Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 65346 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 327(@200wpm)___ 261(@250wpm)___ 218(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 65346 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 327(@200wpm)___ 261(@250wpm)___ 218(@300wpm)
“I think she’s better off on foot.”
“On paw?”
“Yes,” I said, giving him a head tilt that said really, bitch? “On paw.”
And then we laughed again, my spirit feeling so much lighter than it had when I had woken up that morning. The smiles and rib-rattling laughs came naturally, which was such a relief after years of feeling like I had to force them. Not all the time, but most of it, I had felt like I was wearing a mask. No one really saw the dark clouds that filled my head, not through the fake smile I’d been able to perfect.
Today, there weren’t any fake smiles or fake laughs. It was all genuine, and it was all so, so, so freaking needed.
“God, my mom would have loved this,” Rex said. We were leading the horses out of a side gate that opened onto the wooded trail, willows draping the path with branches that were stripped of their leaves. Spanish moss clung to the branches, adding another layer of magic to the backdrop. On the other side of the trees was a river lending its peaceful sound of running water to the soundtrack of birds singing and trees rustling.
“I hate how we never met.”
“She would have loved you, too. After my parents divorced, she moved back to her hometown in Puerto Rico. A few years later and we lost her forever.”
“What happened?”
“A brain aneurysm. The doctors said it was so bad, there wasn’t any chance of her having survived it. From one day to the next, everything just changed. Crumbled. It felt so unfair, even with the doctor saying there was absolutely nothing anyone could do. It just felt so fucked-up.”
“God, I’m so sorry, Rex. A death is always excruciating, but an unexpected one, I don’t know, it just, it doesn’t feel fair.”
“I feel like things would have been so different if she were around, too. It’s probably not good to think about, but I do imagine a life where I came out early because of her support. She was always there for me, no matter what. Even when she was living an ocean away from me, I knew she had my back. She would have taken me, but I didn’t want to leave my friends, my school. Or my dad.”
“You guys got along back then?”
“Oh yeah. Even though my parents separated, they were both the world to me. No matter what. And I felt like I was the world to them.”
“But your dad—”
“Is a raging bigot, yeah, that part is what ruined us. It didn’t start until he met Sylvia, then it all went downhill from there.” He let out another sigh. “It was a slow change, but she changed him for sure.”
“You think there’s a way of getting through to the old him?”
Rex shook his head, his eyes aimed straight ahead, one hand loosely holding the reins and the other on his leg. He really did seem like a pro at this, and Electra seemed like the perfect horse for him.
Also, Rex looked really fucking hot on a horse.
“It’s all right,” he said. “I don’t need him. He’s helped me for long enough. Now it’s time I find my own path.”
“Maybe you can get into politics, too? Take him out of his own seat.”
Rex huffed a laugh at that, clearly not believing it as much as I did. “That’ll be the day rescued river otters named Tammy start to fly.”
“Hear that, girly?” I said, down to the happy little otter. “You’re getting wings!”
16
Rex Madison
The day was bright, one of the brightest. There was a kind of magic in the air that I couldn’t quite pinpoint, but I could sure as hell feel it down in my bones. It rustled through the red and orange leaves, swirling around us. The trail we trotted down was completely surrounded by trees. I felt transported. Like we were somewhere else, far away, on some private island with our two horses, laughing and talking without a care in the world.
Benji’s smile made that magic all the brighter. Every time he laughed, every time his eyes lit up, I felt my heart soar further into the clouds. I wasn’t sure exactly what happened, but there was a noticeable shift in Benji’s mood.
This was the Benji I remembered. Always so quick to laugh and make others laugh along with him. His toothy grin could easily win anyone over.
I’d missed it since getting to the sanctuary, so every laugh and smile he gave me felt like a huge breath of fresh air.
“Look, follow me,” Benji said, pointing toward a thin path that was overgrown with bushes.
“Come this way.” He turned Canyon down the trail, and I followed, having to duck under some low-hanging branches. The vibes turned less scenic and more sketch, the trail thinning enough that we couldn’t ride next to each other. The sun was blocked out by the thickening canopy. The shadows grew thick, the path seeming to rise in elevation although I couldn’t see far enough ahead to be certain.