A long way south

Chapter 9

...

By the time that Matthew and the rest of the lot came back, the five of them were overly drunk, Gunna even having some blonde hanging off his arm, so thankfully for Kodi and Colten's sake no one noticed or asked about their slightly messed up hair and their little glances they'd send each other every now and then.

It hadn't taken long for everyone to fall asleep, so when the next morning dawned and it was only Kodi and Colten awake, the two didn't hesitate to move their chairs next to each other, bumping shoulders and sharing one or two kisses before the others all woke up.

After everyone had packed up and grabbed some food to eat, they all decided to head off as a group to take a few photos before they grabbed Tyler and Tessa. With Colten and Kodi taking up the rear, the two walked along with their pinkies hooked as they walked, deciding it wasn't the place to make things 'offical', despite the fact they had a massive talk the night prior about their feelings and decided they were 'something'.

Jess however noticed the two, sending Kodi a wink before she mouthed 'we'll talk later'.

...

The drive back seemed to go by rather quickly, most of them all just exited to head home. Tyler ended up riding home with Kodi whilst Tessa went with Colten, the kids having their own stories to tell about the whole weekend, which to them was drama filled but compared to the stories the others had to tell it was absolutely nothing at all.

"So, What happened between Colten and you?" Tyler asked, raising a brow as they drove through broken hill, saying bye to Klay, Gunna and Ally. 

"Nothing. Nothing happened. Why do you ask?" She asked, raising a brow at her little brother.

"Cause you two were awfully smiley at each other, and from what i heard from Matthew you two were at each others throats on Friday" He said with a cheeky grin, already knowing.

"Fine. We kissed. Don't tell Matthew though, We're figuring out what to say to him" She said, letting out a defeated sigh.

"Finally! It only took you my whole life to admit!" He said with a big grin. 

"Oh lord" She chuckled, rolling her eyes as they drove along.

...

As soon as they arrived back home, Kodi went straight out to the paddocks, giving the big Baldy gelding a hug. Despite the fact that she rode pretty much every horse they had, the Baldy was special. He was only 7 years old but he was the family's first homebred horse. Standing at 16.2hh, the gelding wasn't little either, being the biggest outta their herd, but the gelding was the definition of a gentle giant. 

"I thought i'd find you out here" Jess said, two bridles in her hand as she passed one to Kodi. "We need to talk" She said with a smile, which made Kodi roll her eyes. She knew what this was about.

The two headed up the graded edge of the driveway, Kodi on the big Baldy bay whilst Jess sat on one of Kodi's mums horses, a little chestnut mare Called Tilly.

"So, You're telling me you went back to the camp, Colten got in a fight trynna protect you, then you got back to the camp and you kissed" She squealed. Suddenly, she felt like everyone was waiting for them to get together. 

"Yeah thats the short story of it" She hummed, a small smile coming onto her face as she saw Colten's ute roll down the drive from returning when he dropped Tessa off.

The two girls waved, to which he returned but they kept the mare and gelding walking.

"Soooo, are you together?!" Jess asked, raising a brow as she had a big smile on her face. Kodi could easily pick why her brother was head over heels for Jess, the girl was stunning inside and out. She was the definition of gorgeous with long black hair, lightly naturally tanned skin and a tall petite frame. She had a smile that could brighten up anyones day and a heart of gold. She was worth her weight in gold 10 times over.

"I mean i guess so, we decided we're something, we just wanna talk to Matthew first."

They turned the two Stock horses back for home, chatting about other things before Jess brought it back up.

"Hey, If Matthew says something tell me... I get Colten is his best friend but you deserve to happy to" She said with a sweet smile. 

Kodi really liked Jess.

...

"Kodi and I are together-" Colten blurted out, Kodi giving him a 'are you serious?!' look as he not only told just Matt, but he said it infront of Tyler, Jess, Her mum and dad.

"Finally!"

"I already knew!"

"Thank god!"

"What?! You're kidding!"

Kodi turned to her brother, who seemed to be contemplating the whole thing. He had told her the day prior that he'd be ok if they got together, now knowing his sister liked him, and he had a hunch Colten did to.

"Just dont steal my best friend from me yeah?" He said, a small smile on his face as he pulled Kodi into a hug. "You can breathe, I'm ok with it" He whispered, only loud enough for her to hear before she let out a shaky breath.

"Thankyou" She hummed before she stepped back, getting bombarded with more questions than she could comprehend, most of which were from her parents as Matthew, Tyler and Colten had a small conversation, Jess siding next to Kodi.

The main weight was lifted off Kodi's chest, mainly having been terrified that Matthew would be mad. Sometimes she forgot how much of a level headed guy her oldest brother is.