Cowgirl Up

Chapter 9- Lily

The shower felt so nice. I stood there and let the water wash away all my sadness. I couldn’t be like this anymore. This was my new life. For the next year, I’d be here. Emily-Anne reminded me of my mother so much, I cried every time I saw her. But I couldn’t anymore. I had to be strong. After my shower, I dressed myself in yoga pants and a crop top. It was so warm in Colorado. In the kitchen, Emily-Anne was making lunch. I cleared my throat. She swiveled her head. “Hey sweetie, do you want to help me get lunch ready?” I smiled and nodded. Emily-Anne would make this more comfortable. The air held a thickness of the feeling of “Lily is so sad and we need to take special care of her.” I hated that. I smiled and chopped carrots. I’d never cooked in my life, and without Rosa I felt so lost in the kitchen. A large hand reached over my shoulder and grabbed one of the carrots I’d cut, scaring me shitless. Andrew laughed when I jumped and squealed, and touched my shoulder. “Calm down, city girl,” he chuckled, making me smile. “Mom, the carrots are amazing this year. So much better than last year. Did you do something different?” We could hear the smile in Emily-Anne’s voice as she said, “I used a different fertilizer.” Andrew noticed my confused look and explained, “The garden, remember? That’s where we get most of our vegetables.” I smiled and nodded, remembering a time years ago helping my mom and Emily-Anne pick lettuce heads. I craned my head around the counter to get a peek out the kitchen window that led to the front of the house. Sure enough, the memorable, good-sized garden was right there. I hadn’t paid much attention to what the McCoy property looked like when I walked in a few hours earlier. All I’d wanted was a nice shower. But now, I was really curious about how the property changed over the last few years. Was it much different? The garden was bigger than I remembered.

A loud yelp brought me back from my thoughts. I whipped my head around to see Gabe on Andrew’s back, his hands covering Andrew’s eyes. “Gabe! Get off!” Andrew cried, but it was no use. The oldest McCoy scratched and pulled at his youngest brother’s arms but Gabe held tight, cackling like a hyena. “Boys! Take it outside!” Emily-Anne called to her two sons without looking up from the vegetables she was chopping. In a flash, Gabe hopped off his brother’s back and raced for the door. Andrew took off after him. The screen door slammed and the screams could be heard all the way inside, even though the boys must have been to the barn by then. The door opened and closed again, and Jake made his way into the kitchen. “What the hell is going on?” he asked. I’d glanced up at him, and I did a double take. He had tight fitting Wranglers on and his plaid shirt was unbuttoned and the sleeves were rolled up, showing off every delicious muscle.

Wait. Whoa. Delicious muscles? I shook my head at myself. This was the guy who didn’t want me here. The guy who was being a total dick to me because I was invading his home now that I was an orphan. I didn’t know how to respond to my thoughts. I just ignored them. Still, I couldn’t help but think about Jake’s body. He had an excellent six pack which I expected formed from playing football. I knew Jake was a star quarterback at his school. Which, I guess, was my school now. I found myself thinking about school and realized out loud, “Tomorrow is Monday.” I startled myself at the sound of my voice. I hadn’t meant to say anything out loud. I turned to look around the kitchen and the three people in there with me had stopped what they were doing. Emily-Anne and David were staring at me, both of them threatening to cry again. Jake’s hands gripped the chair he was standing behind, his knuckles turning white.

“Honey, you don’t have to go to school tomorrow if you don’t want to,” Emily-Anne said, walking to my side and hugging me tightly. I blinked fast, hoping the tears I could feel wouldn’t spill over. This time, I wasn’t crying because of my parents. I’d decided in my shower that I wouldn’t be sad anymore. Yes, they were gone, but there wasn’t anything I could do about it. Right now, I was crying because it was April and I’d be starting a new school. A brand new school in an entirely different city than my beautiful Los Angeles. I took a deep breath and smiled at my new parents. “No,” I said. “I’ll be fine. I mean, I can’t avoid it, right?” Emily-Anne and David both gave me weak smiles and nodded. “You’ll do great at school, sweetie,” David said to me.

His compliment was shattered by the loud crack of Jake punching the wall and the clicks of his boots on the hardwood floor as he stormed away.