The Scars That Make Us (Second Generation Book 3)

Chapter 15

JACE

Being without Catarina was pretty much breaking my heart. We text all the time and call frequently. We send pictures back and forth (even some dirty ones that really got me going on our goodnight phone call last night), but none of those things are like having her with me, wrapping my arms around her, pressing my lips against her soft skin, or feeling her presence around me. We both agreed that although Granger’s plan seemed very detailed and a bit overdone, we’d rather do too much and be prepared, than not enough and be caught off guard.

I hate that this is what is going on though. I know she’s told me that she doesn’t feel like her family is a true family, but at the end of the day I imagine that she still loves her mom and dad since they are just that. They haven’t really done anything physically harmful to her and one could argue that they are harsh and emotionally abusive here and there, but it is nothing like the things that other kids have gone through, like my cousin Lyle or his wife Harlow.

Granger and Mom decided that I needed to tell the entire family that I was married sooner rather than later. Initially, I wanted to wait until Catarina came back here to live, but they don’t like hiding things and having secrets on the ranch. Everybody was shocked, but nobody was angry. My aunts were a bit disappointed, but I think it was because they all live and breathe weddings and I kind of denied them that. 

After another morning drinking as much coffee as humanly possible, I drag my ass down to the barn to get started for the day. I lean up against Piston’s stable and I must have dozed off slightly because when Granger walks into the barn he scares the shit out of me and I jump to my feet.

“You okay over there, son?” Granger says with some humor in his voice.

“Yeah, I’m just really tired. The coffee hasn’t totally kicked in yet.” I point back to Graham, Bev and Walker’s oldest son who is following closely behind Granger. “What’s with pipsqueak?”

“You’ve got a shadow for the day. Or he can be your intern. He could do all the work for you. Hell if I know, keep him busy.”

“What’s up, Graham?”

“Nothing,” he glared up at me. 

Oh, this should be fun. Granger was probably thinking the same thing as he walked off to his office, probably laughing or something on his way back. I throw a saddle up onto Piston and point across the stable to some of the other horses. “Who are you going to ride?”

“Do I have to? Can’t I just drive the four-wheeler or something?”

“Nah, I’m feeling like riding on horseback today, Graham-sy, pick a horse and get ready.”

He mumbles something under his breath, probably curse words, but whatever, I don’t really care. I don’t have much going on right now since Lyle and Deacon are out on the feed run this morning. I know that we need to get some weatherproofing done, but I’m thinking Granger wants me to do what he did for us guys so many times. Whenever we were angry, pissed, or just sad, Granger used to make excuses for us to go horseback riding or even just hang out with the horses. To my family, horses represent something more than just animals or workers. They are almost like therapists in their own right.

Graham picks Cherry, one of the horses that we just use for riding, not much for working and I help him get her saddled up. When we’re ready, I open the main pasture gate and we start heading up and around to the open fields where it’ll just be the two of us and a couple of horses. We ride for a while and I just let Graham stew, he’s clearly pissed about something today and I don’t want to push him too much.