Secret Desires

24: A Broken Man

        He was exactly where Layla said he was.

        David was in the stables cleaning a stall when I spotted him. The white shirt he wore clung to his back with sweat. His hair was plastered to his face with sweat as well. He was shoveling hay into a wheelbarrow, swearing under his breath as he did so. As I neared him, I made a face at what else was in the wheelbarrow. The cause of the smell that lingered in the air.     

        "Can you take a break?" I said in greeting. David's head whipped in my direction. I tried to offer him a smile, but I couldn't muster one. He couldn't either it seemed. For a long moment, we just stared at each other. I wrinkled my nose as the smell started to become unbearable. "Preferably outside?"

        I was relieved when the tension broke at the sound of his laughter.     

        "Yeah. I could use a break." I held my breath as I backed out of the stable entrance, a forced smile on my face. David leaned the shovel against a wall before following after me. When it felt safe to do, I took a deep breath. The air was still tainted, but it was better than inside the stables. David laughed again.

        "What?" He shook his head at me, lifting the front of his shirt up to wipe his face. I couldn't help but look down at the exposed midriff. I rolled my eyes. It was hardly fair that he looked like that. It was the body of a rancher I supposed. I looked away before he could catch me staring at him.

        "You would've hated me if I made you do actual chores during your punishment here." I nodded in agreement, not even wanting to argue that fact.

        "You're not wrong." He laughed again and so did I. Our laughter died quickly as we neared the house. We needed to talk, but I don't think the house would be a good place to do so.

        "This way." As if reading my mind, he led us toward a small dirt path leading to a barn. I kept my walk slow, David matching my pace. We said nothing as we walked alongside one another. The tension started to grow again with each step. Was he waiting for me to speak? I'm the one who came here after all. I should be the first to speak.

        "Dani brought you?"

        "Mhm." I kicked at a rock, making it land in his path. He kicked it back toward me.

        "How was the drive?" I kicked the rock ahead of him. It skidded over a small puddle, turning black from the water.

        "It was okay. We didn't talk much." David nodded at that. I was uncomfortable with the small talk, but how was I supposed to just jump right into what we needed to discuss? I watched as he kicked the small rock back my way again.

        "How's your mom?" I didn't like this. I didn't like how things were between us. Maybe that was my fault, but I blamed him as well. I never wanted to blame him for anything. David has never wronged me on purpose and that's what makes this so much harder.

        That it was never on purpose.

        "She's good." I didn't want to say more on the matter, but I didn't know how to ease into things.

        "That's good." I sighed heavily in answer. I said nothing else. Neither did he. We walked the rest of the way in silence. The rock was kicked between us until we reached the barn at the end of the path. The walk wasn't far from the house, but it offered privacy from anyone who might be listening nearby.

        David gestured to a long bench set beside the entrance. I took a seat, grimacing at the coldness of the bench beneath me. It was also wet. I watched as David kicked a bucket over and sat on it across from me, putting a small distance between us. Still, neither of us spoke first.