Page 54 of Rough
“Hence her lifting the ban comment. She’s obviously worn out,” Wilder adds. “Bets has been workin’ her ass off since we stopped the boys from helpin’. We’ve got more time here, so we can help out.”
Pointing at my friends, I state the obvious. “You two are supposed to be goin’ back to the ranch soon. Boss is gonna be callin’ in no time.”
Betsy draws my attention as she lifts herself from her saddle and drops to the ground, heading to an area of fencing that looks brand new. “You fix that recently, Bets?”
Christ, she’s so fucking pissed at us, it’s almost comical. Something in my gut tells me that if we keep at her, she’ll eventually let us back in. Her answering middle finger has me biting my lip to stop from laughing out loud just as Wilder whispers, “Do we even wanna go back?”
My eyes are drawn to the sway of her ass, and I surprise myself for being unable to look away. Without thinking of my answer, I tell them just as quietly as Wilder spoke. “We could afford to come home. We got enough savin’s from the social media shit, even after payin’ her back. But we should find out what kind of profits we’d be lookin’ at if we joined up with Bets to see if it’s sustainable to support all of us. Mom would let us stay at the house, I’m sure.”
“Are ya’ll ‘bout done gossipin’ like little bitches back there? If you’re too busy chattin’, you’re more than welcome to head on home.” Betsy’s voice startles all of us. “I promise Iwon’tmind a bit.”
“Can’t get rid of us just yet, Bets.” Wilder is teasing her, but I hear the uncertainty in his voice. We all know we’re treading on thin ice with her. I got the check for her in my pocket but haven’t given it to her yet. Figured I’d do it tomorrow as another excuse to come calling.
“Fuckin’ shame, if you ask me.” Gripping the saddle, she hauls herself smoothly back into her saddle and immediately kicks to get Frank moving. Betsy has always been quick to anger, but it’s never taken her this long to move past it and forgive us for our insensitivity. It makes me uncomfortable knowing that we most definitely crossed a line with her.
“Hey, Bets. Got a question for you,” Wilder calls out.
Without turning around, we all hear her soft groan of irritation. “Course you do.”
He doesn’t acknowledge her sarcastic response and presses her. “So, the mayor’s brother. You and he dated for a while?”
Betsy yanks on the reins and stops Frank. Twisting her body in her seat, she glares at him. “Are you kiddin’ me, Wilder? You wanna know about my love life?”
“Yes,” Clyde whispers, answering for all of us, but I wasn’t sure she heard him until she jerks her head in his direction.
She guides Frank to turn and has him trot over to us. Leaning over the pommel, she folds her arms across it and asks, “Really? You ofallpeople want to know what I’ve been gettin’ up to, Clyde?”
“Why’d you stop callin’ me Billy?” He sounds petulant, and she doesn’t give him an inch.
“‘Cuz you aren’t my Billy anymore. Just the same as Remington isn’t my Rustic, and Wilder isn’t my Wild. Don’t change the subject. Why do you care about who I’ve been datin’, if you even wanna call it that? Who haveyoubeen seein’ since you all left?”
Clyde’s body jerks forward like he wants to get in her face. “You know exactly why I’m askin’.”
I meet Wilder’s eyes, both of us confused. Before I get to ask, Betsy is snarling at him.
“You don’t get an opinion on anythin’ I’m doin’ now. You lost that right when you took my home away from me.” Her voicecracks with an unnamable emotion, and we’re all surprised by her reaction.
Clyde lowers his chin to stare at her and Wilder looks like a gaping fish, leaving me to ask what we all want to know.
“Bets… What are you talkin’ about? You have a home. We didn’ take it away from you. We only left ‘cuz it was a good opportunity.” Even as I say the words, I know they aren’t right. It’s what happened, but it’s alsonotwhat happened.
“The moment you walked away from here, you took my home with you, leavin’ me homesick ever since. Do you know how awful it is to walk through my front door andstillfeel fuckin’ homesick? Every day. There’s this ache, right here.” Betsy digs her fingers into the skin over her heart and scratches until fine red lines show up. “We had plans, and you all took them with you and left me behind.”
“Oh, Bets…” Wilder trails off, unsure what to say. I’m right there with him, too. I know our leaving hit her hard, but I didn’t realize it affected her like this.
Sitting up straight in her saddle, her eyes trail over all of us. “Ya’ll didn’t even text me when Pap died, except for Clyde once. You didn’t say a word when I graduated high school. You rarely called or texted. I thought… Well, it doesn’t matter what I thought ‘cuz I was wrong. The three of you have been nothin’ more than a disappointment. So, no, Clyde. I’m not gonna fill you in on my datin’ details, ‘cuz frankly, it’s none of your goddamn business. You lost the right to ask me questions five years ago when you left me behind to handle everythin’ on my own.”
“I know these two will agree with me, but Bets, you gotta know how fuckin’ sorry we are for how we treated you when we got back. And even more sorry that we hurt you by leavin’.” I wish I wasn’t sitting on Zeus right now because when she looksaway as I’m apologizing, I would cup her chin to keep her eyes on me.
Clyde clears his throat, but it’s Wilder who speaks next. “I do agree with him. I’m very sorry about—”
“Fine. You’re all forgiven.” She cuts him off and shrugs away his apology.
He seems surprised, cautiously asking, “Really?”
“No, you fuckin’ idiot! Are you kidding me? Not only did the three of you put me out tens ofthousandsof dollars, you fucked with my hands, which added a massive load of work on my shoulders,thenyou all went ahead and fuckin’ plastered my face all over the internet!”
She’s breathing hard and I know we are done with her list of our transgressions, but I need to make at least one thing clear. “We didn’ put you online. Had no idea it was even happenin’ until after the fact.”
