on the other side of the ranch. Let’s go give her ice-cream and stop by the horses on our way back.”

It’s an even lousier trick-if there’s one thing the girls can never say no to, it’s the horses-but it gets exactly the response I expected. Both girls grin, ecstatic. I’m gaining massive uncle points today.

I carry Nora and grab Sophia’s hand. She’s holding a small basket with our ice-cream in the other, her expression proud.

I stop by the stairs to the office and call up. “Sarah?”