Page 119 of Back in the Saddle

‘We’ll monitor you closely and can take it from there. More radiotherapy or radiosurgery are all viable options. But our hope is, of course, that we’re going to cut it out, do a course of radiotherapy, and it’ll be gone.’

Dr Roering looked at both Finn and Caroline. ‘Do you have any questions just now?’

Finn shook his head slowly. ‘No … It’s a lot to take in.’

‘Understandably.’ Dr Roering put his pen back in his shirt pocket. ‘I’ll let you digest it all, and talk. I’ll come back in the afternoon, and we can talk some more.’

The medical entourage exited the room, leaving Caroline and Finn alone with the buzzing words filling the air.

‘Not cancer,’ Finn repeated, staring at the wall. ‘That’s good, right?’

‘Yes.’ Her voice was thick with emotion; there were so many things that could go wrong, the possible complications of the brain surgery alone being huge. But she didn’t want to take away from the positive note.

‘I’m sorry I called you my wife. I thought it’ll be easier for medical appointments and all … You’re still my next of kin. I thought it’d be too difficult to explain.’

‘Of course.’ Caroline squeezed his hand again, looking into his eyes. ‘We’re going to get you through this. You’ll be fine.’

She wasn’t sure who she was trying to reassure more – him or herself.

CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

Hunter

Summer was Hunter’s favourite season. Although it often got too hot and tornadoes were quite common, he still would happily extend summer to last longer. July was the warmest month. And this year, you could really feel it.

‘Damn, I’m going to miss this place. I know the house is staying but it won’t be the same,’ Buck said with nostalgia, looking at Rory leading Pringle inside the barn. ‘Did you tell the crew?’

Hunter nodded, taking a sip of his beer. ‘Told them last week.’

They were sitting on the veranda, warmed by the evening air.

‘We still have time until the end of September.’

‘Are you having second thoughts?’ Buck asked.

‘Weirdly, no. You?’

‘Once or twice.’ Buck shrugged, emptying his bottle. ‘But I never wanted to run the ranch anyway.’

‘Neither did I, not really.’ Hunter furrowed his brow. ‘I always thought that I had to. Because you didn’t want to, neither did Meg, and someone had to do it. I thought that’s what Dad wanted.’

He found that speaking about his father didn’t throw him off balance these days. He’d never forget him, but every day it hurt a bit less. The anger and injustice he’d felt after he died was slowly replaced by being grateful for the time they’d had together. It was a slow process, like taking out single squares from a Rubik’s cube and replacing them with new, lighter ones. But it was still progress.

‘Well, he surprised us all. He hated to be predictable.’ Buck smirked, opening the portable cooler standing by his reclining chair. ‘What are you going to do, after the ranch is gone?’

‘I’m not sure.’ The crease between Hunter’s brows deepened. ‘I know I want to work with horses – that’s what I really enjoy. Maybe I’ll buy a much smaller ranch exclusively for horses and run it myself.’ He took the new bottle of beer Buck offered him and popped the top off it. ‘Or maybe I’ll take off and travel a bit. I feel like I haven’t really been anywhere.’

‘Do you have a place in mind where you want to buy the ranch?’

Hunter didn’t answer straight away. The idea had taken seed in his mind a while ago, but he hadn’t shared it with anyone yet. It was solely his; a happy thought he could escape to.

‘I was thinking of Aberdeenshire.’

Buck choked on his beer. ‘As in, Scotland?’

‘Yeah. Where Gran was from.’ Hunter bit back a smile. ‘I loved it there when I took her. Just felt like a place I could rediscover myself in. There are too many memories here, of Tamara, of Dad … I just want to start afresh.’

It was also Caroline’s place. Her home. As ridiculous as it would sound, there was a tiny glimmer of hope that maybe, just maybe, he would see her again. Although he didn’t kid himself that it would be easy. If her husband was sick, if he died …