by Rose, Amelia
“If that’s all they want, why do men fall for it? How can they want someone like those girls if they’re just being used?” Her heart sank when she heard the four of them laugh, Mason laughing right along with them.
They’re probably laughing at me, she thought bitterly before she could stop herself. She chastised herself thoroughly, knowing deep down there was no way she could know that, and no reason to even think it.
“They fall for it because they can’t help it. Men are conditioned to go for the most attractive, most unavailable, and most ‘shiny’ thing there is. Remember, we gals get told we have to look like that to be accepted.” She pointed to the triplets and made a scornful face. “But men get told they’re nobodies if they can’t attract that kind of girl. It’s pretty sick when you think about it, and the worst part is, it didn’t used to be this way.
“Back when I was their age, a real man was looking for a nice girl with a good head on her shoulders, one who’d be there for him and support him. Some girl who came ‘round with her goods on display like that would get looks all right, but she wouldn’t get his real attention. But somewhere along the way, somebody told women that they only way they’d ever snag a man was to put spotlights on all the parts that they used to keep hidden.”
“Great. So those of us without… spotlights… are doomed to be alone?” Rose asked mournfully. “I might as well go buy a bunch of cats and a big house coat.”
“Not by a long shot, honey! It just means it’s gonna take you a little longer to find the right man, the one who doesn’t care so much about what you’ve got on display, and cares instead about what’s on the inside. Those men are out there, it just takes a little more work and patience to find ‘em.”
“I thought I’d found one,” she mumbled to herself. “I guess I was wrong.”
Chapter Eleven
The rest of the morning passed with very little fanfare or interruption. Other than the typical bolting calves or direction-impaired older heifers, everyone stayed pretty much in place… humans included. After the first few water stops, the group was more than ready for a relaxing lunch on the ground. They led the herd to a creek that had plenty of shade to offer, checked over the animals, and looked after the horses before Emily opened the wide top-hinged doors on the chuck wagon, such as it was, and declared lunch to be served.
“I don’t think I can eat this,” Laney said quietly to her mother as the four of them found a spot to sit together. She looked around, hoping no one else had heard her. Her mother smiled. The old Laney would have picked through it with the edge of her fork, sneered, and declared it to be disgusting.
“Oh, it just looks different. It’s actually really tasty. Give it a try,” she urged, watching her daughter’s face as she looked at the beans, cornbread, and shredded barbeque meat on her tin plate. Laney didn’t return her mother’s smile until she looked up and caught her family waiting anxiously, knowing that any second her carefully reined in attitude makeover would crack and the old Laney would burst forth, shrieking in anger. Tears pricked behind her eyelids as she realized everyone saw her the same way: as a spoiled brat. She smiled and stabbed an entire forkful of meat, swirling it in the pile of baked beans before shoveling it into her mouth.
She was instantly sorry. Not only was it warmer than she’d expected for picnic food, it was heavily spiced and salted. It was certainly not the organic, raw food fare she was used to eating it. But after chewing thoughtfully and forcing herself to not say something rude, she realized it wasn’t as bad as her first instincts had told her. Laney nodded and smiled encouragingly, which only amused her dad and brother.
“Best cowboy food ever!” she declared jokingly, false excitement in her voice. She’d managed to swallow the unexpected taste of the food, but just barely. Oren laughed and dug into his own plate while her parents joined in her joke. She did accomplish finishing her lunch, uneasily aware that it was the last meal they’d have for the next few hours. Even though she secretly wondered how people ever decided it was a good idea to pay to have to ride a horse across country and eat cowboy food, she was at least able to keep those negative thoughts under wraps for the sake of the people around her. They were all having a good time, and she could at least admit she wasn’t having the worst time, certainly not as bad as she’d anticipated before leaving home.
Until she saw Axel, that is. He strolled across the grassy area with his lunch in hand, looking directly at her long enough for her catch him watching her before pointedly turning his gaze away from her. His little game only made her fume as she narrowed her eyes and knit her brows together in anger.
Enough’s enough, she thought. This is going to be a long trip if he doesn’t get over himself, and I, for one, am not going to have it ruined by an idiot with a chip on his shoulder! Not when I’m just now starting to see what others think of me!
Laney set her plate aside and jumped up, stomping after Axel to give him a piece of her mind. She followed after him to where he settled alone with his back against a tree trunk, crossing his outstretched legs casually in front of him. He had just settled in a scooped up a bite of his lunch when Laney came to a complete halt in front of him, staring him down as she stood over him.
“I want to know what your problem is,” she demanded in a voice she hadn’t used in days. The old Laney was back, and she was mad.
“Excuse me?” Axel asked in a bored, unconcerned voice.
“You know what I mean. You’ve been nothing but rude and condescending to me ever since we got off that stupid van, and while I fully admit I haven’t been the nicest person to be around, you don’t even know me. How dare you waltz around here like you’re too good for this crowd? I’m sorry that we don’t live up to your expectations, but I’ll have you know that my brother has been looking forward to this trip for a long time and he worked really hard to earn it! I don’t care if you don’t like me or if you have a problem with me, but that would be your problem! You’re not going to ruin this trip for my brother!”
“I never said I didn’t like you,” he answered before turning back to his lunch and ignoring her.
“Oh, sure. That’s why you made your snotty little comments in the barn, and why you made a big show out of removing yourself from my group. Well I didn’t want to ride with you anyway, but you’re the one who’s acting like a complete ass. Did it ever occur to you that there are other people in that group, and that they don’t know why you think you’re too good to ride with them? You’re free not to like me and I’ll even go so far as to say that maybe I’ve even given you plenty of reason, but you were rude to those other people and you don’t even care.”
Laney glared at him, having spoken her mind. She stood looking him over, waiting with her hands on her hips for some kind of explanation on his part.
“You’re right. I don’t like you. But you’re also wrong. I didn’t get myself moved out of your group to avoid having to be around you, although now that I’m suffering through yet another conversation with you, that’s just a bonus. I swapped groups to be with my brother, since the whole point of coming on this trip was to hang out with him before school starts back in the fall. And he was the one who moved us to a different group. Since I’m a licensed paramedic and I’m starting medical school, he suggested it would be a good idea if I was in the group with the elderly people.”
Laney was stunned, embarrassment creeping over her. She struggled to breathe calmly and not let a tell-tale blush of humiliation flood her cheeks. He’d offered to help the older riders? That was… kind.
Crap. I’ve done it again. Stupid old Laney. At least I’m getting good plenty of practice with apologizing.
She let out the breath she’d been holding and paused before looking directly at Axel. She spoke in a formal, slow voice to try to sound as sincere as she could. “Then I’m sorry. I jumped to conclusions and misjudged you. Then I came over here and interrupted your lunch to call you a jerk. I was wrong, and I’m very sorry.”
She
nodded once and turned on her heel to walk back to her family. Axel called out too loudly, “You forgot to call me a jerk.”
“What?” she asked, a look of irritation on her face as she turned back.
“You just apologized for calling me a jerk, but you never got around to that part. You must have gotten sidetracked while thinking about how rude you are. So go ahead, call me a jerk.”
“Why would I do that? I just apologized! Or at least, I tried to!” she said with a hiss, stepping back towards Axel and trying not to make too big a scene.
“Well, I figured it was already a lot of work having to apologize, and it’s not fair to you to have you go to all that trouble and not get to call me a jerk. So I’m giving you one free name calling. Go ahead.” Axel gestured with a wave of his hand that she should continue.
Laney didn’t know whether to laugh along or scream in a rage. She could tell he was having fun at her expense, but there was a part of her that knew she completely deserved it. She stood up taller and crossed her arms defiantly, still glaring down at him.
“I think I’ll reserve that free name calling for the next time you do or say something condescending and snotty. After all, we have another fifteen minutes before we saddle up again, surely you’ll have plenty of time to act superior again. I’ll call you a jerk then, but you just remember that I’ve already apologized for it.”
“Done,” he answered, taking a bite of bread and looking at her smugly. “And it’s not acting superior when you are superior.”
“Wow, do you ever think highly of yourself? Whatever. You can stay here all day and trade insults if that’s what you want to do, but I happen to have better things to do.” She turned to leave again but stopped herself. “And another thing… don’t talk with your mouth full.”
“You just have to get the last word, don’t you?” he called after her, grinning at having succeeded in making her mad.
“Yes, I do,” she called over her shoulder, secretly smiling to herself at making him rise to the challenge and take every bit of bait she’d launched at him.
Fortunately, dinner that evening was a good bit more palatable than the quick meal they’d made of lunch. With the whole drive coming to a halt, busy preparations were made for setting up camp and bedding down the herd, giving the cook and her crew had more time to produce a delicious spread. Despite the wonderful food and the chipper atmosphere around them, the real trouble was only beginning.
Chapter Twelve
By nightfall, the excitement that went along with the newness of the drive had worn off. The riders straggled into their camp for the night, weary of the day in the saddle but trying to smile despite knowing tomorrow it would happen all over again. They tended to their horses and the different sections of the herd before settling in around the small campfires with their dinner, some of them too tired to sit upright let alone hold their plates. It was what they referred as a “good” tired, the kind that comes from doing enough work to reach their personal breaking points.
While cowboys and guests alike sat around the main campfire with their plates, talking about the day and the landscape around them, Rose looked around uneasily for Mason. They’d not had a chance to speak more than a few words to each other, and she fought to remind herself that they were all busy. It couldn’t possibly be because something newer, prettier, and “shinier,” as that feisty old Ms. Marie had called it, had come along to divert his attention, could it?
She surveyed the clusters of people seated on the grass but couldn’t find Mason, not that he would have been easy to spot in a sea of cowboy hats and blue jeans. She wouldn’t have been able to recognize him from this distance without a clear look at his piercing eyes, easily his most noticeable feature. Defeated and more than a little bit embarrassed at standing alone with her plate in her hands, looking for someone to have dinner with, Rose turned and headed back to the food truck. She could eat her meal in solitude, then get a jump on the dish washing and the next day’s food prep.
As she reached the truck and went around the rear bumper to sit and eat alone, the sound of voices from the other side of the wall stopped her in her tracks. She clearly heard Mason’s voice, even if she couldn’t make out what he was saying. She reached the corner of the truck and slowly peered around its edge, careful not to give herself away. There, to Rose’s heart-stopping revulsion, she saw Mason leaned back against the wall of the truck, one of the new women’s hands on either side of his shoulders, smiling up at him.
She jerked back and started to move away, giving them what he so obviously wanted. If he thought he would have his fun with some of the guests while she cooked and cleaned, he had another think coming. Rose set her untouched plate on the edge of the food truck and stormed away before anyone would have a chance to see her tears fall.
Rose ducked her head and darted her eyes wildly, looking for a safe place to escape without the chance that anyone would notice her. She couldn’t head towards the groups of riders eating their dinner, not without someone seeing the hurt on her face and the tears already pooling in her eyes. The bus was out of the question, too, as that’s where all of the leaders of the cattle drive would be busily going over the next day’s itinerary. She had only found out a year before that she was actually a member of the Carson family, first cousins to Casey and Carey and all the rest, and niece to their dad, Bernard, but already she knew that would be enough to make the six Carson son fly into a rage and horsewhip Mason for breaking her heart. She couldn’t take the humiliation if that happened.
With nowhere to hide, a new plan formed in Rose’s mind. Anger took over for the hurt and heartbreak, and she decided that if anyone deserved to hide in shame, it was Mason, not her. It was certainly up to that overdone, push up bra, man stealer to get out of the way! Rose was a member of the proudest ranching family in the country, and she wasn’t going to be the one to back down. She turned on her heel and headed back to the truck, balling her fists as she hurried towards the two backstabbers, preparing her words as she went.
Rose reached the truck and planted her feet wide, jabbing her hands against her hips and preparing to unleash a torrent of pent up feelings of inadequacy. She was tired of feeling like she wasn’t good enough, and she damn sure wasn’t about to let someone make her feel bad about herself. The problem was Mason’s, not hers, and she wasn’t about to let this slide unanswered.
Before she could speak, his voice reached her ears, a voice that was pleading for understanding. She waited for clarity before opening her mouth, and wasn’t disappointed by what she heard.
“Ma’am, I’ve already asked you nicely, and now I’m afraid I’m having to repeat myself. I’d like you to go back to your friends now, okay?” he said in a calm voice, the kind Rose had heard him use with a startled or pained animal.
“But what if I don’t want to go?” the woman asked with a giggle, tossing her dyed blonde her back over her shoulder and pressing closer, her ample chest practically on full display. Mason looked up, averting his eyes. Rose could see that his hands were pushed flat against the wall of the truck, his body language stiff and unwavering.
“I’d like you to go back to the group now. I’ve already told you, I have a girlfriend that I care a lot about, and besides, it is against the Carson Hill policy for any employees of the ranch to fraternize with guests of the cattle drive.” Rose nearly giggled herself at the robotic tone of Mason’s voice, sounding very much like he was having to recite from memory a page out of some employee handbook. Her relief and amusement were short lived, though, when she realized what was happening.
“I believe my boyfriend asked you to step away from him and go back to the group,” she called out, nearly barking the words at the woman who was at that moment violating Mason’s space in a horrible and unwanted way. The look of sheer relief on his face when he turned his head and saw Rose come to his rescue was enough to erase all of the hurt she’d endured that day.
The blonde woman looked Rose up and down and sneered,
obviously not threatened by the competition. “We’re just having ourselves a little private time, honey, and you know what they say about two’s company, three’s a crowd?”
Rose stepped forward, a menacing look on her face and in her stature. “I will repeat myself just one time. My boyfriend asked you to return to the group, and I expect you to follow all directions given to you by a member of Carson Hill’s cattle staff.”
“And just who do you think you are?” the woman demanded, finally taking her hands down from where they’d caged Mason in, turning to challenge Rose. Mason took immediate advantage of the chance to get away, stepping to his left and practically running to Rose’s side.
“My name is Rose Blalock, if you’d like to take it up with the leaders of the ride. But good luck with that… it’s Rose Carson Blalock.”
With an angry roll of her eyes and a disgusted once-over for both of them, the woman tossed her hair and stomped off, nonplussed at having her latest victim-slash-plaything taken away. Rose and Mason waited until she had retreated around to the other side of the truck before looking at each other and speaking.
“I have never been so happy to see you in my life!” Mason exclaimed as he grabbed Rose in a sudden, bone-crushing hug. “I seriously thought she was gonna put those fingernails up against my chest and rip out my heart for her dinner!”
“Well, she’s not the only one who was gonna do you physical harm,” she replied, arching one eyebrow. She wasn’t letting Mason completely off the hook, and needed him to understand that his playful banter earlier had contributed to his falling into her snare. “I was ready to have your tail kicked all the way to Missouri when I came to find you and saw you leaned against this old truck with that… thing!”
