rush you into something you weren’t ready for. It’s hard to
make a rational decision when you’re in the heat of the moment.”
“I get that,
but why did you have to leave? We could’ve just hung out and visited
together.”
I laughed.
“If I would’ve stayed one more minute, there would’ve been no stopping us. I
wasn’t leaving because I didn’t want to be with you. Trust me. I love every
second I spend with you.”
“Well, you
know what I learned today?”
“No, tell
me.”
“Chase
Walker isn’t the player everyone says he is.”
I paused for
a moment, dragging my hand through my hair. “Yes, I am, Nikki. At least I
was. I’m different with you for some reason.”
“Oh.”
I heard a
vehicle and rolled over to look out the window. “Hey, my grandpa is home. I’m
gonna have to go now. I’ll talk to you tomorrow at school, okay?”
“Alright.”
She paused for a second. “Have a good night.”
“You too.”
I snapped the phone shut and reached for my shoes.
I hadn’t got
the horse stalls cleaned yet today, and I was pretty sure Grandpa had heard
about my fight at school by now. He wasn’t going to be very happy with me, of
this I was positive.
Mom had left
me a note when I got home earlier, stating Grandma had gone with her to show a
house in a neighboring town, and they wouldn’t be home until later, so there
wasn’t even anyone to run interference.
His heavy
footfalls greeted me as I left my room. I met him in the hallway. If the
scowl on his face were any indication of my current situation, things were not
good.
“I need your
help out in the barn,” he said gruffly.
“Just headed
that way now,” I replied. “I fell asleep after school before I got my chores
done.”
He gave a
grunt, casting his gaze over me once before he turned to go back down the
stairs. I followed after him, keeping up with his long stride until we entered
the barn, and I went to pull out some of my supplies.
“I need you
up in the hayloft for a minute,” Grandpa said as he started to agilely climb
the ladder.
I placed the
shovel I was holding against the wall and followed him up into the loft in time
to see him open the exterior door up there. Light from the dusky sky filtered
into the space, and for a moment, we stood there in silence as we stared out at
the scenery.
“Pretty
sight, isn’t it? Great view,” he spoke softly.
I nodded.
“I’d have to agree.” I was a little shocked to find I meant it too. There was
a certain peacefulness to this place.
“Do you know
how hard I’ve worked to build this ranch? How I struggled to carve a
successful niche for myself, and my family—your family?”
I wondered
where this line of questioning was going. “No sir, I don’t. But I’m sure you
could tell me all about it.” I was completely serious.
“What I
don’t understand about you, kid, is how you could have such a blatant
disrespect for another’s property?” He gave me a hard look, flexing his jaw
tightly. “Does it mean nothing to you that your whole family has shifted their
entire lives to try to accommodate a better one for you? Are you really that
selfish?”
I was lost.
I’d been expecting a lecture about fighting, and he had thrown me by going off
on a completely different tangent.
“I’m sorry,
but I honestly have no idea what you are talking about. Of course I appreciate
what everyone tries to do for me. I may not agree with what those things are,
but I’m not totally insensitive.”
“Is that
so?” he countered. “Then perhaps you would care to explain these burn marks I
found on the floor here.” He stamped his booted foot in emphasis, drawing my
attention to the area he was speaking of.
Swallowing
hard, I cast my gaze back outside, searching frantically for some excuse to
cover up what I’d been doing. Nothing came to mind though, so I chose to stay
silent.
“Don’t think
for one second
make a rational decision when you’re in the heat of the moment.”
“I get that,
but why did you have to leave? We could’ve just hung out and visited
together.”
I laughed.
“If I would’ve stayed one more minute, there would’ve been no stopping us. I
wasn’t leaving because I didn’t want to be with you. Trust me. I love every
second I spend with you.”
“Well, you
know what I learned today?”
“No, tell
me.”
“Chase
Walker isn’t the player everyone says he is.”
I paused for
a moment, dragging my hand through my hair. “Yes, I am, Nikki. At least I
was. I’m different with you for some reason.”
“Oh.”
I heard a
vehicle and rolled over to look out the window. “Hey, my grandpa is home. I’m
gonna have to go now. I’ll talk to you tomorrow at school, okay?”
“Alright.”
She paused for a second. “Have a good night.”
“You too.”
I snapped the phone shut and reached for my shoes.
I hadn’t got
the horse stalls cleaned yet today, and I was pretty sure Grandpa had heard
about my fight at school by now. He wasn’t going to be very happy with me, of
this I was positive.
Mom had left
me a note when I got home earlier, stating Grandma had gone with her to show a
house in a neighboring town, and they wouldn’t be home until later, so there
wasn’t even anyone to run interference.
His heavy
footfalls greeted me as I left my room. I met him in the hallway. If the
scowl on his face were any indication of my current situation, things were not
good.
“I need your
help out in the barn,” he said gruffly.
“Just headed
that way now,” I replied. “I fell asleep after school before I got my chores
done.”
He gave a
grunt, casting his gaze over me once before he turned to go back down the
stairs. I followed after him, keeping up with his long stride until we entered
the barn, and I went to pull out some of my supplies.
“I need you
up in the hayloft for a minute,” Grandpa said as he started to agilely climb
the ladder.
I placed the
shovel I was holding against the wall and followed him up into the loft in time
to see him open the exterior door up there. Light from the dusky sky filtered
into the space, and for a moment, we stood there in silence as we stared out at
the scenery.
“Pretty
sight, isn’t it? Great view,” he spoke softly.
I nodded.
“I’d have to agree.” I was a little shocked to find I meant it too. There was
a certain peacefulness to this place.
“Do you know
how hard I’ve worked to build this ranch? How I struggled to carve a
successful niche for myself, and my family—your family?”
I wondered
where this line of questioning was going. “No sir, I don’t. But I’m sure you
could tell me all about it.” I was completely serious.
“What I
don’t understand about you, kid, is how you could have such a blatant
disrespect for another’s property?” He gave me a hard look, flexing his jaw
tightly. “Does it mean nothing to you that your whole family has shifted their
entire lives to try to accommodate a better one for you? Are you really that
selfish?”
I was lost.
I’d been expecting a lecture about fighting, and he had thrown me by going off
on a completely different tangent.
“I’m sorry,
but I honestly have no idea what you are talking about. Of course I appreciate
what everyone tries to do for me. I may not agree with what those things are,
but I’m not totally insensitive.”
“Is that
so?” he countered. “Then perhaps you would care to explain these burn marks I
found on the floor here.” He stamped his booted foot in emphasis, drawing my
attention to the area he was speaking of.
Swallowing
hard, I cast my gaze back outside, searching frantically for some excuse to
cover up what I’d been doing. Nothing came to mind though, so I chose to stay
silent.
“Don’t think
for one second
Similar Books
