Page 50 of Opposites (Never) Attract
“You do know horses shit?” Carter asked, stepping over a giant pile of it.
“I thought they did all that in the stalls, and you all mucked them…or whatever.”
“Hear that, Ethan? Miss City thinks our horses have regular bowel movements in designated spaces,” Carter laughed.
I stopped in my tracks and lifted the eyebrow that made commerce grads cry. “If you’re going to make fun of me, I’m out.”
Ethan’s own brow furrowed. “Of course we’re going to make fun of you. You’re our sister, now.”
Carter nodded as if that all made sense.
I had brothers. I was their sister. They were going totease me. None of this penetrated my one-cup-of-coffee brain fog.
Carter waved his arm in the air, and in the distance, I could see Tag, covered head to toe in black denim, wave back.
We were twinning, I thought, and barely kept myself from smiling.
“What’s he doing here?” I asked.
“Uh, he’s the foreman,” Ethan explained. “He basically runs the ranch, although technically, his dad is still the ranch manager.”
“I know what a foreman is,” I snapped. “I said I’d never ridden a horse-”
“Or shot a gun,” Carter added.
“But I know the basics,” I insisted.
“Really?” Carter asked genuinely. “Always felt like you were in another world.”
He wasn’t wrong. You couldn’t grow up in Wyoming and not know some of the basics, but I’d never been curious about ranch life. I’d never been curious about anything in Last Hope Gulch, except getting out.
“Maybe I was in another world because I was escaping this one. Because I never fit in here. Or anywhere.” The flies were outrageous and I waved them away from my face. “Not even with my own family, which we now know wasn’t actually my real family. Funny coincidence, huh?”
Ethan stopped walking and I almost bumped into him, and when I dodged him I almost stepped in a big pile of shit.
“Hey!”
“Did your dad treat you differently?” Ethan asked. “Growing up?” He and Carter shared a look. “Always looked to us that he adored all his girls, but you never know what’s going on inside the house.”
“No,” I said. “Edward was an amazing father. I never suspected a thing, even though I didn’t have the Calloway red hair. Even though I was a weird kid. Even though he knew Leroy was my dad. He loved me.”
“I can tell you right now, your dad was a lot better than our dad. So, if you can, try and let go of all the bad stuff and just accept the good,” Carter said, like the widowed father of three would.
“The good stuff being older brothers who tease me?”
“Yeah, now you’re getting it,” Carter said, encouraging me like I was about to swing a bat to hit a ball. He, I thought, must be a good dad. “And frankly, me and Ethan.” Carter looked over at his brother. “We’re teasing training wheels. Once Seth and Eli get home…hold on to your hat.”
“Well,” Ethan said. “Maybe not Eli.”
“Right. maybe not Eli,” Carter agreed.
“Why? What’s the deal with Eli?”
Ethan pointed at Carter. “You teased him too much.”
“What? That’s a thing?” I cried, and they laughed.
“No. He’s just quiet, and you gotta look out for the quiet ones.”
