Bucky didn't want to believe his eyes but it was all there in front of him. (Name) smiling and accepting the flirtations from this random cowboy. Bucky would admit the man was good looking and if she gave him that smile he knew he had to be a good guy. That smile was one she usually only showed to Steve. Bucky had dreamed of the time she'd smile like that at him. Running a hand through his hair, he grips the ends and tries not to lose his temper. One reason being there was no one to lose his temper at but himself.

He had pushed her away. He drove her to this point. Bucky suddenly had the urge to punch something. He couldn't punch himself although he had had nightmares of his alter ego the winter soldier doing just that to him. he contemplates walking across the field and trying to talk to her again but quickly decides against it. This alone could be construed as stalking and that wasn't good. He groans out in annoyance and takes one last look back toward the ranch where she was before he feels his heart clench and he realizes what he needs to do. Shaking his head, he turns away from the ranch and starts to walk back to the road.

What was he doing here? What was he expecting to happen? He was crazy for thinking that she'd still be waiting for him. he didn't deserve her. The familiar words and hateful remarks he had made before start to swim in his head making his head throb in pain. He needed a drink. The thought of downing a bottle of jack sounded like heaven but he wasn't about to end his sober streak. He didn't think straight when he was drunk, not to mention he tended to hurt people.

His thoughts continue to race causing him not to hear a horse and rider racing up to him until they almost run into him. "Look out!" A feminine voice yells out pulling Bucky from his silent monologue. He looks up right as a big sorrel mare almost tramples him. Jumping back the horse rushes past him. A few feet away the rider slows the horse down and quickly turns back to check on him. "Oh damn, Hun you okay?" The rider says and Bucky looks up to see a woman, probably in her late twenty's, with a blonde pixie cut and light blue eyes.

"Yeah, sorry, I guess I should watch where I'm going." He quickly replies as he thinks of a way to get out of there quickly.

"No that's my bad." She says as she tosses her leg over the end of the sorrel and hops off the horse. As she lands on the ground something metal catches his eyes and as he focuses on it his eyes widen slightly in surprise. "Ah this?" She says motioning to her prosthetic leg. "I lost my leg in Afghanistan." Her eyes find the metal of his arm and she cocks an eyebrow as she adds, "And your arm, if you don't mind me askin?"

"Ah, lost it when I fell from a train in the Austrian Alps." He adds pulling his sleeve down to hide it. Quickly moving the conversation back to her he asks, "So, you were in the military?"

"Yup, I was a sniper in the US Army." She adds and Bucky's eyes meet hers. He was taken aback for a moment at the similarity in her eyes and his. She had seen some of the same things he had.

"Were you any good?" He asks forcing his hands in his pockets.

"Dude I was the best," she says a smile filling her face but not her eyes. Her eyes held a level of pain her knew all too well. "But you know, even the best have off days. I lost my nerve and..." she wiggles her leg. "They took my favorite leg." He chuckles at her words making her smirk.

"You have a favorite leg?" He asks a smile filling his face.

"I did, and my girlfriend loved that leg too. Too bad when I lost it she left. Oh well plenty of fish in the sea, right?" She says and Bucky shifts his weight as he quickly nods. "So, what are you doing this far away from the road? Did you get lost?"

"I was looking for something,"

"Did you find it?" She asks and he feels his heart clench.

"I don't know what I was thinking coming here." He says as he starts to break down. "I should've listened to Steve and let her go."

"Ahh, I see what's going on here. How about the three of us go somewhere and talk?" She says gripping tightly to the horse's reins.

"Three of us?" Bucky asks cocking a brow in confusion.

"Yeah, three of us. You can't exclude Sally. You will hurt her feelings." She says patting the sorrel mare on the neck making Bucky chuckle.

"James Barnes, but my friends call me Bucky." He says holding his hand out for her to take.

"Grace Campbell, but my brother calls me Gracie; but if you call me Gracie, I'll knock your lights out." She replies taking his hand. "Nice to meet you Barnes."

"Likewise, Campbell." Bucky adds a smirk on his lips as they shake hands.

"Well Barnes, how about we take a walk and talk about it. I feel like you could use a third-party ear to lay your problems on."

"I don't know, I could be a really bad guy."

"Honey please, you don't scare me. Besides I graduated top of my class from WestPoint. There's nothing you can show me I haven't already seen."

"I'll take your word for it." He says quickly as he runs a hand through his hair.

"Alright, how about you follow me home. You remind me of a lost puppy." She says and he chuckles. "Come on Barnes, lets walk and talk."

"Okay, if you insist." He adds as he starts to follow her down the trail.

Bucky didn't know why but he was able to spill his guts out to this strange girl. The two of them had so much in common. They had both been in war, been snipers, and as a result lost a limb from it. He couldn't help but tell her everything. Especially everything he'd done to (name). When he told her that part her brow furrowed in anger. "So, you mean to tell me, you acted like a complete dick. What the hell is wrong with you, you don't do that to someone you love no matter what you're going through. You might think you were doing what you thought was right to keep her safe but in the end, all you did was loose her. You hurt her so much, she might never come back unless you get your get your shit together."

"Wow tell me what you really think?"

"I mean it Barnes, you fucked up. I know (Name), I work with her; and what the fuck were you thinking letting her go. I mean she's the total package. If she was playing for my team, I'd be all over that. So, you're lucky."

"You remind me of a redhead I know. She doesn't put up with bullshit either."

"Oh really," Grace pauses for a moment as she ponders a thought. "Is she single?"

"She could use someone like you in her life." Bucky adds a smirk filing his lips. "Maybe, we'll see."

"Why don't you come work with me? I think it'll be a really good learning experience for you."

"I don't know. I think it'd be better if I bow out gracefully."

"If you leave now you are just proving her right that you haven't changed. Truthfully Barnes you can't change that easily, especially if you dislike yourself."

"I'm confused."

"I mean if you want to love another you have to learn to love yourself first. If you want your relationship with her to work, you have to work on yourself first. Cause the main thing here is how much you wanna change for yourself, not how much you want to change for others. Because changing for others is useless." She says her eyes filling with a painful memory. "Changing yourself for others is like abandoning who you really are inside. You have issues Barnes, but so does every other person in the world. If you want to prove you can be a better man, you have to open your heart."

"And if I can't?"

"You're acting like a coward. If you think like that then in your heart you've already bowed out. Which in my mind is pretty shitty. You've already begged her for a second chance, if you leave now, you're gonna leave her with more pain than you've caused. She's already going against her better judgement by letting you try. If you're just going to leave like this then you never should have showed your face."