“They’re on their way,” she told me.
“Cool,” I answered, feeling anything but.
I’d just clocked a guy, in a rural town with rural cops who have nothing better to do than investigate an assault against a rural drunk driver in the middle of a rural fucking highway.
Cricket read my body language. “If they ask us what happened, we’ve all agreed we saw nothing. You were never here.”
I smiled at her, relieved beyond measure. “Thank you.”
Chapter Twenty
We’d gotten the herd going again and were out of the view of the highway by the time we heard sirens. Regardless if they could see us, I was still paranoid as shit.
“You’re quiet,” Cricket stated.
“Yeah,” I said, giving her a small smile.
“No one will find out you hit that guy, Spencer.”
I took a deep breath. “I know. It’s just-I knew better than to do it.”
“I saw what happened. It was either you or him. You did what you had to.”
“I could have left him there.”
“Imagine you’d just done that. Then imagine his drunk ass was staggering around the road and got hit by a car.”
I couldn’t help my grin. “Trying to make me feel better. That’s nice but not necessary.”
“I’m not trying to make you feel better. Sometimes you can avoid the conflict and sometimes it’s just necessary.”
I smiled at her.
When we finally arrived at the ranch, I was incredibly relieved and incredibly exhausted. I couldn’t believe how much work it took to run a ranch. I was definitely earning my keep.
We fed and watered the herd, then cleaned up before sitting down to a big lunch courtesy of Bridge and Ellie and two other house workers, one they called Cookie. I assume because she could cook the crap out of a good meal, and the other I overheard someone call Roberta the first day. Roberta was more on an assisting level Bridge had told me. She said the kitchen ranked herself at the bottom, then Roberta, Cookie and Ellie. She also said it was pleasant working with the women, as they were all cheeky and hilarious. The only drawback was that the main house didn’t have air conditioning and the kitchen could turn stifling.
I sat next to Bridge at lunch. “I heard about what happened,” she said.
“How in the world?” I sat, bewildered.
“Jonah ran up to the house after he’d put away the horses.”
“Is that so?” I asked, looking for Jonah, but he was nowhere to be found. Lucky bastard.
“Listen, I like Jonah and all, but you’ve got to nip this thing in the bud, Bridge,” I spoke quietly. “I mean, for gosh sakes, does he not realize that you’re pregnant with another dude’s baby?”
“You’re so clever, Spence,” she bit sarcastically. “Let me check you because apparently you think I’ve forgotten why we’re here. Stop reminding me that I’m pregnant. The constant nausea is reminder enough. Got me?” I nodded, feeling guilty already. “And furthermore, I’m being reasonably kind to Jonah because he’s kind to me. I don’t know where you’re getting this idea that he’s interested in me. He’s aware I’m harboring a fugitive.”
“You’re right, Bridge, again. I’m sorry, but I want you to make it very clear to Jonah that you’re not interested.”
She shook her head at me. “I don’t care how screwed up you think it is. This is going to be my last opportunity to feel like a normal girl because in a couple of months I’m going to be smuggling a basketball up in here,” she said, gesturing wildly at her stomach. “Let me just have this normal friendship with Jonah. Just...let me, Spencer,” she added quietly.
I sighed. “Whatever, Bridge. Just don’t set yourself up for disappointment, because as soon as you start showing, that guy is going to want nothing to do with you.”
Her eyes turned glassy and she shrugged, looking defeated. “He’s a very sweet guy willing to be my friend, Spencer. Don’t make me feel any more an outcast than I already do.”
I let it lie there, partly because I felt like an asshole and partly because I was worried about her and didn’t know how to fix it. I wished my mom was there to help. I felt so alone, like there was a weight upon my shoulders and I had no one else to share the burden with.