Page 4 of Riding the Line (Willow Ridge #2)

But if anyone knows about needing to make the most of life because it could get cut short at any moment, it’s me.

When you’ve spent enough days at the hospital watching your mom’s health deteriorate, that reminder sticks with you.

And now I have another reason to lie awake in bed tonight, heavy memories suddenly clambering to the surface of my mind. Great.

I shrug, trying to push the thoughts away. ‘I don’t know, I kind of think life is about the slower, smaller moments. The little things that are easy to pass over but actually add together to make life worthwhile. That’s what my grandfather said to me.’

That he wished he’d focused more on the little moments with my mom before she got cancer.

Savoured them, as opposed to taking them for granted.

Like I try to do whenever I’m with my friends.

Including Cherry – especially since Wyatt told me she’s got her heart set on finding a job anywhere other than Willow Ridge.

It’s also why I love working at the bar.

Even if I’m not always drinking with the rest of our group, they’re still here, with me.

‘Okay …’ Cherry’s eyes ignite. Unexpectedly, she pulls herself up onto the bar, letting her long legs swing beneath her. ‘I have my topic for our closing argument – life should be about doing as many big, crazy things as possible. For or against?’

‘It’s almost two in the morning, Cherry,’ I groan, rubbing a hand across my face, even though I did miss doing our usual closing time game tonight. ‘And you still need to drive home.’

I know she’s a night owl like me – one of the only reasons the Hensleys don’t mind her doing the odd late shift considering her epilepsy – but even I’d like to be in bed soon.

Cherry just presses me with her twinkling stare. If I ever got the privilege of painting her, she’d be a canvas of deep reds and midnight blacks, topped with bright white for all the little moments of light she brings to the world.

‘For or against, Duke Bennett?’

Still, there’s no point in me trying to fight her, I’ll always give her what she wants. ‘Fine,’ I sigh. ‘Against.’

‘Perfect.’ She grins, biting down on those cherry-red lips again. ‘I go first, then. I think you need to do big, meaningful things that push you outside of your comfort zone so that you can feel confident.’

‘You’ve been spending too much time with Rory,’ I tease, alluding to Wyatt’s wellness influencer girlfriend who he runs a ranch retreat with.

Cherry sneers and I revel in the reaction.

‘I know what you’re saying, and I do agree, but …

I think our perceptions of what is fun and meaningful has been warped, that the best things in life are those that look good to other people, or on social media, when your life is more than a few photos or stories.

It’s thousands of individual days, made up of little moments, and it’s not appreciating those that makes life dull and uninspiring.

People are so eager to go after bigger and better, but …

what if you have everything you need right now with you? ’

That last bit being more for me than anything else.

To convince myself not to give in to that offer from my friend on the new bar.

Because it would be giving up too much in Willow Ridge, where I’m already happy.

Where all my friends are family are, where they need me – I mean, who’s going to lend Wyatt an extra hand on the ranch when cattle needs moving, or fences need fixing?

He didn’t welcome a grief-stricken ten-year-old me into his family just to be cast aside because an opportunity for a bit more cash came up.

‘And you think I’ve been spending too much time with Rory? That sounds like you read it straight from one of her Instagram posts.’ Cherry giggles. ‘I don’t get it, though, what little moments would someone on their deathbed think back to?’

I pick up my laptop that I’d rested on the counter, aware that I could easily stay here for hours with her but let out a fake yawn to signal otherwise.

‘Plenty of things – like being able to watch the sunset while having a drink with your friends. Like a rainy afternoon inside painting. Like the sense of freedom you get riding down the backroads on your motorcycle, the wind whipping against your—’

‘Ooh!’ Cherry jumps down from the bar, landing inches away from me. I have nowhere to run. Her glistening eyes peer up at me with too much hope. ‘Ride a motorcycle is on my bucket list.’

‘No way,’ I declare.

‘What do you mean, no way ?’ She inches closer, as if she knows how hard I find it to say no to her.

I swallow before I can reply. ‘I’m not letting you ride my bike. I know what that brain of yours is thinking.’

‘What if I just sat on the back?’

Can’t say it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world, having her arms wrapped around me, holding tight—

I shake my head to rid me of the thought. ‘Still no way.’

‘Why not?’ She pouts.

I bring the laptop between us, making her back up a step. Distance is important.

‘Because, Cherry, bikes are dangerous and if anything happened to you, we both know that I’d have to suffer the terrifying wrath of Wyatt. Being his best friend doesn’t make a difference when it comes to you.’

A truth that applies to more than just this hypothetical situation.

One I have to remind myself every time Cherry comes back to work for me during college breaks.

I’ve lost enough people to know that sometimes it’s better to not rock the boat.

Not when the very people at risk are the ones that took you in when life became too stormy.

The ones who saved up for an extra space on holidays so you didn’t have to miss out when your grandparents didn’t have the capacity to provide you with such.

The ones who picked you up from school when you got ill and your grandparents were busy working.

At that, the light in her eyes dims, but then she angles her head, and a hint of mischief reappears. ‘Wyatt doesn’t have to know. We could … keep it a secret?’

I’m certain my gulp is audible.

She might just be talking about a motorcycle ride, but the words apply to too many things. If I was a fool, I’d let myself read into the suggestive cadence of her voice. But, to my utmost disappointment, I’m anything but.

I sigh and slip away from Cherry, already heading towards the door. ‘I’m never lying to my best friend and you’re never getting on my bike. Now, come on, it’s time to go home.’