Broken Trouble (Broken Storm #1) (7 page)

              Maybe I should have started running that night, instead of standing in horror until the police had pulled up to take me in. Maybe it had been for the best though. After all, here I was, helping rebuild their barn and making the kind of connections with people I hadn't thought would be possible for someone like me.

              "Honey, this is Clay, his wife Sally, their son Trevor and his girlfriend Starre. Y'all, this is Nova," Polly introduced us. Clay's wife was an ageing woman, her hair turning silver and her frame thin. She wrapped me in a quick, welcoming hug before going to help Polly cook.

              Trevor stood a couple feet away and was a couple inches taller than me. His black hair hung down on his forehead and his dark brown eyes showed his curiosity. I couldn't blame him, I was the new girl, and the delinquent who had burned down their friends’ barn.

              The girl beside him beamed at me, nudging her glasses up her nose. Her wavy brunette hair framed her petite face, giving her a smart, pretty appearance. "Hey! I've heard so much about you. I love your hair."

              She was the first to have ever complimented my loud, odd choice of hair color. "Thanks, that's the first time someone's said that to me," I admitted, testing the waters of these new people to see if they were really friendly, wondering if they were secretly making fun of me.

              "I'm surprised, knowing Jayden, I would've thought he'd have already complimented every part of you by now,” Trevor commented with smile.

At first I was taken back, wondering if he was flirting or not. His eyes told me he was just making conversation and I couldn't see the usual judging look in his eyes that I was used to.

              "I'm working on it," Jayden appeared beside me, wrapping his arms around my shoulders.

              "I wouldn't doubt it," Trevor said with a smile as we all shifted closer to the fire. The sun was setting, casting the light across the ranch and making the shadows dance by the light of the fire.

              I stayed quiet; I had never been very good at small talk, but luckily everyone else kept the conversation going. Someone started up a radio not long after, country music blasted loudly through the quiet air.

              "Yeehaw!" Landon yelled, grabbing Polly from her place at the fire and swinging her around and dancing.

Everyone was laughing and joining in, but I hung back and sat on a log that someone had dragged near the fire. I had never danced before in my life, aside from bobbing my head or waving my arms around when I was alone and really feeling the song.

              I had no intentions of trying to dance with them, since I'd just end up making a fool of myself. So I watched as everyone danced. The bonfire between me and them acted as a burning wall of my mistakes.

              When I first came here, they had seemed more cliquey, like there were separate groups made up of only those who were close to each other.  Now that all the guys were fooling around and having fun, I could see they were truly brothers, not all by blood, but by heart. They were a family, the guys, and Polly and Chili.

Did I really fit in here?

Even the Wilkens and Starre looked like they belonged here more than I did.

              I knew I was letting fear and self-doubt take over, drawing me back towards the darkness. Today had been a good day compared to the rest of my life, but was I so blinded by how good things seemed to be going that I couldn't see how much of a misfit I still was?

              I stood and slipped away from the bonfire, finding my way across the ranch yard to the quiet of Storm’s corral, the sound of music and laughter faded until it was just background noise. I slipped into the corral and sat down, watching Storm from a distance. He paced back and forth for a bit, his nose high in the air, his nostrils flaring as he breathed in my scent. He watched me from across the corral just as I watched him, both of us eyeing each other and trying to figure out what to do. Storm lowered his head and sighed, the muscles in his shoulders flexing as he walked hesitantly forward, pausing by an empty feed bucket.

              "Are you hungry?" I asked, keeping my voice soft. Storm just snorted and threw his head in response, like he was rolling his eyes.

              I slipped out of the corral and to the feed shed, fumbling around in the dark until I found a flashlight sitting on the shelf. I found a container full of miscellaneous candy, almost like someone hid a secret stash in the feed shed. I had no idea what he'd like, so I grabbed some of the peppermint and Sugar Straws before heading back.

              Horses loved peppermint right?

              Unwrapping several peppermints, I walked towards the feed bucket, watching as Storm skittered away, his eyes wide and ears laid back. Dropping a couple of peppermints in the bucket along with the innards of a Sugar Straw, I turned away and headed back to the edge of the corral. When I turned, Storm was still in the same spot, watching me.

              He was stubborn and unsure. He thought when someone gave him something that he wanted, it was a trap. There was no guarantee he wouldn't get hurt if he went after what he wanted, and what he wanted were the treats in the feed bucket. It felt like we were both going through the same thing, uncertain of who and what to trust. We were both trying to decide if we would stay in our protective shells, or if we would take a chance.

              If we would take a chance on coming out of the darkness we lived in to find a light that would bring us to a happier life.

              If we would take a chance on the people here on each other.

              If most of all, we would take a chance on life.

              Looking into Storm’s eyes, I knew what we both wanted, and what we both desperately needed: a chance.

              Storm took the first step towards trusting, putting his faith in me as he walked to the bucket and shoved his nose down into the feed bucket to gobble up the treats at the bottom. His eyes were wide and his movements jerky, his head snapping up to stare at me for a minute at a time before going back to the bucket.

              He was skittish, thinking I would hurt him like the people in his past. It was something I could understand. Isn't that what I was doing here? Trying to trust, but constantly worrying about being hurt again?

              Storm nudged the bucket with his nose, turning it upside down before walking off towards the far edge of the corral again, staring back at me expectantly. He was blatantly telling me he wanted more treats, which made me smile and walk back over to the bucket. He had dumped all of the peppermint treats onto the ground, only eating the Sugar Straws.

"Don't care for peppermints?" I asked him as I opened several more things of Sugar Straws and dumped them into the bucket.

              We went through the same routine several times, him eating out of the bucket and me putting more Sugar Straw powder back in, each time I walked a shorter distance away until I was just taking a couple steps back.

              I searched my pockets for more, only finding one blue one left. Who didn't like blue Sugar Straws? They were the best flavor in the bag, their sugary sweetness and Maui Punch flavor trumped the other flavors by a mile. Now I had a craving for the things, but the look in Storm’s eyes as he stared at the last Sugar Straw in my hand made me forget my need for the flavor. Instead of eating it, I poured the contents into my hand. I held it out to him, wondering if he would actually eat from my hand or if it was too soon.

              It was like someone asking me to free fall off of a rooftop with the promise that someone would catch me before I splattered against the sidewalk. There was no way I would do that unless I thought I could trust the person and trust, for someone like Storm and I, was so rare that it was nearly extinct.

              After a long stretch of silence, and after willing my arm not to shake like crazy, I was surprised to find Storm's nose inching towards my hand. I held my breath, my arm shooting with pain from staying in the position for so long, the shaking worsening to the point where it was almost laughable.

              Storm yanked his head back and forth a couple times, his nose flaring as he eyed me, then snapping his nose down, gobbled up the sugary powder, flinging it everywhere before backing up a couple steps. He eyed me expectantly and I knew what he was waiting for.

The hit or punch. The loud voice screaming profanities at him. The pain of being hurt.

I knew because I had seen the same expression in my reflection so many times before.

              When I didn't make a move to do those things, his ears twitched forward and back, looking at me like I was the most confusing thing to ever happen. We both stood still, just watching each other, until finally he moved forward, nuzzling my hand for the last few bits of Sugar Straw sugar.

              A small breeze fluttered my hair and Storm threw his head up, half rearing as he spun and galloped to the other side of the corral, his ears laid back and his nose flaring, his eyes wide with fear.

              I dropped my hand, brushing my hands off on my pants with a sigh. My stupid hair had spooked him; I'd need to remember to tie it back when I was around him.

              "I've never seen anyone get that close to him,” a voice spoke from behind me, causing me to spin around. It was way past dark now, the moon was the only thing shedding light on the ranch, with the exception of the bonfire, which was too far away to make a difference. I could just make out Wyatt's hat in the dark as he sat on top of the fence. How long had he been sitting there? Was he the real reason Storm had spooked? I didn't say anything in response, just watched as he climbed down from the fence and into the corral, approaching me with slow but sure steps.

              Storm paced at the other end of the corral, obviously not happy with his presence.

              Wyatt stood in front of me, his hands tucked in his front pockets, his thumbs hooking his belt loops next to his excessively large belt buckle. His head tilted as he looked at me, his eyes appraising, and with a tinge of something I didn't see very often at all: approval. "You two have a connection," Wyatt commented, glancing over at Storm, deep in thought.

              I nodded in agreement, I hadn't really talked to Wyatt before and didn't know what to expect from him. We stood there in silence, the music was a low murmur in the background and crickets seemed to sing along with the music. I looked at Storm, relishing the surprisingly comfortable silence that had surrounded us. Wyatt was a man of few words, unlike Dylan who was just shy, Wyatt had a calm air about him as he sank deep into his own thoughts. When Wyatt finally turned around, he stood beside me and looked at me from under the brim of his hat, his eyes unreadable as they were lost in the depths of the darkness. "If you want, meet me here in the morning an hour before breakfast and I'll show you a few things that will help you with him."

              I was stunned and couldn't help but ask, "Why?"

              Wyatt glanced back at Storm before answering, his voice gravely, "Because I think you're the only chance he's got."

              I froze at his words. Wyatt was repeating the very thing I’d told myself. I felt my eyes blur and I looked way, keeping my eyes locked on Storm.

"I'll be there."

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

              When I headed back to the cookout, I was feeling a lot better than when I’d left. Storm seemed to have a calming effect on me and Wyatt's words finalized my plan. Maybe if I focused more on Storm and his training and less on the boys around me, then things wouldn't be so overwhelming.

Or at least my mind would be occupied with horses and less on the hot guys on the ranch.

              Speaking of hot guys, they spotted me and gathered around the fire to eat the hamburgers waiting there. Dylan had been talking to Trevor, but they stopped as soon as they spotted me, making me wonder what they were talking about.

I hoped everyone hadn't been waiting on me to eat dinner, though by the looks of how they had all rushed to the food when I showed up, I figured they had been.

              "Nova Honey, Starre was just telling me about this new store that opened up in town. Maybe you two could go there together, I'm sure ya could use some new clothing, especially if you're going to be doing any riding," Polly said as she handed out cups of sweet tea to everyone.

              "I'd love that! I could use some girl time away from all of these male hormones," Starre admitted, turning to smile widely at me, "What do you think Nova? We could go tomorrow if you want."

              How do I tell them that I didn't have any money to go shopping with? I didn't even know if I could leave the ranch, my parole officer hadn't specified either way. I was sure Polly would know though, Mrs. Hinndle would have gone over all of that with her. Polly wouldn't suggest I go with Starre unless she knew it was okay, right? Or was she not even thinking about that?

              I stared back into the hopeful eyes of Starre and took a deep breath, managing a small smile back. What the heck, why not? If I got in trouble, then so be it. "Sure, I'd like that."

              "That's awesome!" Starre exclaimed, bouncing up and down on her toes in excitement
.
, "We'll be besties before you can even blink, I know it!"

              I nodded, but didn't respond. Starre wanted to be best friends with someone like me? How could that even work out? In a couple weeks or so I would be gone and we would be left to calling or e-mailing each other.

I knew from past experience that those kind of relationships never worked well for me. Out of sight, out of mind seemed to be the motto of all my past friends. They disappeared from my world the moment I went to another home or was sentenced to juvie. No one really wanted to be friends with me and the ones who did thought I was cool for getting in trouble with the law.

Some were just trying to get on my good side, like I would kill them or something crazy like that. Not everyone who went to juvie would slit your throat the moment your back was turned. Even though I knew a few people like that, it wasn't me.

              "I'll pick you up at seven then, right after breakfast," Starre grinned.

              I glanced at Polly for a second, wondering if it was okay for me to be gone during hours I was supposed to be working on the barn. Polly smiled and gave the slightest of head nods. "The boys have heavy lifting on the barn to do tomorrow so they won't really need ya ‘til later on. Take your time and enjoy yourself, you deserve it for the work you've been doing."

              I nodded and smiled, murmuring a ‘thank you’ to Polly. At least I could go. Now I just had to figure out how I was going to shop with no money to spend. I figured shoplifting wasn't an option. Plus, I couldn't really afford to have another theft charge against me.

              I ate my hamburger in silence, participating in conversation only when absolutely necessary. I hated trying to talk while I was eating. It seemed like people would ask me something right when I took the biggest bite and my mouth was full. Then there would be an awkward silence while I chewed and swallowed.

              I saw movement out of the corner of my eye and could tell that someone was standing close behind me. Worrying that maybe it was Jayden about to get his payback or that Gavin was about to push me into the flames of the fire, I glanced behind me. My eyes met the warm brown orbs of Dylan's eyes, his cheeks turning pink as he fidgeted with the bottom on his shirt. "Would you like to dance with me?" he asked, his voice low and his eyes flickering with uncertainty.

              "I can't dance," I admitted. I didn't want to turn him down, but I also didn't want to look like a complete idiot in front of everyone, including Dylan. I didn't want to hurt him by stepping on his toes and I was positive I would be a clumsy dancer.

              "We'll take it slow," Dylan said, offering me his hand.

I hesitated, then reached for his hand. If a shy guy like him could find the courage to ask a girl like me to dance, then I could give him a chance.

              We walked away from the bonfire, the radio was still on, but was playing a slow, sad song that consisted of a guy singing about not taking a girl.

              My heart hammered in my chest as Dylan moved in front of me. His cheeks burned and his ears were red as he shakily placed my hand on his shoulder. He kept my other hand in his grasp as he placed his hand on my side. His palms were sweaty and his touch on my side was barely there, like he was too embarrassed to touch me firmly or he was unsure if I was okay with him touching me. In truth, I didn't like being touched, and usually shied away from physical contact. However, I didn't mind Dylan's touch, even though his palms were sweaty. At the ranch, I didn't seem to mind anyone touching me. Maybe I was starting to sink into a sense of security here, false or real; it was becoming easier to be around people.

              Dylan took a deep breath and smiled, wobbly and unsure as he took the first step and I tried to follow. He'd move one foot forward and I'd move a foot back, he'd take a step back and I'd step forward. I stared downward, half out of embarrassment and half to make sure I didn't step on his feet.

Dylan stumbled into me, almost knocking me over before pulling back. "Sorry," he apologized, moving away from me.

              I frowned. Who would have thought I'd be a better dancer than Dylan? I grasped his hand and pulled him back, trying to give him the most reassuring smile I could muster. I put his hand back on my side. "It's okay. Let's try again."

              Dylan nodded, his brows furrowing. "It's okay, it's okay," he murmured under his breath, trying to reassure himself.

              He was adorable.

              "Just relax," I said, glancing up from our feet and to his eyes, where they stayed.

He smiled softly before a comfortable silence fell over us, our dancing changing to a slow shuffle, eliminating the possibility of stepping on each others’ feet as we let the music flow over us.

It was weird that I didn't mind the country music when I was this close to Dylan, but maybe that was because I wasn’t paying attention to it. I focused on Dylan and how intimate dancing with him felt, how comfortable it was swaying in his arms while looking up into his warm eyes in the darkness of the night.

              In that moment, everything else seemed to slip away and there was nowhere else I'd rather be.