Page 44 of Unbroken (Poplar Springs #2)

FORTY-TWO

FIONA

I hated being in the tack room.

Everything about it reminded me of Eli, from the smell of the leather saddles to the way the overhead light flickered dramatically every now and then.

I couldn’t bring myself to look at the desk where we’d made love, so I focused on pulling boxes out of the closet.

Josh had told me that he wanted to expand the tiny office area as a space for all the trail team to use.

He was going to have one of the hands clear everything out before he made any changes, but I’d insisted on handling it.

This felt like something I needed to do to get rid of Eli’s ghost in my own way.

None of the contents of the boxes had anything to do with the trail rides program.

Eli probably shoved them in the closet in an attempt to make room for himself.

There were ancient tax forms, boxes of receipts, and handwritten records from the days before everything was computerized.

It was stuff that should’ve been thrown out years ago, but I had a feeling I knew why they were still hanging around.

They were artifacts from my parents .

It was up to me to make the call to get rid of them.

Most of it was junk, really, and could easily go into the burn bin, but I dug through everything just to be sure they held nothing the ranch still needed.

Inside one of the boxes was a file folder with a handwritten note on the outside, and I recognized my father’s tidy script immediately.

My eyes welled as I leaned back so I could read the words.

“My love, I promise to make dinner if you reconcile these outstanding invoices,” it read. It was signed with a little heart and the initials FC.

The file had obviously been repurposed from the original invoices and now only contained a small photo of my parents.

Even though it hadn’t seen the light of day in years, the image was faded and there were water spots.

My mom was leaning against my father’s chest with one hand resting on his heart.

He had his arm slung around her shoulders to press her closer.

My father’s face was hidden in the shadows of his cowboy hat, but I could still make out his crooked smile.

My mom was looking up at him, beaming, and when I studied what she was wearing, I realized that it was a maternity shirt.

Based on her haircut, the photo must have been taken when she’d been pregnant with Josh, in the blissful beginning of their marriage.

A tear slid down my cheek, and I rushed to wipe it away when I heard the door sliding open behind me.

“Hey, what are you up to?” Shannon asked. “What’s all this?”

I sniffled.

“Nothing, just making room for the new hires,” I said, throwing some of the invoices back into the box. “We can get rid of most of this stuff.” I paused and held out the file. “But not this.”

Shannon walked over and took it. She read the note and smiled, then opened the file. “Oh, they were so young,” she exclaimed. “Look how beautiful Mom was. ”

“She’s pregnant with Josh in that shot.”

Shannon walked over and sat down next to me. “They seem so happy.”

“That’s because they were,” I answered quickly. “Mom and Dad had a perfect relationship. They didn’t fight. They were always in sync. Everything was easy and steady between them. No drama.”

Shannon snorted. “ What are you talking about? They bickered constantly.”

“No, they didn’t,” I snapped back.

My sister shook her head, looking amused.

“Yes, they did. I guess you were too young to remember some of the worst ones. The ranch hit a bad stretch when you were … I guess four or five? They fought a lot then. I mean, they always tried to keep it quiet, to hide it from us. But Josh and I caught them now and then. They had three kids and ran a massive ranch together; they were bound to argue!”

I stared at her silently, trying to remember our parents fighting. Had I simply blocked it from my memory or did I genuinely not remember?

“But it never got ugly. Ever,” Shannon continued.

“They were always respectful of one another, no name calling or anything like that. It was the type of fighting where they each felt strongly about something, and they wanted the other person to see their side. Sort of like a debate. In the end, the one who made the most sense came out the winner. But the truth was they’d both wind up winners, you know?

Because they supported each other, and they were both willing to hear what the other person had to say. ”

“That’s how it was with Eli and me.”

The words came out of me before I could stop myself. I hadn’t even said his name since he was last at the ranch three days and fourteen hours ago—not that I was keeping track—and here I was, bringing him up to Shannon.

“Yeah, I could see that,” Shannon agreed. “You two were good together.”

The tears caught me off guard. “Did I make a mistake?”

Shannon reached out to me and squeezed my shoulder. “What do you mean?”

“I was angry with him for not staying when I asked him to, but who am I to keep him from pursuing his dreams? He was always honest about wanting to leave, so why was I such a jerk about it?”

“Because you were hurting, Fi,” Shannon said softly. “I’m sure he knows that.”

“Does he?” It came out as an anguished cry.

“Hey, what’s going on in here?”

Josh’s concerned voice startled both of us even before he came into sight.

He frowned when he saw where we were. “Aw, Fi. I told you that you didn’t have to do this room. I knew it would be tough for you.”

“She’s feeling emotional about this,” Shannon said, holding the file out to him. “And Eli, of course.”

Josh read the note and looked at the photo. “I’ve never seen this photo. This was when Dad had first taken over Lost Valley from Pop-pop, I can tell by his hat.”

“You date things by headwear?” Shannon asked.

“You know how particular he was about his hats. This was one of his good ones, so they were probably having meetings or something. He certainly wasn’t working that day, look at his boots. ”

He held the photo out, and Shannon and I squinted at it.

“I’ll take your word for it,” Shannon said, chuckling. “Hey, how busy is Zoe? Do you think she could do her magic with this photo and make it look all shiny and new, so we can frame it?”

“I’ll bring it home for her to play around with it.

” Josh tucked the photo back into the folder and stuck it under his arm.

“I actually came out because I want to take my sisters out tonight. Dustin got his hands on a bunch of extra tickets to movie night in the park and when I heard Notting Hill was playing, I figured you’d want to go, Fi. ”

I slunk down. “A rom-com? I’m not sure I’m in the right frame of mind for that.”

“Oh, come on,” Shannon said, reaching over to jab at my shoulder. “Hugh Grant will definitely cheer you up. Plus, they always have food carts, so maybe we can con this guy into buying us some hot dogs for dinner.”

“Please, I’ll get you two the gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches if you want.

” Josh zeroed in on me. “Come on, you need to get out. I promise you’ll have fun tonight.

Plus, it’s for a good cause. All the money from these town events are going to the community center fund.

You want to help build the center, don’t you Fi? ”

His expression made it clear he wouldn’t accept no for an answer.

It was unlike Josh to be so relentless about something like a chick flick, and I was shocked that he actually wanted to go with us, but I chalked it up to Zoe’s influence—plus me being unusually grumpy lately.

The Cafferty siblings always banded together when one of us was in trouble.

I’d driven all the way from Denver to intervene with Josh when he was all moody over Zoe leaving, it was only fair that he try to return the favor.

“Okay, okay, I’ll go,” I relented .

“Awesome,” Shannon cheered. “I’m going to fix you up. Your hair has been looking like shit lately, so let me at least run a brush through it.”

Josh laughed. “Sounds like a fight’s brewing, so I’m out. Zoe’s coming too. Meet us in the kitchen at six.”

Part of me wanted to curl up in bed and pull the blanket over my head, but I knew there was no way my family was going to let that happen.

In addition to our matching auburn hair, the Caffertys had another thing in common: our stubbornness.

That was great when it came up against someone else.

But when it was Cafferty versus Cafferty?

Unless one of us gave in, it would be a fight to the bitter end.

A rom-com was so not the hill I was prepared to die on. Not yet, anyway.

I sighed and mentally prepared to subject myself to a happily ever after that wasn’t even close to what happened in the real world. “Hugh Grant, here I come.”