It had been six weeks since the river weekend.
Long enough that Holly’s absence had stopped being unusual and started becoming noticeable.
At first Bryce hadn’t thought much of it. Holly disappeared. That was what Holly did. A few days became a week, then two. A message went unanswered. Another got a thumbs-up two days later and nothing after it.
By the sixth week, Bryce had stopped sending them.
Saturday morning found him at Ironstone while Saige ran a lesson in the arena. Elara was mucking out one of the stalls, and Bryce had been helping Grant replace a damaged section of rail outside.
He came into the stables looking for a cold drink and found Elara leaning on the pitchfork.
“You heard from Holly lately?” she asked.
Bryce opened the small fridge near the tack room and pulled out a bottle of water.
“No.”
Something changed in Elara’s face.
Small.
But Bryce caught it.
He twisted the cap off.
“What?”
Elara looked down at the bedding.
“Nothing.”
“That wasn’t nothing.”
She sighed.
“Holly came by a while ago.”
Bryce stopped drinking.
“How long ago?”
“Not long after the camping weekend.”
That answered more than anything else could have.
Bryce lowered the bottle.
“Right.”
Elara set the pitchfork aside.
“She met someone.”
Bryce looked at her.
“Someone who wants monogamy.”
There was a pause.
Outside, Saige called encouragement across the arena. A pony broke into trot. A child laughed.
Bryce nodded once.
“Makes sense.”
Elara studied him.
“She should’ve told you.”
“Yeah.”
“That part I’m not defending.”
“I didn’t ask you to.”
“I know.”
Bryce took another drink.
He wasn’t shocked.
That surprised him less than it probably should have.
Six weeks was a long time to work something out without anyone actually saying it.
“Is she happy?”
“I think so.”
“Good.”
Elara’s eyebrows lifted slightly.
“That’s it?”
Bryce shrugged.
“What am I supposed to do?”
“I don’t know.”
“Neither do I.”
The corner of her mouth moved.
“Fair.”
Bryce put the bottle down.
“Would’ve preferred she told me.”
“So would I.”
He nodded.
Then looked back toward the yard.
“Grant still fucking around with that rail?”
“Almost certainly.”
Bryce headed for the door.
“Bryce.”
He looked back.
Elara held his gaze.
“You alright?”
“Yeah.”
A beat.
“Bit pissed off.”
“That sounds more believable.”
Bryce smiled despite himself.
“Yeah.”
Then he went back outside.
Grant was exactly where Bryce had left him, standing beside the damaged rail with a hammer in one hand and a piece of timber he seemed to be reconsidering in the other.
“You tell him?” Grant asked when Bryce approached.
Bryce stopped.
“You knew too?”
Grant grimaced.
“Ah.”
“Good answer.”
“Elara said Holly had spoken to her. Wasn’t my thing to tell.”
Bryce took the timber from him.
“Apparently everyone knew except me.”
“Not everyone.”
“Enough.”
Grant let him have that.
They worked in silence for several minutes.
Bryce held the rail while Grant tried to line it up, failed, swore, and handed the hammer over.
“You do it.”
“Thought you were helping.”
“I am helping. I’ve identified the competent person.”
Bryce drove the first nail.
Grant leaned against the post.
“You know Tessa’s been waiting, right?”
Bryce stopped mid-swing.
“What?”
Grant looked toward the arena.
Tessa was standing near the rail with Saige, watching one of the younger riders circle.
Bryce followed his gaze.
“For what?”
Grant looked at him.
Then laughed.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“No. What?”
Grant shook his head.
“You really don’t see it.”
“See what?”
“Tessa.”
Bryce looked back toward the arena.
Tessa glanced over at almost exactly the same moment.
Their eyes met.
She smiled.
Bryce looked at Grant.
“She’s friendly.”
Grant laughed harder.
“Mate.”
“Fuck off.”
“Alright.”
Grant picked up the next length of timber.
Bryce went back to the rail.
But he looked toward the arena again a few minutes later.
Tessa was still there.
The lesson finished before lunch.
Kids disappeared with parents and ponies. Saige started putting gear away.
Bryce was washing his hands at the tap when Tessa appeared beside him with two cans of soft drink.
She held one out.
“Peace offering.”
“For what?”
“I don’t know yet.”
Bryce took it.
“Planning ahead?”
“Always.”
She leaned against the rail beside him.
For a while neither said anything.
Bryce opened the can.
Tessa watched the yard.
“Holly gone?”
There wasn’t much point pretending he didn’t understand.
“Looks like it.”
“I heard.”
“Everyone fucking heard.”
Tessa winced.
“Sorry.”
Bryce looked at her.
“No. Not your fault.”
“She should’ve told you.”
“Yeah.”
He took a drink.
Tessa glanced sideways at him.
“You upset?”
“Not really.”
“Bullshit.”
“Alright. A bit.”
“That I believe.”
He smiled.
The silence settled again.
Tessa nudged his shoulder with hers.
“You doing anything this afternoon?”
“Probably.”
“That wasn’t the question.”
Bryce looked at her.
“What was the question?”
“Are you doing anything you can’t stop doing?”
He considered it.
“No.”
“Good.”
She pushed away from the rail.
“Come with me.”
“Where?”
“You ask too many questions.”
“That’s rich.”
Tessa smiled.
“Come on.”
Bryce looked toward Grant.
Grant was standing near the stables pretending very badly not to watch.
When Bryce caught him, Grant suddenly became fascinated by something inside his toolbox.
Bryce shook his head.
Then followed Tessa.
She drove.
That was the first thing Bryce noticed.
The second was that she didn’t tell him where they were going.
They made it halfway down the road before he asked.
“You kidnapping me?”
“Maybe.”
“Should I be worried?”
“Probably not.”
“That’s reassuring.”
Tessa laughed.
Then turned onto the road toward his place.
Bryce looked at her.
“You know where I live.”
“I’ve been there before.”
“Not alone.”
“No.”
Something in the answer made him look at her again.
Tessa kept her eyes on the road.
When they pulled up outside the cabin, she killed the engine but didn’t get out immediately.
Bryce waited.
Tessa turned toward him.
“I’m going to say something, and you’re not allowed to make it difficult.”
“That sounds promising.”
“I’ve liked you for months.”
Bryce stared at her.
Tessa sighed.
“Grant was right, wasn’t he?”
“What did Grant say?”
“That you’re hopeless.”
“He didn’t actually say that.”
“He thought it.”
Bryce laughed.
Tessa didn’t.
Not immediately.
“I stayed out of it because you were with Holly.”
Bryce nodded.
“I know.”
“No, you didn’t.”
“Apparently not.”
“Now you are not.”
Bryce looked at her.
Tessa held his gaze.
“And I’m done being subtle.”
There it was.
Not rushed.
Not apologetic.
Just Tessa.
Bryce looked down at his hands.
“You know I only found out for certain this morning.”
“I know.”
“You still brought me here.”
“Yes.”
“That’s fairly aggressive for someone who’s been subtle for months.”
Tessa smiled.
“I’m adapting.”
Bryce laughed.
Then she leaned across and kissed him.
Softly.
A question, despite everything she’d just said.
Bryce had plenty of time to pull away.
He didn’t.
His hand came up behind her neck, and the second kiss wasn’t a question at all.
Inside, the cabin was cool after the heat outside.
Tessa stopped just past the door.
The smell of fresh paint still lingered inside. The tools and stacks of materials that had crowded the main room for months were gone, apart from a mitre saw and a bundle of skirting Bryce still hadn’t fitted.
Bryce closed the door behind them.
Tessa turned.
“You don’t have to do anything.”
Bryce raised an eyebrow.
“You drove me to my own house.”
“I’m aware.”
“You kissed me.”
“I remember.”
“And now you’re giving me an escape route?”
“Yes.”
Bryce stepped closer.
“Why?”
“Because I want you to choose.”
That stopped him.
Then he reached for her.
Tessa met him halfway.
The kiss became harder almost immediately, months of restraint disappearing far quicker than Bryce expected. Her hands found his shirt. His found her waist.
Tessa laughed against his mouth when he walked her backwards into the edge of the table.
“Smooth.”
“Shut up.”
“Make me.”
Bryce kissed her again.
They made it to the bedroom eventually.
Clothes disappeared along the way.
Tessa sat on the edge of the bed, watching him as he pulled his shirt over his head.
“You’ve changed.”
Bryce stopped.
“Since when?”
“The first party.”
“That’s a low bar.”
She smiled.
“Still.”
Bryce moved between her knees.
Tessa reached up and pulled him closer.
“Stop thinking.”
He laughed.
“Everyone keeps saying that.”
“Maybe listen.”
He kissed her.
This time neither of them spoke for a while.
Bryce moved down her body slowly, his mouth tracing her throat, her chest, her stomach.
Tessa’s fingers slid into his hair when he settled between her thighs.
He didn’t rush.
He’d learned that much.
Her breathing told him more than words would have.
When his tongue found her clit, Tessa’s hips shifted towards him.
“Yeah.”
Bryce kept the same rhythm.
Her fingers tightened.
He added his hand, sliding his fingers inside her while his mouth stayed on her.
Tessa gasped.
“Fuck.”
Bryce glanced up.
Her glasses were gone somewhere, hair spread across the pillow, eyes closed.
He curled his fingers.
Her body tightened.
“Again.”
He did.
The next sound she made was enough.
Bryce kept going until her thighs tightened around his shoulders and her body shuddered against him.
Tessa cried out, one hand fisting in the sheet.
He stayed with her until she started laughing breathlessly.
“Okay.”
Bryce kissed the inside of her thigh.
“Okay good or okay stop?”
“Both.”
He smiled and moved back up beside her.
Tessa pulled him down and kissed him, tasting herself on his mouth without hesitation.
Then she reached between them.
Bryce sucked in a breath.
“Condom?”
“Drawer.”
“You sound prepared.”
“I own condoms.”
“Congratulations.”
Bryce laughed as he reached across.
Tessa watched him roll it on.
Then pulled him back over her.
When he entered her, she wrapped her legs around his hips and drew him deeper.
They moved together without the careful instruction Holly had once needed to give him.
Tessa noticed.
Bryce could tell she noticed.
She smiled up at him.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“That’s bullshit.”
“Keep going.”
So he did.
Her nails dragged lightly across his back as his rhythm built.
Tessa met him with every thrust.
When Bryce began to lose control, her legs tightened around him.
“Don’t stop.”
He didn’t.
He came with a groan against her neck, his hips driving deep as the tension broke through him.
Tessa held him there.
For a while neither moved.
Then she kissed the side of his face.
“Hi.”
Bryce started laughing.
“What?”
“I’ve been waiting months to say that.”
They lay together as the afternoon light shifted across the unpainted wall.
Tessa traced one finger over his chest.
Bryce looked at the ceiling.
“Holly taught you things.”
It wasn’t really a question.
“Yeah.”
Tessa nodded.
“I figured.”
Bryce turned his head.
“That bother you?”
“No.”
She looked at him.
“Should it?”
“No.”
“Good.”
That was all.
Tessa settled against his side.
Bryce put his arm around her.
Neither mentioned Holly again.
It was dark before Tessa remembered her ute was still at Ironstone.
“Shit.”
Bryce looked at the window.
“What?”
“My car.”
He started laughing.
“Very organised kidnapping.”
“I got distracted.”
“I noticed.”
They dressed.
Bryce drove her back.
Ironstone was quiet when they pulled in, lights glowing from the house.
Tessa’s ute sat where she’d left it.
Elara was on the veranda with a mug in her hands.
She watched Bryce’s ute pull up.
Tessa looked at him before opening the door.
Bryce smiled.
She leaned across and kissed him once.
“See you around?”
Bryce smiled.
“Yeah.”
“You will.”
She got out and closed the door.
Elara watched Tessa come up the steps, then glanced toward Bryce’s ute.
“Good afternoon?”
Tessa smiled.
“The best.”
She took another sip of her coffee.
Tessa looked back as Bryce pulled away.