by Hall, Roni
“Oh, I will. I promise. Gracias, gracias!” For a minute she had forgotten about her heartache. Almost.
Kevin tried to comprehend how everything could go from so good to so bad so quickly. To use an old-fashioned word, he was smitten with Jamie and things were starting to progress but in a few short moments it all went to hell.
Where the blazes had Lola come from? He hadn’t heard from her in months and out of the blue she just popped in? True, she had done this before and he always let her stay. Kevin tried to sort this all out in his mind. He was no angel, never had been, and Lola and he had a past. There was never an emotional or love connection. What they had was purely physical, convenient, and mutual. He wasn’t proud of it, but that was the truth. However, since he’d met Jamie, all that had changed. He had no desire to see Lola or anyone else for that matter. The thought that Lola would show up had never crossed his mind. He’d never thought to call her and tell her no more visits because simply, he never thought of her anymore.
Once he’d followed Lola into the house, he was blunt, possibly too blunt and that pissed her off — she’d set in her heels and refused to leave. At that point Kevin had moved out of his own house and bunked in with Ben. He wanted a witness that he was with Ben every night, all night, and nowhere near Lola. He hoped this would help him win Jamie back. He needed to talk to Jamie. If she would listen.
Needing to research flights home, Jamie decided to skip breakfast. She didn’t feel like going into that crowded mess hall quite yet, she was afraid of who she might run in to. However, only a few hours later she realized that missing the morning meal proved not to be a smart idea, not when she was doing physical work. Learning her lesson, she knew she would never survive the day if she didn’t eat lunch and this meant entering the mess hall. Get it over with, she told herself. The first time would be the worst and with her own words of encouragement, she kicked herself in gear and strode toward the mess hall. The walk seemed longer than usual and she had to make a conscious effort to keep her shoulders back and her head up. Entering the building, she tried to act as nonchalant as possible. Grabbing a plate without looking around, she walked to the buffet line and filled her plate half-heartedly. Taking the nearest empty seat, she offered pleasantries to those immediately around her but did not look any farther than that. If Kevin or his date were in the hall, she didn’t want to put them in her line of vision. Play dumb, she told herself, and if they’re here, act cool. Making quick work of her lunch, she hardly noticed the taste of the home cooked vittles. She downed her water and headed toward the door, anxious to get out of there. As she opened the door, she came face to face with Rick.
“Hey, slow down there, little lady. Are you finished already?” He eyed her face. “How about you sit down and have some dessert with me?”
“Thanks, Rick, but some other time. I’ve got some things to do.” And with that she made her exit.
“Goddammit, Kevin!” Rick bellowed behind her.
After her quick lunch, Jamie went to her cabin to continue researching flights on her cell. She needed to get out of here but it was going to be more complicated than she thought. Since she was in a rural area, she would have to schedule a puddle jumper to get to Bozeman, and then book a major airline from there. To confound matters more she would have to arrange ground transportation to the local airport, which was thirty miles away. This would take more than a few phone calls and more time.
With lunchtime over she returned to the barn. Trying to distract herself, she focused on the horses, giving them some extra attention, especially her new best friend. As she finished with Jack, she felt the heat and thirst herself so she exited the barn and made her way to the drink station. Grabbing an iced tea from the cooler, she sat down at the picnic table and was lost in thought as she watched the cool droplets slide down the icy bottle clasped in her hands. Out of nowhere, Ben and Rick appeared, grabbed their drinks, and sat down beside her. They kept the conversation light and idle, which Jamie appreciated. Let’s pretend nothing happened because really nothing did, Jamie tried to convince herself. She almost managed to believe that until Kevin approached, smiling rather sheepishly.
“Hey.” Kevin spoke in general to all of them.
“Hey, Kev,” Rick answered back and Ben nodded.
Jamie looked at Kevin, faked a small smile, then looked away. Kevin looked at Ben and Rick who must have gotten the unspoken message.
“Well, time to get back to work. See you later, Jamie,” and they left. Not about to sit here alone with Kevin, she started to get up.
“Jamie.” He put his hand on hers to stop her from leaving but she pulled away. “I want to explain.” His eyes met hers which was more than she could take and her knees buckled, forcing her to sit. Kevin sat across from her.
Breaking eye contact, Jamie started before he had a chance to say anything. She was taking charge.
“Kevin, this’s your home, your life. You don’t need to explain anything to me. I’m grateful that you invited me in to your paradise because this has been a wonderful experience for me. But you owe me nothing. We’re friends.” She shrugged her shoulders. “You owe me nothing more.” The heat of the midday sun beat down on her, but it was Kevin’s presence that was causing her to sweat.
“Jamie.” Kevin put his hand on hers again and looked into her eyes. She locked eyes but this time hers welled. God, she hated that she could not control that.
“Please, hear me out,” he pleaded softly and just as he opened his mouth to continue a voice shrieked out behind him.
“Kevy baby!” Lola approached from behind. Kevin’s eyes closed tightly as if he were in pain. Jamie shot up and out of there within seconds, not looking back.
“Jamie.” She heard him calling her but she did not turn. “Jamie!” She could not. She did not want him to witness the tears tracking down her gritty face. Heading blindly into the barn, she could barely see for the liquid pain in her eyes. She made her way toward Jack’s stall, forgetting he was outside. Seeing his empty stall, she marched to the corral and there he stood, all saddled up and ready to go. Not thinking twice, she opened the corral gate, grabbed the horn of Jack’s saddle, and with an elongated stretch of her legs, mounted him.
“Let’s go, Jack,” she whispered and kicked his sides. Jack didn’t need to be asked twice, he took off on a slow gallop. Tears still clouded her vision but she knew the direction they were going in and thank God, Jack seemed to know the rest. Clenching the reins in her fists she realized how high she sat on the tall horse as they left the ranch behind, along with the source of her sorrows. As they got to a clearing, she gave Jack the go ahead to run. The powerful stallion took off and she felt like a bird in flight, soaring above the earth. Hair flying, whipping her face, she was the wind. The pine trees were a green blur on both sides, the sound of Jack’s hooves against the trail muffled. Unable to see the ground, she swore they were floating on air, rising above the clouds and all her troubles. If her heart hadn’t been aching so much, it would’ve been pure heaven. What an oxymoron of feelings! Leaning forward she held on to Jack’s mane as it licked her face, wiping away her tears and worries. No words or commands were necessary; she and Jack were one. Jamie had never felt so close to an animal before and wondered how this could be happening. Not wanting to overthink it, she decided to live the moment at hand and appreciate it for what it was, very special and surreal.
Reluctantly she slowed Jack down, not wanting to overwork him. They walked a short distance to a stream where she dismounted and let him drink. Stroking his side she spoke to him.
“Jack, you seem to always be there when I need you. What would I do without you? You’re the only friend I can talk to right now.” He looked at her and she reached high to hug his neck. Starting to walk, she pulled on his reins.
“I guess we should head back. Hector’s probably going to be pissed. I’m not suppos
ed to be riding you. Why do they think you’re so unpredictable? You seem so level headed to me. I think you’re probably a very good judge of character; you just call ‘em like you see ‘em, which is not a bad way to be. I wish more people were like that. Then you’d know where they’re coming from. Less unpleasant surprises.” Walking Jack all the way back to the ranch, she led him into the corral and went to face the music with Hector in the barn. He had to have heard her approach, but did not look up.
“I’m sorry, Hector. I’ve no excuse for what I did, but I am sorry if I angered you.” She looked at him.
“I’m not mad at you, Jamie,” he said with his heavy accent, “but if Señor Kevin finds out about it, he’ll be angry.”
“Well, he won’t find out but if he does, I don’t care. I don’t know what all the fuss is about Jack anyways. He seems to be pretty even-tempered to me. Maybe he’s scary because of his size.”
“I don’t think he is a bad horse, but I’ve seen him rear at people. Most of the time I think they deserved it for one reason or another, but I understand Señor Kevin wanting to be very careful so that no one ever gets hurt.” Hector kept brushing his horse. “Did you brush Jack down?”
“No, but I will.” She never considered anything that had to do with Jack as a chore. “Gracias.”
Hector smiled as she took her leave, shaking his head. Jamie groomed Jack, and then completed her last few tasks of the day. Running had always been therapeutic for her, so she changed clothes and went for a long run. Using this time to rethink her situation, she was angry. Angry at herself for straying from her own hiatus. Serves me right. Maybe now I’ll listen to myself. Returning to her cabin, she showered and thought of going to bed but she was too hungry. Instead she donned clean clothes and headed for the mess hall.
In awe, Jamie wondered how every night Consuelo managed to put out such a delicious spread. The fact that Jamie put in a day of hard physical labor coupled with being outside surely enhanced her appetite, but man, the woman could cook. Jamie filled her plate and as she walked toward the table, Ben motioned her to the empty seat beside him.
He looked at her with questioning eyes. “You doing okay?” and he nudged her shoulder with his.
“Yeah, I’m okay.” She nudged him back. “Thanks for asking.” She smiled up at him.
“Hey, do you want to help me out with something, since you seem to know a lot about oldie music?” Ben asked her.
“Sure, what do you need?”
“Well, I don’t know if I told you about this bet I got myself into? Anywho, it’s coming up this week and I haven’t practiced much. Kenny offered to let us practice there for about an hour before the bar starts to pick up for the night so I’m going there shortly. Crystal is supposed to meet me there, but she doesn’t seem to be as excited about this now as when we first agreed. I think we both could use some tutoring, if you’re free. We won’t be gone long.”
Is he kidding? She barely remembered the details of his predicament but it didn’t matter. This was the answer to her prayers. The last thing she wanted to do was hang around the ranch and chance running into Kevin and his girl.
“Sure, I’d love to.” Jamie could hardly conceal her enthusiasm. They finished eating and Ben got up to go.
“I need to get a few things ready. Meet me at my truck in about 15?”
“Sure.” Relief flooded her. Thank God, she thought to herself as she tried to keep her thoughts from drifting back to Kevin. Don’t think about it, and it won’t hurt. What was I expecting anyways? Did I think a good-looking guy like that didn’t have a woman around? The thought tugged at her heart again. She needed to keep her mind busy. Jamie got up and walked over to Consuelo, complimenting her again on the wonderful food. As she chatted with Consuelo, she started helping out with some of the cleanup. It was fun talking with a woman for a change. There was so much testosterone around this place. She finished up the few dishes that were left, then went out to meet Ben.
As she approached, Ben loaded a few bags into his truck. Jamie hopped in the front seat and Ben set the truck in motion. As they passed Kevin’s log home, Jamie could see Lola sitting on the side porch with a martini in her hand. Don’t look. Don’t look. Ben looked but said nothing.
“So tell me, Ben, exactly what kind of wager did you get yourself into?” Jamie asked, smiling.
“Oh damn, where do I start? Some of the guys and I were goofing around at the bar with the jukebox, singing old songs. There were a few of the townies, guys and girls, there that we hang with sometimes and they started challenging me on singing some old songs and calling me a hippie. They know I have a collection of old vinyl albums. As we were remembering old songs and old artists, we got on Sonny and Cher songs. They were one of my favorites and I bet them that I knew every song and move that they ever did. They didn’t believe that a cowboy like me could do Sonny.
One thing led to another and I was challenged to perform on stage at the bar. One of the girls was looking for an idea for a fundraiser for the homeless shelter in town and viola. Don’t ask me how. Well, yeah, I know how. Too many beers and I agreed. Crystal and I have kind of been dating recently and she egged me on to do it. She’s going to be Cher. The girl that’s in charge of the fundraiser has taken a monetary pledge from people in the area if I complete one Sonny and Cher act. For those that haven’t pledged ahead of time, the bar is going to charge a cover for anyone that wants to come in that night, and the bar has agreed to match a percentage of the pledges. So it looks like I am destined to make a fool of myself in front of most of the town, but at least it is for a good cause. If I don’t do it, there’ll be no money for the shelter, so I’m kind of stuck.”
“Oh, but you’ll be great, Ben. You will! And it’ll be fun too. You like old music. You’ll do great!” Jamie offered her encouragement.
“Well, if I can just encourage Crystal. I think she might be rethinking this, but it’s too late now. She already agreed to it. In fact, a lot of this was her doing that night. No time to be shy now! We’ve practiced a few times at her place but we need to practice at the bar to see how we’ll situate ourselves there. I’m a bit nervous but the show must go on. Right?”
“Absolutely! I love your spirit, Ben. Besides, public humiliation is a small price to pay for charity.” Jamie laughed and gave Ben a playful punch in the arm.
“Yeah right. Keep reminding me of that, okay?”
They arrived at the bar and parked the truck. Ben hopped out, retrieved his bags, and held the door as they both entered the bar.
“Hi, Kenny.” Ben spoke to the owner. “You remember Jamie from the other night?”
“Sure. Hi, Jamie. Good to see you again. Are you here to help this poor schmo? He’s gonna need all the help he can get.” Kenny laughed.
“Yeah, keep laughing, Kenny. Keep laughing. Just you wait, you may end up begging me to book more gigs here after Thursday night. And I may up my price if you don’t shut up.”
“Yeah, right. I’d better be careful.” Kenny was still laughing.
“Where can I set up?”
“Up there on the stage. I have the mics plugged in, just turn them on when you’re ready. We can practice with the sound system and lights when you’re good to go.” Kenny motioned at the stage and then left them alone.
Ben looked at his watch.
“I hope Crystal didn’t forget. She wasn’t too keen about coming when I talked to her a couple of hours ago. We’ve been fighting a bit this week and I know she’s kind of mad at me but we need to rehearse here at the bar.”
Jamie helped Ben set up the stage and mics. He took his costume out of the bag and she couldn’t hide her amusement. He had bell-bottom jeans, a large cream-colored sheep skin vest, platform shoes, and a shaggy wig for himself.
“Those are great!” Jamie squealed with laughter as Ben donned the wig.
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br /> “Look what I’ve got for Crystal.” He pulled out skinny jeans with extra-large bell-bottom flared legs, a striped tunic top with a short vest, large hoop earrings, and a long straight black wig.
“But here’s the best!” He held out his hand showing what appeared to be fangs. “Remember how Cher had those fanged canines in the early days? I thought these would be great!” He held one up to his mouth.
“Oh, those are too much!” Jamie laughed again.
“What’s too much?” came an angry voice from the back of the bar. A thin, pretty blonde with an agitated look on her face marched up.
“What did you do, Ben?” She sounded irritated.
“Hey, Crystal. Have you met Jamie?” He nodded to Jamie. Jamie smiled and was about to speak when Crystal cut her off.
“No. Hi.” Barely looking at Jamie, she repeated. “What did you get? What’s that?” She looked at his outstretched hand with the two fangs in disgust.
“These are great. They’ll add a little humor to our act. Look.” And he held them up to his mouth to show her.
“You’re crazy if you think I’m gonna wear those, so put them away. What else do you have for me?” He didn’t seem to know where to put the fangs so Jamie offered her hand and he placed them there with a sorry smile.
“I got a shirt and vest, bell bottom jeans, and look at the wig! It’s pretty cool, isn’t it?” he asked, hoping for approval.
“It’s a little extreme, isn’t it? Nobody wears their hair that long unless they are kind of freaky. And what’s with those bangs?”
“It’s not supposed to look like today’s style. We’re talking the 60’s and 70’s here, babe,” Ben informed her. She just doesn’t get it, Jamie thought to herself and began to worry about how this was all going to come together.