Lacey

I HAD JUST FINISHED showering after taking out my frustrations on some intense yoga in the backyard when I heard thundering footsteps on the veranda and then the swing creak. I hoped to heck that it wasn’t Grayson as I was wearing my shorts and t-shirt pajamas again and I didn’t want to have to deal with him, especially not in a state of undress. As I peeked outside I saw Sara, head in hands on the porch swing. I dashed to the door.

“Hey,” I said as I walked outside, “hey, hey, you okay?”

As I got closer, I noticed she was crying hysterically, and I took a seat next to her on the swing and drew her into my arms, “Hey.” I hugged her and rubbed her arms. “What’s happened?” I asked as she gasped between sobs.

She kept crying but managed to mutter, “Alex,” between sobs. I bet it was, that guy was a piece of work that was for sure.

“What on earth happened?” I asked, and she continued to cry. “Please calm down, I’ll go get you a glass of water.” I ran inside, grabbed a glass and shoved it quickly under the faucet, returning to see her in the same position but a little calmer. I passed her the glass. She sipped it and took a few deep breaths. Her pretty face was blotchy and red from the tears. I pushed the hair off her face and gave her a smile. “Tell me all about it,” I said in a soothing voice.

“I tried to make dinner,” she struggled not to take an emotional breath between words. “You know how I said he can’t make dinner?” I nodded. “Well I thought I’d help, and I got distracted with homework and Facebook and then I smelled smoke.”

“Oh no,” I said.

She started to cry again, “Then Alex came home, and he ripped me a new one about cooking and said I was a fuckin’ moron and said he was stuck with us and...” She broke down in tears again, “I may as well be with a foster family, he hates us.”

“No, no,” I hugged her again and rubbed her arm, “he’s just not a dad is all, he has no idea how to be a parent because it’s all new to him.” I said. The guy had his faults and was difficult as hell but I knew he loved these kids. “He loves you and this farm. Things have been tough with your mom and I’m sure me being here doesn’t help.”

“Why?” she asked, her tear-stained face looking up at mine.

“Well, I guess I want to change things and I ask lots of questions and he’s trying to work, run this place without your mom and look after you two,” I sighed. “We had a fight today too, and I bet that didn’t help.”

She dried her eyes and sipped the water, “I think he wishes he didn’t have to look out for us whilst she did rehab.” She sighed.

“I bet that’s not true and you know it,” I bumped her playfully with my shoulder. “You know he loves you and I bet sometimes you give him a hard time, so he’s had a rough day and said stuff he didn’t mean. We all do that right?”

She shrugged.

“Logan never annoyed you and you’ve never said stuff you didn’t mean?” I asked, “I bet you still love him thought, right?”

“I guess,” she sighed, “I just never see him laugh anymore and when he looks at me it’s always with... anger.”

“Well,” I threw my arm around her shoulder, “you can change that by telling him how you feel or making darn sure that every time he looks at you, he has no reason to not be proud.”

She nodded, “I guess he only ever has to deal with me when I’m bad.”

“Exactly and sometimes bad attention is better than no attention, yeah?” she smiled at me.

“Maybe...” she said. I laughed, and she began to giggle too.

“Look I made chili and I can make enough rice for two...” I offered. “I have a brother you know, and he is such a pain in the ass, you have no idea.”

“For real?” she asked.

“For real. He once kicked a muddy soccer ball at my white jeans when I was walking out to my car to go on a date.”

“Oh my God,” she laughed. “What happened?”

“Well,” I gave a victorious smile, “I scratched up his arms with my newly manicured nails and popped the soccer ball. I was a little late for my date, but the guy turned out to be a jerk anyway.”

“Oh wow,” she laughed. I heard tires crunch the road before I saw Alex’s truck making its way past the cottage. He stopped outside the house when he saw us on the porch and Logan sat in the passenger seat with Bear laid over him as Alex jumped down and slammed the door.

“Oh no,” Sara said, putting her face in her hands.

“I’ll speak to him,” I said, patting her back. I walked from the veranda and down the steps to meet him on the dirt road. He glanced up to see his sister still upset and then down at me. I felt the dirt beneath my bare feet and I stood in not a scrap of make up with my blonde hair tied any which way on top of my head. My pajamas were a little less than I wanted to wear in front of one of the most insolent employees I had ever faced.

“Is she okay?” he asked, his voice low and concerned which surprised me.

“She’s been laughing,” I gave him a sympathetic smirk. “I guess you lost your temper, huh?”

He bowed his head and took a deep breath, “I was a complete dick and I need to say I’m sorry.”

“Look,” I said calmly, “I told her we all say stuff we don’t mean when we’re upset and she’s feeling better. I just made dinner and offered her some. I think she wanted to stay.”

“Um...” he began.

“I don’t want to intrude,” he moved his head, so his eyes met mine and my heart stuttered a little at his vulnerable beauty. When Alex Miller was not grimacing and when caught unaware he was even more handsome than when he wanted to kill me with a stare. “Why don't you maybe both cool off? I’ll take care of her, feed her, talk to her, and then you can apologize when she gets home. I’ll drop her off.”

“I’m rubbish at all this stuff. She’s usually such hard work. I had no idea she was trying to help...” he rumbled low with hurt.

“Look, I get it,” I smiled up at him, “you don’t need to explain, teenage girls are a complete and utter mystery even to me and I used to be one. They’re moody; angry and nasty one minute and as sweet as candy the next.” I placed my hand on his arm and noticed he flinched slightly as I did. “You’re doing a great job and I mean that about work as well. Today...”

“Lacey,” he lowered his head, “forget today. I was out of order, let’s discuss it tomorrow.”

“Alex, what I didn’t say is you do a great job. I just get carried away and I’m always looking to better stuff, but I didn’t appreciate everything else you’re going through. I’m sorry.” I uttered the last part, and he turned his mouth up in a slight smile.

“Thanks,” he nodded, “but it’s not your problem and I need to be respectful; you’re the boss and the least I can do is listen.”

I let go of his arm and he looked down at me like he was seeing my t-shirt and shorts for the first time. He widened his eyes slightly, and they roamed over my exposed legs. I felt a little shiver under his perusing eyes. “Take care of her,” he nodded at me, “and try to keep the Alex bashing to a minimum.”

“I’ll try,” I grinned, “but no promises.”

He snorted a half laugh and stepped to the side to look up at the veranda where Sara was curled up on the swing, her legs pulled up to her chest and her arms wrapped around them. He didn’t say anything, just waved to her, and she stayed still but nodded her head. He climbed back in the truck. Logan looked to him when he climbed inside and Alex must have explained as before they drove away Logan waved out of his window.

I stepped back as they drove away, waved and turned to face Sara who smiled when I walked back up the steps. “You can stay for dinner,” I told her, “then I’ll take you home, but you have to promise to talk to him before bed and not go to bed upset.”

“Did he say that?” she asked.

“No,” I smirked and sat back down, “it’s a rule I made up and I expect you to do as you’re told.”

“Okay,” she snuggled back into me.

“Siblings,” I sighed, “I thought I’d left all the drama behind.”

“I think there’s more drama in Celebration Falls than on ‘Grey’s Anatomy’,” she added, her voice still hoarse with emotion.

“Wow,” I laughed, “I’ll watch out for that.”

“You’re in it,” she laughed. “Do you have garlic bread?” she turned and looked up at me.

“For dinner?” I asked, and she nodded. “I don’t but I have tacos, and cookies for after.”

“Awesome,” she nodded her approval, “then can you do my makeup and curl my hair please?”

“You can’t stay all night,” I grinned, “you have school tomorrow, but we’ll do what we can.”

“Thank you, Lacey,” she wiped under her eyes and sipped some more of her water, “no one ever made everything alright before.”

“What? I’m sure your mom knows what to say to make you feel better,” I said.

“She usually causes the arguments,” she scoffed.

“Oh,” I uttered, keeping my mouth in the shape of an ‘o’ as I pondered her comment.  This poor girl desperately needed some love, and I felt the need to make her brother see that.

 

The night flew by. I had forgotten how great it was to have girly time. The past few years had been consumed by work and my best friend Jessa lived in Chicago, so we struggled to get time together. I made her pedicure over Skype when I was in need of pampering and she hated it; boy, I missed her.  Having Sara over was a little like one of mine and Jessa’s nights in, except there was no wine and no sex talk. Since Jessa had gotten back together and married to her childhood sweetheart, Will, all I ever did was get her to dish the dirt on their sex life. Mine had been stagnant with Bryan for years because we were just too busy working and he was always tired.

Sara ate the meal I had prepared like a starving orphan and I watched with a huge grin as she devoured the chili and rice, spreading it between taco after taco. I had no idea how the girl stayed so skinny. Afterwards I showed her some of the clothes I’d brought that I now knew I wouldn’t be wearing around the farm and offered her a skirt and top for the date she told me she now had. Then we sat in front of my illuminating mirror that I didn’t travel without and was sure had bumped my suitcases over the kilograms allowed for travel, hence costing me a fortune. It was worth it. A girl needed light.

I showed her how to apply the foundation and how I had learned some blending tips that weren’t quite contouring but accentuated my best features. I gave her an old MAC foundation that was too pale for me in summer and I had barely touched. I also passed on some eye shadow that she was in awe of, some pale gold, pink and grays.

“Thank you so much,” Sara said, hugging me afterwards.

“You are so welcome,” I told her, “now watch those YouTube tutorials I told you about, they are really good for hair and makeup.”

“I will do,” she grinned, “thanks for dinner too.”

“Any time,” I shrugged, “it’s not like anyone else calls round, if you weren’t here I’d just work.”

“Okay,” she smiled.

“I better get you back,” I told her, “now remember to speak to Alex when you get home, make things right. What he said was wrong, but you have to accept that he has a lot on his plate.”

“Yeah,” she sighed, “he’ll be in his workshop though,” she smiled, “so I’ll talk to him tomorrow.”

“Promise,” I leveled my eyes with her.

“Yeah,” she nodded.

“Good.”

I drove her home and watched as she climbed up the porch steps to the main house. She waved when she pushed the door open and I waved watching her inside.  I pulled a U-turn in the driveway and wondered what Alex did at night in his workshop. It couldn’t be related to the farm? Could it? I drove home, smiling to myself at memories of the evening and when I got back picked up around the house until it was time for bed. This cottage had been a cesspit of dust and useless antiques, but in no time at all it had become quite homely and the painting had definitely helped. I climbed into crisp, white sheets and laid my laptop on my knee for a quick hour of work before sleep.

 

The weekend passed by uneventfully. Although there was work at the weekends around the farm, I took a break from tailing Alex and instead worked on my investment clients. I emailed some queries to Georgie from the New York office of ‘Peterson and Tyson Associates’ who had taken over my workload to add to her own. That office was ridiculous and to prove yourself you had to have no life. I fielded calls from Bryan, refusing to answer and deleting his text messages. The dude needed to take the hint.

Jessa called on Saturday and we talked about her visiting for a weekend in a few weeks. I was the crazy, unpredictable one of the two of us, and I guessed although she was used to my wackiness, a farm in Montana was too much even for her to accept.

“Lace, you cannot stay out there,” she sighed.

“I can do whatever I want, I have no ties and no husband,” I moaned. We were drinking wine together and Facetiming. Her kids were in bed and Will was lurking somewhere in the background but had the good sense to stay out of the camera angle.

“You have a husband,” she pursed her lips, “you just choose to ignore that fact.”

“He’s having a baby with someone else in case you forgot,” I widened my eyes.

“You guys were broken up,” she sipped her wine, “look, all I’m saying is when did running away ever work for anyone?”

 “It was over with Bryan before his seed scattered into some vulture's uterus and sprung a sprog who will keep the whore in alimony for the rest of her life,” I growled. “I hate him.”

“You sound so convincing.” She rolled her eyes. “Bitterness reveals your pain.”

“Oh my God, didn’t you get an F in philosophy?” I teased.

“I have never had an F in my life and you know it,” she chuckled. I could tell she was a little drunk as she hardly drank these days.

“Look quit,” I told her, “I dumped that fungus and now he’s sprouting with someone else, not my problem. I am also not running away.”

“Right,” she shook her head, “well I’ll be booking a flight, so you better tell me which airport you can pick me up from.”

“Hey,” I heard Will from somewhere in the room, “you two in a small town sounds dangerous.”

“Us two anywhere together is dangerous, Willy!” I yelled into my phone. “Marry my girl and marry me, you knew the deal.”

Jessa laughed, and I saw her blow a kiss to where he sat off camera.

“I better go I have a few things to do before bed,” I told her.

“Stop working you lunatic,” she told me.

“I love you J bird,” I told her and we said our goodbyes.

 

The following week I arrived at breakfast and Alex gave me a curt smile when I sat at the bench seat opposite him. “So today I’m doing a ride out,” he said in between shoveling oatmeal into his mouth. “You wanna come with?”

I grinned and cocked my head to the side, “You trying to keep me away from the figures?” I asked.

“No, I’m trying to forget about those goddamned figures,” he smiled shyly and looked at me from under his eyelashes. For a second it gave me an insight into the guy he could be. My heart stuttered, and I felt a blush rise on my cheeks. I hadn’t blushed in a decade, seriously nothing made me blush. Not even a very well built African American dude named Rogan who said he was an ex-marine and made me hold his cock at my Bachelorette party during a very sexy lap dance.

I smirked and tried to play it cool through my elevated temperature, “Sounds good.” Was I flirting with him? Did I want to? I needed my head testing. The guy was hot and hard and beautiful and if we met in some sweaty club in New York, I’d sure rub up against him and hope not to bump into him again after a session back at mine. In Montana things were a little more complicated, the guy hated me and I was his boss. Also, I’d definitely see him in the morning.

“Okay, we’ll meet at the stables after breakfast. Who did you ride last time?”

“We’re riding?” I half whined, “isn’t there a suitable truck we can use?”

“Nope,” he widened his eyes and tightened his mouth, “tracks ruin the crop; horses it is.”

I sighed, “cool.” I grinned and tried to hide my disappointment, I wasn’t averse to horse riding but I’d rather be in a comfortable truck.

“You did say you could ride?” he raised an eyebrow, “Eric took you out, right?”

“Yeah,” I nodded, “I guess I better see if I can borrow those boots again.” I said.

“We have hundreds of boots at the stables in various sizes, you’ll find some there.”

I nodded.“Okay.”

I talked to a few of the guys whilst they sat drinking coffee and when Alex stood, I stood and walked to the kitchen door to wait while he rinsed his bowl and cup. “Ready?” he asked.

“Yep,” we walked silently to the stables which was about five minutes away. It was already a hot day. Alex always wore a long sleeved patterned shirt regardless and his jeans were well sculpted to his muscled body. He wore the same work boots that he always wore and today sunglasses. He towered over me as I had taken to flats since being on the farm and I wore jeans and a black vest top. I had my Bvlgari sunglasses that I hoped would not tumble off during the ride. Crystal had given me a steady ride last time, but you could never be sure and Eric took me slow and steady—we didn’t gallop.

When we reached the stable, the doors were open, and we walked in to find a lady carrying buckets to the stables, “Hey, Alex.” I recognized her face from around the place.

“Hey, Sue,” he said in a friendly tone that I wouldn’t have usually associated with him. “You met Lacey, right?”

“Hey, Lacey,” Sue smiled and nodded as she disappeared into one of the individual stables that lined either side of the barn.

“So, who did you ride last time?” he asked walking to the back of the barn and glancing back.

“Crystal,” I told him.

“Okay, here,” he pointed to a rack that held rows of riding boots: some ankle boots and some high like Wellingtons. “Find your size, then a hat with a peak that’s snug enough to be safe.”

I nodded and found my size in some ankle boots, discarding my converse on the shelf where they sat. Then I moved onto the cupboard next to the boots where the hats were stacked. I stood in the boots and adjusted the hat when he walked out of the stall with Crystal saddled up and beckoned for me to follow. Once we were outside he gave me curt nod, “can you mount, or do you need help?”

“Um,” I looked at him and smiled awkwardly, “help.” I shrugged.

“Come on then,” he held onto Crystal’s reins and put a hand out for me to step on.

“You want me to step on one hand?” I asked.

“What you must weigh about eighty pounds,” he sighed impatiently, “I can do it if you can.”

“I think I’ll be okay, just catch me if I fall.” Taking hold of Crystal’s saddle I patted her gently. “Hey, girl,” I murmured, “just me again.” I grabbed hold of the Pommel and placed my right foot in the stirrup, so I could swing my left leg over.  I made it on the first try and gave him a self-satisfied smug smile. He turned his mouth up slightly and then moved Crystal’s reins over her head and passed them to me.

“I’ll just be a second,” he said as he walked back inside the stables. I patted Crystal and spoke to her whilst we waited, and she whinnied a little in what I hoped was mutual respect. Just as she started to a move a little, Alex appeared by my side on a beautiful sleek, brown horse. His was taller than Crystal and looked very majestic. The horse had a white face and white boots on his feet, he looked expensive. Alex wore a Stetson and no riding hat. He looked like the professional farmboy he was and I looked like his inept assistant.

“Who’s this guy?” I asked Alex.

He made a clicking sound and kicked the horse lightly on the side. I followed suit, and they both began to move, “This is Bullseye,” he grinned over at me and patted the big guy on the side.

“Named after ‘Toy Story’?” I asked.

“Yep,” he nodded, “Grandpa got me him for my fourteenth birthday, he’s a Thoroughbred.”

“Wow,” I nodded, he would have been as expensive as he looked. “Do you breed him?” I asked.

“We did a couple of times but not for a while. Let’s go,” he said, and he set off trotting so I followed suit with Crystal.

We rode out past the closest fields and he led me to a dirt road that seemed to sweep by the side of all the wheat. “You okay to canter?” he asked.

“Sure,” I told him as I wasn’t really sure but Lacey Davenport was always up for a challenge. He gave Bullseye a swift kick, and I instructed Crystal the same and we set off bounding our way past the field of wheat in various stages of growth. I watched the beauty of Montana whiz by and even briefly looked up the cloudless sky to marvel at the endless blue. On the horizon, mountains were visible and where we rode not another property could be spotted. If Alex wanted to do away with me, this would have been the perfect spot. 

After almost ten minutes of intense movement Alex slowed Bullseye down and waited for me to catch up. We were both out of breath and I felt like a sweaty mess despite my loose-fitting vest top. Alex removed his hat, wiped his hairline with his shirt sleeve and then replaced the hat. “Almost there,” he said, “you good?”

“Yeah,” I nodded with a breathless grin. “It’s beautiful out here.” I added.

“Closest place to God,” he grinned. I could see he loved the place, he looked around and took a lungful of air like he was in love. He’d never looked so relaxed and it made me smile. “Come on.”

We kept riding until we moved down a few more fields, then he steered Bullseye into that field and we trotted towards two moving vehicles that looked to be spraying the crops. Alex waved and the one heading our way stopped. The driver stepped out and waved back. Alex trotted towards him and I followed. “All good, Greg?” Alex asked, “how’s she running?”

“Good,” Greg told him, “she’s juddering a little, but I’d call in if she gave out.”

“Cool, we’re just out here doing a sweep.”

“Got it,” Greg nodded and gave me a polite nod with his hat off. I smiled.

The other tractor stopped and a bigger guy hung out, “hey, boss!” he yelled.

We rode over to the other guy, “You got everything you need, man?” Alex asked him.

“Sure do,” he nodded. “That new fertilizer seems a little thicker than the last, might glug up the pipe. I’ll keep checking.”

“Thanks, Nate,” Alex nodded to him.

“No problem. I’ll call with any problems.”

“Move West,” Alex told him.

“Yeah, I got it,” the guy chuckled. He waved, and we headed off again.

“I want to check a piece of perimeter fencing that Eric said was loose.” He told me firmly, in authoritative mode.

“Okay,” I shrugged.

We set off again but trotted and Alex looked over at me a few times to see I was keeping up. I gave him a confident smile, and he nodded. The more time I spent with him, the more he seemed so much older than his years. I had the gift of the gab, the cocksure attitude that won me deals but he had the quiet form of authority that seemed to garner respect from all these guys. He had a lot to deal with and considering he’d probably never left the farm, he handled it all very well.

After a while he slowed, and I stopped with him. He hopped off Bullseye, but I stayed on Crystal to watch as I wasn’t sure if I dismounted how I’d get back on. Alex held the reins and walked to a wire fence between wooden fence posts that was waist height and had fallen over, the wire twisted awkwardly. He tied Bullseye to the fence a little further up and dropped to his knees to assess the damage.

“What you think?” I yelled, “can you fix it?”

“Sure,” he looked up at me and squinted into the sun, “but looks like it’s been damaged by someone, it’s not just general wear and tear.”

“Who would be all the way out here causing damage?” I asked with a sigh.

“Kids,” he shrugged, “who knows? I brought food; you wanna sit and have some water whilst I fix it?”

“Sure but...” I began.

“What?” he looked up.

“I’m not sure how to get off the horse,” I laughed, and he allowed a little smirk to grace his face.

“How’d ya get down last time?” he smirked and squinted up at me, walking around Bullseye and moving to stand by the side of Crystal.

“Eric helped,” I shrugged.

“Come on then,” he took the reins and moved them over Crystal’s head and patted her tenderly. Then he held them in one hand and stood by the side of me and the horse, “scoot your other leg over.” I did as I was told and moved both my legs over to the one side where he stood. “I got her, just ease down.”

He stood back a little and kept one hand on Crystal and put another out for me. I took it and gave him a quick smile and he helped me ease down. His hand was big, strong and warm and I clung to it as my feet dipped to the floor. He stood flush to my chest, and I stood for a second looking up at him. We were so close that I could smell his sweet cologne and a hint of what was his male scent. He looked at me through narrowed eyes and for a second I was bowled over by how handsome he was up close. His stubble was more defined as he’d let it grow out a little more over the weekend and his blue/ green eyes were quite dazzling up close. He stepped back quickly and broke the spell.

“You good?” he asked.

“Yeah,” I said a little breathlessly.

He took two water bottles out of his saddle bag, passed me one and then unscrewed the cap on the other to drink. “Sit,” he motioned to the grass by the side of the fence. I sat, removed my riding helmet, and he tied Crystal up then grabbed a small cool bag from his saddle bag and sat next to me. “Cookie?” he asked, opening the bag.

“Any fruit?” I asked.

“Nah,” he shook his head, “I brought some subs I threw together, want one?”

“You guys just eat rubbish all the time.” I grinned.

He shrugged, “I work long days, and I failed Home Ec.” He gave me a sheepish grin.

“Sara said your mom use to make dinner?” I asked.

“Badly,” he took a big bite of the cookie, “she’s not your typical mom.”

“I gathered,” I said, pulling my knees up and placing my arms around them. “Was the story she gave me about your grandpa re-mortgaging true?” I asked quietly.

He sighed, “My grandpa was the best man you could ever choose to meet, she was the daughter he would never have a bad word said against.” He rubbed the back of his head and took off his hat. “He and my grandma had a son, he was seven when he died, and I guess none of them ever recovered. After my grandpa died ten years ago, she needed money and re-mortgaged to get it.”

“Right,” I nodded. “So you're angry at her?”

“For a lot of reasons,” he sniffed, rubbed under his nose and placed his hat back on. “She’s not a great Mom, she sold my birthright and rather than realizing any of those things were wrong, she kept having kids and overspending.”

“Maybe one day you can buy me out?” I said, sipping the water. “I mean I have great plans and the price could go up, but you could get a loan.”

He looked at me with a mixture of shock and pensive thought, “I’d never make enough money.”

“I’m great at making money,” I grinned and relaxed backwards letting the sun catch my face. “I make people’s money triple for a living. So I could help.”

He sighed and stood, moving to where the fence was exposed. “I guess it’ll cost me for your services?” he gruffed out.

“I think,” I placed an index finger on my lips cutely, “you could start by treating me nice and we can go from there.”

“You are a piece of work, Lacey Davenport,” he said, kneeling to clear the tangled wire, “you look like a movie star but you’ve got bigger balls than most men I know.”

“I’m awesome at poker,” I laughed.

 

Alex fixed the fence, then we rode on and checked on a few more guys and he showed me the crop rotation and the different practices they used to keep things going. On horseback we couldn’t ride out too far as then we’d struggle to get back for dark. We ate the subs in another grassy area under an old oak tree that spanned about five feet of shade.

“You wanna ride into town when we get back?” he asked. “I need to pick up some stuff from the market.”

“You gonna make a meal?” I teased.

“Nah, more like toothpaste and toilet paper.” He smirked.

“Sure,” I said. I missed civilization and so a trip into town wasn’t wasted on me. “I can get some things.”I guessed this was his way of being nicer to me and it sure would make more sense than constantly being at each other’s throats.

We rode back to the farm, and I guessed that the day was drawing in by the drop in temperature and the lengthened shadows. I checked my cell and noted that it was almost four. The kids would be getting back from school soon, the bus usually dropped them at the end of the long road that led to the house.

We gave the horses a drink, unsaddled them and left Sue washing them down with water after the long, hot hack. Alex swapped his cowboy hat for a baseball cap that he found in the stables and when we walked back to the house Bear barked and appeared, running towards us. Alex bent to pet him.

“I look a mess,” I said absently, running my hand through my hair and feeling my vest top stuck to my skin from sweat.

Alex scoffed, “You’re kidding right?” He looked up to me from where he crouched patting Bear.

“My hair is a mess, my top is stuck to me and I so need a shower.” He shook his head. “What?”

“Out here it’s a rare day if you don’t get covered in some sort of shit,” he laughed. “I’ve not seen anyone care what they looked like round here for a long time.”

I nodded, “Well I guess I’ll fit in better in town then.”

“Nope,” he shook his head as we walked towards the truck. “Still won’t fit in,” he gave me a wide grin, and it made me grin involuntarily and laugh.

“I guess I stick out?”

“Go on inside, Bear,” he shouted to the dog who ran back towards the house. “Too hot for him in the car today.” He explained. I nodded. We both climbed inside and I fixed my hair with the visor mirror.

He drove quickly down the winding dirt tracks to town. His truck was big and formidable, but he drove like he knew nothing was coming the other way. He obviously knew these tracks like the back of his hand. We made it to town in record speed and hopped out onto the main street where the few businesses lined either side. There were a few other cars parked and more people on the street than there had been the last time I was there.

We walked a few feet. Alex was looking downwards, and I had my sights on the store when a girl stopped us, “Hey Alex,” she said in a soft, girly voice that made women seem weak.

“Oh. Hi, Amber,” he said, looking up to see her. He continued to walk, but she stopped. I wasn’t sure what we were doing, and so I kept walking.

“You guys off to the store?” she shouted after us and Alex turned back to face her.

“Yeah, um gotta dash,” he mumbled and then turned back to keep walking. I observed the scene and narrowed my eyes, glancing back and seeing her still stood there watching us. She was pretty: taller than me, slim, but with curves in the right places. Brown hair fell around a cute heart shaped face.

“That woman seems to like you,” I said to him, keeping in step.

“She’s my ex,” he sighed.

“Oh,” I glanced back to look at her again. “I think she’s still interested.”

He sighed again, “Change the subject.” He glanced to me and I pursed my lips.

“There’s a story there and I’m great at getting to the bottom of stories,” I laughed.

“We were together in high school. We broke up almost two years ago when my mom lost the farm, she cheated on me with Grayson Tyrer.” He glared at me and I must have looked horrified as it sunk in what he’d just said.

“Wow, sorry, that’s rough.” I shrugged, “I figured he was an asshole.”

He smirked as he held the door of the store open for me to walk through, “Huge A hole and as for her...” he sighed and took a basket, passing it to me and getting himself another, “she wanted to try again.”

“You didn’t?” I asked.

He smirked again, and his blue eyes penetrated mine. “I’ve got a farm, two kids, a mom in rehab and my boss on my back twenty-four-seven. My hands are full.”

“I guess,” I sighed. “My ex is having a baby with his secretary, who he impregnated the moment we broke up.” I blurted out. “We’ve all got our issues.”

He laughed and shook his head in disbelief, “Sure do.”

We separated, and I bought a few things I needed, meeting Alex at the checkout when it was time to leave. He offered to carry my bags, but I declined and we made our way back to Bishops Hill talking easily. I liked him, he wasn’t just some guy with a bad attitude anymore, he was someone real who struggled with me for a good reason. The guy had been to hell and back and I had my sympathies. I wasn’t soft, I wasn’t easy and although my intentions were the same, the way I went about them may be different.