“Fuck, I missed you,” he pants. “And I missed this place.”
“I missed you too,” I say. “And so did everyone else.”
Aurelia whinnies from the side pasture, and Aiden smiles. He looks past me. “Is that my girl? She’s so tall!”
I blink back tears. “She’s a leggy little thing. We can see them in the morning. You should get inside.”
Aiden raises an eyebrow, sick of me doting over him already. He better get used to it. He’s got a few more weeks in that cast. He loops his arm around me and refuses his wheelchair, insisting on hobbling to the house instead.
“It smells good,” he says when we get inside. We eat dinner then move to the bedroom. He settles into the pillows and holds out his arms for me. I rest my head on his chest, careful to avoid hurting him.
“Haley,” he says, running his fingers over the burn on my right shoulder. “I will never leave you. This time I promise. And I will never break another promise. I love you, and I always will.”
Chapter 30
“I’m really lucky,” I say as I pick at the label on my coffee. I flick my eyes up to the woman interviewing me from E! News and force a smile. Lucky. The word has been said so many times it was beginning to lose its power.
I was lucky to escape the wreck with the injuries I did. I was lucky the EMTs arrived within minutes and pulled me from the car before it burst into flames. I’m lucky I made a full recovery. And I’m lucky to have someone to take care of me, who stayed by my side the entire time and never gave up.
It wasn’t luck that kept Haley with me, it was love. Calling it luck seems insulting, like it discredits her devotion to me. When it comes to us, I am the lucky one.
The journalist nods. I can’t recall her name. Chelsea, maybe? “You look great,” she says, flashing a smile. “If I hadn’t known about the accident, I never would have guessed.”
I smile and laugh like I’m supposed to. I have scars, and a little patch of short hair on the back of my head from having the brain pressure monitor inserted into my skull. It’s hidden underneath my stupid long curls, and I tried to use it to get the producers of Shadowland to let me cut the rest of my hair to match. They didn’t go for it.
“And you’re back to work now?” she asks.
“I am. It’s so good to be back. I’ve missed it a lot after nearly six months off.”
“Are you able to do everything like you did before?”
I hook my nail behind the label and rip it down. “No, I can’t do all my own stunts at the moment, and it kills me. I’m so particular about my character. I’m probably driving the stunt guy nuts.”
“What are you working on now?”
We talk about the current season of Shadowland and future projects. It’s a standard interview, one I consider boring, and my thoughts drift to Haley. I’ve been away filming and we haven’t seen each other in two weeks. I flew into New York yesterday for a talk show, and she thinks I’m going to be here for another few days, but I’m leaving early in the morning to surprise her.
It’s a week and a half before Christmas, and I have a while off work. I can’t wait to spend my days with her. Again.
“So,” the interviewer says. “Let’s talk about your girlfriend. Haley, right?”
Haley got her fair share of media attention after she told off a paparazzi at the hospital, and the whole thing was filmed. Once the public found out about my girlfriend—a random girl from a small town in Montana, suffering the tragic loss of her mother and struggling to keep her farm—they became a little obsessed.
We kept quiet for months. I didn’t have much choice, anyway. I relied on Haley for everything. With extensive injuries, I needed help with simple tasks and couldn’t even get up to use the toilet on my own. Haley was patient and took care of me.
Things weren’t perfect between us though. I lost all memories for the week surrounding the accident. The last thing I remembered was flying back to L.A. after wrapping up on location for The Last Ride. Then it’s black after that. I know Haley was at the hospital with me. I vaguely remember her holding my hand and hearing her voice. I know I opened my eyes and saw her face, but things get fuzzy.
I don’t remember walking away from Haley. I don’t know why I would. She is the best thing that’s ever happened to me. It didn’t take long for her to trust me again, and to know that I will never leave her—again.
“What about Haley?” I say, getting defensive.
“You two met when you were filming in Montana, correct?”
I nod. “We did.”
“And it’s a bit of a Cinderella story. Small-town girl, falling behind on payments on the family farm, then she meets her Prince Charming who gives her the happily ever after she was searching for all along.”
I shake my head. “It is a bit of a Cinderella story, but you’ve got the rolls reversed. She gave me the happily ever after.”
I impatiently look out the barn door, waiting for Haley to come home from work. Shakespeare nudges me.
“I know,” I huff. “I’m bored too. And a little nervous,” I admit. Benny paws at the ground. He’s tied up in the crossties, and both he and Shakespeare are saddled and ready for a trail ride through the snowy mountains.
I arrived this morning, just hours after Haley left for work. She’s still writing articles for that small press, still hating it, and still wearing high-collared shirts to work to keep her creeper boss from staring at her tits.
“Maybe she won’t have to do that much longer,” I tell Shakespeare. I zip my coat all the way up and breathe on my cold hands. Gray clouds stretch across the sky, promising snow. I look outside and down the road, feeling impatient. I want to go into the heated tack room and warm my hands—and my toes, my face, well, pretty much my whole body.
But I don’t want to risk missing Haley. I step closer to Shakespeare for warmth. He lowers his head.
“Thanks, mate,” I tell him, pulling my gloves from my pocket and putting them on. Phoenix and Aurelia are still here and will stay here. Aurelia is my horse now, and I want Haley to teach me how to train her. And Phoenix was always going to stay. Her burns finally healed, but it wasn’t without a fight. I still don’t know how Haley did it alclass="underline" taking care of me, taking care of the horses, and then going to work. She really is amazing.
Sundance and Gandolf found homes. I wasn’t here when they left, but coming back to the barn without them was bittersweet, and caused a little flicker of sadness in my heart that I wasn’t expecting. Their stalls filled quickly, and right now Haley is working with two wild mustangs that were injured during a BLM round up.
The whirl of a car engine echoes across the land, and snow crunches under tires. I peak out the open Dutch doors and smile. I move Shakespeare away from his door. Haley will notice right away when two of her horses don’t lean out to greet her, and she’ll come rushing into the barn.
I hear her Jeep door shut and she calls to Shakespeare. I buy his silence with a carrot. I’m smiling as I wait, and my heart flutters when the barn door slides open.
“Benny!” she exclaims, seeing him in the crossties. “What are you—”
She cuts off when she sees me. “Surprise,” I say, stepping out of Shakespeare’s stall. Her hands fly over her mouth and tears pool in her eyes. She runs to me, and we embrace. I pick her up, spinning her around in my arms, and press her against a stall wall. We kiss, and I suddenly feel warm.
“You said you wouldn’t be home for days!” she cries, wiping her eyes. “I’m so glad you’re here.” She’s kissing me again.
“Want to ride?” I ask, running my hands down her body.
She laughs and nods. “Of course.”
“I put riding clothes and your jacket in the tack room.”