41. Callan

41

Callan

T he bay stood quietly where he was tied to the fence. I did my best to stick a sparkly pink bow on his back, but it wasn’t staying very well, so anytime he shifted, it slid right off.

I called to Brandy where she was in the round pen working on desensitizing a colt.

“What’s up?” she called back.

“Got a minute?”

Her spurs clanged as she walked across the pen, proceeding to hop the fence and come over to me. She looked at the bow. “Trouble?”

“How do I make this thing stick to him?” She had to have some kind of idea.

“One sec,” she said before disappearing into the barn. A minute later, she came out with a tube. “Plaiting wax. ”

“What?”

“You know, to keep the plaits secure.”

I stared at her blankly.

She sighed before stepping in front of me to lay a glob of it on the horse's back, then pressed the bow into the gooey substance. “There. It’ll stick.”

“Thanks.” Looking closer, I eyed the bow, and as the horse shifted to his other leg, it didn’t slide off.

“Mhm,” she mumbled, disappearing into the barn with the tube to put it away.

I’d picked the horse up the following Thursday after the fair as scheduled. I’d spent every day with Sage since the incident. Today was the first day we were away from each other for longer than a few minutes. She’d been updated a few days ago that Jason was being transferred back to the Oregon State Penitentiary, where he’d be charged for violating probation, breaking a restraining order, and attempting assault. His friend, Derek, would be going right along with him for all sorts of charges I couldn’t keep track of.

It wouldn’t keep them locked away for forever, but it was a start.

I turned to the sound of tires coming up the driveway, but instead of Sage’s SUV appearing, it was Beckham’s truck.

Leaving the horse tied to the fence, I made my way over to Beckham as he shifted into park and turned off the engine.

“Long time no see,” I said as he got out .

He pulled his duffel bag out of the back seat, then closed the rear door.

“Need any help?” I offered.

He shook his head. “This is it.”

I eyed the bag. “That’s all your belongings?” If he was taking a break from the rodeo circuit, I expected him to have a lot more than that.

“Yep,” he clipped as he passed me, aiming for the house. “Got some stuff in a storage unit, but as for clothes, this is it.”

“Are you doing okay?” I asked, not bothering to follow after him. I had to be out here when Sage and Avery arrived.

He paused, looking over his shoulder at me. “Just want to visit my family, Cal. Don’t look too far into it.”

The old me would’ve pressed further until he spilled it all, but the new me acknowledged that regardless of my concern, he’d open up when he wanted to. It didn’t have to be to me, though I’d be there for him if he wanted to talk.

“That horse for Avery?” he asked, lifting his chin in the direction of the gelding.

I nodded.

“She’s going to love him.” He faced forward, heading up the porch steps and into the house.

Behind me, a car came up the driveway, and once I turned, I saw it was Sage’s vehicle. I willed the worry I felt for Beckham away as I walked across the driveway to meet them near the barn. As soon as the car was off, Avery was out and running for the horse .

“Boots!” Avery squealed as she approached him from the side.

The horse turned his head to look at her, letting out a snort as she reached up to run a hand along his snout.

“He looks just like the picture,” Sage acknowledged, coming up beside me. “How’d you do that?”

“Took a lot of searching. When I saw his ad, it was like it was too good to be true. Went out to ride him, and I just knew he was the one for her.”

“Well, you’ve sure made her dreams come true,” she said, wrapping an arm around my back.

“I figured adding this guy to our family would make her happy.”

Avery scratched at Boots’ neck, his upper lip stretching into the air as he craned his neck.

Sage nuzzled closer into me, and I wrapped an arm around her shoulders, my fingers trailing up and down her bare skin.

“You know,” she started, pure bliss shining in her tone, “we’ll be adding another member in about seven months.”

My movements froze. I looked down at her, finding her smiling up at me, then glanced at her stomach before searching her eyes for the confirmation. “A baby?”

She nodded, the smile taking up every inch of her beautiful face. “A baby.”

My arm immediately slipped from her shoulders, my hand coming to her belly. I couldn’t help the tears that sprang to my eyes .

“So I thought, maybe, I could take you up on that offer to move in.”

I laughed through the tears that threatened to spill. “I thought you’d never say the words.”

“Don’t cry, or I’ll cry.” But she already had a sheen to her eyes as well.

“Avery’s going to have a little sibling,” I said, looking down at her belly where my hand was pressed against it.

“She is.”

Sage joined me in staring at her belly, absolute joy taking over every thought in my mind.

“She’s going to love them,” Sage said.

“For a million years,” I whispered, and brought my lips to hers.

Avery and this baby were already my entire world, Sage my universe, and that was all I needed.

Words couldn’t express how much that meant to me.

How much they meant to me.

We were a family.