Page 43 of Romeo

“What?No, it doesn’t.”

“I cleaned a house, Riley.You’re over here running an entire ranch.”

“It’s an accomplishment,” I reply.“Just because they’re different doesn’t mean they’re not equal.”

She smiles.“Thanks.”

“No problem.”The air around us shifts, and something changes between us again.Maybe I wasn’t far off base and we could be friends.But is that really what I want?Or am I just afraid to admit that, in the last couple of days, I’ve started feeling a bit more for her than I was prepared for?“Okay, you ready?You haven’t even seen the best part.”

“Absolutely.Show me.”

“What is this?”Jules asks as she turns off the engine and stares up at the large oak tree my siblings and I spent what feels like our entire childhood playing in.

“This is Fort Hunt,” I tell her.“A total secret to all outsiders.”I climb out, and she does the same.

Romeo, knowing we’re here to play for a bit, hops out too and starts trotting happily beside us.I stare up at the tree house our dad built us all those years ago.It’s held up against the test of time and all of the weather thrown at it.

The stained boards are a bit faded now, but it’s just as sturdy as it was back then.

I climb up on the steps leading to the lower level then reach down and offer Jules my hand.She hesitates just a moment before taking it but lets me pull her up onto the platform.

“Fort Hunt, huh?Aren’t I considered an outsider?”

“Not anymore.Now you’re bound by the secrets of the fort too.”

She laughs.“I appreciate being brought into the fold.”

“This is where I spent basically my entire childhood.My brothers, Lani, and I would ride our horses out here then let them graze while we played.”

“They didn’t run off?”

I shake my head.“They’d graze or run and play themselves.We’d whistle, and they’d come running back.”

She smiles again, her attention on the picturesque scene before us.“I can picture you guys out here.Playing and having fun.”

“Those were the years.”I grip the wooden railing for the second level above.“Back before we realized just how hard life could be.”

Her smile fades.“I can hardly remember a time like that.”

“Every one of my scars is a lesson learned.A reminder that I need God.And sometimes, when I’m struggling with things I’ve done or seen, I come out here and let myself remember what it felt like to be innocent.”

Jules swallows hard.“I wish I could go back to then.So badly.There are so many things I would have done differently.”

“I get that.But I also believe that we are forged in our pasts.That sometimes, we go through trials and come out the other side with the tools someone else might need to survive.”

“That’s an interesting way to look at it.”

I shrug.“It might not be right, but it’s what I think.Think you’re up for climbing a ladder?If not, we can stay down here.”

“I can try.”She smiles.

Gesturing toward the ladder, I let her go up first.Her movements are slow, careful, but she makes it to the top, so I follow her up while Romeo runs around, sniffing the ground below.

“This is beautiful.”Jules stands at the railing and overlooks the pasture ahead.

“My favorite spot on the entire ranch.”I take a seat, letting my legs dangle over the ledge.

Jules takes a seat beside me.Overhead, the clouds momentarily block the light, dimming the sunshine above.