“Is it okay that we are on the property?” she asks from beside me as the wind blows her hair back.
“It is now since I bought it.” She just looks at me. When we pull up to the barn that I just finished renovating, I turn the cart off, getting out, and she gets out with me. “I spent most of my childhood and teenage years in this barn,” I say. “Well, not this one, but …” I put my hands on my hips. “I trained for the rodeo over there.” I point at the same fence that is there now. “Seven days a week. My father’s best friend trained me. Then he signed me to be part of his team. I was on top of the world. If you wanted to be in the rodeo circuit, you had to be with him. He was the best of the best, and he also trained the best of the best.”
“Sounds just like you,” she says, and I look over at her. “To put your whole heart into it.”
“It’s also the same place I fell in love.” My stomach lifts when I think about it. “Lorelei was his daughter and my best friend. Two peas in a pod.” She doesn’t say anything, folding her hands in front of her. “I had my whole life planned out when I was eighteen. I was going to ride the rodeo and then take over my family farm.”
“Looks like you succeeded,” she says, and I look over at the barn.
“It was also the same place she tore my heart out.” I look over at her. “She didn’t do it on purpose, mind you. I caught her cozying up to someone else when she thought I was busy.”
“Oh, Casey.” Her voice goes soft. I know she means it out of genuine concern and not just sympathy.
“Yeah, let’s just say walking in and seeing her laughing at me was not something I expected. I quit the next day, but her father refused to let me walk away.” I think back on the conversation.
“You can’t quit. I own you,” he hissed. “You signed a contract.”
“Roger,” my father said from beside me, and Roger looked over at him.
“Don’t Roger me, Billy.” He spoke to my father.
“Double or nothing,” I said, knowing there was no way Roger would turn down a bet. That was his vice. Not knowing when to bet or when to walk away. “If I win the next one, you let me walk away.”
“There is no way you can win. It’s the biggest one, and you are sitting at fourth place,” he said. “If you lose, I own you for the next five years.” I agreed and shook on it, my father looking on the whole time.
“Why would he do that?” she asks, shocked. She comes closer to me and holds my hand now.
“Because he could. Needless to say, I bet him that I would win, and if I’m honest, I didn’t think I would, but when I went out there, it’s almost as if I saw black or whatever. The only thing I focused on was getting my freedom.”
“But you won.” She smiles, and for the first time since I told this story, I can feel good about it.
“I did.” I smile, and she turns, putting her hands around my waist. “Not only did I win, but when I found out that his farm was in the red, deep in the red, I bought it from him.” She gasps in shock. “Yeah, well, when I showed up that day dressed in a suit, he was also in shock. He had no idea I was behind it.”
“Look at you.” She laughs. “Doing the whole mic drop scene.”
“More or less. Then I came here and said my last goodbye to the barn before I demolished it,”
I say. “What I wasn’t expecting was Lorelei to be here.” For the first time, saying her name doesn’t bother me. For the first time, I can say her name without getting angry.
“Casey,” she whispered as she looked me up and down. Not the same man she left in this barn four years ago. Gone were my Levi’s and T-shirt, and in its place was the custom-made suit I got for this very occasion. “I didn’t …”
“Lorelei.” Saying her name still got me. She stood there in her own Levi’s and cowboy boots. A checkered button-down shirt tied in a knot at the stomach with her black hair curled. If you didn’t know better, you would think she was going to a photo shoot. “Good to see you.”
“What are you doing here?” she asked, and I put my hands in my pockets. “And what are you wearing?”
“I’m here to take a look around.” I walked in a circle. “Lots of memories in this barn.”
“Yes,” she said, wringing her hands together. Her lower lip quivered just a bit.
“That stall.” I pointed at the one that had her horse in it. “It’s where I first fell in love with you.” I didn’t wait for her to say anything. “It’s also the first thing I’m going to rip down.”
“What?” she whispered.
“You see, I own this now.” I looked at her. “Signed the papers an hour ago.” Shock filled her face.
“Dad said he was selling to …” I shook my head.
“CBS Corporation,” I filled her in. “Casey Barnes Security.” I took one look at her. “That stall.” I pointed back to it again. “It’s also the place you broke my heart.”
“I never meant …” she said and took a step forward.
“Lorelei, I should thank you.” I smiled. “Excuse me, my plane takes off in thirty minutes.” I walked past her as tears ran down her face.
“Casey,” she says after I say the part that I never told anyone. “She was the one who didn’t deserve you.” She puts her hands on my face so I can look at her. “She had the best man that she would ever have in her hands, and she let him get away.”
“Darlin’,” I say softly, but she doesn’t let me say anything else. She gets on her tippy toes and kisses me. And here, in the middle of the place where my heart broke, it started beating once more.
“Thank you,” she says when we walk back to the golf cart, “for sharing that story with me. I’m sure it wasn’t easy.” I don’t say anything while we drive back to my barn. I notice something is off at the crossing, so I look around and see fresh footprints. I look to the right and don’t see anything, but then I look to the left and see a shadow in the field.
Glancing over to see if Olivia saw it, I decide not to say anything when I see her gazing out at the horizon. Instead, I drive straight to my parents’ house and turn off the cart. “Tell Mom I’ll be back in a couple of minutes.”
“Where are you going?” she asks while she climbs out.
“I’m going to just go close the barn door.” She doesn’t ask anymore questions, and when I get back to the barn, I run in and pull up the feeds from a couple of minutes ago. I watch frame by frame until I see the man. Wearing all black, he doesn’t once look up. Instead, he stands there watching us. Then he takes a picture, and just like that, he’s gone.
I pick up the phone and call Derek, who answers right away. “Yeah, I just got the information.”
“He’s using a phantom car.” I hear him typing. “I have nothing on him. He keeps his face covered the whole time. I don’t even have a shot of his eyes. But I’ll work on it in the meantime.”
“What else do you have for me?” I ask, and he gets quiet.