The longer we’d been apart, the more I realized I didn’t know her at all. She even tried breaking into my house while I’d been gone. Thank goodness for top-notch security. I’d have to deal with her when I got back to LA, and I wasn’t looking forward to it, but it was a necessary evil.
Marisol took a spot next to me, closest to her husband, and gripped his other hand, being mindful of the wires and cords poking out of her husband’s arm. It was a side of Aspen’s mom I hadn’t seen before. She looked as if she weathered a storm and barely made it out alive.
Slowly, I stepped back, wanting to give the two some privacy as they exchanged soft-spoken words. Colton, Nate, and Talon did the same, and we huddled near the windows for the family to have a moment. They were only interrupted when the doctor walked in and explained they were going to keep Nash overnight and that he was scheduled for surgery in the morning to remove the blockage. He was going to be out of commission for a few weeks.
I wasn’t sure what that meant for the farm, but I knew exactly what it meant for Aspen. She was going to run herself into the ground, trying to fill her dad’s large shoes.
Within my pocket, I felt my phone buzz with a message from Kelsey. She heard through the very thorough Ashfield grapevine what happened with Nash and was canceling our session for the day. She’d been working hard on strengthening my throwing arm and shoulder. Her techniques differed from our team therapist’s, some new-age methods she learned in school.
Just as I was closing out the messaging app, I noticed an email from the team’s marketing assistant with the schedule for the upcoming promotional contracts. The off-season was when most players worked with the team sponsors, and this year, apparently, they all wanted me. I had a record season, and I was the team's top scorer.
Glancing over the list, I even had a meet-and-greet scheduled at a local brewery.
That one could be fun, I thought to myself and wished I’d have the opportunity to take Aspen with me.
Syncing the list with my calendar, I noticed the few blank spaces around holidays and a few random weekends. If I could convince Aspen to keep things going between us, then I’d be able to fly home during those times for a day or two.
“Hey,” a shaky voice said beside me. Aspen’s eyelids drooped, and the corners of her mouth tipped toward the floor. She reminded me of the guys when we lost the world championships. Except this wasn’t a silly game. This was her father lying in a hospital bed, looking so much smaller than I remembered.
“Hey, cricket. You doing okay?” I asked, wrapping my arm around her shoulders. When she returned the embrace, I felt the sigh of relief leave my lungs. At least she wasn’t pushing me away, which was my fear the entire drive to the hospital.
“Yeah, I guess. I… um… need to get back to the farm. Do you think you could take me?”
Despite the circumstances, I was itching to leave the building. Everything—the scent, the colors, the layout—was causing my skin to feel as if it was burning from the inside out.
“Of course,” I readily agreed and reached down for her hand that felt tiny in mine.
We said goodbye to her family, her father arguing with her the entire time. He knew, just as I did, that Aspen was going to take too much on. Whatever progress she and I had made in giving her any sort of social life was about to wither away to nothing.
I could even sense the apprehension in Andrew as he hugged his sister goodbye. He knew now that this wasn’t the life Aspen wanted for herself, but she was going to run herself ragged trying to prove to everyone she could handle it.
I was afraid it was going to cost her more than just her free time. There was always the chance she could be the one lying in that bed.
Our drive back to the ranch was quiet. Only the sound of the radio and the purr of the car engine could be heard. When we arrived at the farm, Aspen nearly jumped out of my car in an attempt to get away from me. Something had changed during the long drive.
She was pushing me away, and I refused to allow our last bit of time together to end like this.
“Aspen!” I shouted as I flew from my car, running to catch up with her. For someone so short, she was incredibly fast. I repeated her name again, but from a quick glance over her shoulder, I noticed the tears on her cheeks, shimmering in the sunshine.
“Baby, wait.”
Her steps didn’t falter as she made her way toward the barn, where the Easterlys stored their equipment.
“Come on, cricket. Don’t do this.”
Finally, she turned around. Her cheeks were ruddy and wet, but she was still one of the most beautiful women I’d ever seen.
“Owen, I can’t.”
“Can’t what?” I asked as I stepped closer.
“I… I don’t know. I just can’t be anything but what my family needs right now. I’m it. I need to run the farm while my dad heals.” Her breath hitched as she spoke of her father.
“They don’t expect you to do everything all at once, Aspen.”
“But they do. They’re all relying on me. Not just my family, but the workers, the town, all the contracted companies. They all need me. I’m… I’m sorry. I need to see what needs to be done today.”
“Can I see you tonight?”
“I don’t think that’s—”
“Please. I need to talk to you about something.”
Aspen’s eyes grew heavy with the weight of my words. We both knew the time was coming, but now that I had an actual date, it made it all the more real.
“Okay. I… um… need to grab my car anyway.”
She turned on her heel, and I reached out for her wrist in an attempt to stop her.
“I’ll be waiting for you, Aspen. Please try not to overdo it.”
The moment I released her arm, she walked away, and my heart thundered in my chest. I wondered what she’d do if I told her I loved her.
It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out I’d probably been in love with Aspen Easterly since the day I met her when we were kids. But it wasn’t until I saw her dad lying in that hospital bed that it hit me like a ton of bricks. I wouldn’t want anyone at my bedside but her.
Back at my rental, I tossed around a baseball in a makeshift booth I set up in the backyard. The netting kept the pitches from soaring into the neighbor’s yard.
A cool breeze brushed across my sweat soaked back, and I shivered. I imagined Aspen riding around the property, with the devil cow, Carrie, chasing after her. Wounding herself in the process… again. I shook out my arms, trying to rid myself of the memory of Aspen all cut up and bleeding.
