Everything Girl

by Emily Mayer

  "Some people don't need a good reason to not like someone. I have a feeling you’re not the problem, though."

  I couldn't contain the yawn that snuck out.

  "Get some sleep, Evie. Let me know how your lesson goes tomorrow. I love you."

  "I love you too. I’ll try to send some more pictures tomorrow."

  14.

  I didn't remember my head hitting the pillow after hanging up with my mom, so when the alarm on my phone sounded, I startled awake, knocking it from the nightstand. I tumbled out of bed after it, frantically trying to hit the snooze button. It wasn't until I silenced the alarm that my body seemed to catch up with me. I curled up on the floor and moaned.

  "Everything hurts,” I whined to Hank Williams, who had moved to hang his head over the edge of the bed. "Be a good dog and bring me some pants. Please."

  A rooster started crowing and I rolled onto my back, trying to stretch my limbs. I was literally up before the roosters. I lifted my tired body off the floor, ignoring the loud protests from my muscles, and made my way into the bathroom. I washed my face and braided my hair without even bothering to look in the mirror. There were at least three hours left before I started caring about my appearance. Gabe would just have to deal.

  Moving as fast as my body would allow, I pulled on a pair of jeans and the same crewneck sweater I had worn to dinner. Then I crept out of my room, leaving the door cracked slightly for whenever Hank Williams decided to get up. He might be the only living creature who hated mornings more than I did. I tiptoed down the hall and down the stairs, making my way into the kitchen. My first stop was the coffee pot. I noticed a note lying on top of it.

  Evelyn,

  There’s quiche in the fridge for you to heat up before your lesson. The coffee pot is ready to go, just hit brew. Good luck!

  Mary

  Tears started welling up in my eyes, blurring my vision. I blinked hard, clearing my throat and sniffling. I was not emotionally prepared to handle that much kindness so early. I ate the reheated quiche and chugged the hot coffee as fast as I could without burning my mouth, then headed out looking for my teacher.

  I found him saddling a large horse, who eyed me suspiciously as I walked toward them.

  "Good morning, Gabe." I said, offering my hand for the horse to smell. Whiskers tickled my hand and I laughed. The horse let out a huff of breath before turning away to eye the hay in the corner.

  "Hey, Evie, you ready for your first lesson?" His voice was still rough from sleep, and I noticed he hadn't bothered to shave this morning. It must have been a late night, and that made me like Gabe even more for showing up early to give me a lesson when I was sure he would have loved the extra sleep. My hormones also appreciated the lack of shaving, but for completely different reasons.

  Gabe unhooked the lead lines from the wall and started leading the horse from the barn. I fell into step next to him.

  "I’m ready, but some of my muscles are not as excited about it. You look a little rough yourself."

  Gabe laughed, coming to a stop in front of a ring. He unlatched the gate and led the horse through it. I followed him in, stopping to lock the gate behind me.

  "This nice old lady is Photo. She's taught a lot of kids around here to ride, because she’s such a patient woman. Isn't that right, sweetheart?" Gabe stroked her nose affectionately, and I swear she swooned a little. No species was immune to those dimples. I feel ya, girl. "Do you remember if you rode English or Western at summer camp?"

  "English, but I have ridden with a Western saddle before." I left out the part about it being on a guided beach walk in Mexico. Details.

  "Well, look at you. Do you want me to give you a leg up, or do you think can you mount by yourself?"

  "Nope, I remember how to mount a horse." Lie.

  I told my muscles to quit their whining and placed my right foot into the stirrup. I heard Gabe make a noise that sounded like a confused cough, and I shot a glance in his direction. His lips were pressed tightly together and he was clearly trying to keep from laughing.

  "What?" I asked him, my foot still in the stirrup.

  "You planning on riding poor Photo backward?'

  I looked at my foot and then up at the saddle.

  "You passed the first test! Nice job. You’re going to be a great teacher." I slid my foot out of the stirrup and placed my hands on my hips. I needed a minute to regroup from that one.

  "Uh-huh. Glad I’m up to your standards." Gabe played along.

  Placing my left foot in the stirrup this time, I reached up to grab the horn and came up short.

  "Ooomph."

  I added a little extra hop and managed to get my hand around the horn on my second try. Okay, all right, not so bad. I tried to pull myself up while simultaneously trying to swing my other leg over Photo. My right leg made it to the hump on the back of the saddle, coming to an abrupt stop. Gravity chose that minute to bring me down—literally. I felt myself slowly sliding down, down, down.

  "Umm… okay… ahh… oof… er, just…" More incoherent sounds tumbled out of my mouth. "Shit… nooo…"

  My sore muscles were no match for gravity. I slid until I was a sad, awkward tangle of legs on horse dangling inches from the ground. I said a silent prayer that the ground would open and swallow me up before my butt hit it, or that Gabe would disappear into thin air. Both went unanswered, and I hit the ground in a heap of limbs and shame.

  "Listen, you can never tell anyone about this, okay? Promise me, Gabe,” I begged, looking up at him from my spot on the ground. I could hear him fighting to contain his laughter. Chest heaving and eyes squeezed tight, he was trying to pull himself together—and failing miserably.

  "I think we both know I’ll never promise you that. It's probably going to be the first thing I tell Cole when I see him."

  "You're such a girl." I rolled my eyes at him from my spot on the ground.

  "I don't think anyone’s ever called me that before. I gotta hand it to you, Evie. I’ve never seen anyone mount a horse quite like that. Is that what they’re teaching kids at riding camps?"

  He walked toward me and extended his hand. I reached out, accepting it gratefully.

  "Shut it. You won't tell anyone, will you, girl?"

  Photo turned to look at me, giving a little sound that I took as a ‘no, we ladies have to stick together.’ Right on, sister solider. I attempted to brush the dirt off my jeans, eyeing the saddle.

  "You know what, I’ve decided to let you help me mount after all."

  "Oh, you’re gonna let me help, huh?" Gabe snickered again. If nothing else, he was getting some serious entertainment out of this whole thing. "How nice of you!"

  "That's just the kind of person I am." I shrugged, barely managing to keep a straight face.

  "All right, enough talking, get into position and let's get on with this," he said, moving behind me. Glancing over my shoulder at him, I wiggled my eyebrows suggestively. Well, as suggestively as I was capable of.

  "I bet you say that to all the girls. Such a charmer!"

  Gabe was momentarily stunned, mouth gaping and eyes wide, before he threw his head back and let out a laugh from deep in his stomach. He shook his head slowly, taking me in.

  "Jesus, Evelyn, I didn't know you had it in you."

  I didn't either. And I definitely didn't think the Evelyn from a week ago would have been able to say that. Never in my life had I been this comfortable with a man who looked like Gabe. Usually I was all shy eye contact and awkward silence around men who looked like they should be in a magazine—and those were best-case scenarios. Something about Gabe made it easier. Or maybe it was just being out here, so out of my element? It felt strange and freeing. I liked it.

  "Seriously, leg up." I snickered, but Gabe cut me off with, "Don't even say it."

  This time, with Gabe's help, I managed to gracelessly but successfully mount poor Photo. Making a mental note to sneak her an apple when this was over, I reached forward to rub her neck and thank her for bei
ng patient.

  After handing me the reins and adjusting the stirrups, Gabe gave me a crash course in riding. I gave Photo a little nudge and we were off. She set off at a slow, steady walk and I began to relax a little. Gabe gave me instructions to sit up and keep my heels down.

  "Looking good, Evie," I heard Cole shout from somewhere behind me. Turning my body carefully, I spotted him leaning against the fence on the far end of the enclosure next to Gabe.

  I waved, a large smile in place, equally pleased by the praise and the nickname. Just as we turned the corner to head back in their direction, I heard the sound of gravel crunching under tires. Jack's black truck was making its way up the winding drive that led to the house. I watched the truck’s progress as it made its way to the end of the drive. The driver's door opened and Jack's long legs exited, followed by the rest of the surly man—who just so happened to be dressed in the same clothes he’d left in last night. Interesting.

  I heard Gabe shout something at him, but I was too far away to make out the words. Cole had turned to face Jack and was shaking his head. Jack shot something back at the men without even turning in their direction on his way into the house.

  Unreal. What. A. Pig. He might not have time to babysit me, but apparently he had plenty of time to have a one-night stand with whatever poor creature had been lured in by that face and the way he looked in those jeans. I’m sure he had his shirt sleeves rolled up to show off those forearms, too. She never stood a chance! Also the temperature must have shot up twenty degrees because my cheeks suddenly felt flushed. Must be the altitude up here…

  This is why your parents tell you not to judge a book by its cover, I thought. How could someone so, so attractive on the outside be so awful on the inside? It really didn't seem fair. I guessed it was just the universe's way of balancing the scale. I was sure the rest of his gender appreciated his abrasive, surly personality. Jack would have made for some stiff competition otherwise.

  Once I was close to the two men—who were gossiping like middle schoolers—I asked Photo to stop the way Gabe had demonstrated. I thought about attempting to dismount without help, but an image of myself dangling off Photo again was all it took to shoot down that idea.

  "Hey, hello! Who’s in charge of this lesson?" I called out. Cole unlocked the gate and stepped into the enclosure, closing it behind him before heading in my direction.

  "How's it going?" He stroked Photo's nose.

  "Good, I think. I should probably head in, though. Ben wants to go over some proposals before a conference call later this morning." I left out the part about my legs begging me to get down. Loudly.

  "Okay, hop on down."

  "Hop on down? How?” I eyed the distance between me and the ground.

  His right hand covered mine, guiding it to the horn.

  "Hold on to the reins and horn the whole time, that's the most important thing to remember. Just take your right foot out of the stirrup and swing it over Photo. Kick your left foot out before you hit the ground. That's all there is to it."

  I looked down at Cole doubtfully. He made it sound so easy. My hands started to sweat a little. I did not want a repeat of my earlier performance, and my butt didn’t want to make contact with the ground from this height.

  "You're overthinking this, Evie. I’ll be right behind you. I won't let you fall, okay?"

  Taking a deep breath, I dismounted, landing on the ground feet first.

  "I did it!" I yelled, doing a little happy dance. I might have been a little too excited about dismounting without making a scene, but a win was a win. "Even the Russian judges would have given that dismount at least a nine."

  "I told you it’d be fine. So, how'd it feel to be back in the saddle?" Cole asked, taking the reins from me.

  "It felt great! Well, my legs don't feel great, but I forgot how much I liked riding."

  Cole smiled, handing me the reins he had slipped over Photo’s head.

  "We might just turn you into a cowgirl yet. Lead Photo back and I'll show you how to get her tack off and brush her."

  "Sounds good."

  We walked together for a few seconds before he added, "So I hear the mounting style they teach in summer camps is a little backward…"

  15.

  I made my way back to the house once Photo was settled in her stall munching on an apple. I needed to take a shower since I assumed Ben would not love the idea of spending all day stuck in a room with me covered in dirt and smelling like horse. Every step sent pain shooting through the muscles in my legs.

  Freshly showered, I pulled on a pair of cropped leggings and a light pink tunic sweater. I decided to add a scarf and take the time to apply a little makeup. It still felt weird to "go to work" in leggings, so I told myself a scarf and makeup made the whole thing less casual. With my wet hair piled on top of my head, I grabbed my laptop and work bag before heading out the door.

  My first stop was the kitchen, because the coffee I’d chugged earlier had worn off. The nice thing about ranch life was that there always seemed to be coffee left in the pot. The house was so quiet as I walked toward the office that the sound of boots and the closing of a door seemed to echo through the hall. Just a few feet ahead of me, Jack was stepping out of the bathroom, turning to head in my direction. I stopped walking and considered creeping back to the kitchen to avoid him when I realized he hadn't noticed me yet. But I hesitated too long. His steps halted as soon as his eyes landed on me, and my traitorous heart skidded.

  I figured I had two options. I could smile and pretend like I hadn't spent too many hours over the past couple of days dreaming about kicking him in the shins—or I could let loose the petty girl I usually managed to keep in check, and ignore him like he wasn't even worth acknowledging. I settled on a compromise between the two, like the adult I pretended to be, and forced myself to start putting one foot in front of the other, clutching my laptop tightly to my chest like it could deflect whatever words he hurled at me. I gave him a smile that even I knew looked forced as I moved past him, pressing myself as close to the wall as I could to avoid his wide shoulders. He didn't return my smile; he just stood watching me pass by and making me regret not letting that petty girl win.

  He made an exasperated noise that sounded like he had let all the air in his lungs out at once. I didn't even bother stopping to look back. I was not a glutton for punishment.

  "Evelyn.”

  My heart stopped at the sound of my name called out—so softly, so differently than that same voice had used it yesterday—but my feet ignored my heart and kept moving me forward. I clutched my laptop a little tighter to my chest, blaming the caffeine for whatever it was my heart kept doing. I didn't loosen my grip until I was safely inside the office.

  Ben looked up from his laptop's screen, concern etched on his face as he took in my appearance.

  "Are you okay?"

  Why couldn't Jack be as nice as his brother? It made no sense that such a jerk could come from such a nice, thoughtful mom who had produced a similarly nice human being, even if he was kind of a man-whore.

  "I’m fine! Just need more coffee." I forced my shoulders to relax and plastered a smile on my face.

  "Yeah, I heard your lesson got off to a rough start. Thought I might need to bring in a cushion for you to sit on."

  I mentally took back everything I’d thought about him being such a nice guy.

  "Unreal! Does everyone know about this? Who told you?"

  I slumped into the chair across from him, setting my work bag on the floor.

  "Welcome to small-town life. Everyone knows everything ten minutes after it happens. I’m thinking about putting the pictures in the e-newsletter—"

  "THERE ARE PICTURES?" My shrieked question interrupted him mid-thought. I was going to kill Gabe. Kill. Him.

  "Jesus, I didn't know the human voice could get that high. Relax. There are no pictures."

  I directed the most withering glare I was capable of at him before turning to my laptop.

&nbs
p; The morning passed quickly, turning into afternoon with only a grumble from my stomach reminding me about the time. Rodney took a break from bothering whomever he had undoubtedly been bothering to go over some of the proposed contracts that Ben and I had discussed on an endless conference call. Even I had to begrudgingly admit that Rodney was incredibly good at his job, which made the fact that he was a total creep extra unfortunate—a point he drove home when I stood to stretch my cramping muscles. My irritation was only slightly dampened when I saw he had brought lunch for us.

  "You know, I think there are definitely some advantages to the whole office-casual attire idea. I can't say I thought it was a good idea before, but I’m going to have to seriously consider instituting casual Fridays when I get back." He made a show of ogling my backside as I stretched, making me drop back into my chair as fast as my brain could process his words.

  Ben, who had been eyeing us like a science experiment gone wrong all afternoon, narrowed his eyes, looking from me to Rodney.

  "Well, I’m going to clean up for dinner since we have guests joining us tonight." Rodney stood, squeezing my shoulder.

  Ben watched Rodney leave and then turned to me, waiting a minute before clearing his throat and rubbing the back of his neck. It might have been my imagination, but he seemed to be having a hard time looking me in the eyes.

  "Listen, Evelyn," he started. I was pretty sure he was now blushing. "I know I can be pretty oblivious at the office—maybe just in general—but you know you can always talk to me about anything that might be bothering you."

  What the hell? He looked like a parent about to give their kid the sex talk. Was he waiting for me to respond?

  "Uh, thank you. I appreciate that, so umm… thank you?" The last part sounded more like a question than a statement.

  Ben let out a huff of breath, more pink creeping up his neck into his cheeks. "Here's the thing. Everyone knows Rodney is a total sleazeball and that he can be a little handsy. I guess I’ve just gotten immune to it. I don't know. Maybe I don't notice it as much as I should, or assumed you would say something? This is new territory for me." He paused to run his hands through his hair. "Jack said Rodney had to be making you uncomfortable, that he was basically harassing you non-stop, and that I needed to say something to Rodney or he would. So I’ll talk to Rodney if he’s making you uncomfortable at all."