Page 6 of The Cowboy and His Beauty
Dash
This girl. I haven't stopped thinking about her, and then she turns up on my front porch. Does she really not remember me? Maybe it's not an issue of remembering, but that she doesn't recognize me.
The last time I saw her, I was a scrawny rancher's kid. My head was shaved, and I didn’t have facial hair or tattoos. Now I have long hair, an unkempt beard, lots of tattoos, and muscles. Not to mention the ugly scar on the side of my face.
Yet Sky’s here at the house she visited so many times. That means she must know, right?
" I used to come here all the time when I was growing up. It's been so long since I've been here. They’ve kept it up so well," Sky says as she follows me to the kitchen, where I set the bags down.
Sky doesn't recognize me, but she hasn't forgotten me either. She must’ve asked around in town about me. Seems people are saying nice enough things to make her feel comfortable to come here.
Sky smiles as she glances around the kitchen. Is she remembering the weekend my parents went out of town? I cooked her dinner, and we danced here in the kitchen. We got so lost in each other that I burned the hell out of the garlic bread. She laughed so hard, and even tried to eat it, but it was unsavable.
"Is everything in the same place?" she asks, looking at me again.
I nod, worried that the moment I speak, it will break the spell and she’ll run for the hills.
Sky sets to work, pulling out the mixing bowl and preheating the oven. "I'm making my meatloaf, which was always a favorite around here."
She spent many a Saturday with my mom making meatloaf, and it was one of my favorite meals. Did she pick this meal because of her memories of me or the house?
I sit on a bar stool at the kitchen island and watch her move around the kitchen like I used to. Images of her doing this back then fill my head and I start to get irritated. I’m reminded of all the things I miss, and the opportunity I wasted with her.
Why the hell doesn't she remember me? I’ve tried to rationalize it with the hair and the beard, but do I really look so different? She, of all the people, should recognize me.
"I grew up in town. My parents own one of the lake houses, but I never fit in there. I always felt more at home on this ranch working with the animals. Mrs. Michaels taught me so much, how to cook, how to clean, how to save money. All the things I needed to live on my own and that my parents never bothered to show me."
The moment she starts speaking, all the anger bubbling inside me fades away, soothed by the sound of her voice.
"I left Walker Lake and went to school, kept my head down, and worked hard to graduate a year early. I didn't have much of a social life and didn't make any friends other than my roommate.” She cringes. “I tried dating once, and it was so bad, I didn't do it again."
Whenever I thought about her in college, I imagined her going to parties, making friends, and having fun. I wanted her to be happy, even though the idea of her going on dates made me want to rip some imaginary guy’s head off. That rage fueled my workouts, which helped advance my career—much good that it did me.
"My parents worked their magic to get me a job at a start-up with some big-time tech guy. He's started up all these companies and made billions. I moved to Dallas and had a great little apartment downtown. I tried to convince myself I was living this great life. I liked my job, and I loved my coworkers. What more could I want?"
Sky moves to the sink to wash her hands after mixing up the meatloaf. "Peace and fucking quiet. That's what I wanted. I hated the city, and I realized it even more when my friend Sarah married a guy who works on his family ranch in Rock Springs, in Texas. I visited them, and it was so quiet. I had headaches for weeks when I went back to the apartment."
I know that feeling. Bootcamp was loud after growing up on the ranch. I went to bed many nights with my head in as much pain as my heart. Sky was on my mind every waking hour.
"You can imagine how relieved I was when the company started to go under. Only I couldn’t find a job I liked. Then they cut my pay and handed me more work, so I quit. Put my stuff in storage and came home to visit for a week, hoping I could figure it out before I tell my parents. It’s not the first start-up this guy has failed, but I don't think my parents will care.” She sighs. “Somehow, this will be my fault."
Part of me wants to gloat that the tables are finally turned, and she's not so high and mighty, but mostly my heart breaks for her. I know how her parents are, and I can see how much this is weighing on her. She has bags and dark circles under her eyes, and she’s paler than she should be.
"I wish I could stay here in town. I want to come home, but all the jobs I find are in the city. Sarah has offered for me to stay with her and work on the ranch. I love the idea, but Rock Springs isn't home like Walker Lake."
Sky puts dinner in the oven and starts on the sides. Once they’re going, she looks up and gives me a shy smile.
"Sorry for dumping all that on you. I have a habit of filling the silence and I guess I needed to get that all off my chest more than I realized."
I like the idea of her staying in town, and an idea forms in my head as she talks about the job she left in Dallas.
"Okay, now we let it cool," Sky says, washing her hands and turning to me.
"Would you like a tour of the ranch?" I ask, my voice gruff. That’s what happens when you don't talk much.
Her eyes widen for a second. Is it because I spoke? Or has she finally realized who I am?
Then, the expression is gone, and she smiles. "I'd like that."
