“My dad sometimes talks about my mom. For him, I think he knows it changed us…more me than him.”
“Yeah.” He paused, taking off his hat and brushing his hair back before placing it back on his head. I watched those short curls in the back roll up toward the brim of his hat. I still liked the cowboy hat on him. It suited him well. “I remember when your mom died.” I looked up at him, paying attention to his words. “I was 18 then. I know people say they know how it feels but believe me when I tell you…I do know how it feels.” I knew he was right. If anyone knew, it was him. He went through the same thing I did, just a few years apart. We continued working in silence for a few minutes, then Colt spoke again. “Hey…I think we’re about done here, and my dad went over to your dad’s place for the evening. What do you say we go for a ride?” I nodded. It was becoming my favorite thing about being here.
Chapter Seven
Colt
Once we rode so far, Colt stopped, tying Shadow’s lead to a tree. I got off Domino and did the same. Colt sat down, propping himself against the tree. I waited a moment, then sat down beside him.
“You know how my mom died?” I don't know why I asked that, but everything always felt so natural and safe with him.
“I do.”
“I haven’t ridden a horse since I was sixteen because of it. It was my fault.” He turned to face me, placing a hand on my knee.
“It was not your fault. It was an accident.”
“I wanted to ride that day. It had been a long day on the ranch, but I didn’t care. I wanted to ride anyway. My mom didn’t like me going by myself, and my dad had called it for the evening. She told him she was going to go ride with me for about an hour and then we’d be back.” She sniffed. “We were riding back, and Itold her I wanted to go faster. She was hesitant to do it, especially since it was starting to get dark out. She started to gain a little speed, following behind me, and I heard her scream." Daisy teared up. “I looked back just in time to catch a quick glimpse of a snake on the ground, and Mom’s horse freaked. She fell off and hit a rock. I tried to get her to speak to me, but she didn’t make a sound... It was instant. I made it back to the house and told my dad what happened. It was the worst day of my life.”
I could see the tears starting to fall on her face. I remembered all the tears I shed when my mom passed. I usually did it away from everyone, especially my dad. I knew he was struggling, too, and the last thing I wanted was to make things harder for him. It was easier to feel the pain alone. She turned her head so I couldn’t see, but I took my hand that was not on her knee and placed it on her cheek to turn her back to face me. Using my thumb, I wiped away her tears, looking into her eyes the whole time. It was an intimate connection…one that I had never experienced with anyone else.
Daisy had always been special and had taken a place in my heart from the first time I saw her as a two-year old. She had just been born and her parents brought her to visit my parents. My mom said I saw her and held her hand, saying "baby Daisy." I guess I was a goner back then.
“You were still a kid…and accidents happen. It was an accident, Daisy.” She leaned over, placing her head on my shoulder. I missed her touch and our time together. It had been lonely since she left. She didn’t speak for a few minutes.
“You are a good listener, you know that? You’ve kind of surprised me.”
“Have I surprised you?”
“Well, yes. I haven’t been able to talk to you since we were kids before…you know…”
“I know…we had fun as kids, didn’t we?”
“Yes, we did.” With her head still on my shoulder, we stayed a little while longer until I knew we needed to head back before it got too dark out to ride safely.
When we went in for dinner, my dad had already gone to bed after his long day. I went into the fridge and made Daisy and me both a sandwich while she went to shower. When she got out, we watched a little TV and ate.
“You know, I’m still the same…for the most part.”
“The same?”
“As when we were kids. I still like the same things and still like to have fun when I’m not working.”
“So riding is what you consider fun?”
“Absolutely. Riding has always been for me.”
“It used to be fun for me, too. You know…you’ve kind of made riding fun again.”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
“I must ask…do you ever go out? I mean, you’ve not been out the whole time I’ve been here. I figured someone like you would be out with the ladies all over him.”
“I don’t care much for the bar scene, and truthfully, I haven’t had much luck with women, so I don’t date anymore. After I graduated, I went on a few dates over the years, but none of them worked out or went all that well. I just never made a connection like I wanted. My mom always tried to set me up with someone. I let her a couple of times, but they never worked out either. Once she passed, I took on even more responsibility around the ranch and haven’t been on a date since.”
“So, you haven’t been on a date since you were 20?” He shook his head.
“Not a single one.”
