Page 52 of Something Tangled Something True (Rosa Ranch #1)
ENERGíA PESADA
Sweat drips from my brow, stinging my eyes as I swipe it away, but the discomfort is just a blip on my radar compared to the all-consuming, excruciating pain radiating through my joints.
I have six days to get this place ready.
Six days to prove to myself and this town I still belong here, that I can do this. That I can make my dreams here a reality.
When we picked the date for the soft opening, it felt like I had forever to get everything done, but now that it’s rapidly approaching, that is so far from the case.
My paint-covered hands hang loosely at my sides, my muscles quaking with fatigue as I stare up at the outside of the barn, red drips drying in an unruly disarray down the side.
I squint up at the massive structure, the sun’s rays burning my retinas.
It looks better. The inside is nearly complete, and Ryder and Harlan are planning to hang the mirrors tomorrow, but am I ready? Can I truly teach like this, with my body threatening to fall apart around me? Is it worth it?
My shoulders sag, chest heaving as I drag in a pained breath, sliding to the grass beneath me, roots thick and painful against my sensitive skin.
I’ve never wanted anything more than to dance, to teach others about what makes each style so uniquely beautiful and magical, but maybe Russ and his family were right. Maybe I need to accept this dream was just a childish endeavor, never meant to be a career.
My phone vibrates in my back pocket, startling me enough to distract me from my downward spiral, even if just momentarily.
I answer it, bringing the speaker to my ear. “Where are you? Bee and Titi are gonna watch Isabela for a couple of hours while we go into town.”
“Hello to you too, dearest,” I snark back. “I’m at the barn, same as I have been every afternoon at this time.”
“I don’t know what crawled up your ass and died, but you better get it out before I get there. You’ve got approximately seven minutes,” Mayte says before hanging up without enough time for me to apologize.
I don’t wait for her to get here, opting to call her back immediately. “When someone hangs up on you, it usually means they’re annoyed with you and need a minute,” she grunts.
“I know, and I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have snapped at you. I’m exhausted and in pain. It’s not an excuse, but it’s all I’ve got,” I tell her.
“I’m here. You can apologize properly by buying me a pastry on our way into town,” she says at the same time I hear the roar of her Jeep as she pulls up the side of the wildflower-covered hill.
“Get in, loser!” she shouts through her rolled-down window, a wide grin plastered across her face that makes me feel about a million times better.
We spend the rest of the afternoon eating baked goods and gathering supplies for the cleansing rituals Mami and Tia Maria taught us as teens. It’s no small feat, seeing as Latine-owned businesses are few and far between out here, but we make do with raiding Mami’s cabinets.
If there’s anything my little pity party taught me this afternoon, it’s that something can only tear me down if I let it. I refuse to let the shadow of my ex make me feel bad about myself. I’m determined to cleanse my body, mind, soul, and home of all this energía pesada.
Mayte parks her lime-green Jeep beside the large chicken coop. “How many eggs do we need?”
“The egg limpia just requires one egg per person we’re cleansing, but we should try to get a few extra in case we break any before we’re supposed to.”
“Got it,” I say, unlatching the tiny metal lock on the coop. “Hello, ladies,” I say, speaking directly to the hens.
They squawk and flap their wings, feathers flying all around us as they leave their perches. I tiptoe around their water and food, careful not to step in too much poop, and find myself at the end of the row. Mayte and I look in each nesting box, coming up almost empty.
My shoulders sag as I grab just one from the second-to-last box. “Only one,” I say, pouting.
Mayte leans over the last box, squinting to see inside. It’s dark since it’s a corner box, so I turn on my phone flashlight and shine in it. She screams, jumping a foot in the air, and runs straight out of the coop. “What the hell, Mayte!” I yell at her, turning my attention to the box.
A brown-and-tan rat snake lies inside, coiled around the eggs. Its little tongue flickers at me, and I’m out of there before you can say pinga.
I suck in a breath, holding the single egg, and close the latch on the hutch. “I don’t know that snake’s name, but whoever the hell she is, she can keep them. Those are her eggs now.”
“Sure are,” Mayte agrees. “You keep that one though. You need it more than anyone,” she tells me as we walk to her Jeep. I’m careful not to squash the egg as she drives me home, dropping me off in front of the cottage.
Ryder meets me on the steps, pressing a kiss to my forehead. He holds the door open for me as I pass through. “You find everything?”
“Yeah, but there’s a snake in the chicken coop. It’s just a rat snake, but it’s holding my eggs hostage,” I tell him.
“I’m sorry, darlin’. That’s the ecosystem at work. If I wasn’t sure she’d come right back, I’d remove her for you, but I think grabbing some eggs from the store tomorrow might be a better idea.”
“That’s okay,” I say, waving him off. “How’s the fertilizer coming along?
” I ask. He’s been working overtime on his experiments the last several nights, and the last I heard, he just needed confirmation from a few more farmers that they’d utilize his fertilizer exclusively on some crops so he could confirm the efficacy.
He beams at me, uncontrolled excitement bursting through him in a way that revitalizes some of my energy.
“It’s going amazing, Lols. I've had nothing but success with this batch, and the labs I’ve sent samples to have finished their tests.
They’ve confirmed that the ingredients aren’t harmful to plants, animals, or waterways in the current concentrations, so I’m all set to drop them off to the farmers in this area. ”
God, I love it when he gets all nerdy. “Oh my gosh, Ry! That’s incredible!” I shout, slamming my body into his, unable to contain the excitement and pride flowing through me. My arms wind around his neck, and he tugs on my thighs, wrapping my legs around his waist, nuzzling his face into my neck.
“Everything Lemmon told me I couldn’t do, couldn’t have, all the dreams she tried to crush, they’re right here at the tips of my fingers, Lols. I can feel it,” he whispers, and my heart aches for a past version of him who believed her cruel words.
“You’re amazing,” I tell him. “You will have everything you want in this life and more,” I say, returning the words he’d given me not long ago.
He squeezes me tightly, dropping his forehead to my shoulder. “I hate to leave you, but I already promised I’d drop the fertilizer off. I shouldn’t be more than a couple of hours.”
I release him as his hands guide me gently to the ground. “Go! It’s okay. I’ve got to cleanse this house and get rid of all the bad energy that’s been following me. When you get home, we can do something to celebrate.”
“Can we go for a ride?” he asks, and even though I know my body aches and I’ve overdone it today, I can’t say no to that face.
“Absolutely, Ry. Drive safe, and I’ll see you soon.”
Ryder scratches Nugget behind the ears before gripping my chin to turn my face to him. He presses a kiss to my cheek and heads off toward his truck. “Lock the door, Lols!” he shouts.
I roll my eyes at him. Of course I’m going to lock the door after what happened last night. I don’t care if it’s only three in the afternoon and the sun’s still up. Whoever’s behind this, and I’m almost certain it’s Lemmon, probably doesn’t care what time of day it is.
By the time I’ve finished changing the water under our bed and mopping the floors with agua de Florida , it’s nearly time for Ryder to return, and I still have the egg limpia to do. My hands cramp as I wrangle the mop bucket to the front porch, dumping the contents out into the grass.
I use the hose by the door, rinsing the bucket and turning it upside down to dry before going inside.
“One last thing, and then I can take a much-needed shower.” I head to the kitchen and get a cup of water together, setting it beside the egg.
I take a deep breath, winding the egg around me like wrapping lights on a Christmas tree, careful to start from my head and not my feet.
My knuckles ache as I hold the egg, passing it from one hand to the next.
I feel like I’ve missed some steps, but I can’t remember everything Mayte told me to do as I wind it around my back. My hands tremble, and tears stream down my cheeks, blocking my vision. This shouldn’t be so hard .
The egg slips, crashing to the floor with my spirits. I grab the cup, falling to my knees, the hard crack of the tiled kitchen floor against my kneecaps only making the tears come faster. I scoop the slimy contents up, trying to salvage it as I get it into the cup of water.
My hands are sticky, my knees are on fire, and hair clings to my sweaty forehead. Hanging my head, I deflate. This is all wrong.
I barely hear the knocks at the door between my angry cries. Ryder runs into the kitchen, dropping to the ground beside me. “Lola, baby, what’s wrong?” he asks, cupping my cheeks in his calloused hands.
“I dropped the egg,” I cry, hearing how unbelievably stupid that must sound to him. He looks around us, taking in the full scene for the first time since running in here.
“It’s okay, darlin’. I’ll get some rags and clean it up. It’s not a big deal, baby,” he says, his voice calm and soothing. He brushes my hair off my face, and my sanity seems to burn to dust with those periwinkle eyes.