Chapter 76 More Western Wisdom
“Would it help ease things a little if I told you that he’s okay?” Evelyn said.
“How could he be okay? Did you see how he flopped around? Did you hear when his head hit that bull’s horn? Did you see how he lay there after they got him free?” she rambled, letting go of all of the emotion of the moment. She felt tears coming again, but fought back more tears.
“Yes,” Evelyn whispered. “I saw all of that, the same as you, but I also had a chance to speak to one of the EMT’s and they said that he came to in the ambulance and that they would have him in the hospital overnight for observation and to set his broken jaw, but that other than the broken jaw and a pretty severe concussion, they believed that he only had a few bruises.”
“You’re sure?” Alexandra asked. “How could anyone live through all of that?”
“Well,” Evelyn said. “These guys are strong. Their bodies are well-conditioned and extremely flexible, and they deal with injuries better than most of us. Hell, Alexandra, he’ll probably be back on a bull next week, with his jaw wired shut.”
“That’s just insane,” she shouted. “What the hell is wrong with these people? They’re crazy. They didn’t even stop the damned rodeo. They just continued like nothing had happened. They kept cheering and laughing and applauding like nothing had happened.”
“What are they supposed to do?” Evelyn asked. “If they stopped the show right there, then everyone would go home with only that scene in their mind. They would never get to see the other triumphs that were waiting. They would only be laboring with that ugly scene. Life has to go on, or nobody would survive.”
Alexandra knew that Evelyn was right, but it seemed very cruel. “It just seems heartless.”
“Yeah,” Evelyn reflected for a moment. “It does, but you of all people understand that things happen to us that are painful and sometimes even immobilize us for a time, but we have to fight back and keep on living.”
Evelyn was right. She wasn’t quite ready to let go of what she had been struggling with over the past hour, but what Evelyn had said was right on. She remembered thinking that very thing after her accident. She looked back on the accident now as something that had taught her something about her strength and resilience.
She wondered if RJ would learn something from this. Maybe it would make him stop using women the way he did. Maybe he would become real. He had so much to offer. She realized that he really was a good guy. Everything that he had said and done had been real, but he was probably afraid. She had been there plenty of times herself. In that moment, she let go of her anger. “I’m glad he’s okay,” she said finally. “I really don’t hate the guy. It just, well,” she struggled for what she wanted to say. “It just hurt so bad to see someone with so much potential do what he did to me.”
“Hell, Alexandra!” Evelyn exclaimed. “I love the guy. I hurt just like you did, because I wanted to believe that he had settled down. He was perfect for you. You two were awesome together. I was as angry as you were.”
“I can’t be angry like that anymore,” she said, exiting the stall and putting the brush away. “My grudges only hurt me, and who knows, maybe our bad thoughts can bring down bad things on other people.”
“I’m not sure about that,” Evelyn replied. “But I will agree that holding a grudge only hurts the grudge holder.”
They noticed someone stapling a poster to the bulletin board at the end of the alley as they approached the large overhead door that was left open during the day so people could come and go from the barn during the daytime. Alexandra couldn’t help her curiosity, and she stepped up to look at the poster as the person who placed it there stepped away to continue on to another location.
Her face became several shades whiter when she saw the poster. The photo and the name were Evan’s. She continued to read. She could feel Evelyn reading over her shoulder. “He’s here?” Evelyn exclaimed. “Oh my god. This guy is awesome.”
“What?” Alexandra asked. She had heard Evelyn’s voice, but had been lost in her own moment. “Who?”
Evelyn pointed to the poster that Alexandra was reading. “He’s here. You’ve got to see this guy. His seminar is awesome. If you want to be a real horsewoman, this is the guy to teach you.”
Alexandra racked her brain. Had she ever given Evelyn enough information about Evan for her to be excited over him being here? She was struggling with her emotions as she realized that Evelyn was talking about her Evan. How did she know Evan? She was obviously excited for a different reason than Alexandra. “What do you mean?” Alexandra turned toward Evelyn.
“This guy’s seminars are awe...” she stopped in the middle of the word. “What’s the matter? Why are you so pale?”
“It’s Evan,” she said. “My Evan.”
“Your Evan?” Evelyn stared at her a moment, and then recognition suddenly came to her face. “This is your cowboy? This is the Evan you were talking about?”
Alexandra bit her lip and nodded her head.
“Oh my god,” Evelyn said. “For the first time since I’ve known you, I have no clue what to say.”
Alexandra was frozen in shock. Evan was famous? She had never gathered that from him at all. He was highly educated and extremely intelligent, but he seemed to be a loner. Did she really even know the guy at all? “He’s famous?”
“In the horse training world, he is one of the best,” Evelyn replied. “You’re serious. You really spent a week with this guy?”
“Yes,” Alexandra whispered.
“No wonder your life was changed,” Evelyn said.
She went on with praises for Evan, his skills, and his special talents and awards, but Alexandra heard nothing. She was struggling with something deep inside. Part of her wanted to leave Colorado and run, and another part of her wanted to see him. He was here? He was really here? It seemed completely unbelievable.