Mr. Wrong

by Taryn A. Taylor

  Sara looked over her shoulder and caught a hint of satisfaction in Beau’s face. “Great,” she said.

  “And what is your name?” He put his hand out to Rob.

  “That’s totally funny; we were just talking about that.” Rob pointed between them. “Rob, but I’m thinking about Duke.” He nodded, giving Sara a questioning glance.

  Sara nodded conspiratorially. “Definitely.”

  Beau looked slightly confused at Rob then turned to her. “And your name?”

  Sara hadn’t expected this. She glanced at him sharply, then put out her hand and smiled like a groupie meeting a rock star. “Oh my gosh. My name is Sara Fairbanks. Like, wow, you’re Beau Hennings. It’s so nice to meet you.” She tried to act like a groupie meeting a rock star.

  Beau stiffened politely, pulling his hand away like he’d touched something hot. “Glad to have you in the class, Ms. Fairbanks.”

  It annoyed her that she felt angry he’d pretended not to know her.

  Beau fixed the polite smile in place as he turned to greet another student.

  Rob popped his headphones back into his ears. “Dude, it’s worse than I thought.”

  Chapter 9

  She hated him. Thinking of what a good instructor he’d been, making simple concepts come to life made it even worse.

  “Are you okay, Sara?” Kevin was looking at her through his rearview mirror. Genova had insisted that she come with them to family home evening. They were meeting at Vedauwoo, a rock formation about twenty minutes outside of Laramie. She’d been trying to carry on a conversation with Kevin and Genova, but her thoughts kept going back to Beau.

  Sara quickly put on a smile, realizing her face must have been betraying her thoughts. “Fine, thanks. Just thinking of an annoying professor I have this year.”

  They pulled up to the gathering site. Sara loved hiking at Vedauwoo. The large boulders stacked against one another made her feel a certain reverence for the land. And she loved to hike, that had been the primary reason she’d agreed to go with them, instead of working on the crazy amount of homework she was already accumulating. Many of the other singles were already there standing around talking.

  Genova put an arm around her as they got out of the car. “Are you really okay?”

  Kevin tromped in front of them. “I’ll let you have a girl chat.”

  The genuineness of her voice opened Sara up to the vulnerability she was feeling. Tears came to her eyes and she tried to think of something else. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me.” She closed her eyes tightly. “Do you think it’s going to work with me and Jonathon?”

  Genova stopped walking and pulled away from her. “What do you mean?”

  Until this moment Sara hadn’t realized how much she’d been stuffing these feelings down. “I mean, you know the whole story. It was fast between us. Really fast. But he’s such an amazing person and, I mean, you’ve read our letters. We’re meant to be together—right? He’s the one for me?”

  Genova shook her head up and down. She pushed the hair out of Sara’s face. “What’s this all about?”

  Then Sara noticed him, talking to Linda over by the check-in point. Wiping her eyes, she put her sunglasses back into place. “This is unbelievable.”

  Genova followed her gaze. “That’s the guy from the dance?”

  “The new professor.”

  Genova stifled a laugh. “You can’t be serious. He’s a professor?”

  Sara nodded again.

  Genova put her arm back around her, pulling them to Kevin’s side. “Just stay with us.”

  Kevin looked up from the group he’d been talking with and grabbed for Genova’s hand. “Where have you been all my life?”

  Genova laughed.

  Sara liked Kevin, she really did. But she didn’t want to be the third wheel tonight.

  “Okay.” Margie Kramer, one of the organizers of the activity, stood up on a log. “We’re going to have an opening prayer, then do the hike. Please stay with a buddy and be careful. It’s not a race, so take your time.”

  Someone she didn’t recognize said the prayer and everyone started moving toward the trail head. Sara noticed Beau wasn’t moving ahead, distracted by another girl, Michelle—the one she and Genova affectionately called ‘lycra girl’ because she wore as much lycra as humanely possible.

  Panicking, Sara searched up ahead for someone else she could hang out with—she did not want to get stuck next to him.

  Carey emerged beside her, decked out in running clothes. “Need a buddy?”

  Even though she was weary of him, they’d been running buddies last semester, and she knew he could keep pace with her.

  Carey looked repentant. “I won’t be weird tonight, I promise.”

  Taking off in a run, Sara laughed. “Only if you think of this as a race like I do.”

  Carey trotted to catch up with her. “Absolutely.”

  Sara tightened her backpack. After running all summer on the ranch, she was ready.

  Carey was faster, but he matched her rhythm. “Are we going to run this semester in the morning?”

  “Let’s just manage the dance lessons for right now, okay?” Sara didn’t want to commit to anything with him.

  Carey stopped running and tugged at her arm. “Ouch. Hey, I am never too busy for you. You know that, right?”

  Putting her tongue in her cheek, Sara looked away from him.

  “I just have a lot academically this year. I have a lot to get done before Sue gets home. You understand that, right?”

  Sara nodded and started jogging, again. “It’s no big deal, Carey, I get that. I just think Martha and Larry look forward to our visits.” And, in fact, it was a big deal to her.

  Carey snorted and moved beside her. “Sara, just say it’s about us, okay. Don’t pretend it’s about them. Just say you want to spend time with me.” He swiped at her hair playfully. “Cause maybe I want to spend time with you too.”

  Sara stopped jogging, studying Carey’s face. And, it was then she realized why he had been so weird lately. “What?”

  Carey nervously grabbed a branch from the ground and chucked it over the valley below. “Well, don’t you think we’ve been skirting this issue long enough?”

  Shaking her head, Sara coughed.

  Moving in front of her, Carey roughly took her head and kissed her.

  Sara used both hands to push him back from her. Panic rose in her throat. “How dare you?”

  Carey stepped closer. “Missionaries are supposed to be Dear Johned, don’t you know that? It’s in the rule book under growth.” He smiled and leaned in to kiss her again.

  Sara shook her head quickly and started up the trail. “Stay away from me.”

  Carey was beside her. “Sara—c’mon.”

  Sara put her hand up to stop the conversation. “I had no idea about . . . this.”

  “Really?” Carey suddenly got angry. “All the dancing, all the running, and all the time we’ve spent together. You didn’t have a clue?”

  She felt simultaneously guilty and betrayed. “I always just thought we were safe together, like you were a brother to me.”

  His face brewed even more anger. He stepped away from her, breathing hard. “Crap. Just crap.”

  Sara couldn’t look at him, her heart pounded into her ears. How could she not have seen this?

  Carey yanked a branch from a tree and yelped out, sucking his finger to his mouth. Ouch. Something bit me.”

  Sara didn’t make a move to help. She was frozen. Frozen by all the things she’d missed. She could see his finger had started to swell.

  Beau and Michelle came striding up the path. Michelle was breathing heavily and put her head down when they stopped next to Carey.

  Beau looked at Sara and then back to Carey. “What’s up?”

  Carey grimaced at Beau and lifted his finger in the air at him. “I think something bit me.”

  Beau examined his finger. “Yeah. It looks that way.”

 
He looked at Sara expectantly. “I’m not taking any chances getting some strange disease. I’m heading back.”

  Sara looked away feeling justified in ignoring him.

  Michelle gave Beau a forlorn look and frowned. “I’ll go with him. These new shoes are killing me. Who knew this hike would be so much work?”

  Beau shrugged. “I’ll stay with Sara.”

  Michelle purred next to him and threw Sara an eye roll. “Okay, if you think you can live without me.”

  Sara recognized his infomercial smile.

  He stepped toward her. “I guess if I have to.”

  Carey took off down the trail. “C’mon, Michelle. Keep up.”

  Sara watched him go. She should probably follow him. But all those lines between friendship and something else were too blurred. She swiftly started up the trail.

  Beau caught up to her. “What’s your problem, Fairbanks?”

  She ignored him. The terrain turned to big boulders. She threw herself at the boulder.

  Beau followed. He didn’t try to talk to her.

  They climbed like this—run to the next boulder, throw your body on it, and climb.

  “I can do this all day, Sara.”

  She stopped and heaved in a breath. “What, Mr. Hennings? Are you talking to me?”

  Beau waited next to her. His eyes twinkled, like he knew a joke no one else knew. “Nothing like a good mountain to climb to make you feel like a man, right?”

  Sara needed someone to fight with after Carey’s accusations. “I’m surprised you could pull yourself away from Ms. Lycra. I feel embarrassed for all women because of the way a few choose to dress.”

  Beau laughed. “You’re jealous of her.”

  Sara fixed a glare at him. “She is totally your type.”

  Beau’s smile widened. “And what do you know about types, Ms. Fairbanks? It seems you’ve just been going for numbers.” He pushed past her and started up the next boulder. “Oh, wait, do you really want to talk about your bad mood? Your NOT boyfriend that just found out he really never had a chance with you. Don’t take your guilt out on me.”

  Anger burned through her chest. She pulled herself up the next boulder.

  He stood right next to her. His arms were crossed, and he wore what Sara recognized as the smile he only used on her to mock her.

  “I hate you.” She knew it wasn’t true—but it felt good to say to him.

  “Pshh—yeah. I’m sure you do. It’s hard when people call you on your crap.”

  Sara pulled off her backpack and took one of the water bottles out of her bag. She popped it open and guzzled it back. How dare he? She moved to the other side of the boulder and looked out across the rocky landscape. Ignoring him was her only defense.

  Beau moved beside her, and she smelled his faint cologne—something spicy and tropical. “You can’t stand the fact that all this time you’ve been dating guys that were, let’s see, what did you call Carey? Safe? Yeah, that’s right. In your mind none of them had a chance. None of them held a candle to this imaginary man you’ve created in your mind that you think Jonathon is. And, what you really can’t stand is that you’re attracted to me. You have been since I saved you—yes saved you.”

  Sara staggered back into the rock wall behind her. She had not expected this. “What?”

  Beau reached for her arm and held her upright.

  Would he try to kiss her?

  Chapter 10

  Beau stared into her eyes, and Sara noticed the tiny scar above his right eyebrow. He released her arm and bent to pick up her backpack. “Can I have a bottle of water?” His voice had turned quiet.

  Sara closed her eyes, swallowed hard, working to get herself calmed down. “Uhh—sure.” Her mind whirled. What was happening? She moved to the front of the boulder. Cautiously, she sat and hung her legs down the side of the boulder. Maybe she was going crazy. Jonathon would be coming home soon. She had to quit thinking about the way Beau looked or smelled or anything he was saying.

  Beau sat down next to her. “You’d be a good hiking buddy, you’re prepared.” He lifted the water into the air.

  She shrugged and sighed. “I don’t hate you. I shouldn’t have said that.”

  Sara thought of the anger on Carey’s face before he’d ran down the hill. Had she really led him on? Sadness washed over her.

  Beau looked out across the rock formations. He leaned back on his hands. “Are you okay?”

  Sara didn’t want to talk about it, but the guilt was consuming her. “I guess I should be more careful of the way I act. I really don’t mean to hurt people, but—it seems like that’s what I’ve been doing lately.” Her dad’s face flashed through her mind. She glanced at Beau. “I didn’t realize Carey liked me like that.”

  Beau let out a long breath. “I actually believe you, Sara.”

  She laughed.

  “What?”

  “Nothing.” She laughed again.

  “What?”

  She shook her head all the laughter faded inside of her. “I was just remembering the first time I met you.”

  He didn’t respond.

  She hated that. Hated that she even said that. She tried to change the subject. “I—I your class is . . . well, it’s not awful.”

  He smiled. “Thanks.”

  Sara gazed at the dark clouds forming above them. “Why did you leave Larame?”

  Beau looked thoughtful, but he stood. “I just felt a raindrop; we better start back.”

  Sara stood, too. She put on her backpack and tightened it down. One thing that people took seriously in Wyoming was the weather. “Yeah, we better go fast.”

  Beau gestured in front of him. “Ladies first.”

  Sara crouched low and gripped the boulder as she edged down. Her foot slipped as she came down. Pain ripped through her ankle. She slammed down on her back.

  Beau quickly slipped down the boulder and knelt beside her.

  “Dang it!”

  A serious look swept his features. “Are you all right?”

  Sara rolled onto her side and pulled off her backpack. “My stupid ankle, I’ve sprained it regularly since junior high basketball. I’ll just put a wrap on it, and we’ll go.”

  Beau took the pack out of her hands rummaged through her supplies. He pounded an emergency ice pack into the rock and then pressed it to her ankle. Expertly, he wrapped it with an ace bandage.

  “You’ve done this before?”

  He tucked the end of the bandage into the main part. “All peace core volunteers get a lot of training in first aid. And they need it.”

  He stood and reached out to help her stand. “I hate to do this, but we have to keep going.”

  Sara took his hand. “Yeah, we do.”

  Beau went down in front of her and then helped her slide down. It was tedious, but they got about half-way down from where they started, when it started to hail.

  The hail stung her skin like pellets hitting a tin roof. “This is ridiculous.”

  Beau pointed in front of her. “There—huddle into that ledge.”

  Sara crawled over to the ledge.

  Beau squeezed in beside her.

  Sara tried to keep a space between them. “I don’t want to huddle.”

  He frowned at her and pulled a poncho out of her backpack. “You’re huddling.”

  Beau draped it over their legs and put his arm around her, pulling her into him. He nodded to the poncho. “Are you always this prepared?”

  Sara tried to focus on the hail and not on the warmth of his closeness. Or the cologne that smelled really good. “What?”

  He pointed to the pack. “Do you always bring this pack with you?”

  “It’s ranch life. My dad taught courses in CPR and First Aid. He made sure we all had training.” At the thought of her dad she felt her heart ache.

  “Oh, that’s right, the three older brothers.” Beau said it nonchalantly.

  Sara frowned. “What?”

  Beau shrugged. She could see his bre
aths coming out in puffs with the drop in temperature. “I remember you talking about hating to be saved because of your overprotective brothers.”

  Sara was confused, trying to remember telling him that.

  Searching her eyes, he smiled. “It’s okay, you were out of sorts that day. Of course, it was the day you lost the love of your life.” His tone was overly dramatic.

  She jabbed him in the ribs with her elbow.

  Beau let out a half chuckle. “What?”

  She thought, again, about that day. Wow, how she must have looked. So helpless.

  He poked her in the side. “Oh c’mon it’s kinda funny. You should have seen yourself that day. Boy, you were lovesick for sure.” He paused, surprising her by brushing a hair out of her face. “Nothing like today. No, I would say that Carey was all alone in his crush on you.”

  Her heart thumped faster, and she didn’t like the way he was looking at her or the fact she’d noticed his wet hair. Rolling her eyes, she looked away. “Whatever.”

  They sat in silence for a few minutes. Sara couldn’t stop herself from shivering. The hail let up for a little bit, but the rain intensified. Lightning pulsed through the sky, and the clouds covered the moon.

  Sara tried to quit thinking about the way his hair had been longer when she’d first met him. “When were you in the Peace Corp?”

  “Oh.” His features settled into a sad look. “Umm, a few years ago.” He pulled away from her but kept his arm on her shoulders. “How’s the ankle?” He touched the wrap lightly.

  Sara realized their noses were almost touching. She turned away quickly, feeling her heart beating faster. “I just hate the dark.”

  Beau leaned closer. “What?”

  “Nothing—I just hate the dark, that’s all.”

  “It’s not that dark, yet.”

  The initial warming from huddling started to wear off, and she felt her body shivering.

  “It’s going to be.”

  Beau scooted closer and patted her arm. “Bear Lake.”

  “What?”

  He sighed. “When I was 12 my family went to Bear Lake.”

  “Okay.”

  “Anyways, I got up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, and it felt like I turned around three times, and I couldn’t find our tent. It was this kind of dark. And I remember how terrified I was as I kept walking and walking and all the trees looked the same.”