Chapter Eleven
Summer
Aria’s hay would cost me my last hundred and twelve dollars and I wanted to cry. Thankfully, Jake had dropped me off while he was running his own errands so he wouldn’t be here to see me ready to break down.
“You’re lucky we even have any of that fancy stuff,” the owner of the feed store said, eyeing me with disinterest. “I’ll have to special order it from here on out.”
Super.
While I hesitated and tried to think of any other way I could feed Aria, another customer walked in and I stepped away, pretending to look at some display about ticks and fleas. I did some quick math in my head, and figured out that even if Sharon could give me hours right away, I’d barely have enough to make this kind of payment every week. I blinked away the tears and waited for the customer to finish telling his long, drawn out story about his dog’s chronic diarrhea.
Finally, he left and it was just me and the store owner and the fact that I couldn’t afford to buy the hay. I cleared my throat and tried to swallow as I realized what I was going to have to do. I couldn’t even meet his eyes.
“You want me to have them load that hay up or what?” he asked.
“Um, well...” I took a deep breath and picked my chin up. “Is there any chance you could give me a discount since you know I’ll be in here ordering it every week? Is there like a frequent buyer’s discount you guys offer or some kind of points club?” I looked at him hopefully and he looked at me blankly.
“A points club?”
I nodded. “Yeah, you know like those other stores do where all the stuff you buy adds up into points which you can use for discounts?”
He had no idea what I was talking about and I had to remind myself this wasn’t the big city. This was Podunk USA where points clubs didn’t exist and all that did was overpriced hay that I couldn’t afford.
“We don’t have a club like that,” he said.
“Okay,” I started with a sigh. “What about discounts in general? Do you ever give those to your good clients?”
“No.”
“Great,” I said and then sighed heavily as I tried to figure out what I was going to do. His eyes widened like no one had ever asked him for a discount before, then he recovered and shook his head. I could tell that I’d offended him.
“I don’t do discounts. I got bills to pay too.”
“I get it,” I said as I thought about the fact that Aria was now going to be reduced to eating alfalfa. I’d just have to exercise her that much more.
“Everything okay?” I looked up to see Jake as he came in through the front doors. Now, I wanted to sink into the floor. I shouldn’t have even asked for a discount in the first place and I was more than sure Mr. Jolly Store Owner was going to tell on me so I could be embarrassed all over again. Crap. I’d have to save face and pay the full price. There was just no way I wanted Jake to know that I was so broke I was asking for favors. Talk about embarrassing.
“Your girlfriend here doesn’t think she should have to pay full price for the hay,” the man announced, eyes narrowed on me. His voice was much more pointed and his persona more ornery now that there was another guy in the room. I nearly choked when his gaze slid down my body from head to toe. “Doesn’t look to me like she needs no discount.”
Jake bristled and frowned at the man. “Come on, Peter. Cut her some slack. You know nobody else is going to buy that stuff before it rots. You’ve been bitching about it for weeks.”
Peter narrowed his eyes at Jake. “I don’t do charity here.”
“Okay, that’s fine,” Jake said with a shrug. “But do you want to sell that hay or do you want to let it mold and then get nothing for it?” He shrugged again. “Last I checked, something is better than nothing.”
“Fine. I’ll do it this one time. That’ll be ninety bucks, and that’s my last offer.” He glared at me. “But don’t go thinking you’re going to get a discount every time when I have to order it in special. I gotta pay for shipping, don’t forget.”
“Thanks,” I said, feeling two inches tall. “And I won’t get any ideas.” I handed him the cash.
He grunted and took the money, jamming it in the drawer and ripping the receipt off. As he handed it to me, he swung his glare to Jake. “Pull your truck around and I’ll load it.”
We walked out and I felt like the weight of the world was riding my shoulders. I was suddenly terrified that this was what my new reality was forever going to be—asking for discounts everywhere I went because I couldn’t afford anything. Oh, how the mighty had fallen…
“Man, lucky break there, Posh,” Jake said as he climbed in the truck. “I wasn’t sure Peter would have any of that fancy shit of yours.”
“Yeah,” I muttered. “Lucky me.” Then I glared at him, irritated that he’d involved himself at all. “Look, I don’t need your help.”
He frowned. “Uh, kind of looked like you did.”
I crossed my arms over my chest and squeezed them tightly. “I was handling it just fine.”
“Hmm, didn’t look like it to me.”
“Well, I was.”
We were quiet for a few seconds before he glanced over at me. “A thank you would have worked fine, Summer.”
I glared at him. “A thank you? For what?”
“Yeah, a thank you for getting involved on your behalf and getting you the hay for the price we did.”
Even though it was my embarrassment that was making me pissed, now that he was acting like he’d done me a favor, I was even madder. “I didn’t ask for you to get involved on my behalf and I didn’t want you to! I would have been fine to pay full price.”
He threw his hands up as he frowned at me. “You’re impossible.”
I shook my head, so furious at how dense he was. I didn’t say anything as he backed up to the dock and we waited for Peter to load the truck. We both sat there in silence and a few minutes later, Jake pulled away.
I stewed silently and didn’t even want to think about what I was going to do when this hay ran out. I was terrified to even introduce Aria to the alfalfa even though it would cut my feed bill completely. Aria just wasn’t used to alfalfa, though, and who knew how she’d respond to it?
Jake drove the two blocks to the highway and then it was just a few more minutes until we were back to the ranch. As soon as he parked, he killed the engine and then glanced over at me.
“I’m sorry about earlier.”
I was surprised to hear him apologizing when it was clearly me who was in the wrong. “You don’t need to apologize,” I said, finding that I couldn’t meet his eyes. “I did need the discount. I just...” I sighed. I hated having to admit that I was wrong almost as much as I hated needing help. “I’m sorry. I’m still trying to figure all of this out.”
“I shouldn’t have said anything. Peter’s kind of a dick—er, jerk—sometimes and I didn’t want him taking advantage of you just because you’re new in town.”
I didn’t really want to get into this because I knew I was wholly in the wrong but there was just something inside of me that didn’t want to admit that to Jake. But I knew I had to so I swallowed the tiny bit of pride I still had left. “Thank you, Jake. I’m sorry I was acting like a spoiled child earlier.”
“It’s okay, sexy butt,” he answered with a smile.
“Sexy butt?” I responded as I faced him quizzically and shook my head as I wondered where he came up with this stuff.
He shrugged. “Hey, if you got it, flaunt it!”
I couldn’t keep the laugh from my lips. There was just something about Jake that threw me off guard, something about him that was so boyish, sweet, and innocent somehow. Yet, he was as far from innocent as it was possible to be.
He held out his hand. “Truce?”
I took his proffered hand and watched as his fingers closed over mine. He held my hand, his warm eyes nearly hidden beneath the brim of his hat. We didn’t shake, he just held my hand in his and stared at me with an intensity that was more than a little unnerving.
“Truce,” I answered as I took my hand back and had to force myself not to act like anything about that was strange. My heart was pounding against my ribs and I could barely even think. Jake just did something to me, something that I had a hard time fighting.