Page 26 of Rough Ride with the Grumpy Cowboy
“Then you should have dealt with her,” I retort.
This earns me a slap at the back of my head. I ignore him and keep walking, hoping he will get the hint and leave me alone, but he does the opposite and follows me instead.
“How are you holding up, son?” he inquires, switching tones.
I tilt my head at him, wondering where the concern is coming from. Hank Morgan is a great dad, but he’s not really known for heart-to-heart talks. He raised us like a pack of wolves, but that’s only because Mom died early, leaving him to raise four wild teenagers and a toddler—but he did his best.
“I know it’s not easy for you to have Ava around given your history, so I just wanted to check in and make sure you’re okay,” he explains.
Says the man who forced me into picking her up yesterday. He didn’t seem to care much about my feelings then.
“I’m fine,” I grunt, choosing not to tell him what I really think.
Even if I’m not, there’s nothing he can do about it. Ava is already here; they all seem pretty thrilled, so I have to find a way to come to terms with it.
He narrows his eyes, not really believing me, but he knows he won’t get any more from me. He stops my movement with a hand on my shoulder. “My hope is that with Ava around, you two will be able to clear the air between you so we can all move on.”
His words don’t have the comforting effect he thinks they do. These people fail to realize that the accident isn’t even the issue—it’s the aftermath that followed that broke me.
“Don’t keep your hopes up.”
“Zane...”
“I’ve had a long day. I need to get back to shower,” I say dismissively, shrugging his hand off before walking away.
“It’s about time you confront your demons, son,” he yells after me.
That statement only makes me angrier, leaving me feeling like I need to punch something. All I wanted was a peaceful day, free of all things Ava after what happened in my cabin this morning and evening at my gym, but it seems that’s hoping for too much.
My old man has just ruined what little peace of mind I was holding onto, and just when I think I’m done with human interaction for the day, I find Ella waiting for me outside my cabin. The livid look on her face lets me know that my nightmare of a day is far from over.
“Did you say something to Ava?” she demands once I’m within earshot.
She already knows I did; otherwise she wouldn’t be here confronting me.
“You did, didn’t you? That’s why she was acting so weird this morning and crying just now. What did you tell her?”
She was crying? I didn’t mean to make her cry. What did you expect, Zane, that she’d break out in song and dance after you told her off? Be real!
Ella steps closer, and I resist the urge to step back. I’m almost a foot taller than her, but she’s intimidating when she wants to be. This position seems familiar. Oh wait, I’ve been in it with Ava twice, only roles were reversed and I was the aggressor.
She pokes her manicured finger at my chest. “I swear to God, Zane, if you ruin her stay here, I will castrate you with a rusted machete and feed your bits to the dogs.” She takes a breath,lowers her hand, and softens her tone, which lets me know what she’s about to say will be gut-wrenching.
“I know how much you lost five years ago. I’m sorry about that—the whole world is sorry—but you are not the only one who suffered loss. You have no idea what she’s been through and how she continues to suffer. So, get off your high horse and try to act like a freaking human being for once. The world does not revolve around you, Zane Morgan, so stop making everyone else miserable.”
I was not wrong. Her words manage to pierce through the armor I have built around myself over the years.
Wait, what does she mean by I have no idea what Ava went through and continues to? As far as I’m concerned, I was the one who lost his whole life in that accident. I was in a coma for weeks, had to be in physical therapy for months after I was discharged from the hospital, and found out that my bull riding career was over. Ava walked out of that accident with nothing but a few scratches and went on to have an amazing music career. From my perspective, I was the one who lost everything, so I’m entitled to how I feel and act.
Or maybe I’m wrong and there’s much more to this than meets the eye? I don’t know—I’m confused as fuck now.
Ella decides she’s not done before I get the chance to question her about her previous statement.
“If she decides to go back to LA—and God knows that is the last place that she should be—I will make your life on this ranch aliving hell. Yes, more than it already is. Mark my words,” she threatens.
“Are you done?” I ask, needing to ask her about what she just said before.
“Am I done? Did you just ask me that, you self-centered asshole?”
