Epilogue
June – 6 months later
“You must buy at least thirty copies!” Roy exclaimed into the phone, as I told him the joy of seeing my book on the book shelves for the very first time. It was an extremely exciting moment for me, a wonderful dream come true, but it seemed like Roy was even more thrilled for me. He sounded like a child bouncing around after eating candy.
“I already have a copy,” I giggled back. “Plus, if we buy them all, who else will read them? That’s the whole point of writing a book, isn’t it?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” he joked. “I just want them all. I’m too damn proud of you…and Ali is, too!”
“Well done, Mom!” she cried out loudly in the background, sounding nothing like the shy, quiet child I’d met over a year ago.
When I first told her that she was coming to live with me and Roy, she was excited, but nervous, too. Well, we all were. But now she’d settled in and was making real positive strides in the right direction.
The choice to call us Mom and Dad was all her own doing. We hadn't wanted to push her considering she’d known us as June and Roy for a while, but she needed to. She had a large gaping hole in her life which had been there since the day that her real parents died, and she’d needed it filled.
As a part of the adoption, we received all of the information about her birth parents, who seemed like really good people. It was a shame that they’d been killed in a traffic accident, but all Roy and I could do was to try and make the best life for their daughter, to give her what she wouldn’t have had otherwise.
Everything was kept in a drawer for Ali to see as soon as she wanted to, but so far, she hadn't mentioned it. She was still too young and adjusting to the life that we were giving her. She was growing up a lot quicker ever since she started kindergarten, but I was trying not to worry about that too much.
“Now, when are you coming home?” Roy took over the conversation again. “We have a celebration all panned out. It isn’t every day that your debut novel gets released. Plus, your mom has been phoning; she wants to hear from you…”
Things were great between me and my parents these days; they’d even been to stay with us a few times. Any past pain was long gone now, and we were all looking happily towards the future.
“Ooh, I hope it does well,” I replied, anxiety suddenly getting the better of me. “And I hope the publishers like the second book, too…”
“Stop worrying,” he insisted. “There’s nothing you can do about all of that now; it’s out of your hands. All you need to do is celebrate today, okay?”
“Okay,” I sucked in a few deep breaths, trying to take his words to heart. “I’m on my way now, so I’ll see you guys really soon.” I’d done all that I wanted to in town anyway. I’d snapped some photos of my book in the shop to post on social media, so heading back sounded good to me. “I can’t wait to see you both.”
As I hoped into the car and proceeded to drive home – home, sometimes it still felt a little strange to call the ranch that – my mind whirred over how perfect my life had become. I still had my amazing friendship with Hailey, the tutoring job at the Hangout, and my book.
Plus, on top of that, I had the best family that anyone could ask for. Sure, the way that we all came together might not have been traditional, but it honestly didn’t matter. We had one another, and that was all we cared about.
As I pulled up my car, Roy, Ali, and Tank were all waiting for me, with Ali holding up a congratulations sign that they’d obviously been working on. Simply seeing that made everything worth it – all the stress, the late nights, the self doubt. Just to have someone so lovely believing in me…nothing else could even come close.
“Well, this has to be an awesome homecoming,” I exclaimed happily. “You guys look like you’ve been busy.”
“That’s not it; there’s more,” Ali gushed, before dropping the sign and racing towards me for a hug. “We have organized you a picnic and everything!”
“You have?” I held her close to me, smiling to myself. Even on my worst days, even when I was feeling my most vulnerable, Ali had the ability to make me feel good. “Then let’s get going! I’m starving.”
They walked me to my favorite spot over by the lake, where a spread had already been set up for us. Happiness washed over me as I saw how much effort had been put into my celebration; it was so much more than I would have ever asked for. There was a bottle of champagne, strawberries dipped in chocolate, and cookies that Roy and Ali had obviously made from scratch.
“This is too much, guys,” I told them, whilst patting Tank, kissing Ali on the forehead, and giving Roy a proper kiss. Tank growled a little as Roy and I kissed, exerting his protective side over me, but that simply made us laugh. “But as I’m so hungry I’m going to have to take your kind gesture as it is.”
We sat down, and all clicked our plastic champagne flutes together to celebrate. Roy and I had wine, whereas Ali had juice. The “fancy” glass was enough to have her feeling like a grown up.
As they told me how proud they were of me, I felt a blush spread through my entire body. I wasn’t used to having so much focus on me, but considering it was my family, I could tolerate it. If my writing career really took off, I wasn’t sure how I would be able to hack it. Being on one side of the media was one thing…being on the other would be something else entirely.
“You know, I got a letter from Lewis today,” Roy told me casually, as if this wasn’t huge news. “He must have written it to me from prison.”
“He…he did?” I stammered, feeling a little awkward. I wasn’t sure if this was going to be good or bad news…that would depend on the content of the letter. Luckily, the thing with Lewis had impacted Roy in the way that it could have done, especially when you considered his past. He’d managed to move past it fairly quickly, even putting trust into another member of staff. Fredrik was a good guy, though. I couldn’t see him ever letting Roy down. “What did he say?”
“I guess that he must be in some kind of twelve step program for his addiction because most of it was apologizing for what he did to me and the business. He finally seems to recognize that he threw a lot back in my face, so I guess that he wanted to make up for that.” He sighed for a second, before taking a swig of his drink. Growing bored of us, Ali and Tank went off to play with a nearby ball, giving us a little more privacy. “He even said that he understands why I reported him, why I had to get him locked up.”
“And, do you think he’s genuine?” I didn’t want to step on any toes, but I also didn’t want Roy to get sucked in again. He’d come too far for that. I needed to protect him over everything else.
“I don’t know,” he sighed honestly. “And, it doesn’t really matter anyway. I don’t really feel any way about it. It’s just like any other piece of mail; it doesn’t make me feel anything…other than glad that it’s over, of course.”
“Dad!” Ali yelled loudly, dragging us from our conversation. “Have you asked Mom yet?”
“Asked me what?” I looked at Roy, whose face had turned ashen. “Roy, what’s going on? Asked me what?”
“Get over here, Ali,” he half scolded. “I can’t ask without you.”
Confusion flooded me as I tried to work out what this could be. Ali was terrible at keeping secrets at the best of times, I’d learnt that the hard way when I took her shopping with me for Roy’s birthday present, so the fact that she’d kept whatever this was to herself for such a long time was very impressive. As she jogged back towards us both, the curiosity started to get the better of me. It took all that I had not to scream out and demand to know what was happening.
They whispered among themselves for a moment, making things even worse. But then they turned to face me, and everything stilled within me. This moment was going to be monumental, I just knew it.
“June,” Roy started in a loving tone of voice, which instantly had my excitement levels growing. “I love you, you know I do. In fact, I think I might have loved you from the very first moment I laid my eyes on you. When you were sitting there, shaking in the car.” I giggled at the memory, but the sound came out a little strangled because the tears were already starting to form in my eyes, the emotion already getting the better of me.
“And now we’re here, like some miracle, as a family. Me, you, Tank, and Ali…a dream that neither of us thought we could make a reality.” My heart thundered in my chest as I started to finally accept where this was going.
This was another fantasy that I had barely even admitted to myself, but now that the moment had arrived, it was all I wanted in the whole damn world. To be Roy’s wife, to have an official family unit…nothing could be better. “And now, I want to ask you something…”
“Mommy, will you marry Daddy?” Ali jumped in, far too excited to let Roy finish. “You have to see the ring. It’s amazing. Daddy let me help pick it. It’s a green diamond; how cool is that…” She was talking so fast that I could barely keep up, which made me laugh aloud.
“Are you going to let Mom answer?” Roy finally interjected. “We don’t even know if she wants the ring yet?”
“Oh, you do; I’m a sucker for shiny things,” I teased, taking the small box from him. “Plus, it would be pretty cool to be your wife, I suppose.” But all jokes vanished as I finally saw the ring that Roy had picked out for me. It made me gasp out in a really happy shock. “Oh wow.”
“So when are you going to get married?” Ali jumped in, still far too excited for words.
“Ooh I don’t know,” I told her, before pulling her close to me. “It doesn’t matter to me when I get married; all I care about is that my maid of honor has the dress that she wants.”
“Me? Is that me? I get to be a bridesmaid? Daddy said that you might let me.”
“Of course. Who else would I want? You are the sweetest, most beautiful girl that I could ever hope to be my bridesmaid.”
As we all held one another, safe in the knowledge that soon we would be a family by law, I felt intense happiness flooding me. My life really was perfect, and with the way that things were headed, they would only get better. I had a man I adored, and who loved me, too, despite all my flaws. We had a child who needed us to raise her, who we could pour all our excess love into. Tank loved me and Ali, too, which I knew was a huge thing for Roy.
“Well, I suppose I better phone Mom,” I told them both happily. “She is going to freak when she hears this one…”
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THE HOT COWBOY
By Alexa Davis
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 Alexa Davis
Chapter One
Rachel
The light was blinding after being stooped over a lab table for the previous two hours, but I was just grateful to finally be enjoying the perfect, spring day as I checked the final class off my list. I was done school for the summer! I texted Tracy and asked if she was done with her math final yet, then headed toward Veterinary Medicine Complex. I wanted to drop by the dean’s office and pick up another list of prospective summer internships, just in case the interview I had Saturday didn’t pan out.
Dean Green was out, but her admin, Carol, had already printed a short list of ranchers and veterinary clinics, waiting for me to swing by. She handed me the envelope before I managed a “hello,” which made me laugh out loud at myself.
“Am I that obvious?” I asked as I slipped the list into my oversized purse. The dean’s assistant shook her head and smiled.
“The dean doesn’t understand why you’re even looking for other options. She swears up and down that you’re perfect for the Lago Colina ranch, and she’s willing to break heads to make sure they see that,” Carol replied. I laughed and shook my head in the negative.
“Carol, I need to do this on my own steam. I need to fail or succeed by my talent and abilities, or no one will ever take me seriously,” I declared. “I’m just not as sure as the dean is that I’m even what they’re looking for.” I sighed and hitched my heavy bag up onto my shoulder.
“I just have to get some more experience in the field. I’m a senior now; I just finished my last lab. I’m torn between being ecstatic that I’m done with school for the summer and terrified that I’ll have done all this work, graduate summa cum laude, and still not be able to find a job,” I admitted with chagrin. Carol leaned forward on her desk and cupped her chin in her hands.
“Rachel, you are Dean Green’s top student and the pride and joy of the veterinary program. You’ll find work, with or without an internship. But, I’m impressed that you’re working so hard, so if I hear of any other high-end ranches looking for a trainer, I’ll make you another list.”
I thanked the older woman and bounced out the door. I checked my phone, which had been buzzing in my purse, but the only reply from my roommate and best friend was a frowny emoticon. I had to chuckle at her math-induced dismay. To cheer her up, I replied with a sandwich and a thumbs up, then headed toward the math building. I figured I could read on a bench outside while I waited for Tracy to finish. I wasn’t hungry yet, anyway.
Tracy responded in the affirmative, and added, “20 minutes.” It was plenty of time for me to enjoy the sunshine on the trees and go over my answers again in preparation for the interview tomorrow with the owners of the Lago Colina ranch that overlooked Lake Austin. Nervous tension crackled through my gut like electricity as I went over the pages of research I’d done to prepare to meet the Hargraves. Their family had owned Lago Colina Ranch for two generations, with Frank and Hannah Hargrave’s five boys all grown up and ready to begin their reign as the third.
The ranch itself ran along a section of Lake Austin, with the property encompassing not only water rights, but a small mountain and the forest that covered it. Including grazing pastures and the small portion of tilled fields, the ranch was still about 100,000 acres of almost completely untouched land, and I couldn’t wait to get my hands, or rather, my horse, Peacemaker, on it. I was still going over my resume and past achievements as a trainer and horse medic when Tracy bounded out of the math building, scanning the pavilion for me.
“Rachel!” my friend exclaimed when she saw me. “I can’t believe we’re both done on the same day, and you can’t celebrate with me because you already have an interview lined up!” She pouted as she stood blocking my sunlight.
I looked up to see a few guys watching her, and when Tracy followed my gaze, she popped out her hip and winked over her shoulder at them. I stuffed my notebook back in my shoulder bag and pretended to gag in disgust as the guys laughed and jockeyed with one another. Just as one of them finally strutted towards us, I grabbed her arm and strode off in the other direction.
“You do that on purpose, don’t you?” I asked, making it sound more like a statement than a question. I looked sideways at Tracy, who giggled and shook out her hair, an old habit from the days when it had hung almost to her perfect behind.
“Of course I do, Ray,” she scoffed. “That’s why I always have dates, and you don’t. You’re pretty enough; hell, you’re prettier than I am by far. You just hide it all away and stare down at your books so much, no one even knows you’re available.” She stressed the last with an arched eyebrow.
“I’m too busy to be available,” I snapped.
Tracy fell silent. She knew the real reason why I didn’t want to date or even be noticed by men. She was a good enough friend not to push the point and ruin the afternoon. In fact, she was such a good friend, she held more hate in her (usually self-absorbed) little heart than I did for the man responsible for my dating hiatus. I looked over at my usually bubbly friend, who was glaring at the ground and huffing as we walked. My heart filled with gratitude for her loyalty. I bumped her shoulder with my own and smiled when she stared in surprise and our eyes met.
“I hate that bastard so much it gnaws at my insides,” she admitted, tears in her eyes. “It would do my little narcissistic self a lot of good to see you back up on the dating horse. Of course, it would also do my heart good to see Jason staring up at me from under the rear wheel of my car, so…” I laughed at my friend’s matter-of-fact tone, but didn’t want him to ruin our evening for us, so I mentally shook myself and opted for a subject change.
“So…” I began. “What’s it gonna be for our celebratory, pre-club supper?” Tracy immediately regained her bouncy good mood and clapped her hands like a little girl on Christmas morning.
“If we are drinking tonight – I mean, if I’m drinking tonight,” she corrected herself, “then we’re going to have to eat protein and stay away from the carbs.” She sighed and thought for a moment. “Why don’t we hit Texas Roadhouse and then walk over to 6th Street and just club hop?”
I nodded my assent and Tracy wrapped her arms around my elbow. “We are going to party tonight. Seriously. You have a two-drink minimum, lady,” she commanded me with a glare. “I won’t have you making me look like a booze-hound, drinking all by myself. A drink or two won’t get in the way of your interview tomorrow.”
I laughed in reply. “The fact that you are a booze-hound doesn’t play into this at all, does it?” I drawled. Tracy held onto my arm as she belly-laughed.
“Of course not,” she finally gasped through her laughter. “Now, let’s go get gorgeous. Which, admittedly, is going to take me longer than you,” she added with a sigh, shaking her shoulder-length hair back again.
I shook my own head without answering. I already knew Tracy was mostly kidding. The lovely redhead was about as physically perfect as any human being I’d ever encountered, with a peaches and cream complexion that managed not to freckle and a svelte figure kept lean and fit through her rigorous training for the swim team.
We headed back to the modest apartment we shared and I jumped in the shower before Tracy could take all the hot water. I took my time, washing and conditioning my long hair and running a razor over my legs even as I wondered why I bothered to, since no one was going to be touching them. I stalked to my room in a bath sheet, ignoring Tracy’s pout as we passed in the hall, and stood in front of my closet wondering what would be an appropriate outfit for celebrating the start of summer break.
I chuckled as I listened to Tracy belting out an off-key Taylor Swift song in the shower and thought to myself, “What would Tracy wear?” The obvious answer, of course, was the shortest, tightest miniskirt she owned. I, however, opted for a thin–strapped, navy summer dress that fluttered and twirled prettily around my legs when I moved, and my navy and candy-apple red cowboy boots. I felt almost like a princess as the dress swung around my knees and did a small twirl in my room where no one could laugh at me. I blew out my hair and tied it up off my neck in a beribboned chignon and quickly applied a little mascara and lip gloss—the only make-up I ever wore.
By the time Tracy was exiting the steamy bathroom, I was curled up on the sofa with my legs tucked under me, reading the list that Carol had given me and making notes about each of the prospects. I chewed on my lip and alternated between Google searches on my laptop and making notes in my trusty, spiral-bound notebook. Tracy emerged from her room in a predictable, but nonetheless sexy and chic, mini-dress and heeled sandals. She posed at the door to the living room and waited for my approval, but I was so engrossed in my research that I didn’t know she was there until I heard her make an explosive sound of disgust.
“Ugh. I don’t even know why we’re friends,” Tracy whined, as I looked up in surprise. I laughed at the exaggerated pose my friend had struck in the arched doorway.
“You look amazing, hot, expensive, and so very…you,” I asserted obligingly. I uncurled and tried to stand, wincing at the pins and needles that had developed in my feet from sitting so long. I wiggled my toes in my boots and took a couple of experimental steps before judging myself okay and striding over to the kitchen. “I’m grabbing a drink of water, then I’m good to go,” I told Tracy, who was making last-second adjustments to her hair and lipstick in the hallway mirror.
I snuck a peek to make sure she wasn’t paying attention, then slipped my anti-anxiety medication into my clutch. It had been months since I’d needed it, and I didn’t want to take it unless it was an emergency, but knowing my friend, we’d be in the middle of the 6th Street mob all night, and I preferred not having a panic attack over a glass of wine. I was just too embarrassed to admit that after everything I’d been through, sometimes the world outside of school just terrified me.
So, Tracy pretended not to notice me hemming and hawing over the tiny prescription bottle before tucking it away in my purse like a dirty secret. It hadn’t been nearly long enough since my world was turned upside down.
Even in the mirror’s reflection, I knew Tracy could see the very top edge of an angry scar that peeked out the back of my dress. She knew there were more scars under the pretty, embroidered fabric; she’d seen them all when she helped nurse me back to health after the car wreck that left me nervous, timid, and embarrassed by my weakness. I was determined to make my way in the world in spite of how people perceived me now.
Tracy grabbed the car keys and automatically tossed them to me. When I arched an eyebrow at her, she shrugged in response. “Why fight you to let me drive when I’m planning on needing you to DD for me anyway?” she explained nonchalantly. I laughed and slung the slim strap of my purse over my head so it hung across my body. Ever since the car accident nearly two years before that had left me scarred and broken, I preferred not riding in cars at all, if I could help it. However, as long as I was in the driver’s seat, I seemed to manage just fine as time progressed, with only discomfort where there had been panic attacks even a few months earlier.
I found parking in a public lot on the far end of 6th Street and we walked to dinner. We sat and chatted over our individual plans for the summer. Tracy let me know that our friend, Frederica, had agreed to sublet my room while I was away if I got the interning position I was interviewing for. Tracy started getting texts from friends as we ate, and by the time the check arrived, we had plans to meet up with a couple of our best school mates. Our friend Frederica and her boyfriend Jayden were already at Coyote Ugly and holding a table for us. We decided maybe getting to sit for a little while before we spent the rest of the evening out in the mad crush of the 6th Street nightlife wasn’t a bad idea.
We met up with the two math majors, who were lamenting the fact that we were finished with finals while they both had one more week. Tracy ordered beers for us and we sat, watching the bartenders kicking bottles over as they danced on the bar top for tips.
“I can’t help it if I’m finished early. I went full time, plus six credits, all year long,” I teased. “I never thought I’d see the light at the end of the finals tunnel.” Jayden raised his beer to that, and we all toasted the end, or near end, of the school year.
The music was so loud already that there was no point in talking, so we watched while Jayden and Freddie danced in the dim light of the bar. Another beer each, and Tracy was on the floor shaking her ass and bouncing to the club rock. I sat in the corner, happy to be alone in the crowd, watching my friends have fun.
A tall, good-looking cowboy sauntered over with two beers and set one in front of me. My first instinct was to brace myself and pull away, but he didn’t get any closer or try to touch me, so I forced myself to smile and say thank you. Before I could lift the bottle to my lips, Tracy ran up and snatched the bottle out of my hand.
“Sorry, do we know you?” she asked in an accusing tone. He shook his head and lifted his hands, palms out, in a sign of surrender. “Yeah, I think we’ll just have to let you keep that, then.” She handed him back the bottle and grabbed my arm. “Let’s go, Sugar. We’re going to go listen to street music.” I shrugged my shoulders at the guy, who saluted us with the bottle she handed him and drained it without stopping. He winked at me and set the empty on the table, then walked away.
“Yeah, yeah, I saw,” Tracy griped before I said anything. “You can never be too careful, you know.” I agreed with her whole heartedly and put an arm around her shoulder.
“No one with half a brain would mess with me with you by my side.” I gave her a squeeze and picked up my pace to catch up with Jayden and Freddie. Strings of lights, bands playing on the street, and vendors drew crowds that made the 6th Street district a dirty, noisy spectacle. By midnight, we had traversed the entire outdoor music scene and were making our way back the way we’d come. Fredericka and Jayden had disappeared already, both having early work hours.
I’d more than doubled my Tracy-imposed drink minimum and had switched to diet Coke a couple of hours before. When Tracy’s signature strut turned into a sloppy stumble, I knew it was time to call it quits. I tucked my shoulder under one of her arms and held her steady while we made our way down the crowded street to the car. The night was perfect, still warm enough that I didn’t need a sweater, even after midnight.
By the time we got home, Tracy had moved from the happy, sloppy stage of drunk to apologetic, half-sober, which my back appreciated. I hadn’t wanted to have to put the girl to bed. The day had well and truly caught up with me, so I took a quick, hot shower to relax and slipped between the sheets without drying my hair or dressing. I didn’t even feel my face touch the pillow before I fell asleep, to dream of horses racing over a grassy hill toward a lake as smooth as glass.