Page 4 of Memories of the Past

The longer I watched him, the more curious I became of the duffel bag sitting on the back seat of his car. It hadn’t been there last night. In fact, it had never been there this morning either, and it looked full.

“Here you go, Trin.” He held out the small pop for me to take. I grabbed both drinks and placed them down, while he sat down next to me. He leaned over and gently kissed me, his tongue washing through my mouth.

“So, how was your day?” I asked, as our lips parted.

Thomas shrugged. “I went down to check out the rodeo tryouts this morning,” he said in a low voice.

“What for? I thought you said you weren’t going to go.”

“I never said I wouldn’t go. Besides, I was curious. Plus, it was nice to spend some time with Jed. He always made time for me when I was younger.”

I grew quiet. I had no idea why Thomas had gone to those tryouts, but I feared it had something to do with his home situation at this moment. The last little bit he had done nothing but talk about us leaving and getting a place of our own.

“You do know I can’t elope until I turn eighteen right,” I said, placing my hand on his strong forearm.

Thomas paused and looked at me. “Where is that coming from?”

I gave him a knowing look and a gentle smile. “I saw the bag.” I giggled. “It has to be at the end of summer.”

His face went pale, and I could see the muscles in his throat tense. “Ah, yeah, about that…”

Something was wrong, I could tell. “What about it?”

He turned his eyes away from me. “I’m…oh God, how do I even say it,” he murmured more to himself than to me.

“You just say it,” I said, placing my hand on his and lacing my small fingers through his. “We’ve always been up front with one another.”

Thomas looked at me, his eyes growing dark. “Trin, I’ve decided to join the rodeo.”

“What?” I asked, shocked, not believing what I was hearing.

Thomas took in a deep breath and looked away from me. Then he sighed. “I don’t know, Trin. My father made me angry today. He gets mad at every little thing I do or don’t do. There is no making him happy, and I guess I just want out from under his thumb and have some sort of an adventure before I settle down.”

Tension filled my body at his words. I tried hard not to focus on the last three words he had spoken. “More adventure than the ranch?” I asked.

“Yeah, I don’t want to spend the summer working like a dog under my father’s thumb. That much I can say. He was pissed earlier today when I finally returned to the ranch. He came down on me hard right in front of the ranch hands. Granted, he was dealing with a sick calf, but the way he did it, those guys would never respect me now, nor will they ever after the way he tore me up. I can only imagine how much disrespect they would have for me if I were the one in charge of that ranch.”

I didn’t know what to say. I knew Mr. Jenkins could be rough at times—I’d seen it—but I also didn’t think he would tear Thomas up like that, especially in front of his employees. He knew how important it was that they respected Thomas.

“Perhaps you just need to have a talk with your father, explain to him how you feel.”

“My father doesn’t work that way and you know it. Showing feelings is to show weakness.”

“Thomas….”

“You could come with me, you know. Travel the world with me, see places that, well, that we would probably never get to see otherwise,” Thomas said, ignoring my suggestion.

Instantly, I thought about Aunt Vi and how she’d practically been in tears today when Becky had called to tell us she’d broken her ankle after she slipped on the stairs at home. I already knew that there wasn’t a way I could abandon her now.

“When are you planning on leaving?” I asked, my voice low.

“Jed told me that they were pulling out of town tomorrow night. He said he can give me a job until I get on my feet. He’d even let me ride his bulls and enter some events if I gave him ten percent of my earnings.”

My stomach dropped at the news. I could tell he was serious. “What about our trip?”

“Well, I thought about that. Instead of taking the trip we’d planned, this will be our trip. We’ll go and see all the sights, more than what we would ever see just traveling together, until the end of summer. I can earn some money, and once we’ve saved up enough, I’ll get us a small place. It probably won’t be much at first, but I’m a hard worker. I’ll make sure you won’t want for anything.”

I listened as he spoke. I still hadn’t even mentioned the fact that Aunt Vi would need me over most of the summer and that I wouldn’t be able to go on the trip anyway. I didn’t really need to. It appeared to me that Thomas had made up his mind, and it wouldn’t matter what I said anyway. He was planning on leaving with Jed in the morning for the silly promises that the rodeo life could offer. I wondered if he’d even mentioned any of this to his mother. Did they even know? I sucked in a deep breath, about to ask him, when the opening credits to the movie began to play.

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