Cut and Run

by Amy Elizabeth

  Needing no further urging, she gathered the reins and lined Onyx up alongside Zack, Twister, and Joaquin. When she gave Onyx the signal to go, the stallion leapt out like a racehorse from a starting gate, his strides clean and fast and smooth as silk. Rebecca sat motionless in the saddle, the wind whipping by her ears as half a ton of raw power tore up the grass beneath her. She turned her head to see Zack and Twister making valiant attempts to keep up, but they were eating her dust. To her surprise, though, Tommy and Joaquin were nearly alongside them, challenging their lead. She crouched lower and asked Onyx for more speed, certain he was already running his fastest. Then she gave a surprised gasp when the black horse hit another gear and powered forward, pulling away from Joaquin in a couple of strides.

  Rebecca let out a triumphant shout as they neared the end of the meadow and she reluctantly slowed her horse, pulling him in a wide circle around the field. Onyx seemed just as thrilled as she was, arrogantly snorting and tossing his head.

  “That was insane!” Tommy cried. “You put that horse in overdrive.”

  Alec nodded. “I couldn’t have handled him better myself.”

  After retrieving Jeff and Pumpkin, they rode on for another half hour, finally arriving at the riverbank mid-afternoon. Everybody unloaded their saddlebags and found a delicious array of cheeses, fruit, nuts, and crackers.

  Rebecca stretched out on the soft grass and leaned back to admire the sunlight shimmering on the water. “This is my best birthday ever,” she declared.

  “Speaking of which,” her brother said, “I’m not a total loser. I did get you a present. I was in such a rush this morning, I forgot it at home.”

  “That’s okay. I’ll come by and get it later.”

  Alec cleared his throat and rose to his feet, making his way over to his saddlebag. “And here’s one more.”

  She glanced in confusion at the single piece of pink paper he held out to her. She took it as he sat beside her, her heart pounding as she unfolded it. At first, she didn’t know what it was.

  Then she gasped.

  “What?” Tommy asked.

  “What is it, Bec?” Allison chimed in.

  She looked at Alec with tears in her eyes. “Are you sure?”

  “Very sure.”

  “Sis, what is it?” Jeff echoed.

  Rebecca shook her head in disbelief, holding out the transfer of ownership slip. “He’s giving me Star.”

  There was a long silence. “That’s the horse you rescued?” her brother asked.

  She nodded and glanced at the form again. “She’s always been yours,” Alec assured her. “I just made it official, that’s all. And you can keep her here on the ranch for as long as you like. Or I can arrange to have her shipped to Boston this fall, if you’d rather have her there.”

  Allison and Tommy beamed. Jeff looked excited for her, as well, as he dropped his arm around her and gave her a squeeze. “Your own horse, Bec. Just like you always wanted.”

  She struggled to think of something to say, but there were no words to describe her gratitude for Alec’s gift. Instead she sat there like an idiot, staring at the piece of paper in her hands. She’s already been blessed this summer with more wonderful experiences than she could count. To be given something tangible–and the precise thing she’d always wanted–was almost too good to be true.

  When she failed to respond, Alec frowned. “Rebecca? Is that okay?”

  “It’s perfect,” she managed to say, reaching out and wrapping her arms around his neck. “Thank you so much.”

  *

  When they arrived back at the ranch later that afternoon, Rebecca raced over to Star’s stall. The beautiful horse popped her head over the door and whinnied loudly, as if she somehow understood what had happened.

  “She’s pretty,” Jeff said as he stroked her neck. “So thin, though.”

  “You should’ve seen her when we found her.” She glanced at him sideways. “You and Alli sure seemed to hit it off.”

  Her brother blushed. “She’s nice.”

  “Yeah, she is. She thought you were cute.”

  “I thought she was pretty cute, too.”

  Rebecca howled with laughter. “So call her sometime. She’d love it.”

  “We’ll see,” Jeff said, unsuccessfully attempting to hide a grin. He cleared his throat and nodded towards Star. “So, are you going to ship her back east?”

  “I have no idea. It hasn’t sunk in yet that she’s mine.”

  He was silent for a minute. “You know Alec wants you to stay here, right?”

  “Actually, he doesn’t.”

  “No, he says that he doesn’t because he thinks it’s what’s best for you. But it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that the guy is head-over-heels for you.”

  Butterflies swarmed in her stomach. “You think so?”

  Jeff raised a brow. “You know he is, sis. And you seem pretty starry-eyed yourself.”

  There was no point in denying the obvious. “Yeah. I am.”

  “So what’s the problem? B.U. isn’t the only university on the planet, you know. You can go to school out here. I already said you’re welcome to stay with me.”

  Rebecca let herself out of Star’s stall and walked her brother out to the parking lot. “I know. And part of me would love to. But at the same time, I feel like I have a lot of unfinished business back home. You were able to leave and never look back. As much as I’ve been trying, I just can’t do it. And as much as I love it here, something is telling me that I need to go back east. I want to go to B.U., Jeff. I always have, and I worked so hard to get there. I want to try to make things right with Mom and I want to create some good memories of home, instead of only remembering all the bad things. Does that make any sense?”

  “Sure it does. But you can’t fix everything all the time, Bec. And you can’t change what happened when you were growing up. Going home isn’t necessarily going to solve anything.” He sighed and leaned against the hood of his Jeep. “What’s the real reason you don’t want to stay here? It has to be more than just college.”

  Rebecca fell silent. She did want to stay here, but it wasn’t that simple. Falling for Alec didn’t automatically cancel all of her previous ambitions. Her heart was split in two places two-thousand miles apart, and either way she was going to lose a precious opportunity. In a perfect world, Alec and all of her friends would be free and able to come back to Boston with her. Or she could pick up Boston University and deposit it in the center of Jackson’s town square, so she could have everything she wanted in one place.

  The world wasn’t perfect, though, and decisions were never black-and-white.

  “Hey, don’t let me bring you down on your big day,” Jeff said. “I’m not trying to talk you out of anything. I just really think you should consider staying.”

  She sent him a crooked grin. “And what happened to Alec being too old for me?”

  He ignored her attempt to divert the subject. “It would be a shame to see you run away from someone who makes you this happy just because you’re scared.”

  “Did I say I was scared?”

  “You didn’t have to,” Jeff replied as he climbed into his Jeep. “Happy birthday, sis. Call me on your next day off and I’ll come pick you up.”

  Rebecca’s shoulders sagged as she watched him drive away, wishing he didn’t know her so well. Of course she was scared of how she felt about Alec. She’d never been in love before. She’d never needed anybody else, and it was terrifying how powerless it made her feel.

  With a deep breath, she made her way to the farmhouse to visit Walter, like she’d done every evening for the past several weeks. Alec opened the door and motioned her inside.

  “Yeah, I’m here,” he said into the telephone that was cradled against his ear. “Hold on a second, George.” He dropped the phone to his shoulder and lowered his voice. “He’s in the living room. I just have to take this call.”

  She nodded in understanding and headed down the hallway
to find Walter by the fireplace. “Hello there, Rebecca,” he greeted. “I hear birthday wishes are in order.”

  “Thank you, Walt,” she replied, leaning over to kiss his forehead. “How are you doing today?”

  “Oh, not too bad. How did you enjoy your ride?”

  She took a seat on the leather couch. “It was fantastic.”

  “Glad to hear it. And how did you like your present?”

  “Alec was very generous.”

  “Yes, he was. He always used to be like this, you know. You’ve brought out all the good traits in him that went astray these past few years.”

  Rebecca dropped her gaze. “Thank you. That’s a nice compliment.”

  “It’s the truth,” he insisted. “Tell me, Rebecca, about where you come from. What’s your family like?”

  “Well, my older brother lives here, in Jackson, but aside from him, I don’t have much of a family. My father left a long time ago, and I haven’t seen him since.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that. Every girl should have a father in her life. What about you and your mother? Are you close?”

  “No. We have some…issues.”

  “Seems to be the trend these days,” Walter grumbled.

  Alec’s face was drawn as he entered the living room. “Sorry about that,” he said, collapsing beside her.

  “What’s wrong?” Rebecca asked.

  “Just…business problems,” he said as he massaged his temples. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

  She sighed wearily. “Alec, you’re a terrible liar.”

  “It’s okay, son,” Walter said. “You should tell her.”

  “No, Pop. I’m not going to spoil her birthday. It’s not important, anyway.”

  She gave him a pointed look. “Obviously it is, or you wouldn’t be so upset.”

  Alec finally conceded. “That was George Nevis, the man who wants to buy our property in Idaho. He said his investors can’t wait any longer. If they don’t have a signed contract by tomorrow at five, they’re going elsewhere.”

  “So you’ll find another buyer. It’s a beautiful piece of land. You shouldn’t have any trouble selling it.”

  He shook his head. “That’s just it. It’s already been on the market for four years, and this is a bad time to be selling. George is offering me twice what it’s worth, but he’s run out of patience. All because my mother,” he added through clenched teeth, “refuses to speak to me. I’m going to lose the sale because of it.”

  “Surely there must be some way around that?”

  “There is. I’m letting the deal go. I have another sale I can make.”

  Rebecca frowned at the odd tone in his voice. “What kind of sale?”

  “Onyx.”

  “No!” she gasped. “You can’t sell Onyx!”

  “I don’t have a choice,” Alec replied, slumping even lower on the couch. “He’ll bring in enough to keep us afloat for another six months or so.”

  Rebecca leapt to her feet. “You mean to tell me that you would sooner sell your most prized possession than see your mother about signing a piece of paper?”

  His eyes flashed. “Did you hear nothing I said? The woman won’t have anything to do with me. What else am I supposed to do?”

  “I can’t believe you’re just giving up like this. That horse is the only thing you have for yourself.”

  “Yes, he is, which is why I didn’t arrive at this decision lightly.” His voice began rising in pitch. “Let me spell it out for you. If I don’t get some money in soon, either I will be forced to put my father into a nursing home, or my business loan will default and I’ll lose the entire ranch. So at the moment, selling a goddamn horse is the least of my worries. It’ll give me time to negotiate while I find another buyer–”

  “But you already have a buyer, one who’s willing to pay you handsomely. Don’t kid yourself, Alec. If you lose this sale, it’s because of your pride, not your mother.”

  “How dare you,” he hissed.

  “How dare I what? Tell the truth?”

  Rebecca stomped into the foyer and grabbed Alec’s jacket and truck keys off the table. “What do you think you’re doing?” he said as she stormed back into the living room and hurled his jacket at him.

  “How far is Vegas from here?”

  “I beg your pardon?”

  “How far away is Las Vegas? By highway?”

  “Are you insane? I’m not driving to Vegas. It’s seven-hundred miles from here. If my mother won’t take my calls, she certainly isn’t going to let me into her house!”

  “Son,” Walter interjected.

  “There’s only one way to find out,” she threw back at him.

  “Son.”

  If Alec heard his father, he ignored him. “You don’t know my mother, Rebecca. You have no idea what you’re asking me to do.”

  “Son!”

  Walter’s shouting voice stopped both of them mid-argument. Alec knelt beside his father as the old man coughed from his exertion. “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine, but you’re not. You need to listen to her.”

  Alec looked taken aback. “What?”

  “She’s right, son. Go to Nevada. See your mother face-to-face.”

  “Pop, I am not driving to Las Vegas.”

  “You’re right, you’re not driving,” Rebecca said, jingling the keys in her hand. “I am.”

  Chapter 16

  “You’re both out of your minds!” Alec cried.

  “No, Alec, you’re out of your mind,” Rebecca replied steadily. “What kind of person would sell something as precious as Onyx rather than make every effort to contact his own mother?”

  “Well, isn’t that nice of you,” he sneered. “Soliciting advice on speaking to my mother when you won’t even talk to your own?”

  His words struck a raw nerve, but she didn’t flinch. “This isn’t about me. I’m not the one with a home and a business at stake and an elderly father to care for. I’m not going to sit here and watch you make a huge mistake because you’re too damned stubborn to see the mistake in the first place.”

  He narrowed his eyes at her as he sank onto the couch. “She’s right, son,” Walter said. “It’s time now. Don’t give up Onyx without at least trying.”

  Alec looked at the clock on the wall. “Even if we drove all night, we wouldn’t get there until lunchtime tomorrow. There’s no guarantee we could even meet up with her.”

  “Like she said, there’s only one way to find out. What do you have to lose?”

  Rebecca stood over him, her fists clenched at her sides. He glared at her for a minute, then at his father, who stared him down just as determinedly. Finally he rose to his feet.

  “I need to talk to Lucy and make a few phone calls.” He turned to Rebecca. “I suggest you let your roommates know you’re leaving so they don’t worry about you.”

  “What should I tell them?”

  Alec grunted as he pushed past her. “Honestly, Rebecca, at this point I don’t care what you tell them.”

  As he disappeared down the hallway, she turned to Walter. “Good for you,” the old man whispered. “You have no idea how long I’ve waited for someone to say that to him.”

  *

  “I’m going to stay with my brother for a night or two,” Rebecca said as she grabbed a change of clothes. “That was the last part of my birthday present.”

  Allison sighed. “A horse and two days off in a row? Lucky gal.”

  She tossed her backpack over her shoulder and marched across the grass under the twilight sky. Alec was loading a small bag and a large manila envelope into the back of his truck and didn’t acknowledge her as she approached.

  “Did you get someone to help with your father?” she asked.

  “Yes. Did you let Alli and Tommy know you’re leaving?”

  “Yes.” She climbed into the driver’s seat and started the engine. “Where am I going?”

  Alec slammed his door shut and shot her an icy glare. “Eighty-
nine south.”

  Except for occasional directions from Alec, they rode in silence for the better part of five hours. She stared at the black highway, still fuming, and he looked out the window, clearly not interested in speaking with her, either. The tempestuous nature of their relationship never failed to amaze her. Was he the same person who, only hours earlier, had sweetly kissed her cheek and given her a horse for her birthday? Now he was back to the old Alec, the stubborn tyrant who drove her mad.

  Just after two in the morning, Rebecca pulled over at a truck stop outside Salt Lake City. “Do you want me to drive?” he offered.

  “No, I’m fine. Just need some coffee.”

  Alec stepped out of the truck and filled the tank while she went inside. He was studying a map when she returned and slid into the driver’s seat. “Wake me up when you get tired,” he said. Then he tipped his hat over his face and leaned back against the headrest.

  When her eyelids started to feel heavy, she pulled into a twenty-four hour diner in a town called Payson. “Hey,” she said, placing a hand on his shoulder.

  He sat up and blinked a few times. “What time is it?”

  “Four-thirty.”

  “Are you hungry?”

  Rebecca nodded. “We kind of skipped dinner.”

  She started to open her door when Alec touched her arm. “I’m sorry.”

  When she turned to look at him, she saw that the anger had finally drained from his face. “I’m sorry, too.”

  “You have nothing to apologize for. I was being a jerk.”

  “Yeah. You were.”

  He shifted in his seat. “I’ve been thinking about selling Onyx for months now. It wasn’t a rash decision that I made–just a desperate one. Between the ranch, my father, and worrying about you and the whole Kevin thing, I can’t even think straight anymore.”

  “I understand,” she replied, laying her hand on his. “Come on. Let’s get something to eat. We still have a long way to go.”

  *

  “Rebecca? Wake up.”

  Groggily she opened her eyes, squinting against the harsh sunlight. For a minute, she wondered if they’d driven to a foreign planet. Instead of grassy meadows and snow-capped peaks, she found herself staring at red sand and barren desert mountains.