The line, p.10
The Line, page 10
I grabbed a water bottle from the floorboard and took a quick drink, thinking there wasn’t very much water in it and I wanted Cole to have enough. He was triple my size and working twice as hard. Besides, I’d gone without water for a lot longer than a day.
For the next few hours, I stayed busy picking peaches. It seemed everyone was in the orchards today. Cody and Leo were busy picking a couple of rows over from me, and I was pretty sure I’d seen a trail of dust where Joe had sped by earlier.
Leo came over after a bit to chat, but Cole chased him off with low growls and get-back-to-work looks. Cody made a few lewd gestures with his fingers and his tongue at me from the top of a nearby tree, and I giggled. I occasionally glanced around for Cole, and whenever I found him among the trees, he was almost always there—watching me. It made me smile, and he’d always smile back.
We’d been out most of the day, and I was putting the last of my peaches in the back of the Jeep when I felt a little lightheaded. White spots clouded my vision and I closed my eyes a couple of times hoping to blink them away. I grabbed the door to the four-wheeler to keep myself steady because I felt like I was going down any second.
“Cole,” I tried to say, only it came out a strangled whisper. I tried again, but I couldn’t seem to manage more. And then—blackness.
“Come on, sweetheart. Open those eyes,” I heard from somewhere above me. “Open those eyes, Eve. Come on. Wake up.”
I didn’t know who Eve was, but I wished she would wake the fuck up so I could go back to sleep.
“Open your eyes, Eve,” Cole pleaded, his lips pressed to my ear.
His anguished pleas roused me from sleep. My eyes fluttered open, but I snapped them back closed. The sun shining in them made my head feel like it might explode. I groaned and tried to sit up, realizing I was lying in the orchard. Jesus. I must have passed out.
“Stay still, baby. I got you.”
Cole always had me.
I cracked my eyes open again and found Cole’s face right above mine, blocking out the harsh rays of the sun.
“My Cowboy,” I whispered, raising my hand to caress the stubble on his chin. And I knew in that moment. God, I knew. My back on the hard ground. Cole’s ruggedly handsome face over mine. The sun shining behind his head like a warm, delicate halo. His brown eyes full of love and concern for me.
Cole Briggs had stolen a piece of my heart when I was sixteen years old, and over the past few weeks, he’d somehow managed to strip me of the rest of it. Because, even at his worst, Cole was the very damn best. I couldn’t have hidden the rest of my heart if I’d wanted to.
I pictured him carrying my heart around in his big, rough hands the way I carried his momma’s picture in my back pocket: with the utmost care. He’d handle it the way he picked peaches from these beautiful trees--tenderly.
One lone tear trailed down my cheek. And I felt overwhelmed in the most awesomely beautiful way ever.
People started crowding around, and I saw Cody and Leo among the faces.
“Back up,” Cole demanded. He crowded in around me and lifted me off the ground and into his arms. He kissed the top of my head. “Fuck, you’re burning up. It’s too hot out here for you.” He kissed the top of my head again. “Have you been drinking enough water?” he asked, concern shining in those big, brown eyes.
I shook my head. “I had some earlier, but I didn’t bring any and I didn’t want to drink all your water. You need it. You’re bigger than me.” My throat felt scratchy and raw like my heart.
He became furious. He set me across his lap on the four-wheeler, pushing his water cooler into my lap. “Drink. Now,” he demanded as he rushed us back to the house, not saying a word. He looked positively murderous, and if I hadn’t thought it was so sexy—if my heart hadn’t been so full—I might have been terrified.
I guzzled the cool water, feeling the iciness hit my belly, and sighed.
I’d heard him. He’d called me Eve. I smiled at the nickname, glad to be something other than Everly. Another tear trailed down my cheek.
He slammed into a spot in front the big house and quickly marched us inside. He sat us on the couch. I was still draped across him, so I lolled my head across his chest and closed my eyes, the cold air from the air conditioning feeling like a Godsend.
He glared down at my smiling face and sneered. “Christ almighty. Why in the ever-loving hell are you smiling right now?” he asked, irate.
I opened my mouth to answer.
“Never mind. What in God’s name were you thinking? You have to have water out there. It’s the heat of fucking summer.” He held me tighter to him, rubbing his jaw on my head. “It was stupid. You stupid, stupid, caring girl. I could have come back here for more water.” He placed a million kisses on the top of my head again and held me so tight that I could barely breathe.
“You scared me,” he whispered, but I barely heard him. “Promise me you won’t ever do that again,” he rasped on a plea to the top of my head. His warm breath was in my hair—his smell all around me. “Promise me, Eve.”
I wanted to be mad that he’d called me stupid, but I couldn’t. His tight grip, his concern, and his whispered Eve’s wouldn’t let me.
I smiled again. “I promise.”
I sat on the couch, a sleeping Eve in my lap. I ran my callused hand over the silky tresses of her brown hair, thankful she was asleep so I could enjoy the sight of her unobserved.
Clutching her to me, I couldn’t help but press my lips to the top of her head again. I wanted to spank her ass as much as I wanted to kiss her. I gazed at her sleeping face and tried to imagine this selfless woman being my stealing Peaches from the train. How could it be? But it was, and she’d sacrificed her own health for me. I’d seen her when she fainted, and I didn’t know how I’d made it to her so fast. One moment, I’d been at the top of the ladder, and the next second, I’d been cradling her in my arms. And I’d prayed. I’d prayed that nothing was wrong with her, because in that moment, I knew.
Yes, I’d wanted to kiss at her at the top of the tree, my front pressed to her back. She was beautiful; there was no doubt. And my attraction to her was almost always constant, but when she’d gone down, I hadn’t expected to feel the way I had. Like I couldn’t live without her. Like I couldn’t wake up in this place if she wasn’t here. Like I couldn’t bear if something ever happened to her. It hurt, and then she’d told me about the water and I’d become so angry at her.
Somehow, the anger felt good. Because, for once, I wasn’t angry about Marla and Grey like always. It was nice to care about something other than myself and my problems. The realization hit me like a brick to the stomach. I didn’t just want to fuck Everly. No, I wanted her. I wanted her to be mine. I wanted her kindness, her selflessness. I wanted all of her sweet, tender looks. I wanted her smartass mouth. It scared the shit out of me, this feeling. I’d never felt like this about anyone.
I rubbed my hand up and down her back, thinking I was too damn content with her in my lap. Contemplating how I could keep her here forever with me. Going over in my head about what it would be like to have a woman like this forever. The kind of woman who’d do anything for you. The kind of woman Eve was.
I sang in the shower. But I wasn’t good at it, so really, I didn’t sing as much as I did howl like a banshee. So imagine my surprise—okay, and embarrassment—when Missy banged on the door like the daggum police.
“Everly, my aunt fell and I need to run over to her house and check on her. I’m gonna need you and Cole to help put Joe to bed, but I should be back tonight as long as everything is okay.” Her voice was muffled through the door, but I’d heard every word she’d said, which probably meant she’d heard my terrible rendition of a Carrie Underwood song about cheating.
“Coming!” I yelled back, rinsing the soap from my body. I hopped out of the shower and hustled into some clothes as fast as possible. I didn’t even run a brush though my wet hair. I was exhausted from the day’s work, but if Joe needed me, I’d be there. By the time I got downstairs to his room, Cole was already moving around the room like he had obviously done so before.
I’d never been in there before. Joe’s bedroom was on the ground floor of the big house, and I didn’t think I’d ever seen him upstairs. There didn’t even seem to be a way for him to get up there if he’d wanted to.
I observed the space, taking in the tans and hues of blue splashed all over the room. It was huge and open, with gleaming, dark hardwood floors. A large bed took up the middle of the room, and other than that, there wasn’t much furniture besides an old dresser pushed up against the wall across from the foot of the bed. I guess it made it easy for Joe to get around in his wheelchair. At the foot of the bed, there was a door to a huge bathroom open. It was rugged and manly in a tame kind of way. It smelled like the cologne Joe always wore and was spotless. It was homey. It was simple. It was Joe.
Cole was already helping Joe get into bed when I walked over to stand behind him. He raised the seat on the electric wheelchair until it was level with the bed. He then squatted low until he was level with Joe. Leaning forward, he pulled Joe into him, laying Joe’s head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arms under Joe’s and scooted him little by little until Joe was perched on the end of the seat. The whole process was so painstakingly slow, and Joe seemed so helpless in that moment, so childlike. My heart broke for him.
Cole leaned even farther forward towards Joe, and with one big heave, he transferred him from the chair and had Joe on the bed, his feet to the floor. I let out a whoosh of air, glad that it was finally over. Joe looked over at me and smiled, giving me a wink. He was trying to make me feel better, but up until that moment, I hadn’t realized how helpless Joe was. And the enormity of the situation caught me off guard, unaware. I was dizzy with it. God, all the things Missy must do for him that we didn’t see. Joe’s personality was so large that it had never occurred to me how little he could do for himself. My heart wrenched.
Cole piled pillows high and turned Joe’s TV on before pulling him up on the bed, laying him back, and moving his feet in. He covered him up to his waist and made sure to place his hands on his stomach. And then it occurred to me. Cole was good at this. He’d obviously done this many times, and again, I felt my heart clench. My sweet Cole—he’d probably learned to do this long ago.
“Alrighty, Joe. I think you’re good to go, and Missy said she’d be back by later tonight, so she could check in on you,” Cole said.
“Thanks, Cole. Get a good night’s rest, yeah?” Joe said.
Cole nodded before making his way out of the room.
I was just about to tell Joe goodnight and head out too when he said, “Everly, you think you could hang out awhile until I get tired?”
“Sure.” I smiled at him from the bedside. I really enjoyed spending time with Joe. He was funny and smart, and we always had the best talks.
He motioned with his eyes to the remote next to him on the bedside table. “Good. Turn that TV off and make yourself comfortable.”
I grabbed the remote, turned the TV off, and rounded the bed. I sat down, propping myself up on the pillows on the other side of the king-size bed.
Joe rolled his head until he was facing me. “Are you liking it here, Everly?” he asked so genuinely that it squeezed my heart. He wanted to make sure I was okay. He cared.
Being there was plum filling up my heart. Seemed everyone around there was always checking up on me.
I could only answer with the absolute truth. “I don’t just like it here, Joe. I love it. This place—it’s magical.”
He grinned. “Yeah, I’ve always thought so, too. Even when it wasn’t much. I bought this place over twenty years ago. It was old and run down. God.” He sighed. “It needed so much work, but I didn’t mind because I knew what it would be one day. I didn’t really have the money to buy this farm, but I did anyway because I loved it from the moment I saw it. Love at first sight.” He chuckled quietly.
He got quiet, but I wanted to know more.
“Joe?” I asked. “How’d you get like this?” I nodded towards his body.
“Like what?” he asked, knowing damn well what I was talking about. “This dashing? This handsome and charming?” He laughed.
I gave him a smile, but it was sad. But I tried. For both of us.
“It’s okay, Everly. I’ve been like this a long time. I had a lot of trouble accepting it at first, but I’ve made my peace with it. Everything happens for a reason, even the terrible things, ya know?”
I didn’t know. I didn’t understand how a baby got left on the street outside a train station. I couldn’t for the life of me fathom why a woman who had a man as good as Cole would cheat on him. And there was no way in hell I’d ever understand why sweet, amazing, bigger-than-the-sun Joe was stuck in that wheelchair. Life was fucking unfair, and there was just no damn rhyme or reason to it.
Joe studied my face like he knew what I was thinking. “If I hadn’t been like this, I’d have never taken in Cole and his family after the fire that burned their home to the ground. I needed the help, and they needed a place to stay. There are a lot of people in my life now that I wouldn’t have had it not been for that accident, and I wouldn’t trade a single one of them for a pair of working legs.”
I nodded, understanding. I wouldn’t have traded my Momma Lou for a pair of working legs, either. Still, it didn’t change the fact that it sucked.
“What happened?” I asked, rolling to my side and placing my hand over his.
He couldn’t feel it, but I could.
He sighed, clearly resigned to telling the story. “It wasn’t too long after I bought this farm. I was young and stupid and not at all prepared for the life of a farmer. I was newly married. Anna was her name. She was skittish on a good day and downright manic on others. She had a lot of mental issues, but back then, people didn’t get diagnosed with those things like they do now. Thinking back, I realize she was probably bipolar. But it didn’t matter, because just like this farm, it was love at first sight.” He sighed and smiled longingly.
I saw his love for her pass over his face in a wave of emotion.
“We’d only been here a couple of months and the farm wasn’t making any money, so we were struggling, like most young couples do. I was a cocky shit back then, thinking I could do everything myself. I knew peaches. My daddy grew them my whole life, but I didn’t know horses. Short story is, I was riding and I shouldn’t have been. Fell right on my neck. And here we are,” he finished.
I gave his hand a squeeze. “And what about Anna? Where is she?”
The longing on his face sent a pang right to my heart.
“She couldn’t handle it.” Tears shone in his eyes. “It wasn’t her fault. She could barely handle regular life, and I knew that. A failing farm and a husband who couldn’t do anything for himself were too much for her. She left.”
God, my heart broke into a million pieces. Clearly, he had loved this woman and still did. It was the most tragic love story I’d ever heard.
“I’m so sorry, Joe.” It didn’t seem like my words were enough, so I leaned over, wrapped my free arm around him, and laid my head on his chest, hugging him as best I could.
“Oh, Everly. Don’t be sad for me. Like I said, I’ve made my peace with it, and besides, I have a big family here. Lots of people to love.” He gazed at me, smiling, his eyes watery. “And, now, I have you, too.”
Damn him. My heart split right open then. A tear slid down my cheek. Damn these cowboys and their innate goodness and kindness. Being here was changing me and I didn’t know what to think of it. I never cried. Not even when I’d been on the streets and so hungry that I was doubled over in pain. Not even when I’d left my beloved Momma Lou. I was a pillar of emotional strength.
Being here, with these people, in this gorgeous, surreal place, was breaking me wide open, and it hurt as much as it felt good.
This feeling made me feel like I could fly, but it also made me feel weak. Helpless, even.
I trembled against Joe’s chest. He’d just confessed so much to me and I hadn’t told him the entire truth. I knew what I had to do. I leaned up and looked down at Joe.
“Hey, what’s wrong, sweetheart?” he asked, studying my face.
Before the words were even completely out of his mouth, I said, “I knew Cole.”
Confusion colored his features. “What—”
“I mean, I know him now, but I also knew him. From before. When I was sixteen, I met him. Just for a day.” I bit at my quivering lips.
A confused smile covered Joe’s face. His gaze implored me to explain.
“I was homeless.” I swallowed hard. I didn’t want to tell Joe about that part of my life. I wanted to be the woman he considered family. The woman who had lain next to him and held his hand while he’d talked about his Anna.
I didn’t want to taint that woman with the girl from the train.
The girl who stole.
The girl who had nothing and no one.
I beat back the urge to get up, leave the room, and never mention that girl again.
“I slept in the train station sometimes, on the streets outside, or, if I was lucky enough, in a shelter nearby some nights.” I paused, studying Joe’s face.
His nostrils flared. His lips flattened into a firm line. He seemed angry and upset but said, “Go on.”
I wondered if he would ask me to leave in fear I’d steal from him, but still, I continued. I’d said too much to stop at this point. “I stole from people on the train. They were easy marks, being travelers, and I’d never have to see them again.” I laughed harshly, the irony of the situation striking me.
“Anyway, most people didn’t see me. I was good at hiding. But Cole? He saw me that day. My guess is he was on his way back here. The train was headed this way. He offered me a seat. He gave me food, and I was so, so hungry. He talked and talked, and I listened.”
Joe smiled sadly. “That sounds like my Cole.” His voice was so full of pride, and for the second time that night, I cried—only it came like a flood this time, big hiccupping sobs I couldn’t make stop.
