“It’s not like we can just give her what she wants. I am thirty-four years old and it’s not like I haven’t been looking. There is just no one here that interests me.”
Scott shook his head and agreed. They were both feeling the pressure to get hitched after their oldest brother did. The fact that it was their mother’s request that they all do the same, made it even more stressful.
“They can’t all be like Davina. Besides, Marcel had to go to the city to find her. There is just too much work here to be done. I barely ever get to get out, let alone find the woman to marry and have children with. She thinks that it’s going to be like her and dad. I try to tell them that they are now the exception.”
Paul wholeheartedly agreed. He’d tried to tell her the same thing, but you couldn’t tell Elna anything that she didn’t want to hear and she didn’t want to hear about how they couldn’t do something. She really expected them to all go out and find a mate. It was the way she had raised them and like all of her requests, she expected this one to be listened to as well.
It wasn’t the first time the two brothers had lamented over her orders and her idea that it was all just going to work out the way she wanted it. Both Paul and Scott worked the family ranch and since the Callahan Ranch was one of the biggest ones in the state, even with ample help, the two brothers were there 6-7 days a week when it was light out.
Paul in particular was feeling the pressure as the second born son. It was also what had happened to Marcel and how in love he was with his new wife. Davina already had a kid on the way and he had been over there a couple of times for dinner in their new house. It was impossible for Paul to not feel a little jealousy. He wanted what his brother had, not an unknown feeling, but it was made stronger when he seen the two of them so happy together. It made him think that maybe he was missing something big and the best thing he could do was do what Marcel did and find him a bride. Though Paul was afraid of city girls, not having much in common with them and couldn’t see his life with one.
“Marcel is happy Scott. It makes me wonder if mom is right and that a woman is exactly what I need.”
“He is happy, but speak for yourself on the rest of it. Me and Darla have been dating for over a year now.”
“So why don’t you ask her to marry you then?”
Scott shook his dark head and smiled back. “There is no way I would want to marry her. She is just for now.”
“Well we aren’t getting any older brother, maybe we should be thinking about more long term. Everyone in the family likes her and she already knows the business.”
Scott couldn’t articulate why it was that he had never thought to marry Darla, but he knew that she was not the one. The reason he stayed with her was that the sex was pretty good, but there was never any soft words of love afterward. Just blissful sleep. “Trust me brother, she is not the one for me. You can ask her if you want. She has always made a comment about how cute my older brothers were.”
Paul shook his head, the older blonde was not his type, but she had always seemed to suit his younger brother. But he was right, she was not really marriage material, or at least not what he had in mind anyways.
“Well we have to at least act like we are trying. Elna will be back this weekend and I think she expects us to have something more to tell her than, we can’t be bothered.”
“You tell her what you want Paul, I am going to bring Darla and give her the illusion.”
Paul shook his head, but had to hand it to his brother, it was a good plan. All she wanted was the idea that it may happen, though it wouldn’t work forever. It would however get her off his back about finding someone for now, though Paul didn’t have a girlfriend. He had an ex, but the family disliked her already, so she was not an option. Even if he could stand to be around her after what she did to him.
Sighing he got back to feeding the cattle, unrolling the large roll of last year’s hay. There was plenty of fresh if they would venture out, but as it started to get cold, the cows got lazy, which was just as well since he didn’t want to go out anyways. There was plenty of hay if they chose not to go out, so he was there in the middle of them unrolling it as they came forward to eat.
There was still several parts of fence that needed to be fixed and since Scott was going to handle the feed run to town, Paul decided he would start on his own task after he was done there. It didn’t take long to make sure that all were accounted for and that there was enough water for the day. He started towards the house and changed his boots before getting to the barn to saddle up his horse.
Colt was ready to get out, antsy as he buckled the straps around the underside of the horse. He tried to calm him, but the horse seemed as anxious as the man felt as of late. He knew that he shouldn’t let it bother him, but it was like a looming problem that he was still unsure how to solve.
He let the mare around the corral for a few minutes before he moved in and grabbed the reins. There was something strange in the air and Paul started to feel it too. He was feeling the restlessness and maybe the two were playing off of each other from familiarity, but one way or another, Paul was ready to go.
Jumping up on his back, the two took off and Paul let the animal steer the way. He wasn’t pressed to do anything in particular, so he let Colt take him far past his own land and into some of the unclear land that the government owned and the cows fed at. It was some time later before he finally stopped the horse, seemingly hell-bent on driving himself into the ground. Something had gotten into the horse and he wasn’t sure what it was. But Paul felt the same restlessness that Colt felt.
As the horse slowed his walk to cool down, Paul got off and walked beside him for a minute. He wanted to get rid of his own energy now that the mare had gotten rid of hers. Paul held the reins loosely and then let the horse get a ways away from him. Paul still wasn’t sure what was wrong with the horse, but he followed the meandering animal away from the direction they had been going to only moments before.
Paul was about to catch up with the horse and turn him back towards the ranch when he saw something out of the corner of his eye. There was someone coming towards them from the woods and by the looks of them, something was wrong. The figure was limping and Paul knew that he had to help them.
As he walked closer to the figure in hurried steps, the horse was already there, nudging the person until a small hand patted his head. Paul stopped for a moment when the person looked up at him and he seen bright green eyes staring back at him. “Miss? Are you okay?”