by Imani King
Faye came in just then with more dishes. “Mama wants you out back, Khloe.”
“You finish up here then,” the older sister said immediately, drying her hands on a dishtowel. She smiled at Ari and left.
Neither of the girls joked with an instruction from their mother, Ari had observed in almost a week she’d been around. “I can finish up here alone,” Ari said to Faye.
Faye waved her off. “You’ll have plenty of work on your own. Besides, if I don’t do this, I’ll have to go out and work on the next thing. And I need the break from the sun for a bit.”
Ari nodded. Faye’s logic made sense. Faye took Khloe’s place at the sink washing the dishes while Ari continued to rinse and wipe them dry.
“So do you have any brothers?” Ari asked conversationally.
“Nope,” Faye said. “Just us gals in the house.”
“Khloe told me about Amber and Graham. It’s great you have them so close. Plus, Graham makes up for the brother you don’t have. And that’s extra help around the farm if you ask me.”
Faye nodded sagely. “We could always use an extra hand around here especially during peak season and harvest. Though of course, we have Lyle and Andy, too,” Faye said blushing a little. “They don’t come to the house as often though. Lyle’s an older guy, and likes to sleep under the stars every night. Andy sticks with him like glue and they keep an eye on things out in the fields. When the weather’s bad is when we get to see them. They got beds in the bunkhouse along with Logan and Everett.”
Following a hunch, Ari asked, “How old is Andy?”
Faye’s blush burned brighter. “Just about my age,” she said glibly, and then added, “actually he’s a couple of years younger, but so what? Mama keeps telling me to look for someone older and I keep telling her…” Faye spread out her hands as though stating the obvious, “…ain’t no other guys around. What does she think, some gentleman callers gonna hear Val Westbrooke’s got an unwed daughter and cross five miles right to our door?” She turned back to continue with the dishes. “I think she just doesn’t like that he’s twenty. If you ask me, two years is not so far apart. Everett’s got fourteen on Khloe and I don’t hear Mama discouraging her from pining away for him!”
There, Ari didn’t want to go so she just kept quiet. She didn’t want to pry into this family’s business, especially when it came to the issue of marriage. She couldn’t fix hers; she was in no position to hand out advice.
However, Faye was not done grousing. “Though I always say it would be great if I saw him often enough. It would make a lot more sense to have him around if someone would hurry up and tie the knot already. I could plead my case better if Khloe would quit dragging her feet.”
Ari frowned a little. “Why are you in such a rush to get married?”
“Why wouldn’t I be? Wouldn’t you—oh…” She stopped short when she seemed to realize what she was saying. Her gaze flew to the bruise on Ari’s face.
The bruise wasn’t as ugly as it was when she came here, but Ari always had been a slow healer; it was still something to look at.
“Aw, hon, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean any harm by it,” Faye said earnestly. “I just get talking and I don’t always think before the words come out.” She bit her lips, as if willing her mouth to remain shut. She adopted a slumped posture – one of guilt.
Ari simply shrugged. She couldn’t fault anybody for stating the obvious. The bruise was in plain sight, wasn’t it? “It’s alright,” she assured her. “It’s natural for you to be excited to fall in love. Any girl would be.”
Faye still looked uncomfortable, guilt-ridden. She concentrated on finishing up the dishes for the next few minutes. As if taking an impulsive decision, she pulled out a chair and took a seat, putting the towel and her hands in her lap. “Ma warned me not to pry, but…” she said, biting her lip.
“You want to,” Ari finished. It wasn’t hard to discover that the two sisters were different. Where Khloe was more subtle, Faye couldn’t hide her curiosity no matter what.
“I just don’t understand,” the younger girl searched her face. “Why a man would do something like that to his own wife.”
Ari shook her head. She wished she knew why too. “I don’t know.”
Faye seemed genuinely sorry. “Are you gonna divorce him?” she asked softly.
Ari nodded. “I’ll have to figure it all out but…” A hand rose to touch the bruise. “I won’t ever go back to him.”
Faye looked her over. “Not all men are like that, you know. There are lots of them out there and they can be real sweet. You’re a lovely woman, a good woman, I know you’ll find someone better.”
Ari flinched. She wasn’t looking to find anyone, period.
Faye wasn’t done cajoling yet. “Someone who’ll be good to you, and treat you right—”
Ari cut her short. “I’m not ready to think about that,” she said firmly. “I’ve got too much to work on. This time around, I’m putting myself first.”
The screen door opened and both girls turned to watch Val come in. The sudden change in Faye’s expression spelled “guilt” and her mother looked from one girl to the other.
“Uh, I’m just gonna…go,” Faye said and fled out of the room like she was being chased.
Even Ari felt like running after her under Val’s watchful gaze. “She asked you questions.” It was a statement; one that Ari couldn’t deny.
“She’s just curious. It doesn’t help that this mark is right in plain sight for everyone to see.”
“That’s no excuse and she knows better,” Val said firmly. “Always telling me that she and her sister aren’t kids anymore, yet she can’t go two hours without running off at the mouth when I told her not to.” Val’s tone wasn’t angry. She just sounded like this was something she’d become well used to.
Ari was glad. She didn’t want to be responsible for any trouble in the household. “She wasn’t any bother, honest.”
“Well good. If you’re up for it, tag along with me so I can show you a few things around.”
*****
At lunch, Ari commandeered the kitchen.
Val and the girls didn’t want her working in the kitchen, but Ari put her foot down saying she needed to start earning her keep. “Besides, I owe someone a heap of muffins,” she said to Val.
So, Val and the girls left her in charge of lunch.
She was finishing up, putting the muffins in trays when Val came in, sniffing the air with a smile. “I can smell your baking all the way across the field,” she said pleasantly. “I think some lemonade would go well with those muffins of yours,” she said. “Boys get dried out in this heat and they’ve been salivating ever since they perceived the aroma.”
Ari smiled happily. For some reason, she felt happy with the simple task of making muffins for some ranch hands who she hadn’t even known existed before. Quickly, she and Val made lemonade and before long, everything was ready. She served the muffins on a plate, poured lemonade in a large glass jug and placed it all on a large tray. Smiling at nothing in particular, she balanced the tray in her hands and took them out to Logan and Everett. She noticed Val watching her curiously but she simply ignored the woman.
During lunch break, Logan and Everett always sat under a shade of tree some feet away from the house while one of the girls or Val herself brought them lunch. Save that first day, she and Logan hadn’t really gotten the time to talk. It seemed life at the ranch was naturally busy.
Both men were talking and laughing but stopped as she approached. Suddenly, Ari felt very much self conscious. Struggling to keep her eyes up, she concentrated on placing one foot in front of another as she approached the two men. She couldn’t remember the last time she brought food to a man without fear of having made a costly mistake, and then getting hit. Somehow, she managed to get to them and they both smiled at her. Logan in particular was staring at her so fixedly that she felt downright shy. So she simply stood there with the tray in her hands.
She heard Everett clear his throat loudly.
“Hey,” Logan said as if just prodded awake.
“Hey,” she answered.
“Well now, what’s this?” Everett asked pleasantly.
Ari looked up in time to see the older man roll his eyes.
“I, um, I promised Logan some muffins,” Ari said, feeling more confident now. “I made enough for everyone for lunch.” She remembered to set the tray down and did just that.
“Well, isn’t that the nicest thing?” Logan said, rising to take a muffin from the tray. “Mmm…” He closed his eyes in rapture. “This is awesome. Thank you, Miss Ari.”
Ari felt inordinately pleased. She nodded. “You’re welcome.”
Everett took a muffin and bit into it too. “Thank you, Miss Ari,” he said, perfectly mimicking Logan’s tone.
Logan growled at him and Everett simply laughed loudly.
She wondered what was going on between those two. Then she decided, it must be some men business and it wouldn’t concern her.
Smiling, she left them to their lunch.
*****
“Wipe the spit.”
“What?” Logan asked distractedly, his gaze unwavering.
“You’re drooling,” Everett said wickedly.
Logan shook himself and immediately turned to glare at Everett. “And you couldn’t pretend like you didn’t see?” he asked irritably.
“Nah, what’s the fun in that?” Everett said slowly, chewing on his muffin slowly. His eyes were fixed on Logan.
Logan grabbed a muffin and saw that Everett had put most of them away while he’d been in thought. He would just have ignored his friend’s teasing comment in favor of eating his own muffin and continue to think about Ari all he wanted without letting it show, but for Everett’s next words.
“There’s no sense in giving her all those looks if that’s all you’re gonna do,” Everett said quietly.
Logan growled audibly. “Coming from a man who’s been in love with a woman almost all her life and hasn’t worked up the courage to walk up to her yet.” Actually, Logan hadn’t meant to say any of that. He knew Everett got touchy when anybody mentioned him and Khloe in the same sentence. But then, he wasn’t going to apologize for stating the truth either.
Both men stared at each other in silence.
“Touché,” the older man said very quietly. Slowly, he took his hat off his knee and stood up to go without saying anything further.
Logan watched him go. Suddenly, he felt like a prick. Only the knowledge that Everett wasn’t really annoyed with him kept him from going after him. Everett never got annoyed with anybody; his temper always as mild as a cool stream. As close as they were, Logan had no idea why the man truly hesitated when it came to Khloe even though it was no news the girl was hanging her heart out on her sleeve for him. Everett was one complicated man, Logan felt sure.
Talking of complications, Logan’s attention went back to where it had continually been in the last four days.
He couldn’t stop thinking about her.
Ari.
He only needed to see her go about the business of the farm and his senses were automatically on alert. Little by little, whether she knew it or not, he was becoming much attuned to her moods, her emotions, her. Of course, she didn’t look scared or jittery like she did on that first day but he still wanted to watch out for her. He knew she still worried about her husband coming to look for her. Many times when she thought nobody was looking, she looked around the house as if searching for shadows. He couldn’t help but wonder what he could do just so the shadow would leave her alone forever.
And there was that bruise on her cheek. The bruise was now a deep purple against her chestnut brown skin. Seeing it there made him feel like hitting something, someone. It really bugged him, that bruise. Though it didn’t deter from her looks in any way, it was still hard not to frown at the sight of it. How could someone lay a hard hand on a woman like that? His body tensed just thinking about it.
Logan wasn’t one to kid himself. If nothing else, he knew the feeling of protection wasn’t the only thing he felt for Ari. Since he laid eyes on her the first time, something had shifted in him, something that made him want to forget all his resolve and do what he swore he wouldn’t do.
She scintillated his senses; that he couldn’t deny. Watching the smile light up her face as he complimented her baking had done wonders for his stomach. He’d wanted to see her smile, always. He felt he might do anything to keep the smile there forever.
Well, he’d simply have to find a way to get more of those.
“And what of your vow, Logan?” a voice taunted inside of him.
Logan stuffed the last muffin in his mouth as if to stomp down on the voice. For now, he would concentrate on helping Ari.
“Helping Ari or helping yourself?” the voice laughed.
Chapter Five
Meeting Amber and Graham was as much a pleasure as meeting the others had been. Graham was the oldest of the men, early forties was Ari’s best guess. Amber looked young but was most likely in her early thirties. Her flamboyant sienna colored hair, which was dark brown with reddish-orange undertone made Khloe’s look a dull brown by comparison, and was cut to just above her shoulders. Amber was classically beautiful; the kind that brooked no argument even at first glance. Though each of the Westbrooke girls was beautiful in her own way, there was no doubt that wherever they went, Amber would always be the belle of the ball.
The couple was as curious about the new arrival as anyone else, but they were happy to talk more about themselves and their lives on the ranch rather than ask too many questions about her. They’d accepted the explanation of her being the new help around the ranch house and that was it.
More so, Ari’s bruise wasn’t as apparent as it was before, all thanks to Val and Faye, because a short while before dinner, Val beckoned Faye over and whispered something into her ear. Faye had left to go up the stairs with a surreptitious glance in Ari’s direction. When she came back, she handed something to her mother who stood up and gestured for Ari to follow. Through the living area and around the back of the stairwell was Val’s bedroom and Val asked her to sit in front of the vanity. In her hand was a small powder box.
“Let’s give that bruise a little less attention tonight, shall we?” Val had said simply.
Ari didn’t know why but the little gesture touched her to her toes. As Val took the powder puff and began to gently apply some of the makeup over her face, Ari felt nostalgic and it took a lot of willpower not to cry. She didn’t really remember her mother but she remembered her care and kindness. Her mother would have done something like this for her, too. In any case, if her mother was alive, she wouldn’t be in the predicament she was in at the moment.
“I won’t use too much, but enough to even it out a little...make it less prominent.”
“Thank you,” Ari had said softly.
Now, as Ari looked round the table, she felt grateful for this family she’d stumbled upon. They’d treated her like one of their own and nobody joining them today would dare say she was a total stranger in their midst.
Logan and Everett had joined them at the table and everyone seemed to be having fun listening to the couple tell one story or another about how they were learning to live with each other. Obviously, they were in love.
Ari felt happy for them. The love shone in their eyes and the aura of happiness around them flowed across the table, putting smiles on the faces of all the diners.
“We’re going to have a baby,” Amber announced suddenly.
Dead silence met the announcement and then there was a flurry of activity at once. Faye screamed joyously, letting her fork clatter down on her china; Khloe flew up and went around the table to hug her sister; the men went to clap Graham on the back, while Val simply sat like the queen she was, looking pleased and proud.
“Congratulations, Amber,” Ari said when the din had died down.
It was during momen
ts like this when Ari kept felt like she was trespassing. This was a lovely family, but it wasn’t hers. Yet, they’d given her the room of the first daughter, welcomed her into their home and now, she was partaking of their joyous moments. It all felt surreal, like it might be snatched from her at any moment.
But even so, I can enjoy it while it lasts, can’t I?
She made up her mind that she really could. What’s more? She would do whatever it took to make them glad they took her in.
After supper, Khloe tailed Everett out to the porch causing her mother to shake her head ruefully. Val, Graham, Amber and Faye were busy choosing baby names and so Ari quietly began to clear the dishes. She planned to stay in the kitchen washing them. Baby names were special; the family didn’t need an outsider to contribute. She was in the kitchen, washing the dishes when Logan came in behind her, offering to help her clean up. Her hair rose on the nape of her neck; her body flooded with warmth and her breath quickened. Still, she fought against her awareness of him and willed herself to act normal. Dammit. She handed him a towel and they worked in companionable silence.
“I spoke with Graham about your situation,” Logan spoke up suddenly. “He is an insurance broker in town and he says he knows a guy if you’re looking for a lawyer. A good one. Guess he’s a good friend of Graham’s. I bet you can get a good deal through him.”
Ari was silent for a moment. She didn’t know what to say. First, on Val’s orders, nobody discussed her situation in the house. Ari knew it was in consideration for her, but she had wondered how long the rule would last. Moreover, she knew her husband wouldn’t stop looking for her. Her peace of mind deserted her whenever she considered it. Now, here was Logan offering her a way out. Although she knew, good lawyers cost good money. She had only a handful of money with her, and that wouldn’t be enough on its own. But if she impressed Val and worked really hard, perhaps, she might be able to earn enough to get things settled by the end of the year.