Impulsion (Station 32 #1)(47)

“Where did that come from? You’re mad at me because of Collin.”

Yeah, he was. He was mad because clearly he loved Harley more than she loved him, then and now.

“Harley, I fought like hell for you, and I clearly fought alone. One word from you, one random word was all I wanted. I don’t care how big of a bitch your mother is, I know she did not have you in chains. You would have found a way if you cared, if you wanted to.”

Those words cut right through her because they were the truth, all except the part about her not caring. She thought she was being brave by protecting his family from her mother, and by the time she figured out there was never a real threat, Dorcas helped her figure out she was too late…back then, her seventeen year old mind told her that was the only way to survive.

“Not in physical chains, no. My life was hell, Wyatt. I can’t say that it’s much better, beyond the fact that I just don’t care to care anymore.”

“You didn’t look like you were in any kind of chains or hell when you left the hotel with that boy. Looked like you were running away with him.”

She stared at him, trying to figure out how he knew she left the hotel after she had seen him on her birthday. She and Collin were sure he was gone. She had watched him call the front desk, over and over. They had even snuck downstairs and looked through the lobby and the front parking lot together. She never found Wyatt.

And if it weren’t for her father having another episode, she would have been on a plane to him and beat him home.

“I thought I was rushing to my father’s grave.”

Wyatt jerked his head in her direction. The emotion he saw her trying to hold back underlined the truth in her words.

“He had a heart attack a few weeks after they separated us. He was still not all the way well, had another episode.”

“I’m sorry.” It took all he had not to reach for her hand. He knew that man, even as intimidating as he could be, was the only sun in Harley’s life. Garrison had always given Wyatt respect, treated him like a man long before he was one.

They rode in silence the rest of the way to the barn. Harley was sure this was going to be harder than she had ever imagined, but it was already healing her. She was seeing that he had turned into a hard *, yet she was still able to justify her actions, even if they seemed ridiculous today.

He pulled right up to the barn, not even questioning if she wanted to go to the house first.

Danny Boy had his head out of his stall, neighing as loud as he could in Harley’s direction. He even paced down to the next doorway to get closer.

“Easy now,” she said, reaching up to him. Danny Boy let his head rest on her chest, blew out deep breaths as she ran her hand across him and whispered how sorry she was.

Watching her with Danny Boy, seeing that bond, was nothing more than a wicked wave of nostalgia for Wyatt. Something that brought the past forward, yet at the same time was a testimony to how much time had passed. Before, Harley was close to Danny Boy, but Danny Boy had his distance, his moods, would do the littlest things to defy Harley. Seeing this now, Wyatt knew that she had managed to master this ride, and he’d missed that accomplishment. He’d missed it, and that ass Collin was there.

Harley set her phone on the ledge of the stall, then slid under the stall guard into the stall with Danny Boy to check over his injuries. He was not putting weight on his back leg; there were lacerations all over his side.

“That’s from the partition,” Wyatt said to her. She glanced back at him. “I found him first at the scene. It had fallen on him, and he was rearing up.”

“I bet he was terrified,” Harley said, still keeping her hands on him.

Wyatt smirked. “No, he was pissed.” Danny Boy blew a gust of air out of his nose and basically grunted in agreement.

Harley let an ironic grin linger on her lips. Danny Boy had been ridden and trained by more riders than she cared to think about, but no one understood him like Wyatt. The only way Harley figured out how to handle him was by listening to the memories of Wyatt. Even when she wasn’t remembering his words, she remembered how well Wyatt had ridden Danny Boy.

Wyatt read his moods. Instead of trying to break him, not allow Danny Boy to feel those emotions that were bred into him, Wyatt played into them, used the energy he was putting off in a different way. Harley had tried to tell the other trainers that, but they all looked at her like she was insane and told her this horse would kill her if she didn’t rein him in.

Her phone started to ring. Wyatt reached back for it, gave it a glance, clenched his jaw as he handed it to Harley. She saw Collin’s image on the screen, his number. She almost didn’t answer but knew that would make this even more awkward.

“Hey,” she said as she answered.

“How is he?” Collin’s voice echoed through the stall. Danny Boy turned his head and nudged Harley. When she eased him back, she saw Wyatt walking away from the stall, felt her chest ache all at once.

“Pissed.”

“Which boy are we talking about?” Collin said in a half-amused voice.

“Apparently both.”

He hesitated for a second. “Is he close?”

“Yeah.”

“It will work out,” he promised Harley.

“I don’t know,” she said as she reached to run her hand along Danny Boy’s mane.