Wright Together, page 16
“We were just leaving anyway.” I scooted Bailey forward. She hurried out of the booth. “So, we’re going to get back to work.”
He narrowed his eyes. “Oh, so you are working again? I thought you must have quit since I didn’t get the full payment this month.”
I froze at those words, momentarily forgetting that Whitt was standing right there. “What do you mean? I sent the whole thing.”
“I didn’t receive it, Evie Jo,” he said. “You might want to recheck your accounts.”
Whitt tilted his head. I could see the questions in his blue eyes. I hadn’t told him about the money. I never planned to tell anyone about the money. Not ever. That was private. My dad was spouting this bullshit because Whitt was there. He’d found a new way to humiliate me and taken the hit.
“It’s all there,” I snapped. “I can provide receipts.”
“And you,” he said, turning on Bailey.
Oh no.
“Leave it, Dad,” I snarled.
“She’s grounded.”
“I am not!” Bailey said. “I have volleyball tryouts next week. We already talked about it. I have to be in the gym all weekend.”
“Yet I found you here, eating greasy food instead of practicing.”
“I can’t practice at all hours…”
“You’re telling me. I thought all you wanted to do was be in the gym.”
She pursed her lips.
“Plus, you got a C in your math class this summer. I don’t see why that would mean you would get to be out of the house with your sister.”
“You got a C?” I asked.
“Yeah, but…”
“Bailey,” I groaned.
Somehow, the man still got under my skin. He knew exactly what buttons to press, and it was too late to realize I’d fallen for one of his traps.
“Between the two of you, I’m over it!” Bailey said. “I’m doing the best I can. I don’t need you on my ass,” she said to Dad and whirled on me, “and I don’t need you to act like my mom. You’re not my mom.”
“I know, Bails, but…”
“Sorry about all of this,” my dad said to Whitt with his church smile. “Raising girls, you know?”
Whitt stared him down until my dad looked away. “Why don’t we get Bailey home?”
“I don’t need anyone’s help,” she said. “I’m going to the gym anyway.”
Then, she pushed past our dad and headed out of Boose. My dad smiled at both of us, tipped his cowboy hat in our direction, and then headed to his friends. As if saying, My work here is done. The fucking tornado that he was.
I wanted to scream.
I wanted to rage.
I wanted to go back to ten minutes ago, before he showed up and detonated our afternoon.
Whitt put a gentle hand on the small of my back. “Come on. Let’s get out of here.”
I let him guide me out of the place. Bailey was in her run-down Civic, already pulling away by the time we made it outside. I sighed heavily. I should have known that she wasn’t talking about school for a reason. That she’d gotten a C in Trig when the girl could do math in her head in her sleep.
“Well, that’s my dad.”
“Yeah. What a riot he is.”
“Tell me about it.” I chewed on my lip. “I’m sure you want to know about the money.”
He shrugged. “Eve, you never have to tell me anything you’re not ready to talk about. He was trying to get a rise out of you, and he succeeded. I know people like that. My dad is…similar. He’s perhaps a bit slyer and more refined in his approach, but he’s just as duplicitous. The best thing to do is to never give them the reaction they want.”
“I know,” I said, throwing my arms up. “I know that, and still, he drives me fucking mad. And Bailey…she was supposed to buckle down. She made it easy to drive the stake home.”
“That has nothing to do with you, Eve. You’re doing your best by her.”
“It never feels like enough. And I just…hate him for making everything more difficult.” Tears came to my eyes, and I swiped them away. Frustration written into every inch of my face.
“You know what? No.”
“No?” I asked with a sniffle.
“No. We’re not ending today like this. He doesn’t get to win.”
“He already did.”
“No,” I repeated. “Let’s do something else. Something you loved to do when you were here.”
“Nothing. I wanted to leave.”
He grasped my hands. “There had to be something.”
“I don’t know.”
“Yes, you do. Something to erase this.”
“I could just do you,” I teased.
He tilted his head down to look at me. “Eve.”
“Fine,” I said, an idea blooming in my mind. “Are you sure?”
“Anything.”
“Just remember you said so.”
He just laughed and kissed me.
23
Eve
“This wasn’t what I had in mind,” Whitt said with regret in his voice.
“You said anything.”
An enormous arched sign with the name Rivers Ranch in all capital letters announced our destination. Whitt sighed heavily as he turned off the two-lane back road and onto the private property. His tires crunched over the gravel before he pulled into the only available spot in front of a horse fence. I hadn’t considered that it was Labor Day weekend and they’d be busy. Hopefully, they’d have two horses free for us.
“Horses?” he asked skeptically.
“Yeah. The ranch has been around forever. I went to school with the girl who used to run it with her dad.” I hopped out of the car, taking in the smell of grass and manure. “I don’t know if she’s still here. I heard her dad died a few years ago. Not sure who is running it now, to be honest.”
“Well, great,” Whitt said as he stepped out of the car.
The wind blew through the dark strands of his hair. I was glad that I’d told him to wear something casual for Boose. I’d never seen him in jeans before today, and it was a good thing he was in them if we were going to ride.
“So, have you ever been on a horse?”
He shot me a look. “No.”
“Oh, this should be fun,” I said with a laugh. I linked our arms together. “Come on. I’ll go easy on you.”
“Why do I doubt that?”
“Because you know me.”
His eyes were heated when he said, “I’m trying.”
My cheeks turned rosy at the assessment. The scary thing was that Whitt did know me. He’d known how to handle my dad. He’d known how to banter with my sister. He’d seen when I needed an escape from what I’d gone through. He didn’t push for answers I wasn’t ready to give, and, God, he’d been so patient with me. While I found myself falling and falling and falling.
The front door creaked open to a one-story ranch with a white wraparound porch. A woman stepped out in bootcut jeans and a white tank top. She was sun-kissed with honey-blonde hair, shot through with natural highlights. Her lips were the shape of a bow about to be plucked and eyes so light blue that you could have drowned in a puddle. A dash of freckles layered across her nose and cheeks. She waved a hand, callous from use.
“Hey, y’all. Can I help you?”
“Arden Rivers,” I said with a shake of my head. “What are you doing here?”
Her eyes widened in recognition. “Eve, is that you?” She hopped down the last remaining steps, a wide smile coming to her lips. “That is you!”
We embraced tightly.
I hadn’t seen her in eight years. She’d married her high school sweetheart and moved away. She was one of the few girls who hadn’t been threatened by me. We hadn’t had a lot of classes together, but I used to come ride horses with Gram a lot. Well, I’d ride horses with Arden while Gram gossiped with Arden’s mom.
“I didn’t know you were back in town,” I told her.
“It’s a recent thing.” She sucked air in through her teeth and then added, “Divorce.”
My jaw dropped. “Really?”
She shrugged. “Yeah, it’s new.” Then, she changed the topic of conversation. “And you? Are you back in Midland? I thought you were in Lubbock.”
“I am. Just here on business.” I gestured to Whitt. “This is my…” I glanced up at him and back at Arden. “Well, my date, Whitton Wright.”
“Pleasure to meet you,” he said, taking her hand.
Arden smiled up at him. “Nice to meet you.”
“He’s never been on a horse. Please tell me you have something that won’t break him.”
“Well, we’re all booked up,” she said regretfully. “But hell, why not? You can ride Bunny.”
“Bunny?” Whitt asked.
I was laughing the entire way around back and into Arden’s private stables. Whitt’s face at the name was delightful.
Arden had a handful of horses that were used by friends and family. Some of them were because they weren’t fit for the public. Either personal favorites, rodeo horses—ropers and barrel racers—or because, like Bunny, they were now past their prime but too beloved to do anything but let them live out their lives in the pasture.
“Meet Bunny,” Arden said, gesturing to the aging caramel-brown horse. “She’s not exactly what I’d describe as sweet, but she can’t really canter anymore. She’s an old lady, and you have to treat her nice like one. Got it?”
Whitt nodded. “Got it. Hello, Bunny.”
He held his hand out to her. Bunny sniffed his hand, bobbed her head twice, as if expecting a treat, then dismissed him entirely when she found the hand empty.
“She works best with treats.”
“Don’t we all?” I muttered.
“Eve, would you rather have Bramble or Trouble?” Arden gestured to two horses. One dappled mare and proud and the other midnight black with white down the gelding’s nose.
“Trouble,” Whitt said with a laugh.
“Oh, but Bramble is so pretty,” I said.
Arden shrugged. “Don’t let her deceive you. She’s equally a piece of work.”
“Trouble it is,” I agreed. “He looks like he wants to get out of here.”
“Doesn’t he always?” Arden said.
She went about saddling Bunny and Trouble while walking Whitt through the basic mechanics of riding. She had both horses in hand when she turned around and looked him up and down.
“Do you want boots?” she asked.
“Boots?”
I cackled. “Cowboy boots, Whitt.”
“We have some in basically every size. Most people don’t want to get their shoes dirty, and it’s easier to have them on hand,” she explained. “You’re what, an eleven?”
“And a half,” he said, dismay in his voice.
“Yeah. Grab some off that rack over there. Top shelf.”
He sighed. “I’m only doing this for you.”
“I know,” I said with a satisfied grin.
Then, he headed over to the rack to find his size.
“You got yourself a guy who’s never been on a horse or in boots,” Arden said with a laugh. “Never thought I’d see the day.”
“Plenty of guys like that since high school.”
“What are y’alls plans after this? We could grab dinner and catch up. I heard about your gram.”
“Yeah. It sucks. And your dad.”
“Yeah.”
We both sat in our grief for a second. It was nice to be around someone who knew what it felt like. Who knew that it didn’t need an apology. Just silence.
“I’d love to do dinner, but we’re working with the Kings on their new construction project. Malcolm invited us out to dinner to celebrate.”
Arden wrinkled her nose. “Oil money.”
“You could come with,” I offered.
“The only thing my daddy liked less than the big city was the oil industry.”
“You live in Midland,” I said with a laugh. “You can’t escape it.”
“They’ve been sniffing around, trying to buy up our land for fracking. And it’ll happen over my dead body, Eve. I don’t think we’d mingle well.”
She was probably right. Arden had never been one to hide her opinions. Much like me. I couldn’t imagine her spending more than a few minutes in Malcolm’s presence without denigrating their family business.
“Next time,” I promised.
“Well?” Whitt said.
I turned to look at him, and my heart stopped. Arden wasn’t wrong. I had an affinity for men in boots. When you grew up in Midland, Texas, around a bunch of cowboys, boots and hats ran in your blood. And made your blood pump. My reputation hadn’t entirely been unearned.
“Well, hello there,” I purred.
He shook his head at me. “I look ridiculous.”
“Boots look good on you.”
Arden nodded. “They’re a fan favorite.”
“If you insist,” he said. “Just don’t tell West or Harley. I’ll never live this down.”
I pulled out my phone and snapped a picture. “For my personal collection.”
“Lord save us.”
Arden laughed at the pair of us and then helped us onto the horses. It came back to me in an instant even though I hadn’t been on a horse in ages. Whitt took to it like he did everything else—with ease. It was a little unfair that he was that good at riding, considering it was his first time.
“Looks like y’all got it,” Arden said. “Have fun!”
I took the lead as we headed out onto a trail. “Do you have to be good at everything?”
“It’s just about control,” he assured me. Our eyes met. “I’m good at control.”
My cheeks flushed. Of that I was well aware.
We ambled lazily through the brush and ducked into a thicket of trees. There wasn’t a whole lot of tree coverage here in oil country, but the Rivers had owned this plot for generations. They’d cultivated the land around them, and like magic the earth opened up around them.
After a half hour, I gestured for Whitt to come off the trail and under a copse of trees. He didn’t direct Bunny so much as the old girl followed Trouble without him having to make a movement. As easy as Whitt was on the horse, Bunny was even easier to deal with.
I hopped off of Trouble, and Whitt dismounted next to me. He pulled out treats for the horses that Arden had given him before we left. She’d told us that Bunny might not move past halfway if we didn’t bribe her. So, bribing her was now Whitt’s favorite game.
I tied off the horses to a low-hanging branch and laid out a blanket. I sank back into the soft grass. Whitt dropped down next to me once Bunny was sort of satisfied. Trouble eyed her reproachfully, as if asking for extra snacks was beneath her.
“Well, this is going better than I thought,” he said.
“You’re a natural. I’m going to get you boots and take you riding when we get home.”
He winced. “Maybe not that good.” He wrapped an arm around my waist and tugged me in tight against him. “But I like trying new things with you. Living in the moment.”
“And you had to remind me to do it. I must be rubbing off on you.”
He kissed the top of my head. “You are in all the best ways.” He ducked his head to meet my gaze. “You know that, right? That you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
My breath caught at the admission. “What?”
“Maybe I’m moving too fast, but it’s been two months, Eve, and I’m more smitten than I was when we started. I don’t want to scare you.”
“I’m…I’m not scared.”
And it wasn’t a lie.
“No? Then, I can tell you that I want this. I want you. I want all of this with you. I’ll go at whatever pace you need me to go at, but this is it for me. You’re it.”
I wanted to accept that. Why couldn’t I just accept the truth?
“But you don’t even know me.”
“I know that you’ve been unfairly treated by every person around you. That you have the biggest heart and loyalty to the people who matter in your life. That you’d do anything for your sister. That you are entirely selfless when it comes to your own wants and needs. You put everyone and everything before your own desires and close yourself off to keep your heart safe and secure.” He tipped my chin up until I looked into his eyes. “I don’t have to know every single thing about you to know and want you.”
My throat closed at those words. At the reality of them. He saw me. Really saw me. I wasn’t sure anyone else ever had. I’d kept myself behind bars so that I wouldn’t be hurt, so that no one else would have to deal with everything I was dealing with. I didn’t want to be a burden, and I wanted more for my sister than the hand she had been dealt.
And most of all…I wanted him.
I wanted him like I had never let myself want anything.
The cool girl who had never let herself get attached dissolved.
Suddenly, I was the little girl who had wanted so desperately to be loved that she offered the world ammunition to use against her. The girl who’d wrapped herself in body armor instead of glass. The girl whose soft heart still yearned for connection before she discovered it was impossible.
“Yes,” I said even though there wasn’t a question.
“Yes?”
“I want this,” I told him. “I want you. I want to be the kind of person who can accept what you’re offering.”
“I’m not going anywhere, Eve.”
My fingers trailed through his dark hair. “Good. I like you right here.”
“But I want more, too. I can’t deny that I want all of you.” He rubbed his nose against mine. “I want to be more than your date…more than a sort of boyfriend.”
My heart trembled with fear. The armor turning to glass and shattering at the admission. I was done pretending that I didn’t want that, too.
“You are,” I told him, drawing his lips to mine. “Whatever words you want to use. You’re mine, and I’m yours.” The words came out breathier than I’d intended.
My emotions mingled with desire. We were alone on the trail, far from the rest of the world, with only the horses for company.
We reached for each other at the same time. As if we were of one mind. So synchronized in that moment that we didn’t even need words.
