Page 87 of Broken Trust
“That’s not what I was asking.”
Cabe studies me. “What about us?”
My eyes go to him. “Are you two together or not together?”
His eyes narrow slightly. “Why do you want to know?”
I shrug. “Just interested in my baby brother’s life.”
Cabe keeps staring at me for a moment.
Long enough that I wonder if he’s somehow seeing through me.
Then he looks away.
Honestly, I don’t know what answer I’m hoping for.
He sighs. “I’m not really sure where we stand.”
I keep my expression neutral. “How so?”
He scratches the back of his neck. “You know we broke up after high school.”
“Yep. Shocked us all,” Royce says. “The golden couple. The pair everyone assumed would get married someday. Calling it quits.”
“Yeah, whose idea was that?” I ask.
He shrugs. “Mutual.” Then he pauses. “Mostly.”
Royce smirks and cuts his eyes to me. “So, not so mutual.”
Cabe ignores him. “We were trying to protect our friendship.”
I glance toward him. “What does that mean?”
“It means we figured if we tried long distance and everything blew up, we’d end up hating each other.”
I nod slowly.
“And neither of us wanted that.” He stares out across the pasture. “We’ve known each other our entire lives, and we didn’t want to risk losing each other completely.”
Makes sense.
Even to me.
Cabe continues, “I always figured we’d end up back together.”
I glance over at him. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.” He laughs softly. “I thought she’d go to Laramie for a few years, graduate, come home, and we’d figure it out.”
“Have you?”
“No.”
His smile turns bittersweet. “She decided to go to Colorado for grad school.”
“Even farther away,” I say.
