Page 66 of Forever Enough

“I really wish you would have talked to me before you invited her to stay at the house, Mom. Because…I just wished you would have spoken to me first.”

He exhaled. “I’ll be there when I get there. She can wait.”

Rubbing my hands together nervously, I glanced around the living room. The fire had gone out, but I walked over there anyway. There was still some heat coming from the ashes.

Bradly said goodbye to his mom, and I could feel the moment he entered the room without even having to look that way.

“You didn’t have to clean up all of this.”

Turning, I smiled. “I didn’t mind.”

Bradly took the plates I had piled on top of each other and brought them into the kitchen. When he appeared again, he wore a sour expression.

“Is everything okay?”

His hand went to the back of his neck, and he rubbed it as if he had an ache suddenly. “My agent is up at the house.”

“Your agent?”

He nodded. “Yeah, she takes care of all my sponsorships, commercials, interviews, things like that. Her dad was my father’s agent, and he was mine before he somewhat retired.”

“Oh, is everything okay? I mean…I guess there must be a reason she’s here?”

Rolling his eyes, he exhaled a frustrated breath. “She’s a pain in my ass, is what she is. She’s pissed I took a break, and I’m sure she’s even more pissed I haven’t taken any of her calls since I got home. And if she’s spoken with her father… Though, I doubt that.”

I grimaced and wanted to ask him what he meant by that. Instead, I said, “Yikes. We should head on back then?”

With a look of defeat on his face, he simply gave a nod.

The sudden change in Bradly’s mood caught me off guard. He seemed preoccupied, distant even, as we made our way back to the barn to get the horses. He also seemed very pissed off.

“Will the fire be okay in the fireplace?”

“Yeah, I checked it before we left. It’s just ashes. I’ll stop by later and double-check it, or have one of the ranch hands do it for me.”

I nodded and pulled myself up onto Barkley. She didn’t seem very happy to be leaving the cozy barn. When she saw Chief was stepping out of his stall, though, she perked up.

“I think Barkley has a thing for Chief.”

Bradly chuckled. “It appears so, doesn’t it.”

We started out of the barn and back down the path. Bradly led, and Barkley and I followed. The entire ride back to the farm was silent. I wanted to ask him what was wrong, because I knew it was more than just his agent showing up, but I had the feeling it was something he didn’t want to discuss.

By the time we got back, got the tack off the horses, and led Barkley back into the barn, along with Chief, Bradly’s mood had completely soured.

I walked back out to where he was talking to Will, who had shown up five minutes after we arrived at the barn. They were talking in lowered voices, and Bradly seemed to be angry.

“Well, he’s gonna have to make time to talk to me. I’m not letting this go,” Bradly said, before realizing that Will had looked past him toward me. He turned and smiled when he saw me, but it seemed forced.

“I think I’m going to go check on Lou and make sure she doesn’t need me for anything.”

He nodded. “Okay, I have to get to the house, but I’ll call you in a bit when I get things…settled.”

I smiled. “Sounds good.” Turning my attention to Will, I added, “Thank you for helping with today. It was lovely.”

His cheeks turned a soft shade of pink. “Um, you’re welcome. I’ll go ahead and let Chief and Barkley out to pasture here in a bit.”

“Thanks,” Bradly said as he made his way over to me.