Suddenly, a thrashing, heavy rain fell over the meadow, tearing into the grass and trees and soaking us both on our horses. We took off under the canopy of the trees and I grinned with the excitement of the moment, laughing at Connor’s arms wrapped around Strawberry’s slick neck. The rain was heavy and fog-filled, but I could still make out Connor as we broke out of the tree line and into the hay fields. Thunder rattled the ground beneath us, and Merlin shivered under me as we ran. We ran the horses until we were nearly halfway to the farmhouse and as the rain lashed over our faces, I remembered that I had never answered Connor.
“Wait!” I called over the roar of the storm. “Connor, hold up!”
Connor grabbed the reins, pulling up Strawberry without much effort. He blinked against the rain, putting a hand over his eyebrow to shield his eyes as he waited for me to speak. Lightning cut across the sky, flashing brightly over his face and the handsome features I had grown to love.
“What’s up, Sadie? What are we doing?” Connor called, cupping a hand over his mouth to be heard over the rain.
“Connor—” I started, my voice breaking.
His face fell for a moment, though he tried to hide it in the downpour of rain, and I knew that he thought I was going to let him down. It was strange, knowing that I had so much control here in this situation. Here, in the torrent of a crashing storm, I had the choice to break Connor Lennox’s heart or lift him up. He had already let me know that he felt something much more than friendship for me, though I had already known. The rain lashed over us and the horses pranced in the wet grass, calling softly to each other in the storm’s dark atmosphere.
“I love you.” My voice was low in the flash between the lightning and the crack of thunder, but I knew Connor heard me. “Connor, I love you.”
All at once, his face was a mixture of surprise and happiness, pulled together in the wide smile that split his face. Connor leaned in his saddle and we met in the middle, kissing through the soaking rain, and laughing into each other’s mouths. It was just the two of us, cradled in the quell of the storm in the darkening of the day. I felt warm and bright as if the late afternoon sun had just broken through the clouds, and Connor touched our foreheads together for a moment before we urged the horses once more across the fields and trees.
We made our way back to the farmhouse, lighter than we had been when we’d left.
Chapter 15
Sadie
“That must be your dad, Oli. I’m starved,” Rose called from the living room, talking to my brother as we opened the mud room door. She stepped into the kitchen and her nose wrinkled at the sight of the two of us, dripping on the tiled floor. “Did you two go swimming? Where’s the pizza?”
Connor snorted, toeing off his boots. “It’s flooding out there. No pizza.”
We had unsaddled the horses quickly and ran as fast as we could into the house with our sodden blankets and damp food, slipping over the mud and laughing the whole way up to the steps. Connor had grabbed me by the waist and lifted me onto the little porch, keeping me from stepping over the large puddle right beside the steps to the mud room door. I knew that my smile was bright and ridiculous, but I had never felt so content and safe in my life than when I was happy and careless with Connor Lennox.
“And you guys just decided to enjoy the rain, huh?” Rose asked, her eyebrows raised in disbelief what must have seemed a ridiculous notion.
From the living room came the high sound of what I had quickly begun to call Sammy’s I’m Hungry cry. Rose rolled her eyes and then smiled despite herself, heading back to where Oliver and Sammy were by the warmth of the fireplace.
“You want me to find you something to eat, Rose? I think there’s some stir fry in the freezer.” I asked her, ringing out my hair over the sink. I had no idea when my dad was coming back with the food and I wanted to be as helpful as I could while my sister-in-law took care of her newborn son. Connor was ringing out his shirt beside me and a thrill of warmth shot through me when I thought of our shared confessions in the rain.
Rose looked at us over her shoulder, pausing at the doorway of the sitting room, where the TV over the fireplace was playing a bright, cartoon movie. She shook her head. “I’ll just wait for the pizza I think. Thanks, though.”