Finding His Sun

Chapter Twelve

Adam and Erin got ready for the day. Adam had his usual blue jeans, jacket, boots on with his cowboy hat. He chose Erin’s outfit of boot cut blue jeans; a white fitted long sleeve shirt with a black cardigan. He came back into the room after she was dressed with a pair of boots in hand. 

“These are Sarah’s too, they may be a little big, but they’ll do for riding today”. 

Erin was oddly excited to try them on, she never had a pair of her own since she was little, too expensive. She was excited to dive into the life Adam grew up in. She slipped the boots on, they were a little big, but comfortable enough. She looked at herself in the mirror and approved of what she saw. Her first gaze wasn’t at her bruises or impurities for once, she was looking at her boots. She loved them. She smiled at Adam admiring her in the background, turned around to grab his hand and they headed downstairs.  

Erin could hear the ruckus coming from the kitchen already, with that many men in one room it got pretty loud. They all laughed when they walked in, some of them gave Adam a wink while he gave them a chastised stare. Everyone said their good mornings while Delilah and Cookie finished up breakfast. They sat together at the big table and watched the sun steadily come to life, bringing the rest of the world with it. Adam had explained to Erin the guys like to have a day where they just go out into one of the fields and practice their roping and riding, something apparently important for a rancher. She sat at the table and listened to them talk about their different techniques and a few arguments ensued. She learned Ben, Cookie, Sam and Jackson had all been in the rodeo. They all had won medals and buckles and were the best around, but each one confessed it wasn’t a way of life. They said James Graves, Adam’s father, had saved their life when each one went down the wrong path. He took them in and gave them a purpose to live for and they never looked back. It really was a family here. She also learned Adam’s parents were up town at the hospital getting Alaina, his mother’s final scans. Her breast cancer had been vigorous, but was finally out of the woods, and Erin could tell the relief on everyone’s face. 

“You’ll love Mr. and Mrs. Graves, Erin. Boss may look scary, but he’s just a big ole teddy bear” Cookie explained with a chuckle. 

Erin was nervous to meet them but couldn’t wait to put the last pieces of Adam’s family puzzle together. Soon after breakfast was served, Sarah and Lance and Parker came down to join. Sarah laughed and joked along with the guys like they were her brothers, and they gave it right back. Lance always looked a little tense but seemed to enjoy sitting back and letting Sarah do the talking. Adam had told Erin that Lance still felt indebted to his father for saving their family ranch, maybe he felt out of place. 

After a huge breakfast the guys headed outside to get a few things together for today's activities, Erin was eager to see what that entailed. As the men went outside, she stayed in with Sarah and Delilah picking up the kitchen from breakfast when a truck pulled into the ranch. It was a huge build of a man and a small yet strong woman who hopped out of the car, and she instantly knew it was Adam’s parents. The woman had a scarf around her head and the man held her hand the whole way. A smile shot to Sarah’s face and she grabbed Erin’s hand and took off outside. Erin stayed by the door while Sarah, Parker and Adam embraced the couple. 

“MawMaw you look even better with no hair,” Parker stated loudly, and Mrs. Graves burst into laughter, while Sarah scolded him. 

“I’m so glad I got rid of it then, just for you my sunshine” she embraced the little boy. 

The large man made eye contact with Erin and she looked away reluctantly. Adam was a spitting image of his father, with their dark hair and golden eyes. What would he think of a stranger staying at his house while he was away? 

He smiled at Adam as they walked over to where Erin was pretending to look at the men saddling their horses. 

“And this little lady must be Erin?” The man’s voice carried a power that would make anyone shiver, but also a command that Erin was intrigued by. 

Erin looked over and gave him a smile and a nod, “yes sir. It’s a pleasure to meet you. Thank you so much for allowing me to stay here while… I got better”. Erin felt embarrassed by the whole situation and her hands instinctively went to cover her bruises, but soon two arms engulfed her in a hug. 

“Oh, darlin’ you can stay here anytime if you make my Adam smile this much” Alaina exclaimed as she squeezed her tighter. Erin was surprised she was so strong for such a small woman, Erin was a whole head taller than her, but she had more grit than Erin realized. The woman released Erin and gave her a welcoming smile and locked her arm into Erin’s and led her to where the men were. 

“Tell me all about yourself Erin, I want to know everything” she had an eager curiosity about her. 

“Sorry I should have warned her Adam” Sarah said and the three of them laughed as Alaina kept asking question after question. Oddly enough, Erin was willing to answer Alaina’s never-ending questions. She had a way about her that made you want to talk and never stop. She entranced you in a state of vulnerability that had you spilling detail after detail. Erin felt soothed by her presence. She told her where she grew up, about her dad dying and her mom leaving. She even told her about her job and taking care of Ryan, but she left out the pain, no one needed to be subjected to that. But Alaina wasn’t shy, she asked the question that no one had the guts to ask since she got here. 

“Darlin’ why would you let someone have so much power over you to break you like this?” she asked, pointing to her scars and bruises. “Because I’m guessing by the looks of it, this wasn’t the first time”. 

Erin looked at her straight in the eyes. She wasn’t scared, she was relieved for some reason, that she didn’t act like it wasn’t there. She wasn’t afraid that Erin was so fragile that if she brought it up, she would break. She wanted a real answer. 

“I’m not sure. I fell for charm and then I just kept falling. Eventually I was so deep it felt like I’d never be able to crawl my way back to the top… somewhere along the way I just stopped trying. I let it fall around me and bury me. I’m not strong enough to get back to who I was, so I just let someone else decide… and now I’m here” Erin said confidently, but ashamed. 

A small laugh came from Alaina’s mouth and Erin looked at her perplexed as to why she laughed. 

“I wish you could see it,” she let out a long sigh and looked over at her family as they went on their way saddling the horses. “You have more light in you, more life, more grit than most people know what to do with. Somewhere along the way you let someone tell you, you were weak, and you believed them. You started to fall because you didn’t think you could hold yourself up. I don’t know you, but I know my son, he doesn’t just fall for anyone, he’s attracted to strength and light, which you have. If you let yourself feel, you’d see what everyone else sees”. Alaina gave her hand a tight squeeze and gave her a smile before walking over to her grandson. 

What did she mean? How could she possibly know who Erin was or what she was capable of? Although Erin was torn, she still wanted to believe what Alaina had said. She wanted to be the person Alaina believed she was. Who Adam thought she was… she wanted to try. 

Erin got her emotions together and headed toward Adam. He had prepared his horse and was ready to ride. 

“You ready? Remember what I told you about relaxing your body, but staying in control?” 

Erin remembered, but wasn’t quite sure how it would work, but was happy she was riding with Adam, so she nodded. Adam put his foot up and gracefully mounted the giant horse like it was second nature. He grabbed Erin’s hand while she put her foot up and all of a sudden it felt like she flew through the air and landed exactly behind Adam. She caught her breath and smiled in amazement at his strength and got excited to ride. Adam chuckled. 

“Hold on now” he said with that damn smile, kicked his heel, and they were off. 

Erin wrapped her arms around Adam’s waist as he flew through the first field with speed. Erin didn’t even open her eyes until the ranch house was a small dot in the distance. She felt a thrill of adrenaline run through her veins and she looked around her. Everyone was riding around them at the same speed. The view was even better than she could have imagined. They easily sailed through the vast amount of land that seemed to have no beginning and no end. They ended up stopping at a creek bed with the cattle on the other side in the distance. When they came to a stop Erin couldn’t believe the amount of cattle there was, spread across the field as far as she could see. This life Adam had continued to surprise and enlighten her, she loved it. They stayed there a while resting by the creek bed. The guys decided this field would be the perfect place to show off their skills and compete against one another. 

One after the other the men came forward and tried to show off their roping skills, roping one cow after another. Erin was impressed that they moved so rhythmically and coordinated, almost never missing. Then it was Adam’s turn. He got on his horse and winked at Erin and rode off with his rope in hand. Within seconds he had roped the cow he wanted then he was on the next, then another. He finally finished and rode back to the group and everyone clapped, and Sarah rolled her eyes. 

“Show off!” she exclaimed, and he just smiled at her.

“Well, let’s head back to eat some lunch, then we will do some barrel racing and Sarah can show off then” Alaina said while chuckling at her children. 

Erin got onto the horse again with Adam but this time he let her sit in front and take the reins. She was nervous but he explained everything she needed to do, and he would be right there the whole time. She could hear her heart pounding when she nudged the horse slowly and they were off. They weren’t moving as fast as they were when Adam was in control, but fast enough to send Erin into joyful laughter. She had never felt so free yet so in control, she loved it. 

Adam rode behind Erin as she laughed into the wind. It was a captivating sight; he couldn’t help but laugh along. He held onto her hips as she naturally led the horse where it needed to go, she caught on quickly and that made him happy. He loved seeing her take control and be confident in what she was doing. He just sat there amazed at her stamina as they rode home. 

As they approached the ranch, they saw a police car and a green truck pulling up the long road. Erin’s heart sank as she slowed the horse down. She looked around and everyone seemed confused as to why these people were here. But she knew. She felt like she couldn't move or couldn’t breathe as Mr. James strode towards the cars trying to get to the bottom of this disturbance. Adam got off and helped Erin, who still couldn’t move. Her knees were buckled as Adam walked forward inquisitively, then stopped in his tracks. Out of the truck Mason and his father jumped down and started walking towards Mr. James, Mason's eyes locked on Erin the entire time. Chills started to creep up her skin and closed her throat as she tried to gasp in the air around her. 

Adam’s jaw clenched and his fist tightened trying to gain control. He held his place behind his dad who had the same stoic look he always had, never showing what he was feeling. The pair strode up with arrogance that made Adam want to beat it out of them. 

“Well Benjamin, can’t say I like you bargin’ in on my land unannounced. I thought I taught you better than that” Mr. Graves said with that chilling authoritative tone. If he scared Mr. Mallard, it wasn’t noticeable. 

Benjamin nodded then looked at his son. 

Mason looked right at Erin, then at Adam, “I think you have something that belongs to me”.