Breaking Fences (The Breaking Series) (17 page)

I chuckled. “Of course.”

“How are you?” he asked.

Once upon a time, I would have been painfully honest with him. Things had changed. Time passed. We grew up, and I moved away. As much as I would love to share all my problems with him, he was too far away to comfort me. Not to mention, he would want to hop on the first flight here to fix everything. I couldn’t let him do that.

“I—”

“You hesitated,” he said. “What’s wrong?”

“There’s nothing wrong.”

“Of course there is. You’re always bubbly and talkative, and you say whatever is on your mind. You’re not doing that, which means there’s something wrong.”

“There’s nothing wrong, Leo.”

He paused. “Okay. If you say so. I’ll find out soon enough.”

“What do you mean?”

“Montenegro has a fundraiser game in Denver in three weeks. I’ve been trying to arrange it since you left, you know, to go visit you, but I didn’t want to tell you before it was happening. And well, it’s happening.”

I smiled. “That’s great.”

“You’ll come see us, right?”

“I don’t know. With Dad there, I’m not sure I should.”

“You will let a misunderstanding with Dad stop you from seeing me?”

“Is Mom coming?”

“No.”

“Hannah?”

“No. It’s just the guys.”

I let out a long breath. “Without Mom or Hannah, there won’t be a buffer.”

“All right. Who are you and what have you done with my feisty and big-mouthed sister?”

I laughed. “I guess moving out can change a person.” That and everything else said person had to go through.

“Wow, I thought I would never see the day. I will miss the old Bia.”

I missed her already. “Okay, back to the game. Just for one day?”

“We’ll arrive in the morning, play at two in the afternoon, and take the flight back at eight.”

“You guys are crazy.”

“As long as you come to see me, I’m happy being crazy.”

Garrett walked in the office holding some papers.

“All right, I’ll come see you,” I said.

He stopped with the papers in his hands and stared at me. A crease settled between his brows.

“
Ótimo
,” Leo said.

“See you there.”

“
Eu te amo
.”

For some reason, I answered in English. “I love you too.” Garrett’s brows shot up. I ended the call and turned to him. “Those papers are for me?”

“Um, yeah.” He handed me them. I thought he would rush out. But he stayed, looking at me. “So, was that your boyfriend?”

I laughed. “I don’t have a boyfriend. That was my twin brother. He just told me he’s playing a fundraiser game around here in three weeks and asked me to come see him.”

“Oh.”

Was it relief in his eyes?

I cleared my throat. “Can I help you?”

He cocked his head. “In about an hour, I’m going to take Felicity on the main trail. She needs the exercise. I was wondering if you want to come too. With Pepper. You know, Pepper needs exercising too.”

I smiled. “I would like that.”

That cute lopsided grin tugged on his lips. “Great.”

***

“Did you buy her, or was she born here too?” I asked, pointing at his light gray mare. With the stables behind us, we steered the horses around the arena, toward the main trail.

As if knowing I was talking about her, Felicity nickered. Garrett leaned over her and patted her neck. “I bought her when she was three month olds.”

Jealous, Pepper shook her head and I patted her too. “How old is she now?”

“Seven.”

So, he bought her when he was eighteen. “What’s up with her name?”

“What do you mean?”

“Hmm, it’s kinda girlie for a guy to name his filly Felicity.”

He looked at the pasture. “My mother loved horses. She never took me riding, but she talked about horses frequently. Once she said one of her dreams was to own a beautiful gray mare. She said she would name her Felicity.”

“Oh.”

“So, when I got involved with horses and learned to love them on my own, I searched for Felicity.”

I smiled. “That’s sweet.”

He nodded. “How about you? Do you have any horses of your own?”

“Yes. Her name is Preta.”

He frowned. “Preta?”

“It means black in Portuguese, but the word is also used as a sweet nickname, like calling someone sweetheart or darling. Some people call their loved ones preta.”

“That’s odd.”

I tried seeing it from his point of view. I guess it would be odd for any non-Brazilian. “I guess it is.”

“Where’s Preta now?”

“At Hannah’s ranch. She’s my twin brother’s girlfriend.”

“Wait. Did you buy her here in the U.S.?”

“No, I brought her from Brazil.”

His eyes went wide. “Wow.”

“My family owns a farm in Brazil. We have polo teams and breed polo horses.”

“Right. Your family is big on the polo scene.”

“Yeah. Well, my brothers’ and cousin’s horses are all from our farms. We brought them with us.”

“That’s quite the move.”

I nodded. “They want to stay so they had to bring everything.”

“And the farm in Brazil?”

“I’m not sure what my father’s plans are for that. He’ll probably try to keep it running from here, I guess.”

“That won’t be easy.”

“Nope.”

We fell silent and I looked around. The path was narrower here and the trees formed a brief but beautiful canopy. A gentle breeze ruffled the trees and the leaves bled colors as they changed from summer to late fall.

“How are you liking Colorado so far?” he asked, breaking the silence. I grimaced, unsure how to answer. I couldn’t be honest with him, could I?

“It’s not bad.”

“It has been only two months since classes started. You’ll learn to love this place with time.” He sounded so sure, but I wasn’t. “Do you miss Brazil?”

“I miss the rest of my family, I miss my friends, I miss my family’s ranch, I miss the food, but I don’t miss much more. It’s a great country, a beautiful country with so much to give and so much to offer, but it’s messed up. The government is messed up. Even though I think the United States has its flaws, I find it’s easier to live here.”

“Even with all the rumors going around campus?” he asked and I tensed. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have mentioned that. It was out before I could stop and think about it.”

“It’s okay, I guess.”

“I see how the rumors affect you.”

“Do you believe them? The rumors, I mean?” For some reason, his opinion mattered to me.

He averted his eyes. “I don’t know.”

“Tell me what you’ve heard.”

“I’m not sure you want to hear.”

“Please, I want to hear.”

He sighed. “I heard about that first mixer, that you tried giving a lap dance to one of the actives at The Bat, and when Audrey tried to stop you from acting like that, you argued with her. Then, I heard you are—were—after Jonah. You followed him; you threw yourself at him.”

My mouth hung open. “You still believe that?”

He shook his head. “I’m starting to believe it’s the other way around. Jonah is after you, and Audrey is spinning lies about you as a way to get back at you. Crazy girl.”

I blew out a long breath. “That’s exactly what’s happening. The first time Jonah came on to me, I didn’t know Audrey and he had been an item, and she freaked out. That’s when she spread the lap dancing lie.” I shuddered. “
Meu Deus
, how I hate her.” One corner of his lips curled up. “What?”

“It’s cute when you say words in Portuguese.”

Heat spread over my cheeks. “I can’t shut it off.”

“I know and I don’t mind.” He tilted his head, locking his eyes on mine. “I’m sorry Audrey is making your experience here such a terrible thing.”

“I hope that if I stay quiet it’ll die down eventually. Even if it happens again next semester, it has to die down.”

“I’m glad you don’t actually have something going on with Jonah.”

My breath caught. “Why?”

“He’s my brother and he’s on my side most of the time, but he can be a jerk, especially to girls. He was a jerk to Audrey, but she keeps coming back. I think she actually likes it, or he was too good in bed and she can’t get over it.”

I shuddered, not wanting to imagine Jonah in bed. “Thanks for putting the picture in my head. Yuck.” A low chuckle came from him, and I looked at him again, hoping to see a full smile. Nope. Just his regular closed-mouth, lopsided grin. “How about you?” I asked. “You guys seem like you get along well.”

“Sorta. Not always. We used to be closer when we were younger. Now we’re too different.”

Strange. I refrained from asking why. Why didn’t he get along with his half-brother? What happened between them that set them apart? Instead, I asked something else. “You lived at The Bat and have a pre-vet degree. Aren’t you going to apply for vet school?”

He shrugged. “Unfortunately, not everyone is cut out for greatness.”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s complicated,” he muttered. I wanted to ask him to explain, but I sensed his tension and decided it was better not to push my luck. “Tell me something about Brazil, something that is different from here,” he asked, continuing the conversation.

I launched in a long speech about schools. Most schools in Brazil weren’t divided by grade—elementary, middle, and high school. In Brazil, you could stay in the same school from pre-school to high school. Your parents enrolled you in the one they thought was best, or the ones they could afford—public schools were rare and not the best. There was no school district. You didn’t have to go to a certain school because of where you lived. If your parents wanted to drive an hour to take you to school, they could.

I also told him that teenagers only got their drivers licenses at eighteen. We could also drink at eighteen, and we could vote at sixteen—and voting was obligatory. There was no way around it.

I told him girls in Brazil were becoming too direct and out there for my taste, but still not at the point of being sluts or whores like everyone thought they were. Of course, there were the exceptions—like in any place.

“The country of beer,
Carnaval
, soccer, and beautiful women,” he said. “That’s what we always hear when someone mentions Brazil.”

“I hate beer so I can’t tell you about that.”

He nodded. “Whiskey girl.”

“Exactly. I don’t really like
Carnaval
that much. People can get crazy. They drink too much. It’s as if
Carnaval
is an excuse to be a drunk asshole for five days. As for soccer, I don’t watch too many games, especially since we moved here, but we have our teams and we’re kind of fanatics when it comes to them. Unfortunately, once again, some people go to extremes. There were several bad fights after the fans left the stadiums, which is a shame.”

“Those kind of people exist everywhere.”

Exactly. I thought the same about the lies Audrey spread of me. She was basing them on the fact I was Brazilian. She was applying a stereotype to me. She couldn’t be more wrong.

“As for beautiful women, you just need to take a look at Victoria’s Secret models. I think most of them are Brazilian.”

He stared at me, his face serious. “I have proof of that right here.”

My cheeks flamed and I averted his eyes. What was wrong with me? I had never felt or acted coy. I guess Audrey’s lies were getting to me. I was too worried about making everything worse that I was denying being me. Even here, at the ranch, where I promised myself I would be me and only me.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to put you out there.”

“I know,” I whispered.

I wanted to tell him I wasn’t this shy, that I didn’t overthink everything I did. Not the real me. That me was hiding somewhere and I couldn’t bring her out even when I wanted to. I missed being loud and carefree and happy. I hoped Audrey and her lies didn’t shoo my real self away for good.

The real me would have answered him with something witty, and then, if or when we stopped the horses, she would make a move. She wouldn’t have kissed him, but she would let him know in a subtle way that he could if he wanted to. I inhaled a deep breath and tried finding her. She was too well hidden, or she really had run away.

The lake appeared on our right.

“Come on,” Garrett said, stirring Felicity’s reins toward the lake.

Pepper and I followed them. Close to the lake, he jumped off his mare and tied her reins on a tree branch. Garrett brushed his hand under Felicity’s chin and gave her a kiss. She nickered, clearly happy he was giving her attention. At that moment, I was jealous of a horse.