Change Rein (Willow Bay Stables #1)(20)
My heart swells in response to the way his words seem to fill the spaces I didn’t realize were empty. “She was,” I say. “I think she’d have liked you.”
“May I ask what happened to her?” He seems unsure of the question, even as each word leaves his full lips.
“It’s perfectly all right to ask.” I smile, hoping to ease some of his discomfort. “She died when I was sixteen after losing a long battle with pancreatic cancer. I’m blessed to have been raised by such a strong woman. I can only hope to emulate half the love she did.”
He gently lays his arm over one of my hands. “I’m sorry for your loss. I would have very much enjoyed meeting her.”
I swallow against the lump forming in my throat. The raw quality of our conversation is both a filling and a purging of the soul. “Tell me about your family?” It comes out as more of a request than an actual question, but amidst the depth between us, I wish to get to know him with equal if not matching intensity.
He draws his hand back and wraps it around the mug, engulfing the white ceramic with its size. I am momentarily envious that he’s now holding it as opposed to me, but I bury my envy in curiosity.
“My parents, Ashley and Charles Tucker, still live on the ranch I grew up on in Coal Hill. Much to my mother’s dismay, she had three boys and no girls.” He laughs at some memory I’m unaware of, but the light it brings to his handsome face is contagious, and I beam back at him as he continues, “Heath, my older brother, is the COO at the company. He married his high school sweetheart, Kailee, and they have two boys. Greg, my younger brother, is a sports photographer and single father. His daughter, Katie, is, as it stands, the only Tucker girl my family has ever had, spouses excluded of course.” He smirks as if the last statement were abundantly obvious.
“Do you want kids?”
Perhaps it’s not typical to ask that on a first date—if that’s what this is. Then again, not much of today has been typical.
“Yes. I’ve always wanted kids. I’ve just been waiting for the right person.”
The moment feels layered with something unsaid, but I have no time to investigate it further, as Reed delivers our food to the table and I begin to devour my lunch.
Our conversation moves to lighter topics during the course of our meal, and I find myself soaking up even the littlest details he shares. I learn that he began riding almost as early as he could walk, and worked on his parents’ farm all through school prior to moving to Edmonton to start his company. His favorite color is blue, and he has a deep-seated, nerdy kind of love for Harry Potter. I make a mental note to watch the movies so I can understand what the heck he’s talking about. I’ll admit that wizardry is not my specialty. I’m more of a The Horse Whisper and Hope Floats kind of girl. Give me a Tom Booker or a Justin Matisse, and I’ll be happy any day of the week.
Unsurprisingly, we both have a love for country music, and I spend nearly five minutes gushing over my newfound obsession—Chris Stapleton.
Even after our plates are cleared, the conversation never ceases. I’m entirely enraptured by each movement, touch, or word that showcases the ever-varying sides to his personality. Both of us are unable to learn enough about the other, and our lunch date effortlessly bleeds into the evening.
“WOULD YOU EXCUSE ME FOR just a minute?”
After wrapping her lips around the straw in her tea, she sucks slowly, the hollow in her cheeks spiking my blood pressure with ease. She smiles, coming off the plastic with a small pop. “Of course.”
Lord, have mercy on me.
I stand, leaning over to drop an innocent kiss on her forehead before I allow the distance to expand between us. With only sheer physical strength am I able to move my body away from hers, and even then, it’s only with the promise that I’ll get to hold her soon that my body obeys its commands.
My heart pounds, against the walls of my chest desperate for reprieve from our time apart. As the hours added up, my resolve only grew more determined. She is everything all at once, and all of it pooling in my heart is overwhelming; a graceful assault of sorts.
My attraction to her has always been more than physical. Without sounding like a potential jerk-off, I am well aware of what pretty women look like, and the result of an appearance-based relationship is tepid at best. Beauty is hardly enough to keep the beast of love satisfied. Beauty is so poorly defined, for it is not with a beautiful face that one wins wars, but with a beautiful heart and a beautiful mind that the beast is reverently tamed.
It’s as such with London. Her soul leapt from the pages of magazines and chased me relentlessly. Her heart caught mine like easy prey, and while that was alarming, it didn’t keep me from pursuing her. She is both complementing and consuming to me. I cling to each parcel of information about her like it is worth more than all wealth I’ve acquired.
“Success is nothing if you have no one there to share it with.”
My father’s words ring in my ears, and a smile tugs at the corners of my mouth. The bastard is always right, and I love him for it.
Approaching the bar, I find Mack stocking cases of beer. He’s exactly who I needed to see.
Gripping the edge of the bar, I greedily wait to see if my request is something he’ll consider.
“This date has been amazing,” London hums as I return to the table.