Jason doesn’t return the eye contact and busies himself poking at the scrambled eggs with his fork saying, “Something like that.”
Now what? I can’t help wondering. What has made him go from the easygoing Jason to this guy, the one that looks as if he doesn’t even want to talk to me? If it was just the two of us, I’d call him out on it, but I’m not going to ruin breakfast for Derrick and Olivia.
“Olivia, this is so good,” I tell her, honestly, taking a bite of the crispy bacon.
Olivia snorts. “Well, actually, you can thank Derrick for it. I’m not much of a cook.”
We both get a chuckle out of that. “I’m the same way. I usually live on ramen noodles so I imagine my body will be in shock when I go back to that and leave all these good meals behind.”
“Well, I’m sure that will be awhile. Or at least I hope so. I’ve enjoyed having another woman around,” Olivia says.
“Me too.”
Derrick lifts up his empty plate and puts some more bacon on it. “You mentioned the other day that you’ve always wanted to learn to ride a horse. You know we could get one of the ranch hands to give you lessons. Maybe not Harrison, but I’m sure any of the guys would be happy to help you out,” Derrick says.
I make sure to keep my eyes trained on Derrick. I know that riding horses is still a sore subject with Jason, and I feel bad that we’re talking about it in front of him. I would love to learn to ride, but I shrug my shoulders, not wanting to commit to anything, before I change the subject to Trent and Lacy’s wedding.
13
Jason
I was in a bad mood throughout the workout, but I made a point not to take it out on Karly after her comment about our sessions coming to an end upset me so much. That and, well, my dense brother straight-up offering to set Karly up with one of the ranch hands for horseback riding lessons. I mean really, what was he even thinking?
Of course, I couldn’t smack Derrick in front of Karly for his stupidity, but as soon as she is off the porch and out of earshot after the session, I smack Derrick upside the head. “What is wrong with you? Did you get high before breakfast? I told you just the other day how I needed to put the guys in their place about Karly and then you go and say we should set her up to work with one of them?”
He rubs his head. “First of all, don’t forget who you’re talking to. Second of all, I said she could learn to go horseback riding. She’s always wanted to learn. We shouldn’t deprive her of that after everything she’s done for you. I mean, look around here, Jason.” His arm spans out, gesturing to our hundreds of acres. “How could we not offer to teach her?”
Derrick isn’t backing off the horrible idea, and all I can see is how one of the ranch hands is going to be sharing a saddle with Karly, his hands and arms roaming all over her, taking total advantage of every opportunity to breathe her in, touch her, and be with her.
It’s so appalling I can’t stand it. “That’s right, she did so much for me so I should be the one to teach her,” I say.
“You? I’m sorry, but you said you weren’t going to risk breaking your leg again by getting back on a horse.”
“I just meant that it was too risky at the time. I’ll… work up to it.”
Derrick gives me a look, and I recognize it as the same look he always gave me and Trent when he was challenging us to something when we were growing up. “You sure?”
“Damn sure,” I answer back, full of confidence. If it means I can keep Karly off the back of another cowboy’s horse, then fuck yeah I’m going to get on a damn horse.
Karly
It’s silly how many times I’ve been close to tears thinking about this last PT session. Both Jason and I knew we were on a countdown, which made each session feel bittersweet—at least it did for me.
I arrive and work with Jason a little, but since it’s the last session, I’ve put together a binder full of stretches and exercises he has to do if he wants to keep building muscle in his injured leg as well as balance.
Jason listens to my explanations, but he doesn’t seem sad at all while I’m having trouble not wrapping my arms around him and sobbing out a goodbye. This just goes to show that I’ve read more into our relationship than there is. I really need to get out of here. I definitely don’t want him to see me falling apart.