Chapter 8

Josh was furious. Becky had turned out to be like those dumb-ass high school girls in that she always seemed to be looking for the next hook-up. He had given her his heart the night before, and she had stomped on it. To make things even worse, his ever-loving sister had started it. He cursed himself for being such a fucking dumbass and bringing a girl home with him. At least he had found out now before getting any deeper with Becky, and Josh had something to take his mind off of things for a while because he had deer to finish.

He pulled both deer out and got his stuff out. He was so furious that he made short work of the deer, getting them cleaned within an hour and a half. He took the hides and put them on the stretcher to be salted and preserved. All the meat was wrapped, labeled, and put in the freezer, and the skull with the antlers was put where nature could clean it for Josh so he could do a European mount. As he was cleaning up, the door opened, and he saw Becky step in, dressed as a farm girl. He looked at her and snorted as he went back to cleaning.

Gretchen and Becky just sat at the kitchen table, trying to think of a way to fix things. At first, nothing sounded right, and they still had no plan after almost an hour. As a last desperate act, Becky put on the clothes that Josh had bought for her. Gretchen quickly got Becky’s hair into the loose braid that Josh liked. Finally, it was time to roll the dice, and it was utterly in Becky’s hands because Gretchen was just as lost as she was. Becky stood by the door to where Josh was and could faintly hear him working. Gathering her last bit of courage, she opened the door and stepped in. She looked at Josh as he looked at her and returned to cleaning.

To Becky, it felt like her heart had been ripped out of her chest because she had just been rejected by the man she loved, and she started to cry. Josh didn’t even pay her any attention as he finished cleaning up, and Becky just stood there sobbing. After he finished cleaning, he came up to her:

“You know, for a little bit there, I thought that you might be different and mature enough to form a relationship. But I see now that I was only fooling myself, and you’re no better than all those high school bitches who threw themselves at me. Now, if you will excuse me, I have a shit load of stuff that I need to get done.”

“Josh, please, please give us another chance, please?” Becky managed to squeak out.

Josh just looked at her, shook his head, and stepped around her to head to a different barn. Meanwhile, Becky just collapsed on the floor and sobbed. She had just blown it with the best person she had ever met. She didn’t know how long she cried before she felt a strong hand rubbing her back. Looking up, she saw Gretchen and the worry in her eyes.

“I’ve lost him Gretchen. Can you take me back to my dorm, please?”

Suddenly it was Gretchen who was pissed.

“Fuck that! Where did he go Becky? I’m not going to be playing this game with him.”

“I ... I don’t know. He said he had a shitload of stuff to get done.”

“Come on, Becky,” Gretchen commanded as she yanked Becky off the floor. “It’s time to fix this, and if this doesn’t work, I’m calling in reinforcements. You two belong together, and anyone who sees the two of you knows that.”

Stepping out, neither of them could hear where Josh was, but Gretchen knew where he wasn’t. He wasn’t in the house, and he wasn’t in the barn that they were just in. That only left a few barns to check. Coming up to the last possible barn, they could hear a machine cutting, and Gretchen knew what Josh was working on. He was starting work on the new tractor’s engine block. Gretchen stepped in and signaled for Becky to follow her but stay at the door. By this time, Becky was more of a zombie than a woman. Gretchen walked right over and hit the E-stop on the machine, shutting it down.

“WHAT THE FUCK GRETCHEN!!”

“We need to talk, NOW!”

“No, we don’t, and I’m not going to talk, so get the fuck out of my way,” Josh growled as he started resetting the machining station.

“Josh, we will talk whether you like it or not.”

“Fine, you want to talk, then talk, just stay the fuck out of my way.”

“Josh, quit being so fucking stubborn and listen. For some reason, that woman loves you, and you’ve turned your back on her. Now, why don’t you pull your fucking head out of your ass before you lose the best thing that’s ever happened to you!” Josh just snorted at her.

“It’s hard to lose something that you never had in the first place. NOW MOVE!”

“Josh, you fucking dumbass! Look at her! Just look at her! She loves you more than anything or anyone else, and you’re stomping on her heart!!”

“And just how the fuck would you know? You go through lovers like you’re a revolving door. What the fuck would you know about love?”

“I know love when I see it, and what you two have is love.”

“Well, I thought so, but it turned out that I was just fooling myself.”

Now, Becky stepped in despite being warned by Gretchen to stay out for the time being.

“I do love you, Josh. I love you with all my heart, and I don’t want to think of what my life would be like if you were not in it. Regarding that bit with Gretchen and me, I can only beg for your forgiveness. I wasn’t thinking and hadn’t realized how much I had fallen for you. Please, Josh, please give “US” one more chance? Please?”

Josh was going to tell her to fuck off, but his throat closed up when he saw the desperate look in Becky’s eyes. He realized that she was telling the complete truth, and for the first time, he realized that he didn’t want to lose her either. Gretchen saw the change in Josh’s face and knew what was happening. Carefully, she backed up to get out of the way. She stopped once she was out of the way but stayed where she could still see and hear.

Josh’s eyes locked onto Becky’s, and Gretchen held her breath. Suddenly, Josh rushed to Becky and wrapped her in his arms as he started sobbing. As she listened, Gretchen could barely hear Josh tell Becky he was sorry for everything. Gretchen cleared the tears from her eyes and moved toward the door to give the two lovers some privacy. As she touched the door handle, Josh’s voice boomed out:

“GRETCHEN!!”

She froze; she hadn’t moved fast or quiet enough, and now she would have to face her brother. Yes, she might be the older sibling, but she knew what Josh could do. Slowly, she turned around to face him, and the look he was giving her made her pee her pants in fear.

“COME HERE,” he commanded.

Gretchen’s feet moved as if they belonged to someone else as she carefully walked over to Josh and Becky. Suddenly, she knew what the condemned felt like as they walked to their executions and hoped Josh would be quick with hers. She stopped when she was about three feet away, and Josh’s icy gaze held her captive. She stared into his hardened eyes, petrified with fear.

Suddenly, his expression changed to the one that always made Gretchen’s heart flutter. That soft, warm, loving smile that could melt the coldest of hearts and always melted hers. This time, her heart didn’t melt; it exploded with joy. This joy continued when Josh held out his arm to welcome Gretchen into the embrace he and Becky shared.