by Tonya Kappes
“I’ll be rocking tonight.” I pushed on my toe and went back and forth. “Literally.”
Gloria handed me a beautifully wrapped box with a large silver and gold bow on top. It was too lovely to unwrap.
“Charlie and I got you a little something too.” The two of them stood side-by-side.
It was great seeing them in the house. Lucia about had a fit when Gloria informed them she was dating retired tattoo artist Charlie.
Lucia always thought people were out to get Gloria’s money. But all of that subsided when Lucia hired a private investigator who came back to inform her that Charlie was hugely wealthy and had invented some sort of tattoo tool that was used around the world.
He had moved to Kentucky to be with his son and family who happened to own a bunch of tattoo parlors in the state.
“An alarm clock.” I held up for all to see. “I am definitely going to need this.”
The new job required that I get to work two hours earlier than normal and everyone knew I loved to sleep. I loved the farm more and I was excited to start my new adventure.
“This one is from Millie. She’s sorry she can’t be here.” Luvie referred to the third musketeer in our little group.
I lifted the pink tissue paper out of the tan bag to find another Zen candle. I took it out and lifted the lid.
“She knows exactly what I need.” I took a big whiff and let the wonderful smell engulf my senses.
“You better remember to put those candles out,” Leonard warned. “I had to put the candle out in your office after we met with Clay because you charged out of there and left it lit.”
“I promise I will do better.” I crossed my heart with my fingers.
“Last but not least.” Leonard ushered me out of the chair and into the foyer. “You are so much more deserving than this, but we hope you like it.”
Lucia opened the front doors. We all took a step outside. There was a brand new black Ford F-150 parked right in front with a big red bow on top.
“Oh my God!” I threw my hands up to my mouth. There was no way that was mine.
“Here you go.” Momma dangled the keys between her fingers. “It’s all yours.”
“Oh my God!” I screamed.
“We all chipped in and got it for you.” Leonard was great about not leaving Momma out of the picture. He knew how important she was to me and to this farm.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you.” I ran down the line, kissing each one before I grabbed the keys and darted down the steps.
The smell of leather whiffed past my nose as soon as I opened the door. I stepped up on the side step and hoisted myself up, not caring a bit about my skirt hiking up. It was the last thing on my mind. I slid in and wrapped my hands around the steering wheel and squeezed. My fingers whitened. I let go and put the keys in the ignition and started it up. I gave it a good rev to feel the power under the hood.
I had never had a new car.
“We thought you should look good going to all the meetings in something better than the old beater.” Leonard held the door open. “Do you like it?”
“Like it?” I felt like I was the queen of the world. “I love it.”
Jase and Clay were walking down the steps. Each one had a rocker. They put them in the back of the truck.
“Now drive slow so they don’t fall out because I don’t have any string to tie them down,” Jase warned. “Better yet,” he pointed to Clay, “why don’t you go grab the old truck and follow Vivian to her place and help her out with them?”
“Oh, I don’t need help.” I shook my head. “I’m quite capabl—”
“Great idea.” Leonard coaxed Clay and threw him the spare keys to the beater.
Luvie and Momma wasted no time getting the rest of the presents out to the truck. Luvie shut the door before I could protest and winked. She and Momma were up to no good.
Clay didn’t put up a fight either. He had disappeared around the house and had pulled back around before I could even clip my seatbelt.
He did leave a little distance between the old truck and my new one, but not enough. Nervously I slid my eyes between the rearview and side-view mirrors. His eyes never left my side-view mirror.
I put the truck in park and hopped out. The quicker I got the rockers out, the faster he would be on his way. I looked beyond his truck into the pasture we had just driven over and there was no sign of Luvie driving back to her place.
“Thanks,” I pinched my lips in a tight grin. I pointed to the ground. “You can just stick them here and I’ll get them the rest of the way.”
“Nope.” Clay pulled the door to the truck bed. With one hand planted on the truck, his biceps contracted into a chiseled muscle as he jumped in, landing on his feet. “I told Mrs. Beiderman and your momma that I’d put them on the porch for you.”
There was no sense in arguing. He was hell bent on doing what he was told and hell bent on doing the opposite of anything I said.
“Fine.” I turned and looked at the porch to find a place to put them. Looking away helped me not look at him.
While he was getting both of them out, I grabbed the beer and alarm clock out of the front and sat them on the step leading up to the little cottage porch.
“Where would you like them?” Clay asked.
There seemed to be a personality switch. Long gone was the thirsty eyes and smart mouth.
“Here is fine.” I pointed to the larger side of the porch on the right side of the door. I grabbed a couple of beers and held one out to him when he put the last chair in the spot. “I can pay you with a beer?”
“Great.” He took it and headed down the step of the porch and walked toward the old truck. “See you in the morning.”
“Oh. . .kay.” I twisted the cap off the bottle and put it up to my lips to take a big swig, pretending not to watch the taillights of the truck disappear over the hill back toward the front of the farm.
Chapter Six
The steam from the cup of coffee curled in the crisp morning air. I picked it up off the small wooden table I had brought out from the inside. Last night after Clay left, I had sat out here and slowly rocked back and forth, drinking the remaining beers, which proved to be a bad idea. The headache dancing in my head wasn’t about to go away with one cup of coffee. It was going to be a multiple cup day.
“Wow, you look rough!” Luvie hollered with her pink princess mug tucked in her hands. She used her hand to fluff up the frilly hot pink feathers that outlined the edges of her long black silk robe.
“We all can’t wake up looking like you.” I smiled. I looked down at my ragged University of Kentucky tee shirt and boxer shorts. I pointed to my clothes. “You should try it sometimes.”
“No thank you.” She did a little twirl, her robe flowed out. “I love my robe.”
With my mug in one hand, I leaned up against the porch post and looked out over the Lady B. The fog lingered over top one of the low valleys off in the distance.
“You have no idea how much you have taken this place for granted.” I brought the cup to my lips and enjoyed the first sip of the day.
She walked over and sat down in one of the rocking chairs.
“I know that you love this place, but I grew up here.” She used the tip of her slipper and slowly rocked back and forth. “It’s not that I don’t love it, I do. But it’s not me. You love the smell of horse and mud and sweaty men.”
I laughed. Though it sounded crazy, she was right. I did love the smell of all of those things.
“Speaking of sweaty men. Spill it on Clay,” Luvie said.
“There’s nothing to tell.” It wasn’t actually a lie. There really wasn’t anything to tell.
“You can’t deny the chemistry between you two.” Luvie wasn’t going to let me get away with not saying something about him. “I know you like the back of my hand. And you, Vivian Westwood, find our new little cowboy hot.”
“I’m not saying he isn’t easy on the eyes. I’m saying there is nothin
g between us.” I looked down into my cup to avoid Luvie’s curious eyes. “I’m his boss and we will see how long that will last.”
“How long the boss thing will last or the nothing between you part?” Luvie asked the questions I’d asked myself all night long.
I had a hard time sleeping. I wanted to say it was because of the new place, but I knew better. I could fall asleep anywhere, even the dirty barn. But I couldn’t get Clay off my mind. The entire scenario from the beginning of me seeing him on the side of the road to him walking off with my beer. I analyzed his entire personality change and couldn’t figure out why the change had occurred. Throughout the dinner and party I could feel his eyes on my every move and when I opened the presents he was very attentive. It was when we were alone at the cabin I saw the not-interested-in-me Clay. Which was what I had wanted. Wasn’t it?
“I don’t have time to sit here dilly-dallying all day.” Luvie broke the silence when I didn’t answer her question. She sashayed back to her cabin. “Someone around here has to work.” She laughed before she shut the door behind her.
Not long after Luvie went in, I decided to go on and get ready. I had sent out a text to my crew, letting them know that we would be getting started around seven a.m. and to have Brilliance ready for Clay.
Grace, my assistant, had texted back asking if I was trying to kill the guy on his first day. I didn’t bother texting her back. I wasn’t going to lie and tell her no; in reality I was just trying to scare him and prove he wasn’t the macho man he was trying to pretend to be.
I was damn good at breaking a horse where a saddle could be put on without bucking and a rider could work him with ease, but Brilliance had given me a fit. I had tried to rope the big stallion a few times, but came up short each time. Knowing Brilliance, there was no way that horse was going to let Clay near him.
It was time to knock off the big chip on Clay’s shoulder and Brilliance was just the one to do it. There was no way I was going to miss that.
It was six-thirty. I pulled my hair up into the regular work ponytail, slipped into my Levi’s, blue Lady B shirt, and work boots. It was strange not jumping into the old truck. I felt a little like I was trading in the old girl for a better model.
The new truck was odd. It wasn’t the work truck I was used to. I took it slow over the bumps on the way to the barn when in the old truck I flew across the fields.
Grace and a few of the other farm hands were already dangling over the black Kentucky fencing that was around the training ring. Over their shoulders, Brilliance reared up on his hind legs and let out a bray before he took off in a dead sprint around the ring.
In the air there was a lasso twirling around and around. I brought the truck to a stop to see what was going on. Before I could put it in park, I watched the lasso go flying through the air, gliding through the morning fog and swirl down and around Brilliance’s neck. There was a tug on the rope, bringing Brilliance to a halt.
Puffs of air came out of Brilliance’s nose like little clouds. Brilliance lowered his head in submission as Clay walked up and patted down the long black mane. Grace and the farm hands hollered out, clapping and doing finger whistles. There were even a few high-fives given.
“Shit!” I opened the truck door and jumped out.
“Oh my God!” Grace turned around. Her face was lit up like a candle. “You just missed the most amazing roping I have ever seen.”
Grace was one of those girls who got into the horse business for the money and men. Granted she ended up loving it, but she didn’t have the heart for the Lady B like I did.
“Glad we don’t need a lot of ropin’.” My eyes met Clay’s. His eyes darted to Grace. She smiled from ear-to-ear and played with a long strand of her straight black hair from underneath her cowboy hat. Her blue eyes glistened as the morning ray peeked through the only cloud that was in the sky.
“Looks like someone is trying to impress you.” Earl, the oldest farm hand at the Lady B, nudged Grace, taking me by surprise.
“No,” Grace gushed. “Really?” she asked and twisted her body back and forth in a girly way that made my skin crawl. “He really doesn’t seem like my type, but he is cute. Here he comes,” she whispered.
“Good morning.” Clay lifted his cowboy hat off the top of his head and stared at Grace. “Good to see you again.”
“You too.” Grace responded.
“I guess I don’t need to do any introductions here.” I gestured between the two and forced my attention to Earl. “Clay Preston, this is Earl Jenkins who will be able to give you the low-down on everything here at the Lady B. He has been with us for over forty-five years.”
“Yep. I’ve known Viv since she was knee high to a June bug.” Earl snickered and lowered his hand down to his knee, then shook hands with Clay.
“I see you have already met Brilliance.” I gestured to the black stallion trotting over to us and stopping shy of Clay’s arm reach.
He stuck his arm out and Brilliance tapped his nose to Clay’s palm.
“It seems that he was my first task at hand.” Clay didn’t take his eyes off of Grace.
The memory of seeing him under the hood of his truck burned in my brain along with the snarky attitude he had. This voice calling me darlin’ played over and over, catapulting my heart into my toes.
“We need to get to work.” I urged everyone to start their day.
“I have lunch at one, if you want to grab something from the diner like yesterday.” Grace dragged her boot in the dirt between her and Clay. Playfully she looked down, tilted her head and with her big blue eyes, she batted her lashes at him.
“I’m—” Clay started, but I interrupted.
“Clay is here to work and I’m not sure what time we will be having lunch.” I looked between them. Clay quirked his eyebrows questioningly. I looked away in fear he would see what was going on inside my heart. I didn’t know what was going on and I sure didn’t want him to analyze me.
“Oh.” Grace followed alongside of us as we headed to the barn. “We always take lunch at one.”
“Yes, I know, but it’s not every day we have a new employee who has to break a horse from the start, Grace.” Abruptly I stopped. Grace nearly ran into the back of me. I turned around. “Why don’t you go see what you can do for Rosemary.”
“But,” Grace started to protest. She knew she was my assistant and wasn’t supposed to work on the sales side of the business.
“Go on.” I urged her and turned to Clay. “Let’s get you started by taking a tour of the entire farm.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He nodded his head in compliance making me feel like he was mocking me.
“Are you having a problem with authority?” I planted my hands on my hips and stared him down.
“Nope.” He shook his head.
Grace scurried away, leaving the two of us alone together.
“Mr. Preston.” It was time to make a rule. I wasn’t sure if it was for me so I could keep my head on straight or for my heart. “We do not encourage dating among the employees. It makes it uncomfortable for everyone. So I suggest you get Grace out of your head.”
“You don’t encourage it? Or you don’t allow it?” he questioned. His eyes peered over my shoulder in the direction of Grace who was walking back to the offices.
“Either way.” I sighed. “It’s not good for anyone.”
“Including us?” He gestured between us. My heart skipped a beat when I imagined his large hands swooping me up in them. “Viv?”
“Vivian.” I corrected him.
“Everyone around here calls you Viv.”
“You aren’t everyone. And you haven’t earned the right to call me that.” I turned, expecting him to follow me and walked toward the office.
I had no idea what I was going to do with him. I just knew I wasn’t ready for him to leave my side. Most of the time, I put the new hands with experienced ones and let them learn on their own. They come to me if they have any issues, but not Clay.
“Are you coming?” I asked, a wee-bit annoyed.
“Yes, Vivian.” he emphasized my name.
Without thinking, I jumped in the old truck and started it. Clay jumped in after me.
“Why are we taking this truck when you have that new beautiful one right there?” he asked.
I didn’t answer. I didn’t need to answer to him. It wasn’t his job to question me. Though he was right. The new truck felt a bit uncomfortable to me.
“Why do you have such a hard-on for me?” He rolled down the window and planted his elbow on the door.
I threw the truck in gear and didn’t answer him until we were almost out of the back employee entrance of the Lady B and heading down Versailles Road.
“I don’t have a hard-on for you. I guess I still think you have overstepped your bounds by going over my head in the interview process.” I sucked in a deep breath. The smell of man flew up my nose and made me a little dizzy. It wasn’t just any man. It was Clay’s smell. And it was driving me nuts.
“I told you that I called you.” He took his phone off the clip on his belt and started to thumb through it. He held the phone out for me to look at. “See. Right here is your number. Below it is the Lady B office, not Leonard’s.”
“Oh, so you are calling Mr. Beiderman Leonard now?” I questioned trying to find anything that would make me not want to pull over, rip his clothes off and let him have me right there.
“Listen.” He put his hands out to calm me. “If you want me to go I will. No problem. It’s just that I did what I was told. I made good time from Texas to here and got here a day early. I called you, but you didn’t answer. I called the office number and the secretary put me right through to Mr. Beiderman. I figured it was fine to meet with him. Then he asked me if I had a place to stay. I told him not yet and he offered to let me stay in the guest house and your mom invited me to dinner. Simple. Nothing up my sleeve.”
It would be just like Rosemary Fuller, Leonard’s secretary, to just transfer the call, but still. . .