"You know. That you're my boyfriend."
"Well, it's the only way she was going to let me stay here. Aren't you glad? It seems like you are. Eddie's mad at me, though."
"What do you mean?"
"I think we're expected to participate in some kind of farm work, some cow stuff tomorrow. I'm trying to cancel that. I need to text that lady and tell her we're not interested."
"Why does Eddie care what you do?" I asked.
"Eddie's here with me. He was ticked when he found out we were going to be part of the ranch or whatever. I'm going to try to get out of that. She won't care as long as she gets her money."
Chapter 14
Six months later
It was December, and the last year of my life had been so very busy. I had a couple of weeks to catch my breath before I started my last few months of college. I technically wouldn't be finished after next term, but during the last year, I had made adult wages as a promoter and content producer, and honestly, school was cutting into my work time. I would finish the next term, but not my degree. I was close to graduating, and my parents thought it was a shame, but I figured I could go back and complete it later if I decided to.
For now, I had a couple of weeks to relax and reflect. I had just put on the biggest concert event of my young career. It was the John Mayer event that had been in the works while I was starring in the series, and it had been all I could do to juggle the responsibilities I had for Alex and the ones I had as an event promoter. I also had sorority responsibilities on top of that. My sister had come in clutch. She was willing to help me with any of it when I fell behind. She would also help me learn my lines throughout the entire series. Amelia was diligent and on top of things with learning and rehearsing, helping me and encouraging me. Without her, the last year of my life would havebeen extremely difficult, and I would not have gone through it with as much success as I did.
That was why the next few days would hurt so bad. Amelia was leaving me for good. We had been together since childhood, and I was dreading this day. I could not believe it was here. I would have to learn to go on without my sister, and the thought of it was gut-wrenching. I knew she loved me, but she was in love with a man, and that was a feeling she had to follow. Amelia was chomping at the bit to go back to Montana and be with Henry on the ranch.
She was leaving before dawn tomorrow under the pretense that it was just a trip to visit him. She would tell you that she would probably be back before long, but I knew that wasn't going to happen. Henry was planning a surprise wedding, and tomorrow, after an impossibly long day of driving, my sister would marry a man and stay in a different state forever. She knew nothing of the surprise wedding, and it was all I could do to hold it in since we had been planning it for over a month.
I was happy to be going to the ranch again.
Oh, who was I kidding?My happiness was far overshadowed by the fact that I was losing my sister. I couldn’t act like I was torn up about it, though. One, I couldn’t tell her about the wedding, and two, I wasn't going to let on how much losing her would hurt me. She would miss me, too, and we would deal with those feelings later. I couldn't let myself be sad in front of her.
That was easier said than done.
I saw her sitting in her spot on the couch the night before she left, and I found that it was difficult to hold it together. She was reading that old, torn-up Bible, and the sight of her there was just so warm and comforting that I felt like bawling my eyes out. I had to work to hold it in. I flashed a fake smile at her when she looked up at me.
"Aw, come here, sister," she said, holding her arms out.
She must've known I was barely holding it together. I jogged to her, knowing the motion would distract both of us. I plopped down on the couch, hugging her, and curling up where she couldn’t see my face. I knew my eyes were full of tears, and I knew that was why she called me over in the first place.
"I'm just going on a trip," she said, thinking it was true.
"I know," I said, playing along.
"I hope I can hold it down over here. You're my wise sister. I'm gonna miss you."
"I'm only wise because of this book," she said, gesturing with her Bible.
"No, you were wise before that. You've always been the one talking me out of trouble."
She laughed. "Being scared of trouble and being wise are two different things. It's not that I think I'm so wise now, though—I just have access to wisdom. It's like that sign in the library that says, 'Next to knowing is knowing where to find out,' and I feel that. I don't have the answers, but they're all in here." She gestured to that Bible again.
"You seem so confident."
"I am. It's amazing. It's like the instruction book for… you know… if you wanted to learn how to fix a car, you go to a mechanic book or if you want to learn to paint, you can get a book about painting, but our soul, our mind, our inward person, this is the book for that. Psalm 23 says He restores my soul. Isn't that beautiful? That a soul can be restored? That can happen by the words in this book."
"That's crazy," I said, not getting it while at the same time wanting what she had. "Maybe if I had one like that, I would read it. I need to look for one that's all marked up, so I know what parts to read."
She laughed. "She has just about the whole thing highlighted, but I know what you mean. Ms. Donna was sonice to give me this. Her giving it to me and checking up on it did make me feel compelled to read it. She was holding me accountable."
"I don't know if I would like that," I said, thinking about it.
"You would. It's good. It feels good, and it's good for you. It's like working out. It's hard to make yourself do it sometimes, but it's worth it, and it makes you feel really good."
