Never Stop

26. Via

Chapter twenty-six

Via

" H oly shit, this place is even nicer than you guys described!" Dessa says as she pulls her bag from Maverick's truck and looks around, taking in the scenery.

"Isn't it beautiful," I reply.

Maverick walks over to Ander and pulls him into one of those weird guys' back slap hugs as he lets out, "Damn dude, all that time working together, I never took you for a cowboy."

I snort out a laugh at Mavs comment; Ander rolls his eyes and leans down to whisper into my ear so the others can't hear, "I don't know about being a cowboy, but I'd sure let you ride me like one." I instantly choke on my laughter and the heat pools between my legs. I flash him a warning glare, trying to hold back my smile, but the blush is already taking over my cheeks; I can feel it.

Like the smart ass he is, he grabs the rim of his baseball cap and tips it at me, as if it would be a cowboy hat, and mouths, "Save a horse," and winks at me.

Sexy asshole.

We spent about two hours on the family's huge ATV, which is apparently called a Polaris, showing them around the ranch. Dessa is mesmerized, Mav seems obsessed with the animals, and Izzy looks. . . off. Something isn't right with her, and it's been that way since she arrived.

We first bring Dessa back to her cabin to rest before dinner at the main home. Next, we go to drop off Izzy and Mav. Ander gets off the ATV to show Mav around the cabin, just as he did for Dessa. Izzy goes to follow, but I reach for her arm, holding her back by the vehicle with me.

"Hey, are you okay?" Izzy doesn't make eye contact with me. She's biting her nails, which I know she only does when stressed, and she keeps looking around us slowly.

"Mhm, fine." She answers quickly. Too quickly.

"Izzy, if something is—"

"I said I'm fine, damn. Since when are you so invasive? Aren't you the queen of not sharing information?" She snaps.

Wow, ouch .

I step back, trying not to take offense to her words. I can tell she's bothered by Something, and I feel she's stressing over being around someone she used to sleep around with and now her first and only real boyfriend. It's funny; they've been around other people she's slept with before, and she never acted oddly about it. Usually, she makes inappropriate jokes about how she "banged their brains out in a past life" and shit like that. As far as I know, things with Jett were no different. Her being so on edge doesn't add up, but she doesn't need me speculating. Something is bothering her; it's obvious. Whatever it is, I want her to know I'm here for her.

I give her a nod and a straight-lined smile, "I'm here if you need to talk, always," I offer before walking away.

"V, I'm sorry. It's just. . . There. . are ."

"Hey Iz, you coming?" Mav calls after her out of the cabin's front door, and I see Ander hop back onto the ATV.

"I love you, Izzy," I whisper to her; she nods, and we both walk away, and my head is spinning.

Dinner at the main house later that night is excellent. It's the day before Thanksgiving, yet Mrs. Kristen and Mr. Cade also prepared a whole feast tonight. They're both great cooks, something I could never forget.

Although two people in particular are missing, it raises a ton of unasked questions.

Maverick and Dessa showed up without Izzy. Maverick said Izzy wasn't feeling well. I'm glad he came anyway. He's such a people person that he couldn't pass up the opportunity to be social. Jett didn't show up either. Mrs. Kristen said he got caught up with some work on the ranch and would try to make it by later.

After dinner, we all sit on the back patio, and Ander starts a fire in the giant brick fire pit in the center of the patio furniture. Beers are passed around, and the conversations flow.

I love this.

After a while, a familiar voice calls out from a short distance, "I guess the party does go on without me," Jett says as he walks up with a smirk and pops the top open on a bud light before sitting down next to Ander. He's trying to seem playful, but it seems like a front. He looks tense, chaotic even.

"Jett, this is Via's friend Dessa and my buddy Maverick; he's Izzy's boyfriend." Ander continues, "Guys, this is my older brother Jett."

Jett's jaw clenches; it's brief, and if you weren't looking for it, you'd have missed it.

Jett stands, introduces himself to both of them and shakes their hands.

Dessa is ogling him; "Hey, Jett," She says as she bats her eyelashes at him and twirls a strand of hair through her fingers. Holy shit, I've never seen Des try to flirt. It's kinda cute!

Before sitting down, she whispers to me, "Does sexy run in their DNA, sweet Jesus!"

I can't help but laugh.

Maverick and Jett's exchange of pleasantries is a little more. . . awkward.

"Hey man, It's nice to meet you. Your brother told me a lot about—"

"Yep, nice to meet you too," Jett says, through a forced smile and tense body language.

Maverick knows Izzy slept with Jett before, but he's not one to let that bother him. I don't know Mav to let very much bother him. I don't think he can take anything seriously enough even to be phased. Jett, on the other hand, looks one hundred percent phased, and the tension is fucking thick.

What the fuck.

"Well, that was uncomfortable," Dessa leans over and whispers to me. Her eyes widen, and I nod in return.

The confusion is plastered over Maverick's face, as it is on all of ours, but Mav doesn't falter. He continues being his typical upbeat self. He starts up some small talk with Mr. Cade about the deer as he walks toward the nearby treeline to spread some corn for them.

Ander leans over to Jett and asks, "What was that about?"

Jett shrugs and averts his gaze, saying, "I don't know what you're talkin' about."

Que the awkward silence and blank expressions .

"Our friend Izzy is here too; she just wasn't feeling well." Dessa, oh sweet Dessa, chimes in.

Jett scoffs and raises an eyebrow at her, "Oh, is that so?"

Abbie huffs out an uncomfortable laugh, rolling her eyes. "Jett, don't be a moody prick."

At that, he laughs, takes a swig of his beer, kicks his feet out, and props them up on the firepit. Mrs. Kristen, the angel that she is, fills the awkward silence by starting a conversation about a recipe she recently saw on one of her favorite cooking shows. I've never been so grateful for talk of the FoodNetwork because that was getting weird .

The conversation picks back up, and things are much less awkward, but I can't help but notice how sad Jett looks. I've never seen him like that. As the night passes and the beer kicks in, he loosens up, and everyone has a great time. We played way too many rounds of Blackjack, just for fun, and thank god there were no bets on the table because Mr. Cade dominated each round. Abbie's competitive ass was fuming, and it was hilarious.

Being with them is so comfortable. So natural . Fuck, I've missed them all. So much that the part of me that has felt empty for all of these years physically hurts at the thought of having gone without their presence in my life for so long.

"Maybe you are a cowgirl after all. All those years of you riding horses back in the day paid off, but you're much better at riding the cowboys." Ander whispers into my ear as he plants a firm smack to my ass right when we walk into the main house on Thanksgiving morning. I can't hold back my laughter. Our morning together was perfect. He showed me exactly what I have in my life to be thankful for.

"You're such an ass!" I whisper-shout, and he laughs me off and throws me a wink.

"Happy Thanksgiving!" Abbie and Mrs. Kristen sing-song in unison as they greet us in the kitchen, pulling us both into a cute little group hug between the four of us.

"Happy Thanksgiving, " I chuckle. It smells wonderful in here! I'm no cook, but I sure can help. Put me to work!" I say as I grab the sweet potatoes and start peeling them. Dessa walks in as I get to work. "Happy Thanksgiving! Put me to work, too!" she laughs.

Everyone greets Dessa, and she walks over to me and helps me peel the massive sack of sweet potatoes. Neither of us is the world's best cook, but I'll be damn if either of us is lazy and just watch as they work either. It would drive us insane.

"So, Dessa, are you single?" Abbie pries with a huge grin, and I already know where this is headed. Dessa snorts out a laugh.

"Yes, painfully single," she says with a laugh, and we all join along. Ander went to the living room to greet the guys while we ladies threw it down in the kitchen. Or, for Dessa and I, attempt to throw it down.

"Well, if you're into stubborn, annoying, cocky, overly optimistic, peppy but yet also moody as fuck, assholes. . . I have one brother who's still single."

At that very moment, Jett, Ander, and Mr. Cade walk into the kitchen. Abbie finds this hilarious, and her laugh covers the entire space. It's so contagious.

Jett chuckles and looks to Ander, "Was that her attempt at describing me, or are you single again already?" Ander spits out a sad excuse for a laugh and shoves him. "She's definitely describing you, dick!"

Dessa's cheeks are flushed, and she shocks us all into silence with, "I'm not opposed." She even throws on a flirty smile, fluttering her eyes at Jett. He clears his throat and gulps audibly, throwing her a wink.

Everyone is still chuckling when we hear Marverick's voice call out, "Hey, y'all, happy Thanksgiving!" coming from the front door. I drop the sweet potatoes I'm peeling and hurry my way over to greet Izzy, knowing she probably needs a hug, only to find Mav is here alone. I furrow my eyebrows, and he sees the question on my face without me even having to ask. I go to him and hug him.

"Mav, what's wrong?" I whisper into his ear.

"Please go check on her, V." His voice is sad. I've never heard him sound like that before, which sends a chill of worry straight down my spine. I pull away and nod, instantly reaching for the keys to the ATV. I look back toward Ander, but he sees me and just gives me a nod that says, "Please go."

This isn't like Izzy. We all know it.

I hurry outside, get to the side-by-side, and start it up. I turn to look behind me before backing up, and before I can reverse, I feel someone shift onto the seat next to me. Thinking it's Ander, I speak without looking.

"It's okay, Ander; I just need to go check on her."

No response. I turn to view the person next to me to find none other than Jett, with his eyes fixed on me.

"Jett. . ."

He nods, "Just drive, V."

I nod in return.

We get to Izzy and Maverick's cabin, and I grab the key to shut off the ATV, but Jett's hand reaches over mine softly, stopping me.

"V, I'm about to ask you for a favor."

My eyes widen as they meet his in sheer confusion.

"Please, let me handle this one. Let me go talk to her. Please keep it between us three. As far as the others know, you dropped me off at the barn on your way to check on one of the ranch hands who needed my help really fast. Please, V. Just let me talk to her."

I look him over for a beat and see the sadness that's taken over his face, and I can see how badly he needs this. I don't speak. I nod with a sigh and push myself back into the seat.

"Go, I'll go ride the property for a bit. One of you text me when you're ready for me to come back."

He nods as he hops off and rushes toward the front door.

I don't wait around to see if she lets him in or not. I pull off, and the thoughts running through my mind are flooding. Part of me feels guilty. What if Izzy doesn't want to talk to him, but what if it's exactly what she needs? I know they had a thing, but was it more serious than we all realized?

I shoot Ander a quick text that says, " I may be a little while, I'm sorry. "

After a little over thirty minutes of killing time feeding the deer, I get a text from a number that I can only assume is Jett's that simply says, " Ready ." I jump back on the ATV and head toward Izzy's cabin, where she sits alone on the porch with her head dropped.

"Hey, Iz," I hop off of the ATV and walk toward her. Izzy is a lot like me and isn't much on hugs when she isn't in the mood, so I don't press her. I sit next to her. If she wants to talk to me, she will, but she doesn't. We sit in silence for a bit, shoulder to shoulder on the edge of the porch, with our feet swinging off in sync.

After about five minutes of silence, she finally breaks it as he smacks a hand to my thigh nearest her, "Ready, V?"

My eyes instantly dart to her to read her expression, but she's unreadable right now. I want to ask her all the questions that are running through my mind and put her through the identical investigation she would put me through if the roles were reversed, but that's not what she needs.

"If you're ready, then I'm ready." I nudge her with my shoulder and offer a half-ass attempt at a smile. We both stand and dust ourselves off as we make our way back to the side by side.

"Should we wait. . . for him?"

She shakes her head.

"Nah, he took off walking. He said he would walk back in a bit."

I nod.

"Izzy, you know I'm here if you want to talk. I won't force you, but I will always be here if you need to or want to."

"I love you, V."

I smile, "You fucking better." To which she swats my arm and starts chuckling.

The drive back to the main house is quiet. She's silent for the first half hour into our little gathering but warms up after a while and returns to her typical self. Jett made it back to the house just in time for dinner. I expected things to be awkward between them, but they barely spoke, and not in an uncomfortable way. The rest of the visit was smooth, as if nothing had ever happened.