Mountain Town: Zander
Part Two
By Ivory Harlow
X.
Alyssa
Zander ghosted her.
Thrice, if she counted him not contacting her after the kiss on Memorial Day Weekend, not returning her call after she helped Otherside of Nowhere book Rock N Rodeo, opening for Grady White, and a third time after they’d hooked up in his hotel room.
In his defense, he evaded her advances before the show. But after the after party, he’d devoured her as if he’d been counting down the seconds from when they met until when he could rip her clothes off. She smiled at the memory; that was the reaction she’d been going for all along. Alyssa wasn’t used to not being the center of attention.
The morning after, Warren woke her, explaining he had to meet the band in the lobby at 9 a.m.
When she threw her leg over him in protest he said, “I have to get back to the ranch.”
She found this exasperating. She was certain Rock N Rodeo was the beginning of something big for the band, yet Zander wanted to get back to shit shoveling. “Suit yourself,” she said, stretching strategically to put her body on display.
Zander, out of his action and alcohol induced fog, simply kissed her forehead, ordered her room service, and encouraged her to “sleep in- enjoy the suite.”
Alyssa fully intended to enjoy the jacuzzi tub, and help herself to all the sponsor stuff and gift baskets Zander had left behind. In the meantime, she laid in the center of the enormous bed wondering if she’d ever see him again. They lived on opposite sides of the state, and though her mother and brother lived in Zander’s hometown, her work kept her busy in the city. She only had time to drive out when Verge closed on holidays.
Does he want to see me again? Alyssa wondered. She didn’t know; he was hot and cold. It made no sense. They had an excellent first date. She’d used her influencer status to build a robust online presence from scratch, then slipped Otherside of Nowhere’s contact information to Dom, which resulted in a mega opportunity. Zander got money, success, and her- what was his problem?
There was a knock on the door. “Room service!”
Alyssa tossed the sheets aside, grabbed a fluffy white hotel robe, and shrugged it on before answering the door. The hotel staff roll in a breakfast cart, a second carried a full coffee service, a third carried a vase exploding with vibrant red roses. Alyssa took the tiny envelope from the floral pick and opened it hastily.
‘Red like your lips,
XX
She held it in her hand, feeling both confused and blissful over the missed messages he was sending.
XI.
Alyssa had rearranged Verge’s window display three times and still wasn’t satisfied. She showed airy white summer dresses in front of a bright floral backdrop. Dark greenery cascaded from the ceiling. It needed something- brighter lighting? A pop of yellow for warmth? Sailboat stripes?
She plopped down on an acrylic display box, feeling frazzled and defeated. The problem was not the display; it was sexual frustration; wanting and not being wanted. It had been a week and Zander still had not contacted her. Alyssa was sure he would not.
She was deep in a pit of self pity when her phone buzzed beside her. Her mother Jackie’s face filled the screen. Alyssa accepted the call and brought the phone to her ear. “Hey mom.”
“Hey honey! I know you’re at work. I’m just calling to bounce a date off you. The county fair is in a couple weeks and I wondered if you want to come out for it-it’s going to be fun…”
“I never expected to hear you say the words ‘county fair’ and ‘fun’ in the same sentence.”
Jackie clicked her tongue. “I’ll have you know I went every year growing up. I won a blue ribbon for photography one year. It was in the paper!”
“Wow mom,” Alyssa said monotone. “Your 15 minutes of fame.”
“It was!” Jackie laughed with delight. “Anyway, we thought it’d be fun to go as a family. Take Branson for his first ice cream from the dairy stand.”
The image of her nephew Branson with ice cream dribbling down his chubby chin was worth the 7 hour trip.
“There is a ranch rodeo on Friday night. The Bar C cowboys are competing. Tom says they win every year, but it rouses friendly competition among cowboys from surrounding ranches and everyone puts on a good show- if you’re interested in watching?” Jackie’s inquiry did not seem loaded, so Alyssa doubted her mother had any idea what went down between her and Zander.
She hesitated before responding. “We’ll see. I’ll come down to do the fair with Bran muffin either way.”
XII.
The mingling of dust, fry oil, and livestock smells wafted through the air as Alyssa walked through the ticket gate with Jackie, Tom, and Tommy carrying Branson on his shoulders. Branson was wide eyed with excitement as country kids raced passed in route to the carnival. He shouted “Pa!” to get his grandpa’s attention every time he saw an animal. Tom, a cowboy to the core, was tickled that Branson associated livestock with him.
Alyssa was not surprised when her mother announced she was moving back to her hometown of Mountain Town after years in the most affluent part of Dallas. Before she met Tom, Jackie talked about him in a way that made it clear she had never stopped loving her high school sweetheart; she was married to Alyssa’s father for 25 years but Alyssa never saw her smitten as she was with Tom.
Her brother Tommy’s move to Mountain Town was more of a surprise. Tommy met Tom, his real father, for the first time at age 39. Tom purchased the old foreman’s cabin and 40-acre parcel of land from the Bar C for Tommy to live and start a metal fabrication and design business in Mountain Town. Tom and Tommy turned out to be two peas in a pod. Still, Alyssa thought Tommy was crazy for jumping ship on his stable job. She thought Dallas was a more promising place for a single dad to raise a child with access to healthcare, childcare, education, and extracurricular activities. Plus, Tommy was still young. He had a better chance of meeting someone in the city than an area with less than one person per square mile.
Today at the fair, she thought perhaps she misjudged his decision. Tommy carried Branson on his shoulders across the fairgrounds. When Branson got squirmy, he passed the child to Tom like a sack of potatoes. Tommy, Branson, and Tom looked happy. Not to mention her mother, who had transformed from an uptight Dallasite to a laid back local. Rural, small town life suited the family well.
Maybe I could fit here too? Alyssa let herself imagine not commuting through Dallas traffic, not comparing herself to other influencers, letting go of the constant striving to achieve the same level of wealth, possessions, and lifestyle.
Meanwhile, she visited the carnival, rode rides and played games with her family. They walked through the exhibit halls, watched a sheep show, and bought the most notorious fair foods they could find: deep-fried Oreos, cheese curds, and cotton candy, before settling in the bleachers for a tractor pull.
Alyssa scanned the schedule in the fair book, noticing the rodeo started at 6:30 p.m.
“What makes it a ‘ranch’ rodeo?” She asked Tom. As a young man, her stepfather had traveled all over the U.S. on the rodeo circuit and riding saddle broncs. As trail boss of the Bar C, he did ranch work alongside cowboys every day.
“Ranch rodeo events are like those performed on a working ranch. Ranch hands compete as teams. There is a ranch horse competition and cow work,” Tom explained.
“You stayin’ for the rodeo?” Tommy reached out and pulled off a piece of her cotton candy and offered a tuff to Branson. He wriggled with glee the moment the sugar melted in his mouth and leaned towards Alyssa for more.
“I don’t know if I want to see him…” she told her brother in a hushed tone so Tom and Jackie would not hear.
She was close with her brother, and had confided in him about the Zander situation. She expected Tommy to take her side, defend her honor, do big brother shit. Instead, Tommy suggested, “Maybe you don’t know the entire story. You should talk to him.”
Alyssa rolled her eyes. The last thing she wanted to do was talk to Zander. But Tommy’s point was a valid one. Maybe she didn’t know the entire story. Piecing together what happened between them over the last few weeks, left her clueless why he had gone radio silent.
“Maybe you’re right,” she told her brother.
XIII.
The ranch rodeo kicked off with rough stock events. Alyssa recognized two cowboys from the Bar C riding bareback and saddle broncs. Jake and Travis are the youngest cowboys at the Bar C and according to Tom, “Still got somethin’ to prove.”
After the rough stock events, the rodeo queen and princesses paraded around the arena on horseback. And the announcer introduced the eight teams of cowboys competing in timed events. Timed events were: cow horse, team roping, steer wrestling, and tie-down roping. All the teams were from the tri-county area, but Bar C was the clear audience favorite. The Bar C ‘boys received the loudest applause when they entered, galloping out on horseback in matching rust colored western shirts and cowboy hats.
Her eyes stuck on Zander. He lifted his cowboy hat, saluted the crowd, and let his shoulder-length brown mane fly wild. She fought the urge to snap a picture.
The cow horse competition was first. Chauncey and Post tackled this event. “Judges evaluate the performance based on a point system ranging from 60 to 80, with 70 being average,” Tom explained. “Chauncey can circle and turn a cow like nobody’s business and Post has earned national and world titles for reining patterns.”
Team roping paired Ryan and Jake. Ryan was the header and Jake the heeler. “Ryan competed right handed at Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association sanctioned events until an injury made him switch to left. He can still out-rope all of us at the Bar C as a lefty,” Tom told them.
“Team roping score is based on the time it takes a team to rope and immobilize a steer. But technique is as important as time because penalties are applied liberally.” Ryan and Jake came in .28 second slower than the cowboys from Mesalands Ranch, but their precision was spot on. Bar C surged to first place when Mesalands suffered a 5 second penalty for an incomplete heel catch.
Next was steer wrestling. Luke and Hunter competed. Hunter’s leanness and long legs made him fast and mobile. Luke’s size and stature allowed him to toss a steer like a feather pillow.
Last, Travis and Zander competed in tie down roping. “Both the horse and rider earn scores,” Tom explained, “Like cow work, the horse is scored on a scale of 0-100. 70 points is an average performance. “The horse is scored on manners. The rider’s score is based on how he ropes the calf, dismounts, goes down, ropes and throws down the calf.”
Travis went first. He earned a solid 85, no penalties.
“Next up Warren Zander representing the Bar C,” The announcer’s voice boomed, bringing Alyssa to attention.
A calf charged out of the chute, Zander, on horseback, charged after him, and with one fluid toss, looped the rope around its neck. Zander bounded off his horse, ran to the calf and flanked it. He leveraged his body weight to hold the animal down while tying its legs together. He stood, hands up, signalling stop time to the judge.
“7.1 seconds! That’s a 92 with no penalties ladies and gents- A record for tonight! Let’s give him a round of applause!” The announcer shouted.
The audience hooped and hollered. It was reminiscent of Rock N Rodeo, only Zander looked even more elated than he did singing to a crowd of thousands.
When they caught up to the Bar C cowboys celebrating their ranch’s first place victory for the eighth consecutive year, Alyssa noticed Zander’s camaraderie with the cowboys. She had not seen the spirit of familiarity and closeness amongst him and his bandmates.
Ryan presented Tom with the gaudy gold plastic trophy like it was the Stanley Cup. “Cheers to you, boss.”
Tom took it and laughed. “It’ll make a good centerpiece in the bunkhouse.”
“Proud of you boys…and girl,” he tipped his hat in Chauncey’s direction to correct his mistake.
Tom fell into easy conversation with the teams standing around the livestock barn. There were open coolers everywhere, people slapping each other on the back, laughing and having a good time. Alyssa shifted from foot to foot uncomfortably, feeling out of place amongst the cowboys and girls in the livestock barn, in contrast to the posh people in the lobby of the 5 star Adolphus Hotel.
She turned Tommy for support, only to find he was absorbed into the crowd. Someone had given him a beer, and he was currently chatting up the rodeo queen.
Alyssa sighed, searching for another familiar face. Her eyes zipped to Zander. He was bantering with Hunter and burgundy shirt cowboys from another team. He sensed her eyes on him, turning to meet her gaze. She caught the hint of a frown, as he excused himself from the conversation and walked towards her.
“Didn’t mean to rain on your parade…” she said when he was in earshot.
He looked at her quizzically.
Her hand landed hard on her hip, “You don’t have to talk to me just because I’m here.”
Zander looked around assessing who could hear their conversation.
“Worried about your reputation?” Her eyes shot daggers at him.
“Walk with me?” He was already leading her away from the crowd, with a hand in the center of her back. She sped up to put space between them.
“A walk, Alyssa. Not a job.” He cupped his hand over his mouth and called to her.
He jogged to where she was standing and closed the distance between them. “Why are you acting like this?”
She put a finger to her chin as if making a mental list. “You realize your band went from the Roost to Rock N Rodeo because of me? You could have said ‘thank you’! Instead, you ghost me after a hook-up! It’s fine if it’s a onetime thing Zander, but you don’t have to be an ass about it!”
“I’m sorry,” Zander said simply. He opened his mouth to continue, but she cut him off.
“Yeah, well, you should be.” She turned and stomped towards the carnival.
Zander hurried to follow her. “Alyssa, will you slow down?! Let me explain.” He took giant strides with his much longer legs and caught hold of her waist..
“Let me go!” she demanded.
“Christ, you are more difficult than roping a calf!” He all but carried her to the Ferris wheel, held up two fingers, and slipped the operator a ten-dollar bill. Once inside the box, Zander set her on one bench and sat on the one across from her.
Alyssa crossed her arms over her chest and gave him the silent treatment as the box moved higher to load more passengers. The glorious view was a welcome distraction. Mountain Town’s peaks were dotted with dark green pines, the valleys lush with native grasses. From the highest point she could see the entire grid of streets that made up downtown Mountain Town. She recognized the courthouse and the library. A glint of sunlight bounced off Carl’s Diner’s aluminum exterior. The historic Mountain Town Hotel completed the block.
“It’s really pretty up here,” she said, forgetting for a moment they were fighting. When Zander didn’t reply, she turned to look at him, leaning back with his arms splayed the full width of the bench, one ankle crossed over a knee.
“It is pretty up here.” He said, looking straight at her.
“Ahem,” Alyssa cleared her throat and refocused her attention on the landscape.
“Are you going to let me talk now?” he asked.
Her eyes dared him.
“The last thing I meant to do was hurt you.”
She huffed.
“I didn’t ghost you.”
“Actually, you definition of ghosted me!” she shot back. “Ending contact with someone without explanation...Withdrawing from all communication…For no good reason…”
“I know what ghosting is.”
“Just making sure, because you definitely did.” Her lips made a tight line.
Zander leaned forward, resting his elbows on his bent knees. “I didn’t 'withdraw from communication for no good reason’,” he quoted her. “I have a good reason. I tried to tell you in the hotel-”
Alyssa cocked an eyebrow at him skeptically. She remembered little talking in the hotel.
“Before the concert,” he clarified. “I’m not the guy you want. That guy, the decked out lead singer of a country rock band, isn’t me.”
“I don’t want to stay in a luxury hotel suite that I’m afraid to track dirt in.”
“I don’t know which fork to use at fancy dinners.”
“I’d rather drink Natty than champagne and cocktails.”
“You said I didn’t know what I was missing, because I’d never been outside Mountain Town. But now I have and honestly, I was relieved to come home.”
“The life you want for me, the person you’re trying to make me into, ain’t me.” He let his words stick in.
Their box was at the highest point on the Ferris wheel now, with a breathtaking view of the three distinct mountain ranges surrounding Mountain Town.
He continued, “I appreciate what you did for the band Alyssa, but you didn’t do it for the real me.”
Alyssa opened her mouth to deny it, but shut it, realizing he wasn’t wrong.
XIV.
The barista handed Alyssa her first, much anticipated, pumpkin spice latte of the year. She snapped a picture of her fresh burgundy manicured hands cupped around it and posted #pumpkinspice with a pumpkin and fall leaves emojis.
The calendar and Starbucks may have said it was fall, but today the high in Dallas was expected to be 90 degrees. Alyssa sighed, smoothing the front of the silk, sleeveless burgundy shirt she wore to match her new nails. Thank goodness for transitional clothing pieces.
She set the latte in her BMW’s cup holder and cranked the A/C. Verge Boutique was only a few miles away but could take a half hour, depending on i-30 traffic. Sure enough, she got stuck behind a school bus, dead on the overpass.
Alyssa’s uninterested gaze fell on an electronic billboard. She typically ignored the rotation of personal injury attorney ads and auto dealer ads, but the Grady White Out of the Country Tour billboard made her gasp- was that?!? It switched to a McNuggets Meal Deal ad before she had time to take it in.
Alyssa tapped her fingers nervously on the steering wheel waiting for it to come back around. A horn honked behind her, frustrated her creep had turned to a total stop. She rolled a few inches to buy time. Finally, giant Grady reappeared in the center of the screen. And there in the lower, right corner, ‘Opening act Otherside of Nowhere’ with what must be a new promo pic of the band. Juno was front and center; Rob, Will, and Eli surrounded him. No Zander. Alyssa did a double take. Then the ad disappeared again. God Damn It! She shouted at the billboard as she crept passed. She took the next exit and pulled into a vacant downtown parking lot at the bottom. Her shiny black BMW looked out of place amidst the styrofoam containers, torn plastic bags and tall weeds growing through cracks in the concrete. Alyssa opened @gradywhiteofficial Instagram and located a post identical to the billboard. She zoomed in on the lower right corner and confirmed Zander was not in the pic.
Why wasn’t Zander in the photo? Did he quit the band? Alyssa wondered. At the fair he accused her of trying to make him into somebody he wasn’t. Was she to blame for the fallout? her heart raced.
She thought about texting Tom or Tommy for insight. Tom turned a blind eye to the cowboys personal lives, her brother however, was friends with Zander, and partied with the Bar C ‘boys at Otherside’s regular gigs at the Roost.
She screen shot the post, edited the shot to circle the four members of Otherside and a question mark in bold red, then text her brother. Her phone rang immediately.
“Tommy!” she answered startled, “I don’t remember the last time you called me…” Her brother was a texter to the core.
“My hands are covered in mill scale. Just finished welding steel.” She heard the buzz of a grinder and the echo in his metal shop in the background. “Figured you’d keep pinging me until you got an answer.”
“So…you knew about this already?!” She said accusingly. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“It’s not my business to tell,” Tommy sighed. “I told you to talk to him back in June.”
“I DID talk to him in June.”
“Did you talk TO him or AT him?” Tommy asked, already knowing the answer.
Alyssa cringed, thinking of the laundry list of ways he’d wronged her, that she’d delivered on the Ferris wheel. “That’s besides the point, Tommy.”
“It’s probably a conversation y’all should have if you want the relationship to go anywhere.”
“Ha! What relationship?” Alyssa scoffed
“It’s obvious you like him Alyssa. And he likes you.”
“As your older, wiser brother, I’m about to drop some knowledge on you…” His tone wasn’t harsh, but it was serious.
“Ready and waiting, wise one.” Alyssa mocked her brother.
“From the day you were born you’ve believed the world is The Alyssa Durran Show. You are the star and everybody else in the world are supporting characters.”
“No, I…”
“Hear me out Alyssa- You fell for Zander because he wrote a love song about YOU.” Tommy chuckled at the irony. “Then, when he didn’t play the role you cast him in, you got pissed as hell. You thought he should be grateful to be offered the role- am I right?”
Alyssa was speechless.
“The ironic thing is that while you were falling for some guy you made up in your mind, Zander was falling for the real, non-influencer you…”
Tommy softened his tone and spoke directly into the phone. “I’m not surprised Zander prefers the real you. She is pretty, snarky, smart and fun….”
“You are an awesome sister to me and aunt to Bran. You wanted what was best for mom moving home to Mountain Town. You welcomed Tom into this family without hesitation, because he’s my dad and he makes mom happy.”
“The real you is really great-give her a chance… And talk to Zander about what went down,” he added haphazardly.
“I will,” Alyssa promised.
“How bout’ now? He’s here.”
Alyssa straightened. “Zander is in your shop? Right now?!”
“Yup,” It was his livestock trailer I was welding, well, the Bar C’s trailer, he towed it over.”
Before she could decline, Tommy called out, “Zander- It’s for you!”
“STOP Tommy! No! Alyssa frantically tried to stop her brother from handing the phone to Zander. She knew she needed to apologize, but didn’t know how to do it. For the second time today, maybe in her life, she was at a loss for words. “I’m hanging up, Tommy!” She warned as she heard the phone change hands.
“Alyssa?” Zander’s smooth voice came through the receiver.
“Hey Zander…” She winced.
“Your brother is making a face. Everything okay?”
“Please tell him I’m going to rearrange his face when I see him next.”
“This weekend?” Zander asked. “Your mom is hosting the Labor Day picnic at the ranch.” He reminded her.
Carla Calder, matriarch of the Bar C Ranch hosted epic Labor Day weekend picnics until she passed six years ago. Everyone sorely missed the picnics at the Bar C. Hearing Tom reminisce about the fun, Jackie offered to leverage her Dallas socialite experience to good use and breathe life back into the annual Labor Day Weekend picnic at the Bar C. Carla’s widower Les was delighted to bring the tradition back.
Planning a party that would ‘honor Carla’s memory’ had consumed Jackie all summer. How could I forget? Alyssa planted her face in her palm. She felt a pang of embarrassment realizing Tommy was right: she was too wrapped up in her own shit to pay attention to important happenings in others lives- even those closest to her.
“I’ll be there,” she told Zander after a beat.
“Great!” He said. She could hear his smile through the phone. “I’ll see you there.”
Maybe Tommy was right about Zander’s and her ‘relationship’ too? She thought.
XV.
The Bar C had over 900 head of beef cattle; no Labor Day Weekend picnic menu was complete without all-beef hotdogs and burgers on the grill. Alyssa helped her mother stage the decked out buffet table with heaping sides of potato salad, macaroni salad, coleslaw, corn on the cob, and watermelon. Since Jackie was handling food for the event, the ranch cook, Juan focused his effort on making mint mojitos and grapefruit Palomas. Of course there was plentiful beer, lemonade and sweet tea at the beverage station as well.
It was risky, putting on a picnic during monsoon season. In year’s past, attendees had to run for cover in the barn during an intense summer shower. But this year the weather was perfect- sunny and 77 degrees.
Alyssa had packed the perfect labor day picnic dress and wedge heels for the occasion, but that morning when she woke up it occurred to her how impractical that outfit would be while helping her mother with food and chasing Branson around all afternoon. She opted for cut-off shorts, a cropped muscle tank, and chucks instead. Alyssa pulled her hair back into a ponytail. She wore tinted moisturizer for the SPF and added a swipe of lip gloss and mascara to her face for good measure. She shrugged at her image in the mirror and reminded herself it was a ranch not a runway.
Alyssa was so busy helping her mother that she didn’t see Zander until most of the guest had made it through the buffet line and sat at the picnic tables. She took the lull in activity to make herself a plate, and join the table where he was sitting with Hunter, Ryan, their girls and another woman that looked to be about their age. She had met Holly, Hunter’s girlfriend, on Memorial Day. Ryan introduced Belle as his fiance. Belle was visiting from Arizona, where her family owned a large equine operation.
“This is Cheridan. Cheri, this is Alyssa; Tommy’s sister,” Zander made introductions.
The women nodded politely to one another. Cheri’s pretty face looked familiar but Alyssa could not place her.
“This seat taken?” Alyssa asked.
“It was your brother’s until Branson had a potty emergency,” Ryan told her, motioning to the barely touched plate of food.
Hunter burst into laughter. “Sorry.”he turned serious. “There is something hilarious about Ryan declaring a ‘potty emergency’.”
“You should have gone with Tommy for OJT.”
“Hunter!” Zander looked at Belle apologetically. “Never tell him anything you don’t want broadcast to the entire town.”
“What!? I didn’t announce Belle is pregnant!” Hunter winked at her.
Belle rolled her eyes. “My dad isn’t here, so it’s fine to talk about.”
“You haven’t told your dad?” Zander asked with a look of concern.
Belle looked at Ryan with apprehension.
Ryan explained, “When Belle and I started dating, Allen warned me the ONE thing I am not allowed to do is knock his daughter up before we are married.”
“You had one job Ryan,” Hunter took a swig of his beer. Holly slapped his arm.
“So what happens when you show?” Zander held his arms in front of his stomach as if cradling a beach ball.
“We will just have to get married before I start to show,” Belle shrugged as if this was no big deal.
Belle looked to be in her early 20s, yet seemed eager to tie the knot and have Ryan’s baby. Alyssa was 30. Her longest relationship might have been a month long? She thought she might want kids- someday- but right now babysitting Branson was as close as she wanted to get to being a mom..
“So are you out for the rest of barrel racing season?” Cheri asked. Suddenly Alyssa placed Cheri; the rodeo queen at the county fair. There she’d been in a Texas flag short sequin gown, matching boots and a tiara perched atop a head of cascading blonde curls. Take away the pizazz and Cheri was a natural beauty; tall and tan, barefaced with a splash of freckles across her pert nose.
A wave of jealousy hit her when she realized she had invited herself to sit at a table full of couples. Zander had introduced Cheri. Are they together? Alyssa wondered.
“I can race during the first trimester,” Belle said, patting Ryan’s arm. She could tell Ryan was holding back from dissuading her. “The Arizona State Fair in October will be my grand finale!”
“Unless your dad finds out that you're pregnant before that. Honestly Belle, I’m tempted to risk my life and tell him so you don’t risk your and the baby’s life racing.”
Alyssa halfheartedly listened to their lover’s spat, while studying the rodeo queen and Zander. They were clearly familiar, laughing at jokes and finishing one another’s sentences. All signs pointed to them being a thing. Alyssa’s blood boiled.
“Refill?” Zander called Alyssa to attention, pointing at her empty glass.
“Yes, sure.”
He stood, picked up the glass and collected empty beer bottles from the table.
Alyssa stood and stacked everyone’s empty plates. “I’ll take these to the trash,” she seized the opportunity for a few minutes alone with Zander.
“She seems nice,” Alyssa said as they walked towards the trash bin.
“Belle?” Zander asked, aware she had already met Holly.
“Belle too, but I was referring to her majesty the rodeo queen.”
“Have you known her long?”
“My entire life. Cheri’s family lived next door to my grandparents’. Our moms are best friends,” Zander explained. “She graduated Mountain Town High a couple years after me and Hunter.”
Prefect. Not only was Cheri a human Barbie, but his whole family already knows and loves her. Alyssa thought.
“What’s that face?” Zander laughed at her.
Alyssa hadn’t realized she was scowling until he called her out. “Garbage smells bad.” She dropped the stack of plates in the trash and slammed the lid.
They walked over to beverages. Pick your poison. “The mojito was to die for, but that’s enough rum for me. Water, please.”
Zander grabbed two bottles out of the standing cooler. He handed one to her. Instead of heading back to the table, they wandered around the giant bounce house full of screaming children, passed the stock tank turned kiddy swimming pool, and meandered down a horse trail.
Alyssa had come to the Labor Day Weekend picnic intending to apologize for the way she acted and asking Zander if he wanted to see her again. But Cheri was a curveball she did not expect. She still owed him an apology, but first, she had to know…
“Is Cheri why you stayed behind? Didn’t go on the tour with Grady?”
“Cheri?” Zander looked confused. “Ohhhh. It’s not like that.”
“Cheri is the closest thing I have to a sister. There is a picture of me as a toddler, her as a baby, on each of Santa’s knees. When I got my license, my grandparents bought me this old truck on the condition of carting Cheri to and from school and cheerleading practice and her part-time job…” Zander groaned. “She was a pain in the ass.”
“Nothing ever happened between you two?” Alyssa was skeptical, “She’s beautiful.”
“You ever hook up with Tommy?” Zander asked in a mocking voice.
“Gross! He’s my brother,” Alyssa gagged.
“Well, that’s how it is with Cheri,” he reassured her.
A wave of relief washed over Alyssa.
They walked along the horse pasture, where the spring foals were grazing alongside their mothers. Monsoon season had gotten off to a good start in August. The bluestem and Indian grasses were lush.
“I didn’t go on tour with Otherside because I don’t want to leave Mountain Town. I have everything I want and need, right here, right now,” Zander shoved his hands in his pockets.
“Truth is, I’d make a piss poor rock star. Juno is cut out for the job. It’s his dream.” Zander looked out into the pasture.
“Anyway,” he kicked the dirt, “They did me a solid. Paid me for my songs. Asked me to continue writing original music for them. Grady just recorded one of my tunes.”
“That’s amazing!” Alyssa said, feeling genuine excitement for him.
“Thanks,” Zander smiled shyly.
They sat on a bench in the shade of the giant cottonwoods. Zander set his cowboy hat on the bench beside them and ran a hand through his long hair. He stretched his arms across the back of the bench and leaned his head back to feel the wind through it.
“Any regrets?” Alyssa asked, leaning back into his arm.
“None.” He looked at her. It felt like an ending and a beginning. She leaned over and kissed him.
The End
Listen to Zander on the Mountain Town Podcast