Chapter 8 - Connor

Work on the ranch the next day was busy and it kept me distracted most of the time, although that kiss with Lesley was constantly in the back of my mind. Tony, Alex and Chris were working with me and we chatted away as usual. Working in the sun together, sharing our lunches, and cracking jokes was a part of our daily life, and I had never been more fulfilled at a job before. Nothing in the world could make me go back to sitting in an office behind a desk and crunching numbers.

Working on the land with my horses . . . That was what I wanted to keep doing for the rest of my life.

We were sitting on the grass, keeping a close eye on the horses. It was nearly the end of the day, and now that we were taking a break, I had started thinking of Lesley again and more often.

“So, where’d you find her?” Chris asked me, interrupting my thoughts.

“She’s from my hometown,” I replied and the others raised their eyebrows at me in surprise.

“The Hamptons? I’d always pictured a different kinda girl from a place like that,” Alex said and exchanged knowing looks with the others. I took in a deep breath but said nothing. I knew exactly what they were talking about. Lesley wasn’t like the others from there. In fact, she wasn’t like anybody else I’d met before. There was something about her that made me want to tell her everything.

We got up eventually and herded the horses back to the ranch. The boys were excited to see what dinner Lesley had prepared for us, and we all walked into the house together. I wondered what Lesley thought of us: a brood of dusty, calloused, rowdy men who worked the fields all day. She had never experienced a life like this before.

Lesley was sitting with Alfie at the dinner table, and the comforting smell of a warm casserole filled the room when we walked in. Alfie was doing his summer-holiday homework while Lesley watched over him. She looked up when we came in and our eyes met. I hadn’t seen or spoken to her all day. I usually left the house at the crack of dawn.

“We’ll take our dinner out in the back garden again, Lesley,” Alex said, walking up to the table and sniffing the casserole.

“No problem,” she said, jumping out of her chair. I sat down at the head of the table and watched as she prepared three plates for the men and handed them over. They were talking loudly and seemed to be in happy moods as they left for the garden, where they usually took their meals.

Alfie, Lesley, and I were alone in the kitchen again.

“I’m doing math!” Alfie declared, interrupting my stare. Lesley was pouring glasses of water for us and placing them in front of us.

“Math? But you don’t even like math,” I said with a laugh, but Alfie was grinning.

“Yeah, but Lesley showed me this really cool trick with divisions. I think I know how to do them now,” he said cheerily and I looked at Lesley again. She was taking her seat across from Alfie and the tops of her cheeks had turned red.

“Thank you, Lesley. I’ve never had the time to sit down with him and make him work on his homework,” I said, and I watched as she served some of the casseroles on Alfie’s plate. She looked at me from under her heavy lids, her green eyes sparkling.

“That’s what I’m here for,” she said and we smiled at each other.

The food, just like the previous night, was delicious, and we ate while Alfie talked excitedly about his new hobby: modeling dinosaurs out of clay. Apparently, Lesley was showing him how to shape their long necks and he seemed thrilled about it. It amazed me that in a matter of just a day, she had managed to crack Alfie. A kid who I thought wouldn’t ever be able to make friends. It filled me with hope and joy to see my son bonding with her.

Alfie and Lesley discussed modeling while I sat and ate and watched them. I wanted her. I wanted her more than before – if that was even possible. When she caught me looking, she tucked her hair behind her ears nervously and looked away from me shyly. I had to grit my teeth to stop myself from sweeping everything off the table and pulling her on top of it and taking her right there.

There was sweetness about her, about the way she spoke to Alfie that I had never noticed in anyone before. Despite the sweetness, I wanted to ravage her body. I wanted to do things to her that I hoped no man had ever done before.

When Alfie was done, Lesley cleared their plates and then asked him to say goodnight to me. Alfie came over to give me a hug and, from the tightness of his embrace, I could tell that he was in a good mood. He was happy having Lesley in his life.

She gave me a glance, before grabbing Alfie’s hand and leading him upstairs to his room.

“The Little Prince! Read me the Little Prince tonight, Lesley!” I heard him say to her as they climbed the stairs.

I finished the rest of my meal in silence and, when I was done, I cleared my plates in the sink and walked out of the house. A cigarette dangled from the corner of my lips. I was going back to the patch of trees at the back of the house. All I could think about was whether she was going to meet me there eventually.