Part 16 (1/2)

Dammit, he was right. Chanel sunk into the plastic chair beside the bed and turned the buckle over and over in her hands. ”Sorry. G.o.d, this summer is just a mess.”

”Looks like there was a bright spot tonight.” Seth nodded at the buckle.

Chanel gave him a watery smile and handed it to him.

”Nice,” he said.

”Small potatoes compared to everything else.”

”Meh, it's something. Mom stopped by earlier. Said you and Vivi flew. She didn't even have time to blink before it was over.”

”I needed something to go right,” Chanel said.

”Thanks for going out there. I know it was hard.”

”Totally worth it. Though, I don't know if the ones who needed to see our stand were there for it. Attendance was lean.”

”I think Clifford's Bend got the wakeup call it needed,” Seth said. ”So did David. Things are going to change.”

One of Chanel's favorite things about Seth was his optimism. If only she had a quarter of it.

”I know you don't believe me,” Seth said, as always, reading her mind, ”but good things are coming.”

Crickets chirped as dusk settled over the yard Monday evening. Maddox relaxed in a rickety lawn chair, legs stretched in front of him. It'd been a long day in the swather. He hadn't seen much of anyone after Mitch gave them their marching orders that morning. The mood had been somber. Despite her victory the night before at the rodeo, Chanel looked beat. She hadn't even spared him a glance, though it didn't feel like the brush off she'd given him in May. He decided to give her some s.p.a.ce, which was hard. All he wanted was to be beside her. She'd been through a lot over the weekend.

The bunkhouses behind him were empty. Before heading out to the range that morning, Fritz had taken his things over to Christine's. Jerry was off fis.h.i.+ng somewhere, and for the first time in his life, Maddox was content to be alone.

Headlights pierced his thoughts. A dented, red pickup pulled up in front of the yard, and David stepped out. Maddox sat straighter in his chair, not sure what to make of the other man's return. Was he welcome out here? Should he go call Mitch?

David walked into the yard carrying a duffle bag. ”Hey, Maddox.”

”Hey.”

”I called Mitch before I came out,” David said, s.h.i.+fting his bag into the other hand.

Maddox nodded. David had really stepped in it when he neglected to help his brother. He was surprised the eldest Eber son had the b.a.l.l.s to show his face at the ranch.

”Faith lit into me. Dumped me, actually. G.o.d, I've been stupid.” David crossed the gra.s.s over to his bunkhouse steps and sat down. Apparently, he wanted to talk. ”I saw Seth last night. Seeing him like that-,” David's voice cracked.

Maddox popped a couple of knuckles wis.h.i.+ng he knew what to say. He didn't have a lot of respect for the guy. Personally, he thought David was getting exactly what he deserved.

”He wasn't even mad at me.” The words were so soft Maddox barely caught them.

”He's a pretty awesome guy,” Maddox said.

It was dark now, but the light mounted on the outside of the shop cast a dim glow over the patch of yard. Maddox turned his chair to face David.

”Seth and I were close once, but it weirded me out when he told us he was gay. The idea of...you know, just wasn't natural. It felt wrong, and I was so p.i.s.sed that Mom was just okay with it, that she allowed him to be that way. Add that to what she was doing with Mitch-,”

Maddox cut him off. ”Did you ever talk to her about Mitch?”

David met his gaze. ”No. Why would I?”

”So you knew the truth. Long story, but your mom confided in Chanel. Nothing happened there. You walked in at the wrong time. You were wrong, man.” Maybe it wasn't his place to share this information, but Maddox couldn't let David keep insulting his mother.

”I'll be d.a.m.ned.” David shook his head and stared at his boots. ”I knew I needed to apologize for the business at cow camp. Guess there's a pile of s.h.i.+t I need to cover. It's no excuse, but I just didn't know what to do with myself after Dad died. Everything kept changing.”

The two sat in silence. Some coyotes started up a song nearby setting the dogs to barking.

”Hey!” David hollered, and they quieted. ”You know, getting together with Faith was the best thing that happened to me. Things could've been different, I think. If I'd brought her out here, let her be part of the family. But I was so embarra.s.sed by how messed up they are.”

A spark of temper threatened to flare at David's words. Messed up? This guy thought a lot of himself. The people on the Double O were the most solid, level folks he'd ever met.

After gritting his teeth for a beat and swallowing hard, Maddox gave a controlled reply. ”Maybe you should look in the mirror, man. I've been around. This place is the real deal. People know how to treat each other. Clifford's Bend could use some work, but out here, d.a.m.n, you're lucky to have such a great family.”

Maddox stood and headed for his bunkhouse. He was done being David's sounding board. ”I'm calling it a night. See you in the morning.”

David mumbled a goodnight as Maddox closed the door.

CHAPTER NINETEEN.

The front loader shuddered into silence. Chanel wiped her sweaty forehead with the back of her arm, which was also sweaty and only managed to smear her sweat all around. Grabbing the bottom of her tank top, she pulled it up to her face, leaving behind damp brown streaks. The ventilation in the cab was terrible, and the heat had been relentless the last several days. It was mid afternoon on Sat.u.r.day. The load of hay was stacked in the feedlot barn, and she was ready for a break.

She and Maddox had fallen into a rhythm in the alfalfa fields. Maddox pulled the baler behind the tractor over the hay they'd cut the week before, while Chanel followed behind with the front loader picking up the one-ton bales and stacking them on a flatbed trailer to be hauled to the feedlot. Most of the hay would be used during the winter when the snow was too deep for the cattle to graze, but some would be sold as well.

Chanel felt like she could breathe for the first time this summer. Seth was healing quickly, and it was getting harder for Christine to keep him at the house. David was back, but so far he hadn't caused any drama. For Seth's and Christine's sakes, Chanel was doing her best to forgive the dummy and keep the peace. If they were ready to move forward, who was she to drag her heels? Maddox was finis.h.i.+ng up the baling in the last field. It was looking like they'd get a second cutting later in August. Maddox would be gone by then. The thought made her stomach twist, and that brief good feeling dissipated. Would he even speak to her once they were back on the Doumit Campus?

The night before Chanel had called Bert to fill her in on the drama. Her friend had been sympathetic but again urged her to explore things with Maddox-this time not just for s.e.x. Everyone was telling her the same thing, and she was reluctantly starting to take in the message. These feelings were new for her and scary as h.e.l.l. No guy had ever stood up to or challenged her, and after the events of last weekend, something had opened up inside of her. She realized she wasn't the only one who'd changed. The irritation she'd felt radiating off him the first half of the summer was gone. There was no sense of him trying to get something from her. He was just there, and she liked it. What made it troublesome was how comfortable it was. Because at any moment the call could come and end it all.

”Shouldn't I wait to see if it's still there when we get back? It would save us a lot of heartache.” Unable to sit still, Chanel paced the deck and picked at her fingernails.

”Don't waste this opportunity. It might not be there when you get back to campus,” Bert had said. ”The magic is there now. I think you need to trap it and take it back with you.”

Chanel had laughed at her friend's cheesy answer. ”Did you turn into a poet over there?”

”No. Just living life. The right person can make you stop and think.” Before Chanel could press her on that, Bert had signed off. She'd have to call her again soon and find out exactly what was going on with her friend in New York.

After playing the conversation over in her mind one more time, Chanel made her decision. Jumping down from the loader, she hustled over to the four-wheeler she'd parked in the shade that morning, afraid if she lost her momentum, she'd chicken out.

Maddox saw a speck on the far side of the hayfield. He'd just started over the last row, sucking the cut hay into the baler, dropping huge bales out the end of it. After a moment, he could make out Chanel on a four-wheeler. Surprised she wasn't returning with the loader to finish stacking bales, he grew worried something had happened. Was Seth still doing okay? Had something happened to one of the other guys? These new feelings of concern for others were kind of overwhelming. He'd never felt like a real part of something before, even with his football team.

He slowed the tractor, rolling to a stop and waited for her to reach him. She wore a backpack, and he recognized his duffle bag bungee corded to the front of the ATV. A small cooler was strapped to the rack behind the seat. What was she up to? Those green gold eyes had a spark of mischief, though her mouth was pinched in a straight line. They hadn't kissed since the night of the rodeo finals, and though he hadn't felt her pull away from him this last week, she hadn't tried to get closer either. Not wanting to scare her off, Maddox had decided to let her determine what was next for them. He hoped it was more than friends.h.i.+p, but even that would be better than nothing.