"Hey, Slade?" Lacey called out into the barn, looking for her boyfriend.

          "Hey, darlin'." Slade greeted with a smile, walking back in the barn from dumping some manure in the spreader outside. 

          "How much more do you have to get done out here?" Lacey asked, following him around the barn.

           "I'm done now. Why? You miss me or something?" Slade teased, leaning closer to Lacey with a smile. 

            "You need a shower, cowboy." Lacey played back, seeing how sweaty and dirty Slade was from working outside all day. "Yes, I did miss you, but that wasn't why I came out here." Pulling out her phone, Lacey read Brooke's text to Slade. Brooke had asked if she and Slade wanted to hang out with her tonight.

            "Sure. What time does she want us to meet her? And where?" Slade wiped a hand over his forehead. 

           "Umm...well, she was wondering if we could pick her up in about forty five minutes? She lives about twenty five minutes from here." 

           "Yeah, that's fine. I'm goin' to run upstairs and change clothes, but then I will be ready to leave." Slade smiled, leaning forward to kiss Lacey's cheek. "You are so beautiful." He was still only centimeters from Lacey; his breath tickling her neck. 

           "You aren't so bad yourself, handsome." Lacey couldn't hide the blush that she knew was evident. Once Slade pulled back, Lacey said after him, "Take a shower while you're up there. You smell horrible." 

         "Maybe I smell horrible, but it's only because I am workin' hard to make money so I can take you out on dates. Or, maybe I don't smell bad; maybe it's my new cologne. I call it 'la scent of la barn.'" Slade pursed his lips and made an "O" with his fingers for emphasis. 

        Slade's goofiness made Lacey laugh. "Go take a shower, you weirdo." Lacey teased, turning to roll out of the barn. Shaking her head at Slade, Lacey realized how much more she had found herself smiling recently. Her smile only grew as she knew it was all thanks to Slade.

                                                     ~*~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

        "Make a left at the next street and Brooke's house is the first one on the left." Lacey gave Slade the directions on how to get to her best friend's house. She was only partially surprised that she remembered how to get to Brooke's house without needing directions, considering it had been about six months since she had been to her best friend's house. 

         When Slade pulled into Brooke's driveway, Lacey could already see Brooke sitting on her front porch, clearly excitedly waiting for the couple to pick her up. Sure enough, before Slade's truck could even come to a full stop, Brooke came barreling down the steps, flinging open the passenger side door, and hopping in to the truck. 

          "Hey, how are y'all? I've missed y'all so much!" Brooke said excitedly, giving Lacey a side hug. 

         "We have been good. I'm so happy that you texted me this evening. It's been too long since we have gotten to hang out." Lacey smiled, continuing the conversation with Brooke as Slade drove them into town. 

         "Well, I figured that my parents are out of town for the week and I got all of the chores done, so what better way to spend the weekend than to hang out with my best friend?" Brooke pulled out her phone when it buzzed. It was her mom calling. Excusing herself, Brooke answered the call.

         Lacey smiled at Slade when he grabbed her hand as he drove. She was glad that her dad had let them take one of the newer trucks that wasn't a stick shift; that way, Slade could actually hold Lacey's hand while he drove, instead of needing to shift often. "Thanks for comin' along, and for drivin' us." She smiled up at Slade.

         "It's my pleasure, darlin'." He smiled back, keeping his voice quiet since Brooke was on the phone. 

          Minutes later, Slade pulled his truck into the Dairy Barn's parking lot where he hopped out of the truck, grabbing Lacey's wheelchair out of the bed, setting the brakes on it when he put it next to the open driver's side door. As always, Slade stood close by, with his hands partially out, just in case Lacey needed help lowering herself. Thankfully, because she had been very diligent in her physical therapy and home exercises, Lacey had gained enough upper body strength that she could fairly easily move herself from the truck to her chair and vice versa. 

        "Let's go get some ice cream." Brooke said excitedly, walking towards the door. 

         Slade walked in front of the women to grab the door for both of them, closing it when he filed in behind Lacey. 

             The trio ordered and paid for their ice cream, then made their way to one of the wooden booths next to the window. Slade slid in to the booth first since it was easier for Lacey to sit near the aisle. Brooke sat across from the couple at the booth. Once she set her cup of ice cream down on the booth, she looked up to say something, but seeing what she saw behind Lacey made her facial expression change to be more serious. "Hey, y'all, look who it is." Brooke stated in a slightly tense voice, making the couple turn around to look behind them. "Paige, hey!" Brooke called across the way, making Paige look over, smiling when she saw who it was. 

         "Hey guys." Paige made her way over to their table. "How are y'all?" She said almost nervously, faking a smile, seeming to give Lacey a weird look as she kept looking over her shoulder. 

          "We are good. How are you?" Lacey spoke up, taking a bite of her ice cream. 

          "Good. What are you guys doin' here?" Paige leaned against the table after glancing around the ice cream shop again. 

           "Just hangin' out, eating ice cream. Slade has never been here before so Brooke and I thought it was about time to introduce him to some of the best ice cream, ever." Lacey smiled, lifting another spoonful of ice cream to her lips. 

         "What are you doin' here?" Brooke asked, her voice slightly agitated. Her and Paige never really got along well.  

         "Umm...I'm just-" 

         "Hey, babe, I was lookin' for you." A deep male voice said to Paige from behind Lacey. 

           The voice sounded eerily familiar, and Lacey's face turned white when she heard it. She could pick that cocky drawl out of a crowd any day of the week. Hoping she wasn't right, Lacey slowly turned her head. Seeing who it was made Lacey practically cringe. 

           "Lacey?" The voice asked, more surprised than anything. 

           "Hey, Jeremy." His name had never sounded so cold coming out of her mouth before. Lacey looked between her ex-boyfriend and Paige. "So you two are datin'?" She wasn't sure why she asked because it was so obvious. Instantly, Lacey could feel her blood beginning to boil. 

            "Yeah. For about four months now." Jeremy took his eyes off Lacey for the first time since he came over. He wrapped an arm low around Paige's waist. 

             Lacey scooted herself closer to Slade, so much that she was practically laying on him, making him look up from his ice cream bowl to see what was going on. "Slade and I have been dating for five months now. Isn't that right, babe?" She asked, reaching a hand up to Slade's face, giving him a wet kiss on his cheek. 

           "Yeah. It's been the best five months of my life, too." Slade smiled, still unsure exactly what was going on at the moment. 

           "Jeremy, this is my boyfriend, Slade. Babe, this is Jeremy." Lacey made the introduction; she made sure she emphasized when she said "boyfriend" and "babe," just to rub it in Jeremy's face that she had moved on, and with a much better guy. 

            That's when it hit Slade. Jeremy was Lacey's ex-boyfriend. He didn't know much about Jeremy because Lacey refused to talk about it, but what he did know, he didn't like. Still, to be polite, Slade reached across Lacey, shaking Jeremy's hand. "Nice to meet you." He squeezed Jeremy's hand, maybe a little harder than he should have, but he wanted Jeremy to know that it was best to not mess with Slade. 

         "Y'all mind if we sit with y'all for a little bit? We ordered food, but it looks like it's goin' to take a while." Jeremy asked, pointing at the open spot next to Lacey. 

           Lacey couldn't believe Jeremy's audacity, but before she could say anything, Brooke spoke up. "Y'know, we actually just sat down, and I don't think that there is really enough room for anyone else on the booth." Her voice was stern, anger in her eyes. 

           Something in Lacey lit up like a light bulb. Deciding this could play out one of two ways, Lacey decided to give in, instead of give up. "Don't be silly. There's plenty of room. I'll just sit on Slade's lap. That alright, babe?" She flipped her head, giving Slade a look.

            "Yeah, that's fine." His jaw tightened as he watched Lacey turn into an entirely different person around Jeremy and Paige. Knowing it was better to not let his irritation show, Slade helped Lacey squirm onto his lap. Once she was happily seated, Lacey wrapped her arms around Slade's neck. 

            Jeremy had the guts to take a seat next to Slade and Lacey, instead of sitting next to his girlfriend, and Brooke. Once he was seated, Jeremy looked between Lacey and her cup of ice cream that she had just taken another spoonful out of. "You're still eatin' that Moose tracks, I see." He said it in the same old accusing, judgmental tone. There was that taunting smirk that Lacey had tried so hard to get out of her mind. 

            Just then, Lacey blinked, and it was deja vu to all of the comments that Jeremy had said to Lacey when they were dating. Lacey was a healthy, skinny woman, with a great body, but according to Jeremy, she wasn't skinny enough. There was always something about her that he was trying to change. 

             Lacey lowered the spoon from her mouth, placing it back in the cup, and pushing it away from her. "No, I hardly eat ice cream anymore. Slade had never been here before, so we decided to let him try it." She wasn't sure why she was lying, or why she became suddenly defensive. 

            Jeremy scoffed a little, but looked Lacey up and down, "Other than that, you look great." His eyes seemed to stay on her chest area for longer than appropriate. His comment told Lacey that he hadn't changed one bit since they broke up. She was thankful that Paige and Brooke were talking so she didn't hear her boyfriend flirting with Lacey.

             Slade's hand tightened around Lacey's waist slightly, letting her know that he didn't like this Jeremy guy. Just when Slade lifted a spoonful of ice cream to his lips, Lacey "accidentally" bumped his hand, making the ice cream spill onto his cheek and lips. 

              "Oops." Lacey giggled a girlish laugh that Slade had never heard. "Silly me. Here, babe, I will clean it up for you." With a sly smile, Lacey leaned forward, holding Slade's face in both of her hands. She ran a finger over the drop of ice cream on Slade's cheek, tracing it's way to Slade's lips Out of the corner of her eye, Lacey saw Jeremy still watching them. "Perfect." Lacey thought to herself, leaning in to kiss the ice cream off of Slade's lips. If Jeremy hadn't been there, Lacey wouldn't have kissed Slade, knowing how serious they both took kissing, especially after what happened in the barn the other day. 

              Slade was taken aback by Lacey's unnatural flirty demeanor. When he was about to pull back from Lacey's sloppy kiss, she leaned in for another one, practically refusing to let Slade go until he kissed her back. Sure enough, when Slade pushed his lips to Lacey's, she pulled back, biting her lip in a flirty way. 

             Tapping Slade's nose, Lacey giggled. "Mmm, I just love you so much, babe!" She then proceeded to try to feed Slade his ice cream as if he was incapable of doing it himself. 

              Just as Lacey lifted the spoon to Slade's lips, he lifted his hand up, moving her hand back down to the bowl, not eating the ice cream. When he knew Jeremy was no longer watching them, Slade ran a hand over Lacey's lower back. "Honey..." He whispered, only loud enough for Lacey to hear. "Why are you actin' like this?" 

              Giving Slade a look, Lacey grinned, whispering back, "I don't know what you are talkin' about, honey. I'm not actin' like anything." 

               "Jeremy, you order is ready." The lady at the food counter called out, interrupting whatever Jeremy was just about to say to Lacey. 

              Sliding out of the booth, Jeremy turned to Slade and Lacey. "It was really good to see you again, Lacey." His eyes looked genuine, but everything else said that he was lying, just like always. 

             "Ready to go, babe?" Jeremy turned to Paige, who was still talking to Brooke. 

              "Yup. Bye, see y'all later!" Paige smiled, waving happily before wrapping her arm around Jeremy's waist as they walked over to get their food. She acted as if she wasn't dating her supposed best friend's ex-boyfriend. 

               Once Jeremy and Paige walked away, Lacey took a deep breath, sliding off of Slade's lap. She hated how she was feeling right now. 

                "Here, eat the rest of your ice cream before it melts, darlin'." Slade offered to Lacey. Something had snapped in her; she was in a mood that he had never seen before. Granted, he didn't like the extremely flirty side of his girlfriend because it wasn't her, but that didn't mean he was going to be upset with her. Seeing an ex is hard on anyone, so Slade didn't hold it against Lacey, but he made a mental note to talk to her about it later.

              "I don't want it." Lacey said, pushing the ice cream away from her as if it was something repulsive. 

              An awkward silence fell over the table before Brooke gasped. "Oh my gosh, I just realized something! Lacey, you and Paige look almost exactly alike. That's why Jeremy is datin' her. He is still in love with you, but he knows you will never go back to him, so he is just looking for another you to date. I never understood it until now. Holy cow, how have we never noticed how much you and Paige look alike? Y'all could be sisters! But, Jeremy knows that no one can ever replace you. And I'm just goin' to say, he really did lower his standards with Paige. Not trying to sound mean, but you were way out of his league, but she is pretty much perfect for him." Brooke let her dislike for Paige slip out. 

              Lacey knew that Brooke was only trying to make her feel better, but two things that she said stuck with her. Something inside of Lacey snapped. "No, Brooke. Jeremy never loved me. He was never in love with me. It was all an act. You don't treat someone you love the way that he treated me. You don't..." She felt herself become angry at the memories that were flooding back to her. "If he loved me he wouldn't have done those things to me. He was abusive, Brooke, in more ways than one. That's not what love is." Then Lacey remembered the other thing that Brooke had said. "Wait, you knew that they were datin'? Why wouldn't you tell me?" 

            "Well, I...I'm sorry, Lacey, I..." Brooke seemed dumbfounded.

             "It's alright, darlin'." Slade tried to comfort, rubbing a hand over Lacey's back. 

             "No, it's not. Can we please just go home?" Lacey asked, reaching for her wheelchair, sliding herself into it. 

             "Are you sure, Lace? We still have a lot planned for tonight. If we stay out, it might help you get your mind off of things. It'll be fun." Slade tried his best to not push it; he really wanted Lacey to stay out and have fun, but he didn't want to test the waters, knowing they could get choppy.

             "Yeah, I'm sure. I'm sorry...I...I just want to get out of here." Lacey rolled away from the booth so Slade could slide out. She didn't stop her trek until she was beside the truck her dad was letting them borrow for the day. Once Slade was out of the booth, he threw away their trash, then followed Lacey outside to where she was sitting beside the passenger side of the truck.

             "Sorry. I didn't realize it was locked." Slade apologized, reaching in his pocket for the key fob. Unlocking the truck, Slade opened up the door for Lacey, but knowing better than to help her. She was in the mood that told Slade he needed to monitor what he said because anything could be taken the wrong way, according to Lacey.

              After a couple minutes, everyone was seated and buckled in the cab of the truck. The entire ride back to Brooke's house was silent, the only talking that went on was Brooke giving Slade instructions back to her house. 

               After a decent drive back, Slade dropped off Brooke, telling her it was nice seeing her again, just to be polite. Lacey, however, was still in a funk, not even saying goodbye to her best friend. 

               Slade expected Lacey to move from the middle seat over to the passenger side, but he was glad when she didn't. Everything in him wanted to talk to her about why she reacted the way that she did when she saw Jeremy, but he decided to not say anything until they got back home. 

               Once his truck was parked in front of the house, Slade turned to Lacey, wrapping an arm around the back of the seat, turning to look at her. "What was that back there with Jeremy?" He decided to go ahead and ask.  

                Lacey sighed, hesitating. She wasn't sure how to explain to Slade what all she went through with Jeremy, or why she gets the way she does whenever she is around him. Jeremy brought out a whole different side of Lacey, that even she was surprised to see from herself. "I don't want to talk about it, Slade, okay?" Lacey eventually spoke.

              Slade wanted so bad to push, to ask her again to tell him what was wrong, but he felt a nudge that told him to just wait. "Alright, well at least let me walk you in the house, please." 

                "It's fine, Slade. Can you please just grab my wheelchair?" She asked, sliding to the edge of the bench seat, waiting for Slade to bring her chair beside the truck. "Thanks." She mumbled to him once she was seated, rolling across the yard, up the ramp.

               Slade watched with sad eyes as Lacey rolled into the house, closing the big front door behind her. Waiting until he saw Lacey's bedroom lights flip on, Slade then walked over to the barn to get some stuff done in his loft before turning in for then night. 

               Lacey's mind was all over the place that night and the more and more she thought about how Jeremy used to treat her, the more upset she became. She wasn't sure why she reacted the way that she did tonight; she was never one to snap at her best friend, or Slade, but part of Lacey thought that she wanted to make Jeremy jealous. Lacey had wanted to prove to Jeremy that he hadn't permanently affected her, and that she had moved on, but because of how she reacted, she knew she achieved the complete opposite. 

                With a sigh, Lacey looked at the time. It was a quarter after eleven. Sure Slade was sleeping, but hoping he wasn't, Lacey still shot him a text. "Are you still awake?" 

                Immediately, Slade opened the text and replied, "Yes. What's wrong?" 

               Tears rose to Lacey's eyes as she thought about how poorly she treated Slade today. "Is there any way you could come over for a little bit so we can talk, please?" Slade opened the message, but did not reply right away. Setting her phone back on her side table, Lacey tried hard to not make tonight a night that she cried herself to sleep. Mad at herself for letting today get her so down, Lacey felt a teardrop fall to her cheek. Today had just seemed like such a setback for Lacey. For so long, she had been doing so good; she had genuinely believed that she had moved on from everything that had happened in her past with Jeremy, and her accident, but tonight proved differently. 

               A knock on Lacey's door made her wipe her eyes and clear her throat. "Come in." Lacey said, picking her head up to see who it was. "Slade." Lacey happily breathed out. 

             "Hey, I got your text. What did you want to talk about?" Slade asked, sitting beside Lacey on the bed. He was still wearing his cowboy boots, with his blue plaid pajama pants tucked into them. 

             "I just wanted to apologize for how I acted towards you tonight. Jeremy brings out a side of me that I don't like. I'm really sorry." She reached a hand out to hold Slade's.

               "It's alright, Lace. I'm not upset with you at all. I know that Jeremy put through a lot, so I understand. Just know that whenever you want to talk about it, I will be here for you." Slade said sweetly. He could tell that she had been crying, so he leaned forward, wiping a tear from her eye with his free hand. 

                   "Could you please lay down with me for a little bit?" Lacey asked, feeling the tears rising to her eyes again. This time, however, they were tears because she knew she didn't deserve the love that Slade gave her. 

                  "Of course, sweetheart." Slade slipped off his boots and t-shirt to crawl under the covers, laying next to Lacey. 

                   "I just really need you to hold me and promise me you will never leave me." Lacey sniffed, reaching for Slade.

                    "I will never leave you, ever." Slade promised, wrapping Lacey up tightly in his arms. He continued to whisper sweet nothings in her ear until her breathing slowed and she was asleep. "I love you, Lacey Anne Ferry." Slade quietly whispered, kissing her ear. That night, Slade didn't get any sleep; he was much too busy praying for his hurting girlfriend.