**Completed** Colby Byers and Wyatt Matheson shared an enviable love-at least, until that fateful day. Torn apart by tragedy, the stubborn ex-lovers struggle to come to terms with their desire for one another, while reconciling their feelings with t...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"Kids, there's been an accident out in the pasture," Maryanne said, urgency coloring her tone. Wyatt and Colby had been engrossed in a game of Halo, relegated to the great indoors by the terrifying thunderstorm and pouring rain. She immediately had their attention.
"What kind of accident?" Wyatt asked after a moment of contemplation. There were a lot of scary things that could happen on a farm, but most of the circumstances he could think of involved some sort of machinery that would never be in use during such horrific weather.
"I don't know, baby, but I'm headed out to see if I can be of some help," Maryanne answered tersely, stuffing paperwork and first aid items into her purse. "Your father is out there," she added under her breath.
"We're coming with you," the pair answered in unison, dropping their game controllers to the floor before them and moving to action. They had their coats and boots on before Maryanne had even finished loading her purse.
Wyatt's heart was pounding in his chest. He'd known that his father was in the field, but it had never occurred to him that Marty could be tangled up in whatever mishap had transpired. His father was a burly mountain of a man hewn from stone, only to be enhanced by the muscles he'd acquired over his years as a hard-working stable hand. To Wyatt, he was invincible.
Colby was in a similar state of mind, her body quivering at the prospect of her grandfather Rick's involvement. For certainly where Marty was, Rick would not be far behind. Denial was the best medicine Colby could muster at the moment, choosing to believe that whatever might have happened in the pasture could be handled by the able folks in her grandfather's employ. Besides, as she repeatedly worked to convince herself, he may not be involved at all.
...
Maryanne raced toward the pasture, Wyatt and Colby in tow, having been given an approximate location in coordinates from a witnessing field hand. "We're not going to borrow trouble," she stated emphatically several times over the course of the drive.
The repetition of the words did nothing to quell the dread, souring like expired milk in Wyatt's belly. He'd have preferred to travel in silence, but that simply wasn't possible with two verbose and exceedingly anxious women along for the journey.
The trio arrived at the scene, approaching the river's edge in the relentless rain just in time to see an ambulance being loaded.
With two covered bodies.
"No, no, no," Maryanne cried, taking in the bewildered faces of those gathered around them. Everybody refused to look at her, confirming what she already knew to be true deep within.
Wyatt dismissed his mother's words, unwilling to accept this outcome without proof. Maryanne reached for her son, attempting to deter him from seeing what she wished desperately not to see herself, only to feel him shrug her hand away.
