After they celebrated their victory, greeted their opponents, talked to people who I was sure were from the club’s administration, I walked over to them.
Leo saw me coming and opened his arms to me.
I scrunched my nose and slapped his hands away. “Ew, you’re all sweaty.”
Big arms enveloped me from behind. “Oi, little sis,” Ricardo said.
I yelped, jerking away from him. “You too! All sweaty!”
Noticing what was going on, Pedro turned to me. “Come here, Bia.”
“Don’t you dare!”
By his side, Guilherme laughed.
Until my father squeezed in our circle.
“Beatriz,” he said, nodding his chin at me.
“Oi, pai.” I forced myself to calm down and act as if nothing had happened. “How are you?”
“Bem.” He turned to the guys. “Pedro, you slacked when Lewis opened on the left. You should have taken the ball from him. Guilherme, you lost that goal because you would rather smile at the fans. Don’t be cocky. Ricardo, you improperly crossed the line of the ball twice. Two faults. Don’t let that happen again. Leonardo, your ride-offs are extremely risky.”
“That’s the point in doing them.” Only Leo would interrupt my father during a post-game lecture.
My father’s face grew hard. “I’m talking, boy. Respect me.” He sighed. “There are more effective ways to steal the ball,” he continued. “We’ll talk about it at our next practice. Other than that, good game.”
He turned on his heel and started walking toward the horses.
Leo nudged me with his elbow. “Go on. Talk to him.”
“And say what?”
“Anything? I don’t know. You can’t run away from him forever though.”
Maybe I could. I just needed to add that to my things-to-run-away-from list. The damn list was growing at an alarming pace.
Guilherme saved me. “Hey, when are you coming to visit us? I miss my party partner.”
I smiled. I didn’t even go out with him that much, and it usually was a problem because girls thought we were together. “Not sure.”
“Thanksgiving for sure,” Leo said.
“We don’t even celebrate Thanksgiving.”
“We celebrated it last year, and Hannah plans on doing the whole thing again for us. So you better be there.”
That actually didn’t sound like a bad idea. Other than the fact that I would have to spend three or four days at my father’s house. Well, I could always sleep in Hannah’s guest bedroom.
“I’ll think about it,” I said.
Leo raised an eyebrow at me. “Why wouldn’t you come? Everyone will probably go away to spend the holiday with their families. The university will be practically empty.”
Ricardo gave me a funny I-know look. “She has a boyfriend.”
All four guys stared at me with huge eyes.
“What? No! There’s no one.” Unfortunately.
“Then there’s no reason for you to miss Thanksgiving with us,” Pedro said.
I sighed. “Like I said. I’ll think about it.”
“Nu-uh. I’m buying your plane ticket tomorrow,” Leo said.
I shook my head. “Okay, are we going to stand here in the middle of the field, or are you going to take me someplace nice to eat?”
“At four in the afternoon?” Ricardo asked. “You know we never have dinner before seven.”
“Seven thirty,” Guilherme said.
“Preferably at eight,” Pedro added.
Ricardo nodded. “Exactly.”
“I wasn’t talk about dinner, idiotas. I want a huge piece of cake and plenty of coffee.”
“That I can do,” Guilherme said.
“Wait.” Leo raised his hand. “Only after you talk to pai.”
I groaned. “Childish much?”
“Me or you? Cause I think you’re the one avoiding him, not me.”
I wanted to throw at him the many years he avoided our father while wasting his life, but it was too cruel. I wouldn’t remind him of how terrible his past was.
Instead, I swallowed that response and lifted my chin. “Fine.”
Trying to stay calm, I scanned the area and found my father talking to a man on the other side of the field. I had seen that man greeting the guys after they won the game. He had graying hair and wore a blazer with the name of the club embroidered on the left side.
I took a step and Leo held my arm. “Try to be nice,” he said.
“When am I not nice?”
He looked at me with an are-you-going-to-make-me-say it expression. “Plenty of times. The guys and I will take a quick shower and change. We’ll meet you in the parking lot in a few.”
I nodded and he let go of me.
My father saw me walking toward him and excused himself. He turned to me, his face as hard as rock.
“What is it?”
“I just wanted to say hi.”
“You already said hi.”
I sighed. “Are you going to treat me this way every time we see each other now?”
“You defied me. Without even telling me about it, you left my house, you practically ran away.” There they were again, those two words. “And you’re asking me to treat you, how? Like you are my little girl.”
“Pai, I’ll always be your little girl.”
He pressed his mouth in a thin line. “No, Beatriz. My little girl would have listened to me. She would have sat down and talked to me about everything. She would have told me how she felt about following her brothers and cousin around. She wouldn’t just come to me and tell me she was leaving, and expect me to be okay with that.”
That was how he saw this? Because I didn’t. I tried talking to him, I tried making him see it from my point of view, but he was too busy with the guys. He didn’t have time to talk, and each time I tried, it was rushed and I was never able to express myself completely. In a way, he pushed me away.
“I’m tired of arguing,” I said. “Hopefully time will erase this misunderstanding from our minds, and we’ll be able to be father and daughter again one day.” He stared at me with wide eyes. I stepped back. “Goodbye.”
Once more, as I walked to the parking lot, I felt like I was running away.
I slipped inside my car and turned on the stereo, hoping the lyrics of a country song would drown the thoughts in my mind.
However, it was impossible. There was too much on my mind. My father, Garrett, Midnight, Delilah, Molly, Audrey, Jonah, and even poor Phoebe. She was so adorable and nice to me, but she had been spending a lot of time with Kevin. The jealousy in my heart was all wrong. I wasn’t an old friend she was shoving aside for a guy. She had met him and me practically at the same time. Of course, she would prefer him to me. Besides, she had been a great friend so far, even with a new boyfriend taking a lot of her time.
The passenger door opened and Leo slipped in. “Where are you?” he asked. He knew me too well.
“Nowhere.” I smiled. The other guys slipped inside the backseat. “What time do I need to bring you back?”
Ricardo answered, “We told pai to meet us at the airport, so you can drive us there by seven.”
“All right.” I put the car in reverse. “Where to?”
“Anywhere with a huge piece of cake and plenty of coffee,” Pedro said, repeating my previous words.
I smiled at him. “That’s my boy.”
He laughed. Not five seconds later, Guilherme started telling us one of his bizarre tales, and just like that, I felt light. It was as if I was home, but outside home. These crazy guys made me feel home wherever they were.
Guilt assaulted me. I had left to get out of their shadows, but I missed them way too much. I pushed the guilt away. Tomorrow I would revel in it. Right now, I would enjoy their company.
Chapter Eighteen
With a to-go cup of coffee, I marched to my dorm building, seeking the shelter it provided. I had succumbed to my desire of getting out and ended up regretting it when
a guy openly hit on me while I waited for my coffee. I almost ran off without the coffee. I would have if the girl preparing it hadn’t called my name at the last second.
There were days when I wondered why the hell I was still here. Why I still submitted myself to this torture. Was it worth it? I didn’t know anymore.
I was half a block from my dorm when I saw Garrett’s truck parked on the street—odd spot for him, since I knew he had a guaranteed space in The Bat’s driveway each time he came over—I had heard Jennifer commenting about it before I stopped hanging out with her and the other girls.
Garrett leaned against the closed door, scanning the area. I shrugged into myself and turned my shoulders the other way. Not that I thought he was here for me; he hadn’t come after me since our kiss two weeks ago. Why would he come after me now? However, I didn’t want to be seen.
I heard approaching footsteps and rushed mine.
“Bia, wait,” Garrett called.
I could act like a stubborn child and pretend I didn’t hear him, but I was tired of running. Groaning, I slowed down, and he easily fell into step with me.
He shoved his hands in the pockets of his faded jeans. “Can we talk?”
I kept my gaze on the path. “I’m busy.”
“I know you don’t have any more classes this evening.”
A knot formed between my brows. “How do you know that?”
He looked away. “Jonah. He knows your schedule, and I was able to get that information from him.”
I shuddered. Jonah was creepy. Seriously. “I have to study,” I lied.
He hurried his steps and halted before me.
Gasping, I skidded to a stop, being extra careful not to spill my coffee on us both. “Eita.”
I dared look up and he had that cute half-grin on. “I told you I like hearing you speak in Portuguese, didn’t I?”
I took a step back. “What do you want?”
The smile faded from his face. “I want to know what is going on.”
“What do you mean?”
He cocked his head to the side. “You know what I mean. I can take a wild guess as to why you haven’t come to the ranch for the past two weekends, but why?” He advanced a step. “Was it that bad to kiss me?”
I gulped and asked what had been on my mind since he whispered my name. “How did you know it was me?”
“Your perfume. It’s …” He pressed his lips tight for a second before continuing. “It’s unique. And then, I saw your eyes right after calling your name and I knew I was right.”
“Oh.” My cheeks flamed while I remembered him telling me he liked my perfume a few weeks ago.
“Tom thinks you’re not coming because I did something wrong, and he’s giving me hell for it.”
Of course, that was the reason he was here asking me why I hadn’t come by lately. Because Tom was bothering him about it. Or … “You just want me to go back so you have less chores to do.”
The lopsided grin was back. “Maybe.” He lifted his hand, his fingers coming close to my arm, but he dropped it before any contact. My stomach flopped. “Come back. It was fun having you there. Tom misses you. Midnight misses you.” He ran a hand through his hair before pocketing his hand again. “I miss you.”
I fought against the smile wanting to explode on my lips. “Okay.”
His eyes widened for a brief moment. “You’ll come this weekend?”
“I will.”
He nodded. “Good. I’ll see you then.” He leaned into me and kissed my cheek, his soft lips grazing my skin and robbing me of air. “Good night,” he whispered.
He walked to his truck while I remained frozen in place, my hand on my cheek.
***
Friday, I drove to the ranch as soon as my last class was over. It was only because I missed the ranch. Nothing to do with the fact Garrett had asked me to go back. What if he had a party to go to and wasn’t there? My belly twisted in knots and my palms sweated.
Credo, this wasn’t me. I wouldn’t become one of those lovesick girls who were like puppies following guys around. I focused on breathing, and remembered Midnight was there too. I could spend a little time with him.
Holding a bag from Panera, I entered the stable. Tom was nowhere to be seen, and Garrett was brushing Felicity in her stall.
He half-smiled when I stopped outside the stall. “Hey, there.”
“Hi.” I felt heat crawling up my cheeks and looked around. “Where’s Tom?”
“In the round pen.”
Midnight snorted, looking at me from over his stall’s door. “Hi, big boy.” I dropped the bag on a bench and turned to the beautiful horse. “How are you doing?”
“He’s not doing too well today, actually,” Garrett said.
As I ran a hand over Midnight’s face, I glanced at Garrett over my shoulder. “What do you mean?”
He exited the stall and dropped the brush on the shelf along the wall. “Delilah was here earlier and she kinda freak out on him, causing him to freak out on her.”
“Oh.” I patted Midnight’s neck. “Everything is okay now, big boy.” He poked my stomach with his muzzle, and I embraced him. “You’ll be okay.”
Garrett walked toward us. “It’s incredible. Until a few minutes ago, he was still twitching and neighing inside his stall. Driving us crazy. Now, look at him. I swear he’s in love.”
I smiled. Good. At least someone loved me around here.
Garrett lifted his hand to caress Midnight, but the horse snorted and pulled away, almost knocking my head with his muzzle in the process.
“Whoa.” Garrett stepped back, his hands up. “I won’t touch you if you don’t want me too.” Midnight snorted once more before turning his back to us. “See? He’s cranky since practice.”
I frowned. “I’ll try to calm him down later, but now—” I grabbed the bag from the bench. “—we should eat. I brought dinner and it’s getting cold.”
His half-smile appeared again and my heart fluttered. “You really like spoiling us, don’t you?”
I wiggled my brows. “Maybe.”
He held my gaze and I held my breath, amazed at the intensity of his eyes. It was as if he wanted to pass a message directly to my brain. I was dying to decipher it.
He cleared his throat and stepped back. “I’ll call Tom.”
Why did he pull away? I thought he had asked me to come back to continue what we had started the other night. Why wouldn’t he? Scanning through the possibilities in my mind—he had not liked the kiss; he didn’t think I was pretty; he was interested in someone else and only wanted my help at the ranch, etc.—I walked into Tom’s office. I pushed back a few papers and set up our improvised dining table.
Tom crossed through the door and rushed to me, putting his arms around me. In total surprise, I stiffened.
“Kid, if you ever stay away this long again, I’ll personally hunt you down.”
Feeling a little awkward, I patted his back. “Maybe I should put that to the test.”
He stepped back, his index finger pointed at me. “Don’t you dare.” I laughed, and he stared at the to-go boxes on the desk. “What do we have here?”
“I didn’t really know what you two preferred, so I chose chicken panini and ice tea for everyone.” I reached inside the bag and too more things out. “There are also chips, bread, and apples.”
“A banquet,” Tom teased.
I rolled my eyes. “Hardly.”
We ate in an awkward silence. It was hard to avoid looking at Garrett when he was seated on a chair beside mine. Once we were done, we threw all the plates, boxes, and bags in the trash, and moved to the aisle.
“Is there anything I can help with?” I asked.
Tom shook his head. “Not really. I was just thinking about doing a check run. Check water, check if all the tack was brought inside. That kind of stuff, then closing and leaving.” Midnight stomped his hooves on the hard ground. Tom sighed. “Delilah wasn’t very nice today.”
“Garr
ett told me,” I said, sharing a quick glance with Garrett.
He cleared his throat. “How about you try to calm him down, like you said you wanted, while I help Tom with the check run.”
“Sounds like a plan.” I turned to Midnight’s stall, but Garrett’s hand around my wrist stopped me. I faced him. His jaw popped and his eyes had a dark glint.
“He’s in a crazy mood. Be careful.”
“I will,” I muttered, unsure how I had the ability to talk under the intensity of his gaze.
As he let go of me, he nodded. He and Tom left the stable through the back gate, and I turned to Midnight.
“Do you have any idea what is happening here, big boy?” I smoothed my hand on his soft coat, letting him get used to my presence before entering the stall. “Because I don’t. If you have any idea or even suggestions, I’m all ears.” As if mocking me, Midnight snorted and shook his head once. I chuckled. “That’s what I thought.”
Chapter Nineteen
The next morning, Molly and I argued about the time she came back last night and the time I got up this morning. She complained she couldn’t sleep. Well, I couldn’t sleep while she stumbled through our room, giggling and tripping on her own foot, trying to get her clothes off and put on her pajamas at two in the morning.
I was about to explode again, so I shoved jeans, a thick sweater, and my black and white boots on, and stalked out of the room before I punched her.
I drove to the nearest Starbucks for breakfast, then to the Rock Hill ranch. On the way, I recalled what happened last night. Or what didn’t happen.
I was able to calm Midnight, and until we left, he was acting more like himself. Still a very hot-blooded colt, but more manageable. He didn’t even twitch or snort when Tom and Garrett approached and petted him.
On the other hand, I twitched on the inside each time Garrett approached me—and did nothing. Each time he got close to me was for a reason. Or was it an excuse? Still, it didn’t look like he was trying to get close to me to be close to me. Other than when he held my arm to warn me about Midnight, he didn’t touch me, he didn’t lean into me, and he didn’t try to kiss me again. Though I caught him staring at me with darkened eyes a few times, nothing else happened.
Breaking Fences (The Breaking Series) Page 16