Big Sky Eyes (18 page)

Chapter 28

Mackenna sighed with an irritated groan when she heard the phone
ring. She stared at the unfinished midterm paper on her computer screen and
cursed under her breath at the endless interruptions that kept the project
dragging on. She muttered the name aloud of the person responsible for all of
them.

Rick.

Some days she really regretted ever giving him her phone
number. When she’d been tutoring him through their summer class it had been
necessary, but after they had both passed the course with high scores, Rick was
done with his undergraduate studies and moving on to study dentistry. She’d
learned through their endless sessions in the library that he had walked in the
spring’s graduation ceremonies, but that he still needed to pass economics to
get his diploma. Apparently, he’d failed the class two times.

She could understand why. The man was almost incapable of
paying attention. He was always fidgeting and restless, always trying to tempt
her to abandon the library and venture into downtown mischief. His energy was
boundless. It wasn’t until Mackenna threatened to stop tutoring him that he
finally settled down and took her lessons seriously.

Some nights, they’d be at the library until well past
midnight and it became clear to her why Rick was always so boisterous and full
of jokes. He was insecure. School didn’t come easy to him and he was
embarrassed by how hard it was for him to pick up on seemingly simple concepts.
So, he cloaked the part of himself that he wasn’t confident in with the part
that he was, and she pitied him and toned down her scolding tongue.

When he passed the class with an eighty-five percent, she
was genuinely happy for him. He was so grateful that he’d offered to take her
out to dinner as a way of showing his appreciation. She was flattered but
turned him down. She had her job and her own classes to tend to, and she wasn’t
interested in spending time with any guy. Rick didn’t seem to get the message,
though, and continued to call her every so often and ask her out.

Earlier in the day when her eyes needed a quick break from
the computer, she’d run out to the grocery store to pick up some staples and ran
into him there. What should have been a quick fifteen-minute trip turned into
an hour as he kept her there talking beside a display of apples.

When she finally and politely excused herself from the
conversation she cursed under her breath at the precious time taken from her
assignment. She was scheduled to work that evening and had a limited amount of
time to finish the paper. After taking thirty minutes to recapture her train of
thought, Rick’s phone call did nothing for her patience. She took a deep breath
as she answered.

“Yes, Rick?”

“Hey! That was crazy running into you at the store. So,
here’s what I’m thinking. You and
me
really
need to go out. So, I’m just
going to bug you until you say yes.”

“No.”

“That’s what you said in economics, and you lost that
challenge, too.”

“Rick, this really is not the way to get me to go out with
you. I’ve got a paper due and I’m working tonight, and I don’t have time to go
out.”

“Ok, so what’s the way then?”

She huffed impatiently. “There is no way. I don’t want to go
out with you or anyone.
Why can’t you understand that?!”

She hung up the phone on him and immediately felt guilty.
She didn’t like being so rude but how else was she supposed to make him back
off? She worked on her paper with half of her mind focused on the need to
apologize to Rick. Halfway through her shift the guilt was gnawing a hole
through her belly, which is why when he appeared and sat at one of her tables
she felt only relief. As she reached his table with a menu in hand, they both
spoke at once.

“I need to apologize,” they said in unison, followed by a
nervous chuckle.

“I’m sorry for shouting at you and hanging up,” Mackenna
inserted before he could speak. “I didn’t mean to be so rude.”

“You had every right,” he answered sincerely. “I’m sorry for
pestering you all the time. It’s just…I can’t help it. I like you.”

He looked so vulnerable and frightened when he spoke that
Mackenna tried on the spot to will some romantic interest in him, but she knew
it wasn’t there. He said no more, just looked pleadingly up at her. Aware that
one word from her would make or break his night, she chose to be honest.

“I’m sorry, Rick,” she said gently. “I’m just…not ready to
go there yet.
With anyone.
Please respect that.”

He deflated on the spot but still nodded his assent. “Can I
still call you from time to time?”

“Sure,” she gave.
“Just not every day
okay?”

They laughed and he nodded again. He finished his food and
left her a hefty tip before she even noticed him leave. When she held the money
in her hands she slowly shook her head after him. He was good looking and sweet
and funny…and why couldn’t she like him?

For the next two months Rick called her once a week. There
was no talk of dating or romantic interests and she genuinely enjoyed their
conversations without the added pressure. He became a welcome distraction from
her heavy workload and she began to forgive the pushy, passionate side of his
character and appreciate the energetic and comedic side of him.

Christmas was only weeks away when she studied her
reflection in the bathroom mirror. For the most part, she kept her days so full
of different forms of work that she either didn’t feel any heartache or she
forgot about it. She hadn’t cried over Brent in a month, but it was only by
sheer strength of will.

The sapphire necklace he’d given her sparkled in the
overhead lighting and she wrapped her fingers around it. It was warm and soft,
like the last remnants of hope that she knew she had carried around since June,
hoping he would come after her, hoping that he would be as miserable without
her as she was without him. As her brow wrinkled with emotion, she reached
behind her neck and unclasped the necklace, dropping it into the corner of her
jewelry box.

She could feel tears gathering behind her eyes but she
pushed them back with a deep and determined breath. She left the bathroom and thumbed
through the previous day's newspaper. When that didn’t distract her she went to
the kitchen to fix some food. Every cabinet was empty. She’d not been shopping
in the last week since she was hard at work preparing for final exams. She
checked the cabinets above the fridge and sucked in a breath at what she found.

A box of oriental-flavored Ramen noodles stared back at her,
unopened for the two years since she’d received them from Brent. All of a
sudden, her nostrils flared and a lump grew so large in her throat that it
nearly choked her until a sob rushed passed it. Tears gushed from her eyes and
she slammed the cabinet doors, burying her face in her hands.

Tears of anguish soon turned to tears of rage. Why couldn’t
she exorcise this demon? Brent didn’t want her. She imagined him in Montana,
warding off the cold by burrowing next to Leann at night. She saw him sipping
wine with her, laughing with her, kissing her…being happy with her, and what
was she doing? Crying over a box of cheap food and pathetically letting life
pass her by. Wasn’t this the reason she cut Brent out?
To
avoid doing this very thing?

Just then, there was a knock at the door. She wiped her face
dry and opened it. Rick stood there, a bouquet of red roses in his hand, a
hopeless plea in his eyes.

“I know you’re going to say no,” he began, “but…”

“Yes,” she said solidly and his face went slack.

“What?” he asked in a barely-audible squeak.

“Yes, I will go out with you,” she said.

Joy spread across his face so brightly that his brown eyes
began to shine. He took a few breaths through a wide smile and then stuttered
through his next sentence.

“Well…uh…when do you…would you want…are you hungry?”

“Yes, I am hungry,” she declared without feeling. “Let’s go
now.”

He handed her the flowers and she dumped them on her kitchen
counter, grabbed her keys and locked the door behind them.

Brent’s fingers were numb cold as he worked his key into the
door lock. The warmth from inside the apartment was welcoming as he shuffled
indoors. Alora smiled brightly at him from the kitchen table where she and
Leann sat playing cards. Leann looked relieved and dropped her cards at once
with a sigh.

“Leann,” Alora teased, “you’re not supposed to let me see
your cards, honey!”

“I figured we were done now that Brent’s here,” Leann
returned tightly as he approached. He leaned down to give her a kiss. She
turned her face away and put a stalling hand against his chest. “You’ve got
horse and cow hair all over you,” she said with disgust. “I don’t want any on
my clothes, and you’re late!”

“Well, Leann, it is calving season,” he returned, his voice
weary. “Work hours are not exactly set this time of year.”

“You could have called,” she jabbed.

“Phone’s dead,” he held the powerless gadget up to show her,
then began stripping out of his layers of jackets and sweaters. “Besides, you
had Mom here to keep you company.”

Leann snorted lightly. “Yes,
cards on a
Friday night is
just my thing.”

“You mean you don’t want to play again?” Alora feigned hurt.

“I think I’ve had enough Rummy for the night.”

“It’s just as well. I was about to beat you anyway. You
don’t play cards much do you?”

“Well, I’m not just sitting around all day, am I?”

Alora blanched and Brent whirled around so fast that Leann
feared he was going to strike her. She looked back and forth between Brent’s
glare and Alora’s horror, gasped and then covered her mouth with her hands.

“Oh, my God,” she wailed through her hands. “I’m so sorry,
Brent. That’s not what I meant. I was talking about me, not her.”

“Don’t apologize to me,” he growled. “Apologize to my
mother.”

Leann turned to Alora and spoke the words that needed to be
said, but Alora knew it for an empty sentiment. The woman’s eyes said
everything.
What a brazen, little vixen
,
Alora thought as she peered into hazel-colored smugness. Then she turned to see
Brent nodding appreciatively and thought, a
nd
what an oblivious numbskull
.

It was Leann’s false veneer that grated her most and though
the two women had never spoken of it, they each knew intuitively that they were
disliked by the other. As Brent announced that he was going to take a quick
shower before he and Leann left, Alora gathered up the cards and worked them
into a neat stack. Leann folded her arms over her chest and sighed impatiently.

“My, my, my,” Alora drawled. “In such
a
hurry
.”

Leann stared silently at the wall in front of her.

“Why are you still here, Leann?”

At that, she finally turned and looked at Alora. “What?”

“Brent says you’re always going on about how much you hate
it here, and you certainly act like it. So, why don’t you leave?”

“I will, trust me,” she returned tightly. “As soon as Brent
is ready to go out, we’re out of here.”

“Oh, you thought I was talking about here, as in my
apartment?” Alora chimed innocently. “I was talking about Montana.” When
Leann’s features fell slightly, Alora smiled softly. “But it’s nice to know how
you really feel.”

Leann had the look of a hooked fish for the briefest moment before
her eyes narrowed and she sent a sneer across the table. Then, she returned her
gaze to the wall in front of her until Brent emerged from his room, dressed to
go out. As Alora called out her goodbyes to the departing couple, she chuckled,
pleased that she sent the woman out of her house knowing that there was at
least one person wise to her charade.

Chapter 29

Mackenna patted the bandana covering her eyes as Rick warned
her not to peek. She had graduated that day, earning a Bachelor of Science
degree in Pre-Veterinary Studies. What took most people four years to
accomplish, she did in three. She still had another four years of vet school to
get through, but she was halfway to her goal, and was surrounded by people who
were very proud.

“I always remembered you saying that you wanted to go here,”
her dad spoke from the driver’s seat.
 

“Where’s here?” she asked.

“You’ll see,” her mom said.

“Rick?” she sought him and he grabbed her hand, wrapping it
in his.

“Not a chance, honey,” he said. “You’re going to have to
wait for the surprise.”

She faked a pout until she felt Rick’s warm lips press
against hers. She smiled against his kiss, frowning when he pulled away. They
had been dating for six months and she was finally starting to relax against
his kisses. Their first date had been awkward, with Rick stumbling over his own
tongue and Mackenna distractedly offering nothing but empty rhetoric to their
conversations.

It wasn’t until she had returned home that she began to
wonder how Rick knew her address for she had never given it to him. She met him
at the rock climbing gym where he worked for their second date and began having
so much fun dangling from the rainbow-colored walls that she forgot to ask him
about it.

Their third date was at the ice skating rink downtown and
she soon found that she genuinely enjoyed his company. He was so lively, always
playing jokes and charming everyone around her. In a way, he reminded her of
how she used to be before heartbreak had sobered her.

She was determined to take things extremely slow and had not
allowed him to kiss her for a month. When he had dropped her off at her
apartment and walked her to her door, she stood waiting instead of disappearing
inside. When it finally dawned on him what she was waiting for, the swaggering,
confident Rick disappeared and the bumbling, insecure shy boy took over.

He took a step forward and stepped on her toe.
 
After a gush of apologies and acceptances, he
leaned clumsily in and planted his mouth cockeyed atop hers, his top lip
slanting across her bottom lip and his bottom lip folded over her chin. He
stayed planted to her face like that until she finally patted him on the back
and took a step back. Once inside her apartment she cringed over such a fop and
felt that a relationship between them would not work. A half hour later,
though, she had talked herself back into giving it more time to grow.

After their first kiss he threw himself into their courtship
with so much gusto that Mackenna felt smothered. Before that, they had gone out
once a week. Afterward, Rick started coming by the coffee shop every day to
walk her home. He would show up outside her classes. He always seemed to know
where she’d be and would appear.

She was used to loving from afar and he was moving things
faster than she’d wanted. Their goodbye kisses finally fell into place and
progressed into make-out sessions inside her apartment that always left
Mackenna with cotton mouth and a stiff neck. After three months of fast-paced
pawing, she slowed things down nearly to a halt.

At the time, she had blamed the distance she craved as
necessary to study for upcoming exams. Rick had been emotional and torn,
fearing to lose her affections. When she told him she needed space, he burst
into tears and she nearly crumbled at the sight. She comforted him by
reassuring him that she wasn’t breaking up with him.

She knew she was lucky to have found someone who adored her
so much, but she had been on her own for so long that it was taking longer than
she would have thought to adjust to being a couple. She gave it an honest
effort, though, and willed her patience to the forefront of her personality.
After six months of push and pull and finding their footing, she was just
starting to relax in his arms, to enjoy his kisses and to look forward to his
cuddling.

Of course, he had been trying to have sex with her since she
opened the physical door with their first kiss, but that was to be expected of
any hot-blooded college guy. He never pressed farther than she allowed and when
she called the night over, he respected her decision. Despite the fact that
Mackenna was the only twenty-year-old virgin she knew, she wasn’t ready to part
with that much of her to Rick just yet.
 
She
knew she couldn’t hold off much longer, though. He was starting to show
impatience. What exactly was she waiting for anyway?
 

“Okay, here we are!” her dad called.

“Can I take this thing off now?” she asked.

Rick was already untying the cloth. When it fell from her
eyes she gasped and the smile faded from her lips. They were in the parking lot
of the Vintner. Her hand went to her throat, the place where the sapphire
necklace had hung until six months ago. She had to box it up and remove it from
her jewelry box altogether. The very sight of it got her thinking of Brent,
which would then lead to her comparing Rick to Brent. Now, she was staring at a
place that held one of her fondest memories of him.

“Oh no,” her father said. “Did I pick the wrong place? I
thought you always wanted to come here?”

Mackenna steeled her face and commanded her heartbeat to
slow. A smile soon replaced the look of shock and she shook her head at her
father.

“No, you didn’t pick the wrong place,” she said. “This is
the place. I was just so shocked. It’s expensive!”

“Well, this is a special occasion. It’s worth spending a few
extra pennies.” His face was bright with pride.

“Thank you,” she said. “I really appreciate it.”

When they were sat at the exact same table she had shared
with Brent, Mackenna nearly worried herself into tears that her parents would
think her mood reflected ingratitude. They didn’t notice, however, as wine flowed
freely between them and Rick. She had ordered a glass herself, but had been
asked for identification. When her father’s plea to give in since they were
celebrating had failed, the other three drank for her while Mackenna sipped on
lemon water.

Rick placed his hand possessively on her thigh, just as
Brent had, and Mackenna glared at it as though it didn’t belong there. She
cursed under her breath. What was she doing? Brent was gone! Rick was the man
in her life now. Of course his hand belonged on her thigh. Anger stirred in her
belly and worked its way up to redden her cheeks. Life had been going fine. She
was finally beginning to feel happy again. How could one memory take her right
back to square one?

Rick’s voice roared over her thoughts.

“Well, I would just like to say that everyone here is very
proud of you, Mackenna,” he said and she smiled in reply.
“No
one more than me.
I’m sure everyone here knows, but in case you all
don’t, I just want to say that I am in love with you, Mackenna Sorenson.”

 
A cold fear clawed
through her chest, squeezing her heart as he got down on one knee in front of
her and the whole restaurant, pulling a ring from his pocket.

“And I would be even more proud to have you on my arm for
the rest of my life,” he continued. “Will you marry me?”

She was frozen. Her eyes could no more blink than her lungs
could breathe. Rick was peering up at her with eyes full of love and adoration
and all she could feel was terror. She felt the muscles in her face slacken
until her mouth hung open. She could hear her mother weeping softly and other
women in the vicinity gasping with romantic awe. Rick’s gaze never faltered
even as she remained silent.

“I’ve already asked your father and he’s given his
blessing,” he said and Mackenna turned her head to meet her father’s eyes. He
gave a proud smile and a nod. Her mother’s eyes were glazed happily. Everyone
was thrilled but her.

“This is too fast, Rick,” she whispered, not wanting to
humiliate him with an outright rejection. He blinked and his face flushed.

“Can we have this conversation later?” he asked in a hushed
voice. “People are staring.”

She looked around at all of the expectant eyes.

“Yes,” she said with a nod and he grinned from ear to ear.

“Did you hear that everyone?!” he shouted. “She said yes!”

Applause and whoops rent the air as Mackenna felt the cold
band and its princess-cut diamond slide onto her finger. Anger filled her to
the brim as she glared at him. Before she could say anything, she was pulled to
her feet by her father who wrapped her in his arms. Next, her mother squeezed
her tight and soon Rick was by her side, smiling and thanking everyone around
the restaurant for their congratulatory remarks.

Mackenna was
seething,
tempted to
remove the trinket and toss it in his face, but instead she plastered a thin
smile onto her face and only nodded when she was spoken to. She would rip into
him the first opportunity she got.

Brent stared at the food on his plate, pushing chunks of
steak around with his fork. The meat was tough and overdone. He could forgive
that since she didn’t eat meat. She probably didn’t know how to cook it. But her
mashed potatoes were crunchy and the broccoli was over-steamed and soggy. Now
he remembered why he always did the cooking or ordered food in. Leann tried to
mask her culinary failure by constantly refilling his wine glass.

“You know, forks are made for eating your food, not playing
with it,” she told him.

“Leann,” he warned. “Don’t talk to me like I’m a child.”

“Well, then don’t act like one,” she returned. “You’re
moping around here all the time and I’m tired of it.”

Brent leaned back in his chair and stared at her. Soon,
laughter was rumbling through his chest taking a long moment to reach his
mouth. Leann watched in irritated impatience as he continued to laugh. After a
full minute of it, she couldn’t take it anymore. She slammed her fork angrily
onto the plate.

“What is so damn funny?” she snapped.

“It’s obvious you’re an only child because you scream
spoiled brat,” he answered, shaking his head sadly. “You’re used to barking
orders, getting all of the attention, and getting everything you want.” He
lifted a limp piece of broccoli into the air, “and you have obviously never had
to cook for yourself or anyone else.”

Her spine straightened and her eyes narrowed.

“Don’t get all high and mighty with me,” she spat back. “You’re
an only child, too, but what’s worse? You’re a pathetic mama’s boy. You can’t
do a thing without
Mommy’s
blessing.”

Brent’s humor vanished completely, replaced with a pungent
loathing. Did he really lose Mackenna for this woman? How could he have been so
blind and stupid? He had spent the last year and a half trying to convince
himself
that Leann was who he wanted. He should have known
better when he stopped sharing his cares with her. He should have known better
when he drove to her place out of nothing more than routine. All of these
months later and she still knew nothing about him.

Ty had said that he couldn’t stand to be away from Leslie,
couldn’t stomach the idea of another man stealing her away. Brent had not even
the slightest bit of those feelings toward Leann. He did, however, feel them
very strongly toward another woman, the woman whose picture he stared at every
night before he fell asleep. So, why the hell was he wasting his time with
Leann?

“Thank you,” he said calmly. She flinched, expecting a
different reaction to her insults.

“Why are you thanking me?”

“For making me realize that you are the last person I want
to waste even one more minute of my time with. I should have known that you
meant nothing to me when I refused to even tell you that I once had a sister
named Natalie who died the same night my mother lost her legs. The fact that I
wouldn’t even share that precious part of me with you after all of this time
should have been my clue.”

He stood and grabbed his keys off of the counter near the
table.

“Thanks for the sex, though,” he said. “At least that part
of this was good…at least for a while.”

He gave her one last long look, gauging her reaction. He was
surprised to see relief on her face. Perhaps she had felt trapped with him for
reasons of her own. He wouldn’t know because the truth was that he didn’t
really know Leann Pearson all that well.

He shut her door behind him and drove away from her place
for the first time in a long time with a smile on his face. He felt an odd
sense of freedom and his mind conjured Mackenna’s face in response. Everything
had fallen into perspective and he was surer than ever who he couldn’t stand to
be apart from, and he was tired of keeping himself away. He would do whatever
it took to be with her. He would move to Reno. He couldn’t leave his mother,
but he could take her with him. He didn’t know why he never thought of it
before.

His phone rang, jolting him from his thoughts. He saw Ty’s
name on the screen and answered it.

They chatted about work details for the following day. Once
the business end of things was resolved, Brent broached the next subject on his
mind.

“I’m going to need to take some time off soon, within the
next week or so,” he said.

“Is everything okay with Alora?”

“Yeah, mom is fine. I need to go see Mackenna.”

Ty could hear Brent’s intentions in his voice. “I think
there’s something you should know before you do that,” he said.

“What’s that?”

“Leslie and Mom got a text from Mackenna’s mom.” He paused,
knowing how his words would hit Brent. “She’s engaged.”