Callum Mathew’s's Arc

Chapter 4 of 4

Callum was splitting wood behind the barn when he heard hoofbeats coming fast. He set down the axe and turned toward the sound. A rider was coming up the hill from the direction of the Carson property, pushing hard. Anna Mae pulled her horse to a stop near the ranch house, breathing hard. Her hair had come loose from its tie, and dust covered her riding clothes. The silver bracelet on her wrist caught the light as she swung down from the saddle. She didn't look back toward the fence line that marked the boundary between their properties — the fence anyone passing on the road could see clear across. She'd ridden straight here in full daylight, and she knew it. Callum walked toward her, his chest tight. "Your father—" She cut him off. "You're an idiot for punching that man," she said. Her voice was sharp, but her eyes were wet. "He went straight to my father. Now everyone knows." Callum opened his mouth to apologize, but she stepped forward and kissed him hard. Her hands gripped his shirt, and he tasted dust and salt on her lips. When she pulled back, she was shaking. "I told my father I'm done hiding," she said. "I rode here so he'd know exactly where I was going." Callum stared at her. She'd just thrown away everything — her father's approval, her place in her own home, maybe even her inheritance. For him. He wanted to tell her to go back, to fix it somehow, but the look on her face stopped him. She wasn't asking for permission. She was telling him what she'd chosen. He reached for her hand and held it, the blue stone of her bracelet pressing between their palms. Whatever came next, they'd face it together, out in the open where the whole valley could see.