by Mj Fields
Her father took a deep breath and told them that he and their mother needed a break from one another. That it had nothing to do with them, their children. Tessa���s mother had an apartment about ten miles away and was going there tonight. The kids were going to stay at home for the week so they could settle into the new school year.
Her father fixed his eyes on Tessa. Although over the past few years she had been a rock it was no secret that when she allowed herself to feel, she became a bit hard to handle. Even she was aware of it. She could feel her breaths become harder and faster. He started talking again. The children didn���t get to, or have to choose who they stayed with. There was no discussion or choices about this, as in most cases ��� the adults in the situation made the decisions. Maggie was going to get the apartment set up and ready for the weekend. For the next two days they were definitely staying at the farm, at home. After that a firm schedule would be put in place. Kendall and Jake cried but the others said nothing.
* * *
Tessa put her shoes on and headed outside. She walked behind the barn, then began running down the dirt road between the corn fields as fast as she could to the edge of the woods. She started down the trail and began to cry. Hypocrites! One love, one marriage, and family first. She had tried her whole life to live up to their expectations and now this.
���What the fuck!��� she screamed. It felt good. Freeing.
She sat next to the waterfalls; she threw stones and watched the water crash down over the rocks. Ironic. Even her favorite spot in the world couldn���t make this right.
Finally the sun started to set behind the towering pines. Tessa decided to head back up the trail toward home. She was thankful that she was so exhausted field hockey and only hoped she would be able to pass out. To fall asleep so that she would not break down in front of Jake and Kendall. They needed her now more than ever. She needed to be strong.
When she reached the edge of the woods she saw her sister, Molly, crying as her boyfriend Cory, held her. She cleared her throat loudly as she walked out of the woods.
���You okay, Tessa?��� Cory asked.
She nodded yes and started to jog home. She was glad Molly had Cory.
Tessa walked in the house and grabbed her phone. Three missed calls from Jade and two text messages. She ignored them all and started the shower, her third today. She got out, wrapped a towel around her head, grabbed her robe, and ran upstairs to the room she shared with her sisters. She threw on a tee shirt and pajama shorts and walked downstairs into the living room.
Kendall sat on the couch with Jake, and her Dad was on the phone. She wedged herself between Jake and Kendall, so that she could sit between them. They both had red eyes, and they snuggled into her as she hugged and kissed them.
���So crazy cousin Jade has called three times, I think she thinks we are really upset. We should take a picture of us making super silly faces and send it to her so she doesn���t worry,��� Tessa said. They smiled and took about twenty crazy- faced pictures and sent them all to Jade. She texted right back.
- Glad to see you���re all still nuts, see you in the morning
���Can we sleep in your bed, Tessa?��� Kendall asked.
���Well, that may be a little tight, but maybe we could all get our sleeping bags and sleep on the deck,��� she said.
���Could we really, Tessa? On a school night? Won���t Dad be mad?��� she asked.
���Look at him. He won���t even notice,��� she said forcing a smile so that the kids could not sense her sadness. ���But that���s why this is going to be so cool,��� she laughed, tickling them.
* * *
Jade sat on her bed looking through the messages Tessa had sent. She knew that Tessa must be hurting, but Tessa would keep herself busy taking care of the kids. She would be crushed if they were. She couldn���t help herself. Tessa was all heart.
Jade received a text message, it was from Tommy.
- hey pretty girl, I was just thinking about u.
- what were you thinking?
- about how much fun I had with you, you are a lot of fun to be around.
- yes, yes I am :)
- I���d like to take you out this weekend���unless you already have a boyfriend
- I don���t know, I���m a pretty busy girl���no boyfriend���do u have a girlfriend
- not yet���working on it
- well if she���ll be upset by you taking me out, I don���t think you should take that chance
- Oh Jade I���m ready to take that chance
- I���ll check my schedule, time for bed, very tired
- Sweet dreams pretty girl
- they will be now
Wow, she thought, he���s so perfect, cute, funny, athletic, and obviously into hot chicks. She fell backwards laughing and kicked her feet in the air. He���s working on it. It���s going to be a great year, she thought as she rolled over and turned out her light.
* * *
Tessa lay on the deck looking up into the clear starry sky and then back at Jake and Kendall who were sleeping when her phone chimed. Assuming it was Jade she grabbed it.
- Tessa Ross, do you know how gorgeous you are? I don���t think you do. I want to get to know you much better. If I���m wasting my time let me know���LL
She stared at the phone, reading the text over and over again. The familiar warmth she now felt when Lucas was around returned and for a moment she allowed herself to be happy. That moment ended when she heard Jake whimper in his sleep. They needed her. She didn���t have time for teenage stuff and she definitely didn���t want to end up in the future where her family was at present time. Why bother? She threw the phone on the table. She tossed and turned until finally giving into her desire. She grabbed her phone and read it again. He was SO pushy.. But he was cute, even without the white hat. I can���t do this now. He made me hide from that random girl on Main Street. What the hell am I even considering this for? Well at least it takes my mind off this train wreck at home. She fell asleep.
Tessa woke up remembering her dream. He was smiling at her in her dream, and he kissed her. She ran her fingers over her lips hoping that it would feel the same as the kiss in her dreams did. Warm, soft, and sweet. In her dream she kissed him back and she remembered feeling happy. The look in his eyes was kind in her dreams, not like the reality. She had a ring on her finger. She closed her eyes picturing the smile she saw on her face and the one he gave her in return. She kept her eyes closed as she pictured his face and his smile.
���Tessa?���
She looked over at Kendall, ���Good morning.���
���Did mom come back?���
Tessa shook her head no, forced a smile, and stood up, ���Which means extra chocolate chips in your waffles. Lets go.���
Jake jumped up, ���Me too?���
���Of course you too. Go get dressed and brush your teeth. I���ll get the blankets and pillows.���
She watched them both bound through the door to get ready to face the day. She closed her eyes and tried to picture him again. When she couldn���t she shook her head and laughed at the silliness and then laughed at her dream.
What was that about? She wondered as she walked in the house to get ready for school.
CHAPTER TWO
Jade woke and jumped in the shower; she got out and dried her hair. She ran down to her room and tried to find something to wear. She finally settled on a denim shorts romper and a short black cardigan, she grabbed black cowgirl boots and stepped into them. She looked in the mirror and knew she looked good.
Her father yelled for her to wake up as she skipped into the kitchen and gave him a kiss on the cheek. ���Good Morning, Daddy.���
���
��You���re awfully chipper this morning.���
���Excited about school. I think it���s gonna be a great year.��� Jade smiled.
���You have a lot of classes with Tessa this year?���
���I do, and field hockey,��� Jade said. ���How is Uncle John?���
���He���s hurting, and it���s a very busy time of year for him. I���ll be there a lot so I���m hoping you can meet me there after practice for a couple weeks.���
���Sure, I���d love that,��� Jade beamed. She loved the farm and all her cousins. Sometimes it got lonely at home.
A horn honked. It was Alex. She grabbed a banana, kissed her Dad, and ran out the door.
Jade arrived at school early and walked in with her cousins.
���I���ll be up in a minute,��� Tessa said as she walked towards the locker room.
Tommy was standing at the door waiting for her. ���Good morning,��� he said.
She blushed, waved and started up the stairs, taking her time to hear what Tommy was saying to Alex.
���Your cousin is very cool.���
Alex voice was angry. ���You better back off, man.���
���Sorry, I have no bad intentions. I just think she���s a cool girl.���
Jade covered her mouth so they wouldn���t hear her giggle. Then she took the stairs two at a time knowing they would be coming up the stairs behind her and not wanting to get caught.
Tessa walked to her locker and Jade was all smiles. She reached into her Vera Bradley bag and grabbed her phone. There was a new message from Tommy. She giggled as she read it out loud.
- uh oh, the cousin is NOT happy pretty girl.
- what did you do?!?
- nothing���just told him that I thought u were cool.
- Well he should know that already, lol
The bell rang, signaling the start of the day, and Jade turned her attention to her teacher at the front of the class.
Throughout the day, Tommy and Jade texted back and forth, while Tessa continued to ignore Lucas���s texts.
The girls walked in with their lunch trays and passed Alex. Tessa heard Mike and him talking.
���How are you guys doing?��� Mike asked.
���Fine, just busy,��� Alex said. ���After practice we need to get the hay in the barn. Not much got done yesterday, ya know.���
���We can help,��� Mike offered.
Alex looked relieved. ���That would be great.���
Tessa smiled and patted Mike���s shoulder as she walked by to their table. They sat listening to Jade read texts she had received from Tommy. She was freakishly happy.
A moment later Tommy walked in and bent over Jade���s shoulder and grabbed a carrot off her tray.
���Hey, pretty girl,��� he said as he shoved the carrot in his mouth and winked at her.
Lucas sat next to Tessa and Tommy next to Jade. Holy awkward, Tessa thought.
Lucas smiled and whispered, ���Your phone broke Tessa?���
���Nope, just been busy,��� she said avoiding eye contact.
The blonde from the street, Sadi, and the cheerleaders walked in, glaring at Tessa and Becca as they walked by
���What���s going on, guys? Sitting at the kiddy table now?��� Sadi hissed.
Tommy smiled, ���Hey girls, this is Jade.���
���Seriously?��� Sadi said. She glared at Jade and walked away.
���Nice meeting you, um��� ladies,��� Phoebe yelled after them. They all laughed.
���So Jade, what do I have to do to win your cousin over?��� Tommy asked in a loud whisper.
���Good luck,��� Jade giggled.
���No one will be worthy of Jade. She���s the princess,��� Tessa smirked at Tommy.
���And how about you, Tessa? How does one win you over?��� Lucas asked.
Becca and Phoebe turned quickly and looked at Tessa; she hated that she would be questioned about this later. Tessa stood as the bell rang and glared at Lucas. He laughed. She walked past him and dumped her tray and felt his eyes boring holes into her as she exited the cafeteria.
* * *
Lucas and Tommy stayed to finish their lunch. Lucas turned to see Sadi staring at him. His eyes narrowed in annoyance at his ex- girlfriend. He dropped the rest of his sandwich on the tray and he and Tommy got up and walked out.
At the end of the day Lucas and Tommy were on the fields standing on the sidelines waiting for their coach when the field hockey team walked out of their locker room. Lucas watched Tommy smiling at Jade, and she smiled back.
���It���s a hot one boys make sure you keep hydrated,��� Coach yelled as he walked onto the field.
���Head in the game and not on the ass, Tommy,��� Lucas patted his best friends back and directed him to the field.
He looked towards Tessa only to see her look quickly away from him. He shook his head and smiled.
���Head in the game and not on the ass,��� Tommy repeated his words to him and they laughed as they walked onto the field.
When practice ended, Lucas and Tommy walked into the locker room. They overheard Alex talking to some teammates about the hay they were going to be unloading and Tommy offered him help.
���No fu…��� Ryan, Alex���s best friend started, but stopped himself.
���Sure man, we could get it done much faster with extra help.��� Alex smiled.
Lucas and Tommy said they would be right up. Alex laughed, ���Those two won���t last five minutes.���
Lucas overheard Alex. He ignored what he normally would have confronted and was even more up to the challenge. He now had two people to prove wrong.
On the farm all the boys all piled into the truck and moved hay wagons around getting them set up to make the transitions between wagons smoother. There were eight wagons to unload before dark.
* * *
Tessa and Jade walked up the hill from town after practice. It was a very hot fall day. As they got closer they saw the vehicles in the driveway.
Tessa���s Dad met them at the door. ���Hey girls, you want to go get some jugs of water and cups? Alex brought some hay help. We may have to feed them. There���s a lot of work to be done.���
���Wow, there���s a lot of cars here. No way, Tessa ��� is that Lucas���s car?��� Jade asked.
���I think so.��� She took a deep breath. She did not want to be around him. Lucas was on her mind far too much, like Eden���s apple.
Kendall and Jake ran out and hugged their sister. She grabbed them and kissed them. ���How was school?���
They told her about their day as she walked in to the pantry to get the water jug as she listened to Jake go on and on about gym class and getting first place in the football throw. Tessa gave him five and handed Jade the jug to fill and walked to the fridge to pull out hamburgers and hot dogs to grill later.
���Kendall and Jake, will you guys go out back and grab a couple dozen ears of corn?��� Tessa asked as she walked out into the mudroom and grabbed the bushel basket. She watched them as they ran, carrying the basket between them.
���What���s going on out there?��� Molly asked as she walked out of the family room. She was going back to her apartment in the morning and had stayed in town while Cory was home.
���We have to feed and water the dogs.��� Tessa rolled her eyes and Molly laughed.
The first load was done, and Jade and Tessa carried out the big green water jug. Alex, Mark, Frankie, Ryan, Tommy, and Lucas slid down the hay elevator. The boys were dripping with sweat. Tommy poure
d a cup of water over his head and shook his hair. Jade smiled at Tessa as he took his shirt off and drank down a large glass of water. Tessa could tell just by Jades expression that she thought he was beautiful. She couldn���t disagree. He had great definition in his chest, and his abs rippled. Tessa watched Jades eyes trail down his stomach and she glanced over and noticed he had a little bit of hair going down his belly. She watched as Jade bit her lip and smiled at him.
Tessa handed out cups of water and could feel Lucas watching her. She saved him for last. He had taken off his shirt as well, and he was gorgeous.
���Thanks Tessa.���
���Thank you for your help. It was very nice of you.��� Tessa smiled shyly at him.
���And she can smile,��� he joked. ���All I have to do is sweat my ass off throwing hay. Good to know.���
���Tessa, Tessa, we have the corn. Can we help you make dinner for all the boys?��� Kendall and Jake asked running towards her.
���Sure,��� Tessa said, rubbing her brother���s head. ���Can you start husking the corn? I���ll be over in a minute.���
���Tessa, you are making me dinner?��� Lucas smirked. ���Our first date.��� He drank his water and jumped up so he was nose to nose with her.
She stopped breathing as he stood there, looking her directly in the eyes. Her heart skipped a beat and she let out a slow breath.
Lucas���s smile left as he looked at her. He was finding it difficult to breathe. He took a step back and gave her a conflicted smile before he scaled the elevator leading to the upper barn door and disappeared into the hayloft.
He watched out the window as Tessa and Jade got her siblings and the food loaded into one of her families trucks.
Two hours later, the last load was done. John invited the boys to swim in the pond. It was on a piece of land the Ross family owned a few miles away. Lucas followed John and Alex in his car. He parked at the top of the driveway and he and Tommy hopped in the back of Johns truck.