She tried to speak, but no sound came. She shook her head and clutched the counter.
“Gertie?” Had I given her a heart attack? “I swear we didn’t plan for this to happen. When we first slept together—why do I keep saying that?—umm, when we first got together, it was all innocent. You see, we were trapped in the barn because of the rain, and we spent the night together, but we didn’t have sex then, I swear. Oh god, I can’t breathe.”
I sat down heavily on a stool and dragged painful breaths into my lungs, clutching my chest. The room spun dizzyingly around me. I was suffocating under the weight of guilt and shock that had come crashing down with Gertie’s disbelief.
She hated me, and it was all my fault. She was probably thinking that I wasn’t such a sweet boy at all. Did they still call people harlots for what I was doing with his dad?
“Oh, dear.” Gertie snapped out of her daze, fluttered around the kitchen, and shoved a glass of water in my hand. “Drink.”
Tears burned my eyes as I did as she bid, choking back the cool liquid.
“Breathe, Ozzie. What’s done is done. Like my grandpa used to say when I was a girl, ‘You can’t unscramble an egg, but you can eat it and enjoy it.’”
I blinked several times. Was Gertie saying…?
“Well, don’t look at me like that, sugar pie. You shocked the bejeebers out of me. I thought Gray was being an ass in not supporting the wedding, but I won’t judge. I would be the last person to, given my colorful past. Got more colors than in the rainbow.”
“You mean you don’t hate me or think I’m a…?” My cheeks burned.
“Of course not. I haven’t known you for long, but I can tell you’re a decent young man. Despite what you have going on with Gray, I think you tried your best. And I’ve known Gray for almosttwo decades. He’s not a man who would do something like this lightly, which means he genuinely cares about you.”
I dropped my eyes and gripped the glass in my hand harder. “Isn’t it too soon for love?”
“There’s no timeline on love, sugar pie. I knew my Georgie was the one the day we met. We slept together that same night, got engaged two weeks later, and within two months, we were married.”
“That’s a sweet story.”
“Honey, I can tell the sneaking around bothers you. You and Gray should come clean. Things might not exactly have turned out as you hoped, but I believe it’s for the best. I don’t want to be a busybody, but the fact that Carter isn’t even here to help you with your wedding says a lot. Surely you see that?”
Feeling sheepish, I dropped my gaze. “I must have seemed foolish.”
“No, not foolish. Hopeful. Sure, this is probably going to be the hot topic in town for a while, but as long as you and Gray are sure of each other, you can overcome it.” She winked. “Gossip only lasts until the next scandal comes along. Besides, the only two people who need to be happy with a relationship are the couple themselves.”
“Thank you, Gertie. You’re a wise woman.”
“Is that your way of saying I’m old?”
I laughed, feeling better, using her words to steel my nerves. “No, no. That’s my way of saying… experienced. I should get out of your hair. Gray wants us to go somewhere together.”
“Now don’t do anything I wouldn’t do. In case you don’t know what that means, it means very little.”
Chuckling, I walked out of the kitchen, but I glanced back. Gertie was bent over the stove, humming a tune. Like this house, the ranch, and the town, she had grown on me, and I thanked mylucky stars she didn’t see me as a villain despite what I’d done. Maybe other people wouldn’t judge us too harshly either.
If only. Gertie’s one of a kind.
I had just finished dressing when Gray messaged me, asking for fifteen more minutes. I replied with a thumbs-up emoji and told him I’d wait on the porch. As I wandered down the hallway, my gaze fell on the photographs adorning the walls, each capturing life on the ranch. I easily recognized Carter and Matty as kids. Several images depicted an older couple, their smiling faces warm and weathered.
But it was the pictures of a younger Gray that held my attention the longest. He looked so much like Carter. In each shot, he exuded confidence, his trademark smirk ever-present. One photo showed him bareback riding, dust kicking up under his horse’s hooves. Others captured him while roping cattle, his lasso taut and his focus intense, bull riding, and sitting by a campfire with a blade of grass in his mouth and a guitar resting in his lap. Did he play? He looked so carefree. There was so much I still didn’t know about him.
In the photos, Gray was about the same age as Carter was now. Maybe one day Carter would grow up, but he wasn’t ready for the commitment I required.
The final photograph was a family picture so perfect my heart ached. Gray stood next to Carter’s mother with his arm around her waist. Carter and Matty, around eight and ten years old, stood in front of them. The picture of a perfect Southern family. Yet Gray only got along with one son, while struggling to connect with the other, and he had a bizarre relationship with his wife.
Dear god, Gray was still married. What if he doesn’t intend to divorce his wife? Am I throwing away my chance at happiness by choosing Gray?
At least I knew what to expect from Carter and that I could put up with his behavior. But this wasn’t about Gray. Even ifthings didn’t work out between us, I could never be with Carter. I needed someone who treated me better.
My confidence in what I wanted soared, and I stepped away from the pictures and strolled onto the porch. The first couple of nights, the sounds of the ranch had kept me awake, but now the cadence of the neighing horses, shouting ranch hands, and clinking tools was music to my ears.
