Lucky in Love (25 page)

Ever since she was a small child,
Evey had dreamt of little else
but leaving the ranch and our little town to go out into the world and explore all that the big city had to offer. It was Eli and I who felt at home in the country.
Eve had always had other plans. I suppose it was easier for Eli to blame Preston and marriage rather than admit that it was Eve who left us and broke up the threesome we had grown so dependent on. It wasn’t Evey’s fault. She was too young to remember the things Eli and I would never forget.

Finally, Eli slowed down. She leaned up against the wall and looked down at her feet as if there were something stuck to the sole of her boot that she didn’t recognize. When she spoke, her tone had changed.

“Oh, I know. Eve's been looking for some way to escape this place
since she was a little girl. Still, I don't trust the guy,” she finally replied.

I knew what she meant. I had been busy trying to push down the nagging feelings of suspicion that kept trying to creep up within me as well. Nevertheless, I tried to remain positive.

“When do you ever trust any guy?” I asked.

Eli stood up straight with conviction.

“I trust my gut, okay? When my gut tells me a guy is trustworthy, I will believe it. Until then - and for the record my gut has never been wrong!”

It was hard not to agree with her, but I couldn’t. I felt as though I was stuck in the middle of my two sisters, even though the one wasn’t even in the same state. In Eve’s absence, I felt I had to defend my little sister’s choices.

“You wouldn't really know that, would you? You've never given any guy a chance,” I stated, staring Eli down.

“Look, this isn't about me, this is about
Evey and what's his face. And I am telling you, something about him isn't right,” she answered.

Eli never half-assed anything. If she believed something, she believed it wholeheartedly and there was never any telling her otherwise. There was no point in arguing with her and most days I wondered why I even bothered.

“Well, I hope your gut is wrong this time. Let's just get this done. Harry took a drive down to the back four this mornin' and he said last weekend's storm took down a whole row of fencing.”

“Great.” Eli feigned enthusiasm, twirling a finger around in the air.

Before long, the day’s work set in, and what couldn’t be forgotten was brushed under the rug, like so many other things nobody really knew how to talk about or
do
anything about.

The Doctor Is In

Harry was
in the kitchen, still holding his coffee mug as usual, and looking out across the pasture. He could see Eli and me loading up the truck with fence posts and tools needed to fix the fence. He stood there watching long enough to see us climb into the cab and take off across the fields. Then, he turned back to the house and into the living room. There, on the walls were pictures of all three of us girls, starting from the time we had come to live with him. He’d proudly showcased our lives and personalities. Myself, the cheerleader and Rodeo Queen; Eli, the tomboy and animal lover; and Eve, the princess and girly-girl. At the center of it all hung an old picture of our mother. Harry glanced at the photographs on his way to the recliner where he sat down to read the paper and finish his coffee.

“Let's see what trouble the world is in today,” he muttered.

He never had a chance to find out. There was a knock on the door and Roscoe who had been laying in the front room, let out a gruff little bark. Then, he went right back to taking his morning nap. A moment later a man walked in. The man was Harry’s age, but much more distinguished looking, with neatly trimmed hair and a clean shaven face. He was dressed casually, but clearly, had no intentions of doing any manual labor outdoors. His face was kind, and contrary to Harry’s, frequently displayed a warm smile. Harry sat up in his chair.

“Oh, hey Doc. I didn't know you were coming by today.”

Doc took off his hat and set it down on the coffee table before he sat down on the sofa.

“I was in the neighborhood.
  Thought I'd check in on you.”

Harry stood up.

“You want some coffee?” he asked holding his own nearly empty mug.

Doc nodded and said, “If it's no trouble.”

“No trouble at all,” Harry replied as he made his way to the kitchen. Moments later he came back into the living room and handed Doc his cup. Then he settled back into his recliner. Doc took a sip of his coffee and then carefully cradled the hot mug in his hands. “So, how are the girls?”

Harry was relieved to have something else to say. “Fine. In fact, we just got a letter from
Evey. Looks like she's going to be a mama.”

Doc looked surprised. “Well, I guess congratulations are in order.”

“Thanks.”

Silence.

Then Doc spoke again. “You don't seem too happy about it?”

“Oh it's not that...I just don't like having her so far away. You can't really tell that much from a letter...and she hardly ever calls. I just want her to be happy, that's all.” Harry sighed. Doc was practically family. He had taken care of us girls since we were small and he had known Harry most of his life. He could tell that Harry was concerned.

“She doesn't call her sisters either?” Doc asked, prodding for more information.

“She talks to Emma now and then...but Eli and her haven't been too close, since the wedding. Can't say that I blame
Evey, Eli has been less than charming about the whole situation.” 

Doc grinned and said, “Well, that's Eli.
  Charm has never been one of her finer points.”

Harry snorted. “You can say that again.”

They both had another sip of coffee. After a moment Doc continued, “Maybe after the baby is born, they will find a way back to each other.  Babies do have a way of bringing people together.”

              Harry was starting to shift around in his seat. He was getting uncomfortable with the conversation. He knew Doc well enough to know that he hadn’t come by out of the blue to check on us girls. It was nearly a forty-five mile drive in from town. Nobody made the trip unless they had a real reason.

“Yeah, we'll see.
  So, tell me Doc, what are you really doing here?”

              “What do you mean?”

              Harry was sitting up straight in his recliner now.

“Well, you said you were in the neighborhood...but, you and I both know that this is all there is in the 'neighborhood' so you are either here for a specific reason or you are getting senile and wandered out here by accident.
  So, which is it?”

Doc set his coffee cup down on the table. His face turned serious.

“I got a call about Jeff.  They are wanting his old medical records.  Seems they think he may have cancer.” There was silence. “Thought you'd want to know.”

Slowly Harry leaned back in his recliner. “This mean he's dying?”

“Too soon to tell.” Doc looked as though he wanted to say more, but simply had nothing else to offer.

Harry understood. “Alright. Thanks for making the drive out here...do me a favor and don't tell the girls.”

Doc began to stand up. “Wasn't planning to. Well, I better get back into town.” He picked up his hat and set it back on the top of his head. Harry rose from his chair to walk Doc to the door and as he did, Roscoe followed his lead. When they reached the door, Doc turned his head.

“So, I'll see
ya next Tuesday. Hopefully I'll have more news by then.”

They both nodded their good byes as Doc made his way down the front steps and over to his car. Harry stood on the front porch and watched him start his long drive back into town. Then he turned his gaze in our direction.

Eli and I were still out fixing fences. All around us were cows who spent their days and nights grazing the fields. I always appreciated the simplicity of that. They had the same purpose day in and day out and they seemed rather content with that. I was in the middle of straightening out a fence post when I saw Doc’s car Doc’s car pulling out of our driveway.

I called over to Eli, “Is that Doc's car pulling out?”

She looked up.

“Looks like it. Wonder what that's about.” Without skipping a beat, she went right back to attaching a board that had come loose.

I stood there and watched the car disappear in the distance.

“You don't think there's anything wrong with the old man, do you?”

The board Eli had been working on was fixed. She hung her hammer on it and looked at me.

“Are you kidding? That old ox is going to outlive us all. As stubborn as he is, he would just tell death to buzz off and come back later. I'm sure it's nothing. Maybe he just came by to chat.”

I had my doubts about that.

“Eli, it’s Wednesday. Doc was just here last night playing poker. You really think they had more to talk about first thing this morning?”

She didn’t have an answer.

“I don't know. Look, if it's something serious, he's not gonna tell us anyway, so just forget about it.”

I knew she was right and I hated it. “Fine. Hand me those nails, would
ya?” I replied, changing the subject. Eli reached down into the toolbox and handed me a jar of nails. I took them and reached for a new board. “Thanks. Now, hold this while I tighten it.”

Eli glared at me as though I had asked her to wear a dress and put a pink bow in her hair. “Are you
shittin' me?”

“What?” I was completely clueless and had no idea why she was reacting this way. This only pissed her off more.

“Don't ‘what’ me! You know exactly what. Last time you had me hold something for you, I wound up in the emergency room!”

It was true.

“That was one time! One broken thumb and I never hear the end of it!” I hardly thought it was worth all the upset, but Eli felt different about it.

“Yeah, you try doing the work around here with a broken thumb! You know it still doesn't bend right!” She started moving away, leaving me standing there holding the board on my own.

“Oh, come on.”

Eli just kept walking, turning around only once to give me the finger before she found a rotten post to replace that she felt was at a safe distance from me and my hammer.

“I see your middle finger still works fine, though,” I said with a smirk.

I stood there for a while, board in hand, trying to determine the best way to attack this particular predicament. Eventually, I figured out a way to do it without her.

On the ranch, the days were long, the mornings came early and the work was hard. I loved every second of it. The truth was that I couldn’t imagine my life being anything else. It didn’t matter what needed to be done; I knew I was capable of doing it. Feeling like I was in my element at all times gave me a confidence I hadn’t known as a small child before I came to live with Harry. Even though I was the oldest, I had always envied Eli, who at an early age was outspoken and courageous in a way I had only dreamed of being. She was the fighter; I was the protector. Over the years we had rubbed off on each other, but at our core we remained the same people we had been when we were four and seven.

I often wondered who we might have become had life not required us to play those parts from the very beginning, but then I suppose it doesn’t much matter. We had lived the life we lived, and we had become who we were because of it. Or maybe in spite of it. I’d also spent many moments throughout our childhood watching Eve, studying her even, being completely fascinated with her innocence and childishness, imagining what it must be like to be untouched by tragedy and heartache. Sure, she had lost her parents, just as Eli and I had, but she had been so young, she didn’t remember them.

Eve had no memories of what our family had been like before. She remembered nothing about the night of the fire. She was blessed and we were broken. Eli and I had made it our life’s mission to keep it exactly that way. Now that she had moved so far away, we were afraid for her, scared that in the end we’d harmed her more than we’d helped. We had sheltered her all of her life without ever expecting that one day she might have to know how to take care of herself.

By the time we finally finished those fences, it was past lunchtime. We sat on the back of the tailgate, eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, looking out across the fields. After we ate, we made our way down to the barn. There were stalls to be mucked, horses to be ridden and saddles to be cleaned. Once all of that was done, we came full circle and ended the day with the evening feeding. We were just finishing up when Harry joined us in the barn. As always, Roscoe was right by his side.

“You girls have any plans tonight?”

Eli put up the wheelbarrow and sat down beside him on a bale of hay.

“
Em has a date. Well, she's calling it a date - I call it babysitting.”

Harry looked over at me. “Are you still seeing that Harmon Boy?” he asked with a grin.