Just Because (Completed)

Chapter 17: Delilah

17Delilah

I went to the school every available day during the week I got home from Kansas, partly to add little bits of this or that to my classroom, and partly to see Jeremy. He and I had at least reached friend status over the week, though we hadn't gone out a second time. I just couldn't convince myself to do so yet. By Friday the following week, though, I stopped going to school, and instead spent my days with Keiran. The non-human one.

Though I hadn't ridden him so far— I struggled to pull myself into the saddle one-handed— I was still able to walk him around the pasture. He followed, loyal as always, nipping at the strands of hay I picked up and brushing his nose into my shoulder when I dawdled. Spending time with him helped me to bridge some of the heartache I felt over missing the real Keiran. I talked to him about everything I was thinking and feeling— my own living diary that would never spread my secrets— and when it got to be too much, and I cried, he would lean his head down onto my shoulder and let me run my fingers through his mane.

I was out in the pasture with him again on Saturday afternoon, but he wasn't sticking by me that time. His attention was on Calamity, who was in heat, and my horny horse was more than willing to satisfy if she would stop playing so hard to get.

I watched him from where I sat atop a hay bale, smiling as he did circles around the golden mare, her honey-blond hair fluttering in the wind as she attempted to evade him. Her focus was on Turner, our gray and black spotted Appaloosa stallion a short ways away, and if Calamity turned down Keiran for him, I'd be heartbroken for my poor horse.

"Now, how's it that you can climb up on a bale, but you can't lift y'self up on a horse's back?"

I looked down at the southern drawl approaching and smiled as Becket came to a stop beneath me. Wearing a white cowboy hat with jeans and an unbuttoned blue shirt over his white tank, he looked clean and showered as he grinned up at me.

I shrugged in response to his question. "Hay bales don't move around."

He scoffed as he looked out at the horses, the broad rim of the hat casting his eyes in shadows from the late afternoon sun. "Looks like Keiran's 'bout to get the boot."

Why did the name sound so wrong in anyone else's voice...? I really needed to rename my horse...

Sliding down to land with a thump beside him, I nodded and followed his stare. "I hope not. He's been trying so hard."

He huffed and turned to face me, his thumbs hanging from his belt loops. "Anyway, you feelin' hungry? I'm goin' to get some barbecue if you feel like taggin' along."

I resisted the urge to frown. I knew that Becket had always had a crush on me, but between him, Jeremy, and my feelings for Keiran, there was no way I was about to indulge him in going out to dinner. Even if it was innocent. My heart felt like a tetherball already.

"I appreciate it, but no thanks. I've kind of been cutting out on my dad here lately, so I'm gonna spend some time with him tonight."

Though he looked disappointed, Becket quickly smiled. "That's cool, I understand. Hangin' out with Pops is important. Okay then, I'll see ya t'morrow."

I waved as he walked away, then waited until he was gone before marching up to the house. It wasn't a whole lie, I did need to spend time with my dad, but though I heard him rustling around in the kitchen, I didn't immediately go to him. Instead, I went upstairs and opened my laptop. There was nothing of interest in my email, and it took me all of five seconds to go to Twitter and check for updates on Keiran.

He hadn't tweeted anything to his personal page, though he seldom did anyway, but the Broken Souls band page had been updated the day before. It stated simply that the band's tours for the rest of the year had been postponed until further notice, pending Keiran's recovery. However, it said nothing specific about how he was doing.