about to admit something like that to him. Bristol would be the first to know after I admitted it to myself. I’d told one other girlfriend that I’d loved her and I hadn’t meant it. I hadn’t felt it, but I’d wanted to. I had thought I should.
What I felt for Bristol diminished the puppy love from college. Swamped it. Trampled it.
So, yeah. I’d fallen in love with Bristol and it’d been inevitable. It was right. If Mama hadn’t died, would we be married with kids already? Would we have been childhood sweethearts? Would we have snuck around on her pop? Would we have been friends, seeing others, until we came to our senses and realized the only half to our whole was each other?
That was what had happened, but rockier, so much rockier for her. I might’ve pulled her out of a frozen pasture, but I hadn’t saved her from anything else. I hadn’t taken her out again to show the town the girl I was crazy about was one of our own.
Except for the day she’d hurt herself, she didn’t need saving. I’d been conscientious of that. But I’d swung too far the other way.
I adjusted my hat to keep the sun out of my eyes. “I’ll think about what you said.”
“Good. Cuz I need you to move that pallet of mineral while I help Kiernan fix the feeding tractor.”
“I’m still not telling you about my dating life.”
“Don’t want to hear it, man. I think Bristol would gut both of us if you spilled too much.” He swaggered around the shop to where Kiernan’s truck was parked. The back end of his pickup was weighed down with mineral for the cattle. He’d back up to the shop. I’d get it from there.
I wandered into the building. Cool air hit me, along with the faint scents of exhaust and oil. Large ceiling fans circulated the air. In the hottest part of summer, it would stay pleasant inside.
I hopped in the little electric forklift and whizzed to his pickup. He’d already dropped the tailgate. By the time I was done maneuvering the pallet to the other end of the shop, I’d decided where I wanted to take Bristol.
We needed to go to the bar. I usually went a few times a month when my brothers weren’t around. I didn’t need to troll for women. I had friends that I hadn’t seen in months—since I’d brought Bristol home.
My friends should know I was seeing someone. Tucker was right. Part of the reason I avoided town with Bristol was because I didn’t want to deal with the bullshit. I didn’t want her to deal with it either, but nothing was changing if I didn’t go anywhere with her.
The crap I didn’t want to shovel wasn’t just how others treated her and the way they might act around me because I was seeing her. It was the damn trust. Last night, we’d connected on a deeper level than ever before. She trusted me.
I loved her.
No question she was the one for me. We were making progress, and after so many years of feuding, we’d gone this far despite our past. What Bristol and I had wasn’t ordinary. She was special. We clicked together like two links of a chain. The two of us were stronger together.
But in town, there’d be more than the two of us and I’d have to work harder to keep her from withdrawing. I didn’t have time to deal with the doubts others might put into her head.
She trusted me. Did she love me? I didn’t know. But I needed all the time we had to add links to our chain before it was tested by the damn trust.
Chapter 11
Bristol
A cool breeze blew through town, wicking the heat of the afternoon sun off my skin. June was the perfect month. Not too hot yet. Not too cold. And the snow was gone. Cattle were in the pastures they’d stay in all summer. Since it was just me, I didn’t have as many head as the land could hold. They could stay in the same pasture all season and have enough to graze. My biggest concern was keeping my haying equipment running.
I wouldn’t have to hay until the middle of July, but thanks to all the help from Dawson and the guys last month, I had time to check on all my equipment before a rainstorm barreled down on King’s Creek and forced me to rush baling.
Which was why I