Chapter 15

CHAPTER 15

Trey

E ven after the last lesson of the day, the work isn't done. I always need about thirty minutes in the office to go over the next day's schedule of riders, making sure the lesson horses are rotated through so they aren't overworked and they're matched appropriately with the rider's skill level. Ethan brought us into the twenty-first century as we used to write all of this on a whiteboard, but now it's kept in a spreadsheet on the computer.

Wiping sweat from my brow, I plug information in for tomorrow's schedule and accept the satisfying ache of a long day's work. The barn is quiet now, the horses settled in their stalls and all the feeding and watering complete.

The office door opens and Kat walks in, her face set with a mix of amusement and curiosity.

"Trey," she calls out with a smirk and flops down on the couch sitting against one wall. "Brother of mine, keeper of secrets, foolishly in love."

I roll my eyes at her. "What have you been up to today?"

Even though me and my siblings all work on the farm, it's so vast with various training barns and arenas, not to mention other duties outside of lessons, sometimes we don't see each other.

"Oh, you know," she says with her eyes twinkling mischievously. "Training horses, training riders, trying to process the bombshell you dropped last night."

I push back from the computer and give my sister all the attention she needs. She clearly wants to talk more about me and Holland. "Yeah, it's been a whirlwind."

"So, you went after one of my closest friends when she was eighteen, huh? Bold move, big brother."

I wince, knowing what's coming. "It wasn't planned, Kat. It just… happened."

"Uh-huh," she says, drawing out the syllables. "And keeping it a secret? Not cool. You know you could've trusted me with that."

I nod, feeling the weight of her words. "I know, and I'm sorry. We just wanted some time to ourselves before dealing with everyone else's opinions. And frankly, we thought you and Abby would totally freak out and before I knew Wade had feelings for her, I thought we'd get nothing but relentless teasing. I didn't want to mar what we had."

Kat's expression softens, and she smiles. "Well, I forgive you then. I can understand the secret part and frankly, I'm surprised you didn't call me out on that since you were the one who was most pissed over my secret relationship with Gabe."

Chuckling, I stretch my arms up and arch my back, relishing the satisfying crackle of my spine. "What is it with us Blackburns and secrets? Ethan had a secret child, you secretly dated the enemy, I secretly dated one of our friends, Abby secretly tried to infiltrate and take down a puppy mill ring under Kellan's nose."

"We're not boring, that's for sure," Kat muses, but her smile fades slightly, replaced by a look of concern. "Have you seen Wade?"

I shake my head, my chest constricting at the thought of the fight we had. "I took Holland to her mom's house after we talked to the family, and then I went home, hoping Wade would show up so we could talk, but he didn't. I haven't seen him all day."

Kat sighs, running a hand through her hair. "I saw him earlier. He's been around but he's quite grumpy. When I tried to talk to him, he told me to leave him alone. Normally, that would just egg me on to harass him, but I don't know… this is different. He's really bent out of shape and I can't figure out why."

"If I knew, I could fix it. I can't believe his feelings are that deep for Holland. She's never given him anything but genuine friendship. There's never been anything on her part to make him think it would be otherwise."

She gives me a pointed look. "I'm guessing it was the whole part about you pushing him away from her because you had her, rather than telling him the truth."

"Okay, fine… that's it. I get it. But I can't make it better unless he lets me apologize."

"He'll calm down eventually. He always does and then you can make it right. Until then, you just move forward. That's all you can do. How serious is it with Holland?"

I look at my sister, my heart overflowing with love, consumed with a zealous commitment to what Holland and I have. "I love her, Kat. To the ends of the earth. I'm going to marry her and have babies with her and if she wasn't planning on coming back here to Shelbyville, I'd follow her to Zurich. I'd give all of this up to follow her."

Kat's eyes widen in surprise. "Wow, that is serious."

I nod, feeling a sense of conviction. "Now I get it, Kat. What you have with Gabe and how important second chances are. Holland gave me another chance because she saw you do it for Gabe."

"That makes me happy that my example opened the gate for you to walk through. And I'm truly happy you and Holland are together. She's always been a part of the Blackburn family, but it's going to be for real one day and I can't wait to officially call her my sister."

Images of engagement rings and wedding bells fill my head but before I can respond, my phone buzzes in my pocket. I pull it out, seeing Ethan's name on the screen. I answer quickly. "Hey, Ethan. What's up?"

"Trey, I need you out in pasture eleven. Max got himself stuck in some mud and brambles. Bring ropes, planks, anything you can think of to help get him out."

Stupid Max. That horse is always getting in trouble. "I'm on my way." I hang up and turn to Kat as I stand from the desk. "Max is stuck in the mud. Ethan needs help."

Kat laughs, rising from the couch. "I thought when a horse retired, they were supposed to just eat grass, get fat and be lazy. Max has been a pistol."

The horse has been a continual source of frustration because he's not content to be fat and lazy. He's broken fences, tipped over water troughs and is always finding mud to roll in. Now he's gotten himself stuck and while it's not the first time this has happened on the farm, it is a pain in the ass to get them out. Luckily, Max is a pretty chill horse when he's being human-handled so it should be easy.

"You guys need any help?" Kat asks, thumbing over her shoulder. "Otherwise, I'm going to head home."

"We're good," I say, grabbing the keys to one of the ATVs with the intent to brush past her to enter back into the barn. The vehicles are on the opposite side.

Except Kat steps into me for a hug. "Really, really happy for you, Trey."

My heart thumps with devotion for my sister. "Thanks, baby sis. Love you."

"Love you too."

I quickly load up the ATV with two sturdy planks, two coils of rope, a halter and a lead line. As an added measure, I grab a bag of carrots, Max's favorite, out of the barn fridge to entice him. It takes me less than five minutes to reach pasture eleven and as I approach, I see Wade already there standing by Ethan as they discuss the predicament.

Max is chill but up to his knees in thick, sticky mud, probably tired out from efforts to free himself. Wade turns at the sound of the ATV approaching and as soon as I turn it off and step out, he looks at Ethan. "What the hell is he doing here? We don't need his help."

Ethan sighs but his tone brooks no argument. "Don't start that crap here, Wade. We've got to get the horse out." He may be our older brother, but he is CEO of the farm and the ultimate boss. Wade knows this and although grumbling, works alongside me as Ethan directs us what to do.

I lay down the planks to create a more stable path.

"All right, let's get these ropes around his belly and chest," Ethan instructs and we work efficiently. "We need to pull him out slowly, make sure he doesn't panic."

Ethan stands at Max's head, efficiently putting on a halter and attaching a lead line to it. He offers Max a carrot, strokes his neck and talks softly to keep him calm. "It's okay, Max. We're going to get you out, buddy."

Wade and I work together to reposition the planks closer to Max's legs to give him a more stable surface to push off from. The mud is thick and clingy, making every movement a struggle as we both sink into it.

When we're finally set up, Wade on one side, me on the other, with good grips on the rope, I give the order. "On three," I say, my voice steady despite the tension. "One, two, three."

We pull together, the ropes taut as Max struggles to lift his legs out of the mud. He snorts, his muscles straining as he tries to find solid ground.

"Easy, boy," Ethan soothes, his hand never leaving Max's neck. "You're doing great. Just a little more."

Max manages to get one leg free, then the other, his body trembling with effort. We keep the pressure steady, guiding him onto the planks inch by inch.

"Almost there," I encourage, my own muscles burning with the effort. "Just a little more, Max."

With one final heave, Max stumbles onto solid ground, his sides heaving with exertion. After removing the ropes, Ethan quickly checks him over for injuries, running his hands over his legs. I then lead him around so Ethan can evaluate his gait to make sure he's not lame.

"Seems okay," Ethan says and then looks between me and Wade, who hasn't said a word since I arrived. "Good work."

I nod and move to gather the planks but any peace is short-lived. Wade can't resist throwing a caustic remark my way. "Nice to see you finally doing something useful, Trey."

I turn to face him, tossing a plank to the ground, my anger simmering just below the surface. "Really, Wade? This is how you want to play it?"

"You mean how you've been playing it behind my back?" Wade's face is twisted with anger as he steps toward me. "How long were you screwing around with Holland before you decided to tell me the truth?"

Ethan steps between us, holding out his arms. "Enough! Both of you!" he snaps, looking directly at Wade. "Grow up, Wade. Trey and Holland didn't do anything wrong. They've been honest, and it's time you accepted that."

Wade glares at Ethan, his jaw tight. "Honest? You think lying to my face is honest?"

"I was waiting for the right time to tell you, Wade." I wipe sweat off my forehead. "Since you were headed to West Virginia, Holland and I were going to tell you the next day."

"That's a little hard to believe, but I'm starting to understand you're good at hurting people, Trey."

"I'm confused, Wade," I say sarcastically, my blood pressure spiking. "Are you pissed at Holland because she doesn't like you as anything more than a friend or are you pissed that I have her? I can't keep up."

"Fuck you," Wade growls.

Ethan sighs. "Wade… you need to think about what's really important here. Holding on to this grudge isn't going to help anyone."

Wade's eyes flash with defiance, but he doesn't respond. Instead, he storms off, jumping on the ATV that he must have ridden out here with Ethan on and peels out, spewing grass and mud our way.

I watch him go, my insides churning with frustration and sorrow.

Ethan turns to me, his expression sympathetic. "Don't let him get to you. He'll come around. Just give him time."

"He's being an absolute jackass," I mutter.

"True, but he's also feeling betrayed right now. Operating on pure emotion and we all know Wade's the one who's always up in his feelings."

I nod, feeling the stress of the past few days taking over. "Yeah… sure. Come on, looks like I need to give you a ride back."

We coil the rope and put Max in the adjoining, mud-free pasture. I give him another carrot and load the planks.

I take Ethan to the broodmare barn so he can check on a few things. As he gets out, he leans down to look at me. "I'm happy for you, Trey. You might have gone about it the wrong way, but I know you would never try to hurt Wade intentionally."

"That means a lot," I say with a nod of gratitude. "Thank you."

Ethan taps his hand on the ATV roof in farewell and turns to walk toward the barn.

I head back to the training barn. I'm going to finish the schedule, go home and shower, then I'm going to pick up my girl and take her out to dinner so we can catch up on each other's days. The prospect of seeing Holland pushes away the gray cloud hovering over me and I know that no matter how long it takes Wade to come around, I have Holland right now and that's all that matters.