Chapter 15
INDYA
Age Eighteen
“Are you sure you don’t want to try camping?” Dad asked.
“One hundred percent sure.” I nodded. “You guys have fun.”
Behind him, standing beside the door with a bag slung over her shoulders, Mom mouthed, “Save me.”
I pulled in my lips to keep from laughing.
Camping was at the very bottom of Mom’s vacation to-do list. But Dad wanted to camp, so she would camp because it made Dad happy.
There wasn’t much either of us wouldn’t do to make Dad happy.
Like this trip. It was my graduation trip. He’d asked me where I wanted to go to celebrate, and I’d picked Montana.
For Dad.
He’d been super busy at work, and if this was his break for the summer, then I wanted him to love it.
Not that I didn’t want to be here. This trip was a win for everyone.
Well, except Mom, who had to go camping.
“Wish us luck,” Dad said.
“Good luck.” I giggled as Mom grimaced.
“Oh, Ellen.” He chuckled. “This will be fun. It’s an adventure.”
“If I get eaten by a bear, I swear to God, Grant, I will haunt you for the rest of your life.”
“I’ve got bear spray.” He kissed her forehead. “And if it fails, I can
deal with a few years of haunting.”
My smile faded.
A few years.
He talked like that; Mom did too. They’d drop these subtle reminders that he wouldn’t be around forever. Did they think it would make it easier when he was gone?
It wouldn’t make it easier. Nothing would make this easier.
Besides, it wasn’t like he was on death’s doorstep. The medication was working, and the doctors were hopeful. There were no new tumors.
The cancer hadn’t spread to his other organs. Why was he so sure his time was almost up?
He had more than a few years. I felt it down to my bones.
“Have a good night, pumpkin.” Dad opened the door for Mom.
“Lock this.”
“I will.”
“Love you,” Mom said.
“Love you too.” I followed them out to the porch and waved as they made their way to the lodge.
This camping thing was a new activity at the resort. They’d pick up tents from the front desk, then hike out to one of the areas already prepped for an overnight stay.
Mom and Dad would have to set up their own tent and build their own fire. But the area was already staged with wood and matches. And they wouldn’t be so far into the mountains that they didn’t have phone service.
I went inside the chalet, shutting the door and flipping the lock.
Then I flopped on the couch and picked up my phone to see a string of missed texts from my friends.
That concert was amazing!
We missed you IK!
Best. Night. Eva! How’s Montana?
My fingers flew over the screen as I sent my reply.
Ugh. I wish I could be there! MT is good.
Four of my friends had gotten VIP tickets to a Florida Georgia Line concert last night. I hated missing stuff with them, especially because we were all going to different colleges. We’d totally stay friends, but it would be strange not seeing them every day at school.
Everything felt like it was changing.
Did you see Eli?
I waited, expecting a quick response to my text. But ten minutes later, no one in our group chat had responded. Which meant they’d seen Eli. And he’d probably been with another girl.
Was it Mia? Was he sleeping with her already? We’d broken up a week ago, but he’d always liked Mia. They were going to Texas A&M together too.
With every moment my phone stayed quiet, my friends likely texting on the side, my heart sank.
Eli and I had dated for a year. My parents were friends with his, and last summer, we’d all gone to Mexico for a two-week vacation. It was why we hadn’t come to Montana. After that trip, we’d started dating.
But neither of us wanted to try a long-distance relationship. Our colleges were only a couple of hours away from each other, but he was playing on A&M’s football team, and I’d be busy with school.
The breakup had been Eli’s idea, but we both knew it would be easier to break up now than drag it out. That, or he’d just used it as an excuse to hook up with Mia all summer.
Thank God I hadn’t had sex with him. We’d gotten close a couple of times, but I’d always stopped before going all the way.
“Whatever.” I put my phone on the couch and left the cabin. Maybe a walk before dark would make me feel better.
I passed the lodge, smiling at a couple who must have had the same idea. They walked hand in hand down the road for an evening stroll.
Dang it. Either I’d have to run in front of them, which would be weird, or I could follow behind, which would also be weird.
My gaze drifted to the grove of trees where West had built his fort.
Was it still there? Was he here this summer, home from college and working on the ranch? I hadn’t seen him yet, but we’d been here for only a day.
He’d probably be annoyed with me for snooping, but I changed paths anyway, meandering past the barn. But before I veered toward the trees, raised voices stopped my feet.
“There’s nothing wrong with where I put that gate, Dad.”
West. My heart skipped. He was here.
“It’s not where I told you to put it,” Curtis barked.
“It makes sense to have it in that corner.”
“When you own this ranch, you can put the gates wherever you want. But you don’t own it. It’s mine, and that’s not where I told you to put the gate. So tomorrow, you’re going to go move it.”
“The hell I am,” West hollered. “Move it yourself. If you want it done your way, then do it yourself.”
“You’re fixing it. Or you can forget about getting paid this
summer.”
West stayed quiet.
His silence must have irritated his dad, because Curtis huffed and stormed out of the barn.
I pressed my back against the wall, slinking around the corner until he was in his truck and driving away. Then I exhaled and came out of hiding, walking to the open barn door.
West was saddling a horse in a stall, his movements angry and
rushed.
“Hey.”
His glare whipped my direction, but the moment he realized it was me, his gorgeous face softened. “Hey.”
His shoulders seemed broader. His frame larger. The line of his jaw was stronger and covered in dark stubble. He was twenty. He looked more like a man than the guy who’d kissed me in his truck two years ago.
I’d forgotten just how much my belly fluttered when he was around.
Definitely more than it ever had with Eli.
“How much of that did you hear?” he asked, going back to the
saddle.
“Enough.”
He blew out a long sigh, dropping his chin. Then he turned and stared at me. He stared so long it was an effort not to shift back and forth on my feet.
“What?” I whispered when I couldn’t stand it any longer.
“Nothing.” He shook his head. “I’m going for a ride.”
“Okay.”
“Want to come?”
“Yes.”
He led the horse through the barn and out the other side’s wide doorway. I followed, hanging back as he walked in a few circles before stopping to tighten the saddle’s cinch.
When he was ready, West jerked his chin for me to come over. Then he held out the stirrup so I could swing onto the horse’s back.
I shifted as far forward as possible in the saddle, but the space behind me didn’t seem like enough. Could this horse even carry both of
us? “How do I—”
“You ride. I’ll walk.”
“Oh.” I hadn’t meant to hijack his ride. “I don’t need—”
“Just hold on, Indy.”
“Okay.” I nodded and gripped the horn. Then he led us through a gate and into a field.
West didn’t speak as we walked. The only sounds were the horse’s breathing and its hooves digging into the dirt.
I settled into the rhythm of the horse’s movements, stealing glances at West every few minutes.
He’d cut his hair. The ends at his nape didn’t brush against the collar of his shirt like they had two years ago. But he still rolled up the sleeves of his button-down shirt. He still wore the same faded Wranglers and cowboy boots.
“How’s college?” I asked, breaking the silence.
“Good. I like it.”
“I’m starting in August.”
“Baylor?”
“Yeah.”
“Did you make the soccer team?”
“No, I didn’t even try out.”
He glanced up at me. “Why not?”
“It doesn’t feel as important as it used to.” I wanted to go to school and have fun. I wanted my weekends free to hang out with friends or go home to visit Mom and Dad. “That, and I’m not good enough.”
“How do you know?”
“My coach told me.”
“The fuck?” A frown marred his handsome face, and I laughed.
“It’s true. Don’t worry, it didn’t hurt my feelings. It was sort of a
relief.”
The scowl stayed on his face.
“West?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m sorry about your dad.”
He raked a hand through his hair. “He’s a pain in my ass. He wants everything done his way, and he likes to remind me all the time that this is his ranch, not mine. I don’t get a say.”
“Then why do you come back?” Couldn’t he get a job somewhere else for the summer?
He swept a hand out in front of us to the meadow. To the mountains
and trees and cattle in the distance.
It was all the explanation I needed.
The sun was setting, dipping closer and closer to the mountains.
The sky was a mixture of yellow and orange and blue. Behind us, the lodge windows reflected its golden light.
I couldn’t see West living anywhere else. This was his home.
This was why he came back.
We walked for a while longer until finally he looped us in a circle, taking us toward the resort.
“Dad’s not always bad,” he said. “We just butt heads sometimes.”
“Me and Mom do that a lot.”
“How pissed are your parents going to be that you’re out tonight?”
“They went camping.”
“Ah.” The corners of his mouth turned up. “That was my idea.”
“Really? It’s fun. Not that I want to camp, but Dad loved it.”
“Yeah. Someday, I want to get nicer, bigger tents. Let people go
glamping.”
“Glamping?”
“Glamorous camping.”
I laughed. “Sign me up for that. As long as I don’t have to sleep on
the ground.”
“It’s not so bad.” He grinned up at me.
Maybe if West was taking me camping, I wouldn’t mind so much.
We reached the barn before I was ready, but the light had faded, and stars glittered overhead.
He dealt with the horse and saddle, and once everything was put away, he pointed toward the lodge. “I’ll walk you back.”
“Thanks.” My cheeks flushed as his hand settled on the small of my back. Tingles raced up my spine.
With every step, my breath quickened. Would he kiss me again? I was a better kisser now than I had been two years ago. I really wanted him to kiss me again.
I worried my bottom lip between my teeth as we reached the cabin, but as I took the first two steps, I realized West’s hand was gone.
He stood on the ground, hands shoved into his jeans pockets.
“What?” I retreated a step, putting us eye to eye.
“Good night, Indy.” His throat bobbed as he swallowed. He turned, but I threw out my hand, grabbing his arm.
“Wait.”
He couldn’t leave, not yet. I wasn’t sure when I’d be in Montana again. What if I didn’t see him again?
That thought had never occurred to me before. Not once. Because we always came back to Montana. Always. Maybe it took a year or two, but we always came back.
Except Dad kept talking like he had one foot in the grave. What if
this was the last trip?
I wasn’t ready to say goodbye, not yet.
“Would you kiss me again?”
“Indya.” His voice sounded hoarse. His eyes searched mine.
“Please?” My heart was in my throat as I waited and hoped.
“Please, West.”
Don’t go. Kiss me.
Maybe he heard my silent plea. Or maybe I was the one who closed the gap. One moment, we were staring at each other. The next, his lips were on mine, and his tongue swept past my teeth.
My fingers dived into his hair. He smiled against my mouth. Then I
let him carry me inside.
And lock the door.
West was my first. He made it the best night of my life.
We woke at dawn so he could leave before my parents returned from camping. He kissed me before he sneaked out of the cabin.
And as I watched him walk away, I smiled, knowing this was
exactly where I was supposed to be.
With West in Montana.
