Page 53 of Nineteen Letters

“Hey, it’s okay.” I reach for her hand, giving it a comforting squeeze. Every fibre of my being wants to pull her into my arms again, but I don’t. I don’t want to risk spoiling her day by overstepping the mark. “It wasn’t like that. You never stopped loving her, Jem. There was no way we could’ve brought her back to our place. You did what was best for her, she has room to run around here.”

She shrugs, but I can tell she’s not convinced. It was one of the hardest decisions she ever made.

“Call out to her,” I encourage.

She lifts her hands to her mouth again. “Tilly-Girl!” she screams at the top of her lungs.

We hear her before we see her. The sound of hooves pounding against the hard ground fills the air. Moments later she comes bounding over a small hill, heading straight towards us. Jemma’s eyes are fixed on the horse, and mine are fixed on her. I’m grinning from ear to ear at the delight I see on her face.

“My Tilly-Girl,” she whispers, her smile bright.

The horse comes to a stop a few metres away from us, and stares at Jemma briefly before reverting to her familiar dance ofleaping and spinning around all at once. It’s amusing to watch, and I hear Jemma giggle beside me. Tilly-Girl doesn’t have the youthful energy she once had, but I love that she still does this.

The horse finally stills before slowly walking towards the fence. Jemma does the same, that ever-present pull drawing them together. I hear her sweet laugh when the horse rubs her face up against the side of Jem’s. When she’s finished with her greeting, Jemma throws her arms around the horse’s neck, kissing the side of her face. Just like she used to do.

“Tilly-Girl.” I see a lone tear roll down Jem’s cheek as she speaks. “My Tilly-Girl.”

Chapter 19

Jemma

“Morning,” Christine says as I enter the kitchen and take a seat at the table.

“Good morning.”

She leans down and kisses my head as she passes. “That smile on your face makes me so happy.”

“I had a great time yesterday.” I’m still on a high from my day with Braxton on the farm.

Without replying, she turns and walks towards the stove to make my breakfast. Even after all this time, I can tell she’s still hurting from her parents’ death.

She reacted strangely when I first told her Braxton and I were going there, and I found her crying in the kitchen a few minutes later. After what Braxton shared with me yesterday, I understand why she would feel that way.

I hear my phone ding with a message and I can’t help but smile. I get the occasional text from Rachel or Stephen, but I’m already hoping it’s from Braxton. A fluttery feeling settles in the pit of my stomach when I see his name on the screen.

Braxton: Morning. Hope you slept well. I just wanted to thank you for yesterday. I had a great time.

I reply straight away.

Me: I had an amazing day. Thank you. I’m still smiling.

My phone beeps again a few moments later.

Braxton: I’m happy to hear that. I’ve always loved to see you smile.

Christine interrupts my thoughts as she places a mug of coffee down in front of me.

Before I have time to reply, another message comes through.

Braxton: I did some research when I got home last night, regarding those crazy goats. They’re called myotonic ‘fainting’ goats. Apparently, they have a hereditary mutant gene, and when they’re excited or startled, their muscles stiffen temporarily, causing them to fall over.

Just thinking about that moment has me giggling. “What’s so funny?” Christine asks.

“Braxton,” I reply, glancing up from the screen. “He just reminded me of something funny that happened yesterday, that’s all.”

I don’t go into detail. Christine was quiet when I got home last night. She usually asks me for the details of my day, but not a single question was asked about my trip to the farm. Clearly, hearing anything about her parents is still too raw for her.

“It’s good to see you two getting on again.”