Epilogue
Sloan
Two years later
It was the two-year reunion since the last rodeo that I’d watched. Brady had been out of it for a while, but had decided to start again after Trace had begged him to rejoin. I enjoyed all the other events, but I couldn’t help but feel nervous when he got on the bull again. The bull looked as mean as he always did, but I decided to focus my attention on Brady instead of the animal. For the most part, it worked. Brady looked so sexy when he was out there.
Brady told me that he was determined not to let the bull defeat him this time, and he obviously meant it. He walked away with the title, and the entire crowd went crazy when he won. He was a firm favorite. Although, I did notice a few people with their phones ready to take a video when he was on the bull. Clearly, nobody had forgotten what had happened two years ago. I was so glad that he didn’t have a repeat of that, and I was glad to see him so happy out there.
Afterward he came to me and told me that he had to go figure out his prize winnings and he’d come back to get me when he was done. I sat back and watched the crowd around me. Every now and again someone would walk past and greet me. I’d been living in Wyoming for two years now, and I already knew so many people. It was a very different life to what I was used to back in New York. Nobody seemed too bothered by the fact that I was once a famous actress. There’d been a slight boom in my popularity when the movie came out, especially since it had been shot in their hometown. But they were mostly just excited to have me living with them, and everyone had taken it in their stride. There were still some people that wanted to talk to me about being an actress, and still some that asked for my autograph. But for the most part, I was just treated like the rest of the people living in the area. They saw me as one of them, and never once put me on a pedestal. It was hard to explain just how nice it felt to feel normal again.
The movie had done well, and I was glad that Roger had decided to still release it. He’d asked me to do a few interviews and to be open and honest about my past. I was worried that I was going to ruin the movie for him, so I said yes to a few interviews and told the world the truth about what had happened. People seemed happy with my honesty, and I think it actually made the movie more popular. There were still some people who sent me nasty letters, and there was still the odd angry social media post. But I didn’t care anymore. I was happy, and that was all that mattered to me. I was surprised at how little I missed that lifestyle, anyway. If people wanted to talk about me behind my back, that was okay. I had more important things to do with my life.
My phone rang as I was waiting. It was Victoria.
“Vic!”
“Hey, Sloan, this is an okay time?” she asked.
“It is. It’s a great time. I’m at the rodeo at the moment. Brady just won the bull riding competition.”
“Yes! I knew he would.” Victoria yelled. “He beat the beast!”
I chuckled. “He did. It was scary watching him on it, though. I don’t know how he does it. Sometimes I think that man has no fear. I took a photo of it to send to you. That is one mean-looking bull. I’m so glad it’s over. Where are you, by the way? You sound like you’re in a barn or something. There’s so much noise.”
She laughed. “A barn? Wow, your mind is always on that place now. Imagine a barn in New York? Nah, I’m at some fashion show. There’s some commotion going on. Anyway, I just wanted to see how you were doing. When are you coming to visit?”
“Actually, I’m coming to visit soon. I was talking to Brady the other day. I think it’s time he sees where I used to live.”
Victoria had come to visit twice already, but we still hadn’t made a plan to go to New York, even though we spoke about it all the time. I didn’t have my loft apartment anymore, but I still wanted to show him around. No matter how bad things had gotten, it was still a part of my life.
“That’s a great idea. I’d love to have the two of you here. You can stay with me. Granted, my apartment is not as big as your place, but we’ll make do.”
“That would be wonderful. Oh, I have to go,” I said as I spotted Brady walking my way. “Can I call you back later?”
“For sure. Call me anytime. Talk soon.”
“Thanks for calling, Vic.”
I put the phone down and ran toward Brady. I wrapped my arms around him and congratulated him once again for winning the competition.
“I’m so proud of you,” I said. “You did so well. The crowd was loving you.”
“Want to come and say hi to the bull?”
“Not a chance. I still haven’t forgiven him from the last time. I was just telling Victoria how mean he was.”
“I don’t blame you. Even I was a little wary about riding him. But I was determined not to let him get the better of me. Hey, what’s that in your hand?”
I smiled as I opened up my hands to show him the small stuffed horse that he had won for me at the last rodeo.
“It’s Betty,” I said. “Remember, you won her for me.”
“Of course I remember. The man was so surprised that you chose that one over all the other stuffed animals. I didn’t even know you still had that.”
“Oh, I’ll never get rid of her. She’s my lucky charm,” I said.
“Wow, and it worked. Thanks, Betty.”
“So, what’s happening next? Want to overdose on candy again?”
“Always,” he said and grinned. “But first, I have something I want to show you.”
“Ooh, what’s that?”
“You’ll see; come with me.”
I followed Brady to the back of the rodeo grounds were a big tent had been erected. I was sure that tent wasn’t there the last time that we’d attended the rodeo.
“That’s new,” I said. “What’s in there?”
Brady didn’t answer me. He just held my hand and continued to walk. We were approaching the tent from the side, and I couldn’t see inside. There also didn’t seem to be any noise at all coming from it. But the moment we stepped inside, a crowd of people erupted into applause. I looked around in shock at the faces of the people I knew. I spotted Brady’s father immediately, as well as his brothers. They waved at me, and I waved back even though I had no idea what was going on. I seemed frozen in surprise. Then, I frowned when I saw Victoria grinning at me from the corner. What was she doing there? I had just spoken to her. But I didn’t have a chance to even ask her because as I turned back toward Brady, I saw that he was kneeling in front of me.
“You changed my life, Sloan. I actually didn’t realize how unhappy I was until I met you. Most people, especially Grant, will tell you what a miserable grump I was to be around. And then you came into my life. You showed me what it was like to smile again, to laugh again, to live again. You gave me a reason to want to get up in the mornings. Or, in my case, you gave me a reason to want to sleep in. And I know that you dropped your entire life just to stay with me. I know how much you sacrificed for me. I’ve always been a bit of a loner, and I don’t like big public displays of affection,” he said, and everyone laughed. “But I wanted everyone here today because I want you to know how proud I am of you. I don’t want to hide anymore. Sloan Hill, will you marry me and make me the happiest man alive?”
I dropped to my knees and hugged him.
“Yes! Yes! Yes! Of course I’ll marry you.”
He took out a ring, and I held out my finger. I’d owned jewelry that was worth more than a car before. I’d owned jewelry that was big, flashy and impossible to ignore. But I had never before owned anything as beautiful as the ring he put on my finger right then. It was a plain silver ring, but in the middle was a tiny little horse.
“It’s Betty!” I gasped.
“Another lucky charm,” he said and smiled.
I leaned in and kissed him, and the whole crowd burst into applause again. Afterward, we walked around while everyone congratulated us. I laughed when I saw Victoria.
“Vic! I just talked to you! You said you were in New York.”
She shrugged. “Well, I lied.”
I chuckled. “I didn’t even suspect this for one minute. I can’t believe you’re all here.”
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
“You know, most of these people are either Brady’s family or people that I’ve come to love from the area. You’re the only person that’s here from my past. You’re like my family, you know.”
She grinned. “I’ve always wanted a sister.”
“Are you staying here for a while?”
“Oh yeah, Brady has organized for everyone to stay the whole week. I hope he realizes that he’s going to have to do it all again when you actually get married.”
“Will you be my bridesmaid? Sorry, I know that’s very premature as I only just found I was getting married. But I couldn’t think of anyone else to ask but you.”
“Yes!” she said and hugged me.
I looked around and chuckled. I leaned in. “You know,” I whispered, “you are the most fashionable person here. As much as I love everyone in this town, will you help me choose a dress?”
She laughed. “We’ll have a New York-meets-Wyoming wedding. Which reminds me, Brady has organized a buffet of food. I had a look at it before you got here and there is not one thing that’s carb-free.”
“I’m sorry,” I chuckled. “There’s no such thing as diets in this part of town. Want me to try and organize something else for you?”
She shook her head. “Are you kidding me? I want to eat all the bread before I go back. Come on; I’m starving.”
After an afternoon filled with food and laughter, Brady and I finally snuck off to spend some time together.
“I wanted to take you away from the crowd for a while. Just, you know, to see how you are. You do want to marry me, right? I mean, you didn’t just say that because everyone was watching? I sort of put you on the spot there.”
I laughed. “I’ve never wanted anything more in my whole life. I cannot believe that I am actually getting married to a cowboy. Now that’s something that most people never think will happen. It’s like that movie I did came true. Thank you for doing this. And thank you for making sure all our favorite people were here to experience it. Harold would’ve been so proud of you, Brady.”
“Yeah, I thought of him the whole time. So, what do you want to do now? I’ve invited everyone over for a barbecue tonight. But we have a few hours to kill until they get there.”
I grinned. “How about a horse race?”
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BEST FRIEND’S BROTHER
BOX SET
By Alycia Taylor
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are products of the writer's imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Copyright 2016. All rights reserved.
BEST FRIEND’S BROTHER #1
Chapter One
Alexa
You know those moments in life when you think: I’m always going to remember where I was and what I was doing when this happened? Today was going to be that day for me. It started out normally. The alarm on my phone was screaming at me at seven a.m. and I spent at least a full minute banging on it before I found the button to silence it. I would have done better, had I opened my eyes, but I knew that the room would be filled with light. I could feel it already pressing down against my eyelids. I’d forgotten to close the blinds last night. Not a big deal at night, really. My dorm room is on the third floor and it doesn’t face anything but some old basketball courts that no one uses any longer. But in the morning, it’s a different story. I hate mornings and until about ten a.m., I curse the appearance of the sun. While I laid there and tried to think of a logical excuse for not getting out of bed, my alarm started screeching again.
I slapped it and opened my eyes. I squinted in the bright sun as I sat up and decided then and there that closing the blind would have to be part of my nightly routine no matter how I was feeling. I opened the nightstand drawer next to the bed and pulled out a black kami and matching panties. It wasn’t like anyone was going to see them, but I always worried that I’d be involved in some kind of accident and when they took my body to the hospital the first thing the nurses and doctors would say was: Her underwear doesn’t match. Stupid, I know…but it makes me feel better.
I stood under the warm spray of the shower for too long. I hadn’t been feeling very well and the steam helped open everything up so I could breathe. By the time I got out of the shower, I had to hurry and my long, red hair was going to have to go into a ponytail or a braid because there was no way I had time to dry and straighten it. I decided on a braid and then I put on a tiny bit of foundation and some mascara so my light red eyelashes weren’t completely invisible. I slipped on my jeans and then my pink Fox t-shirt last. My shoes and book bag were by the door and as I slipped them on I grabbed a cereal bar off the desk. I wasn’t going to have time for breakfast and I didn’t want my stomach growling in the auditorium where it would echo across the room. Finally ready to go, I dashed out the door.
The first thing I noticed when I stepped out into the hallway was that it was too quiet. This dorm houses over a hundred and fifty college-aged women. It was never quiet. I would have asked someone what was going on, but there didn’t even seem to be anyone around. Hopefully I didn’t sleep through the zombie apocalypse. I was sleeping pretty hard last night. I felt like crap and on top of that I have a test today that I studied for until the wee hours of the morning. I better pass because I gave up two things that I love for it…sleep and a night out with my best friend.
I finally saw signs of life when I hit the ground floor. No zombies, but a lot of gloomy looking people. I saw a girl I know named Maddie and said, “Hey! What’s going on? Why does everyone look like their dog just died?”
Maddie said, “I’m not sure what happened exactly but there was a report on the news this morning that a girl was killed in a car accident. They didn’t have any details yet, but they found a student ID in the car and they think she may have been a student here.”
“They didn’t give her name?” I don’t know why, but a sudden surge of panic forced itself into my chest.
“No they wouldn’t say yet. The news said the name of the victim was withheld until they notified the family. It’s just so sad. Someone our age…just gone like that.”
“Yeah, that is sad.” I looked at my phone. It was ten minutes until I needed to be on the other side of campus. “I have to get to class. I have a big Soc test today. Let me know if you hear any more.”
“I will,” Maddie said.
I jogged more than walked to my class. Dr. Freitas, my sociology professor didn’t tolerate tardiness. I wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t let me take the test if I got there five minutes late. I made it with two minutes to spare and found my usual spot. Dropping my bag down next to me, I dug out my pencil and my scan tron. I was really glad I made it on time when I saw Dr. Freitas go over and lock the door at eight o’clock on the dot. He went over the rules for the midterm and the he passed it out. My phone was in my lap, but the ringer was off and he couldn’t see it under the little desk in front of me. If he saw it…he would make me leave. He was old school like that.
The test was two pages long and as I went from one question to the next, I realized that I’d over-stressed about it. I probably could have gone out with Emma last night and still passed it. She was going out to hang out with a friend of ours at her house who was having some people over. It sounded like fun…but on top of needing to study, I hadn’t felt well so I’d flaked on her. I was on the last page of the test when I felt my phone vibrate in my lap. I glanced down in Dr. Freitas’ direction. He was walking back and forth, watching. I left it alone and finished the test before I picked up it and my bag. He told us we were excused when we finished and I didn’t want to have to go back up and disturb everyone while I got my bag. I took the test up front and handed it and the scan tron to him.
“Did you put your name on it?” he asked, without looking up.
“Yes, sir.”
“Okay. The door will open from the inside. Make sure and close it on your way out.”
“Okay, thanks.” He was finished with me. He still hadn’t looked up. I let myself out and pulled the door closed behind me before finally looking at my phone. It was a text from Sabrina, another friend of mine. The text simply said, “Did you hear about Emma?”
I text back as I walked down the hall towards the outer door. “Did I hear what about Emma?”
I had just hit the outer door and walked out into the fresh air when she text back, “Call me.”
My mind suddenly went back to what Maddie said about the car wreck…then the cryptic text…Did you hear about Emma? My stomach all at once felt like someone had tied my insides into knots and I got a chill that ran down my spine and across both of my arms. I didn’t want to call her back. I didn’t want to know what had happened to my best friend. I stood there, staring at the phone for several minutes before finally getting enough air into my lungs to convince myself that I was just being silly. I pressed the call button and Sabrina picked up right away.
“Alexa, I wish that I wasn’t the one who had to tell you this…”
“Then don’t,” I said. “Don’t tell me!”
“You do know.”
“I heard there was an accident last night. I heard the girl was dead. I know Emma was out last night and I was supposed to be with her but I flaked at the last second. Please tell me I’m wrong, Sabrina. Please tell me that girl wasn’t Emma.”
“I’m sorry, Alexa,” the other girl said. I could hear the strangled tone of her voice and I knew she’d been crying.
“She’s….Oh shit! She’s…dead?”
“Yes, I’m so sorry.” I hung up. It wasn’t Sabrina’s fault and I wasn’t usually one to shoot the messenger but I couldn’t listen to it for one more second. There was no way that Emma was dead. She was young and beautiful and funny and smart…I pulled up her number and pressed call. It went straight to voicemail. That didn’t mean anything, I told myself. She turns her phone off sometimes when she’s in class. I’m just being paranoid…stupid…Sabrina was a big gossip! She didn’t know what she was talking about and when I found Emma I was going straight over there and punching Sabrina in the face for upsetting me like this. I started walking to the dorm. I felt like I was in a fog…or a bad dream. The world was happening around me, but it didn’t seem real. As I crossed the campus courtyard I realized that people were staring at me. Why are they staring at me? I reached up and touched my face. It was saturated with tears that I hadn’t even realized I was crying. Why am I crying? This isn’t real! Emma is not dead!
I passed the people who were staring at me and even a few who were trying to talk to me. I ignored them all. I just wanted to be alone, so I could process this and figure out why people would even consider the possibility that Emma was dead. That was ridiculous…wasn’t it? I made it to my room and locked myself inside. I sat down on the bed and looked at my phone. The last text I had from Emma was after I’d text her, telling her I really didn’t feel well, and I needed to study and wouldn’t be able to go out. She had text me back and said, “Okay, but all work and no play makes Alexa a dull girl. Love ya!”
I hadn’t even text back that I loved her too. Why? It would have taken me two seconds…or less. Oh God! What if she was dead? What if I had that one last chance to be with her, or to tell her I loved her too and I had let it pass? The tears were running down the side of my neck now. I had to find some tissue…or just lie down on the bed and let them soak into the pillow…which was what I did. I lay there for a while, crying and shaking, rolled into a fetal position and I imagined what her family must be going through. Shit! Her family! I grabbed the phone and called my dad.
He picked it up on the first ring and said, “Alexa honey, I was just going to call you…” Dad’s voice was husky, like he was trying not to cry.
“It’s true?”
“Yeah baby. I’m so sorry.”
I let myself sob out loud then and my dad just sat quietly and let me. When I could speak again I said, “Do her parents know?”
“Yeah, I’m headed over there now,” he said.
“Oh God, Daddy! Oh God!”
“I know baby. Do you want me to come and get you?”
“I need to be home.”
“I know honey. I have to go see Emma’s parents and see if there is anything I can do. Then I’ll be there, okay?”
I’m not sure if what I said sounded like okay to him or not. To my ears it was just another strangled cry. I dropped back down onto the bed and sobbed. My poor Emma. I couldn’t understand why. She was so young…It’s just not fair!