Page 37 of The Bride
“My most favorite possession. The one thing that brings me joy.”
Her jaw dropped and maybe it wasn’t fair. She was tanked out of her mind. Then I could see her sneering again. “Your savings, Jake. Your fucking money so you can buy your fucking land back.”
I had no response, because really there was nothing to say. I drove her out to her folks’ place and she shot out of the car without saying anything. I swiped the bottle of tequila from the floor of the car as payment.
Ellie pulled in behind me and rather than move to the driver side, which I would normally do, I got inside as a passenger.
“You’re letting me drive?”
“Go.”
“Wait. You are lettingmedriveyou? Are you going to tell me how to drive the whole way home, because I need to prepare myself for the mansplaining if that’s going to be the case.”
I took the cap off the bottle and took a swig. Tequila wasn’t my favorite, but a few shots would guarantee I could pass out when we got back to the house.
“Go now.”
“Yes, sir.”
I’m not sure why I did it. Maybe it was the two shots of tequila. Maybe I was rubbed raw from the experience with Janet. The tears, the accusations. Maybe a little guilt, but I decided that was bullshit. I didn’t ruin her fucking life.
“Ellie, what’s my favorite thing? My favorite possession?”
She looked over at me and I could tell she was freaked out by the question. Still, she didn’t hesitate. “Duh. Wyatt. You love that horse. Not going to lie, maybe just a little too much, Jake.”
I did love that horse too much. Riding him across the land was absolutely the thing that brought me the most joy in this world.
Ten
Ellie
September
At the endof summer Jake and I took the our herd to market and made a profit. Except with a more health-conscious America, beef prices were down overall, so it wasn’t what we had cleared in years past, which was disappointing.
Still, I wanted to give Jake a raise in salary because of all the extra work he’d done, but he refused to accept it. The twenty thousand dollars my dad bequeathed to him, which I would pay out after our divorce, was going to be a strain on cash flow next year and we had to plan accordingly for that.
It was crazy to think how each year was a total crap shoot in this business. We had profitable land, a ranching operation worth millions, and yet by the time I paid Javier, Gomez, Jake, and taxes, then accounted for the business costs going into the next season, I had a pretty tight cash margin to live on for the next year.
It made me understand my dad better. In so many ways Sam Mason was one of the coolest, most easygoing guys around. Living with him, obviously I knew there were layers under all that. I saw the stress in his eyes each year before he went to market.
I understood it now, the pressure he was under year in and year out. I knew what it meant to budget. To want things and know what I could and could not afford.
I remember asking my dad when I was fifteen if I could have a new car when I turned sixteen, because I knew my destiny was not my mom’s ancient Subaru.
He laughed in my face. Now I got how ridiculous I was.
It was fine. I wasn’t really into clothes and stuff. Jake and I replenished what we needed. Which was mostly jeans and work shirts. Except today was Jake’s birthday, which meant we could splurge on dinner out.
The diner was a big deal for us, because Jake hadn’t been back since his standing dates with Janet ended. Janet, who by the way, had officially left Riverbend. Word had it she’d gone to work at a hospital in Missoula. I did really wish her the best. Maybe I never thought she was the one for Jake, but it didn’t mean I didn’t want her to find happiness with someone.
When Jake pulled up the truck to park at an angle in front of Frank’s, it seemed weird to me.
Every summer except this past one I would have spent most of my time in town. Hanging with Chrissy, Karen, and Lisa. Sitting in the diner for hours, gossiping and eating cheese fries. Frank made cheese fries with real American cheese. Delicious.
This summer I had barely made it in to town. And only then because Jake had insisted I get away from the ranch. Chrissy, Karen, Lisa, and I had gone to see a bad movie.
It had been fun. But in some ways it had been sad. Because everything they had talked about seemed like a million miles removed from my life.
