They were so in love, and they look so happy in the photos. It must have been a magical trip. I know it was the first time my mom went overseas, and that my dad’s family helped pay for them to go. A tear leaks out of my eye, and I quickly wipe it away. I flip to the back of the album and find a photo of us as a whole, complete family. Our parents, grandparents, Beau,and me. We’re standing in front of one of the paddocks, and two palomino horses are in the background.
Beau and I are bundled up, with pink cheeks and wide grins, and Mom and Dad are wearing their riding clothes. Grammy looks young, with only a few streaks of white in her blonde hair, and Gramps is looking at her like she’s his whole world. Another tear snakes down my cheek.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” Beau asks.
I look up to find him standing over me, a concerned look on his face. He crouches down next to me, and pulls me in for a hug.
“I miss them,” I say against his chest.
“I do too.”
I pull away and try to compose myself, but fail miserably. I’ve always been bad at faking smiles and pretending to be happy when I’m not.
“What brought this on?” Beau asks.
“It hasn’t been that long since they passed away,” I say defensively.
“I know. I’m sad every day too, but you normally avoid looking at these photos.”
“Can’t a girl mope for a bit?”
“You can mope as much as you’d like but you also have to tell me if something else is going on.” He gives me an encouraging look and then waits in silence for me to fill in the gaps.
“I just wish…” I trail off, unsure of how much to tell my brother. While we’re close, I don’t want him to worry for me. At least not more than he already does. Beau has spent so much of his life taking care of me—I don’t like burdening him.
“What? What do you wish?” he prods.
“I wish I had what Mom and Dad had. What Grammy and Gramps had. And it makes me a bit sad, because I probably never will.” I play with the soft tassels of the blanket and avoidlooking at my brother’s face. I don’t want to see it lined with worry.
“Candice, that’s not true. I know you’ve wanted a relationship for a while and I know I’m not the best at giving dating advice because, well, I’m no better than you in that area. But you’ll find someone.”
“Maybe,” I say, shrugging. “But maybe not. There aren’t many dating options in Star Mountain.”
“That’s damn true.” Beau sighs and rubs his forehead. “I’m going to regret asking this, but what about Nate?”
“What?” I reel back. “What do you mean?”
“Nate told me that he liked you—well, I pried it out of him. I wondered if you liked him back.”
Damn it. Beau must have noticed the vibe between Nathan and I. My brother is more astute than I give him credit for.
“I did like him back,” I admit. “But he left.”
“That prick. I told him I’d fucking kill him if he broke your heart.” Beau pulls out his ancient flip phone and brandishes it like a weapon.
“What are you doing?” I screech.
“Calling Nate to give him a piece of my mind.”
“It’s not a big deal, I swear! Besides, he asked me to be with him, and I’m the one who said no, so don’t be mad at him.”
“I’m so confused right now. This is why I don’t date,” Beau grumbles. “If you like him, why aren’t you two together?”
“Honestly? I’m starting to wonder the same thing myself.”
Beau just nods and flips through the photo album for a bit, looking through the photos of us together as a family. Him and Jenny both make it seem so simple—they both make it sound like love is enough. Like the fact that Nathan and I love each other is all that matters.
And maybe it is.
