by Liv Brywood
The image of her legs wrapped around him flashed through his mind. He quickly turned and leaned over into the engine compartment. He couldn’t look at Daisy without getting a raging hard-on. Heat flooded his cheeks. As long as he didn’t look at her, he’d be able to hide his uncontrollable desire.
“How’s it looking?” Andy asked after several minutes had passed.
“I think I found the problem,” Greg said.
“What is it?”
“Your clutch is shot.”
“We’ve been having trouble with it for a while,” River said.
“The disc is worn down. You’ve been slipping your clutch too much,” Greg said. “I’ll check the clutch cable too.”
He set the wrench down and circled to the side of the bus. After dropping down to the ground, he flipped onto his back and slid along the dirt under the bus. When he found the clutch cable, he sighed. It was frayed and rusted in several places. They were lucky it hadn’t snapped already.
“I’ve got more bad news.” He inched out from under the car and climbed to his feet. He brushed at his jeans to get the dirt off his butt. “Your clutch cable needs to be replaced.”
“What?” Andy barked.
“You’ve got rust and it’s about to break in at least two places. If you need a ride into town, I can help you out.”
“How much is that going to cost?” Daisy asked softly.
“You’re looking at a few hundred bucks at least,” Greg said.
“Oh, no.” Daisy shoved her nails back into her mouth and chewed.
“We don’t have that much money,” Andy said.
“How much do you have?” he asked.
River pulled a woven orange wallet from the back pocket of his jeans. He pulled out a few dollars and counted it.
“Thirty dollars and fifty two cents,” he said.
“That won’t cover it,” Greg said.
“We’re so screwed.” Meadow slumped down onto the ground and wrapped her arms around her knees. “We’re stuck here.”
He took one look at their forlorn faces and knew he had to do something. He couldn’t just leave them here. Since he didn’t have a job off of the farm, he didn’t have any money either. He couldn’t just ask his dad for a few hundred dollars without telling him why he needed the money. But maybe there was another way.
With his brothers gone, they needed more help in the fields. Maybe he could convince his dad to hire them and in exchange for their help, they could pay for the car part. It was a long shot, but he couldn’t come up with any other viable options.
“I have an idea,” he said. “I don’t know if it’s going to work, but maybe I can talk to my dad.”
“Would he loan you the money?” Daisy asked.
“No. We don’t have that kind of money. But we might be able to work something out with Gunther. He owns the garage in town. We might be able to exchange food and supplies for the parts. I can do the labor.”
“Do you think your dad would really be willing to help us?” Andy asked. “You said he hated trespassers and hippies.”
“That’s true,” Greg said. “But he also has a soft spot for people in need. But you might end up having to work on the farm for a bit. I know he won’t be willing to give you a handout.”
“We’re not asking for a handout,” Andy said.
“I know. Which is why you’ll probably have to work off the debt. If you’re not okay with that, then there’s no point in me talking to my dad.”
“We’ll do it,” Daisy said. When Andy’s head whipped toward her, she held up a hand. “Hear me out. We really don’t have a choice right now. West Yellowstone’s too small a town for our usual hustle. There aren’t enough people. River could probably play night and day for a month and we still wouldn’t have the amount we’d need to buy the parts.”
“Daisy’s right,” Meadow said. “Unless we want to ditch the bus and hitch rides, we don’t have a choice.”
“I can’t promise anything,” Greg warned. “But I’ll do what I can.”
“Thanks, man,” River said.
Andy mashed his lips together as he studied the forest floor. Greg held his breath. Was the guy stubborn enough to put his sister and their friends in a bad position just to prove his alpha male status?
“All right,” Andy said. “We’ll do it.”
“Wait here. I’ll go talk to my old man and come back for you.”
“Thanks, Greg.” Daisy rushed forward and wrapped her arms around his waist. Every muscle in his body clenched with animalistic need. He ignored Andy’s furious look and pulled her hard against his body.
When he released her, she gave him a quick peck on the cheek which shot bolts of electric sparks straight to his groin. The innocent kiss ignited more than just his libido. He silently vowed to do whatever it took to make her happy, even if that meant facing down his dad.
***
Greg found his father squatting between two rows of peas. He plucked a pod off the vine and pulled it open with his nails. After scooping the peas out, he offered them to Greg. Nerves crackled in his belly as he popped the fresh vegetables into his mouth. He chewed slowly while trying to formulate a plan for the conversation. Upon realizing there wouldn’t be a good way to broach the subject, he launched into it.
“I went up to check the car,” Greg said. “It’s got a busted clutch. The clutch cable’s about to snap too.”
“Sounds like a mess,” his dad said.
“Yeah.” Greg ran a hand through his hair.
“What’s on your mind, son?”
“I was hoping we might be able to help them.”
“You can borrow the truck. Run them up to Gunther’s,” his dad said.
“They have a slight problem.”
“Yeah?” His dad popped another pod’s worth of peas into his mouth.
“They don’t have any money.”
“Why not?”
“They’re…” His mind raced. If he told his dad they were hippies on a draft-dodging run, he’d never get him to agree to help them. “They’re on the road to see their parents.”
“How many are there?”
“Four,” Greg said. “A brother, sister, and their two friends.”
“And they’re all on their way up to their parents’ house?” his dad asked.
“I didn’t get all the details.”
“You have to ask questions, son. You can’t go through life only knowing half of what you need to know.”
“I know, Dad. I was thinking, with my brothers off at war, we’re going to need some extra hands with the harvest. We’d been talking about hiring a few people anyway, so maybe we could hire them.”
His dad rubbed the back of his hand across his mouth. He turned and twisted, surveying the fields.
“It’s a lot of work,” his dad said. “Are they up for it? Do they look strong?”
“The guys look strong and I was thinking that the girls could help Mom and Samantha with canning,” Greg said.
“All right. Let me go take a look at ‘em. Where’d you say they were at?”
“Up on the main road.”
“How far? Do we need the truck?”
“No. They’re about a mile out.”
His dad pulled up short. “I thought you said they weren’t on our property.”
“Yeah, I uh, I didn’t realize how close they were,” he stammered.
“You better not be lying to me, boy.”
“I wouldn’t.”
But he was. He was lying through his teeth and there was no way his dad wouldn’t take one look at the hippies and pop him for being deceitful. For a split second, he considered calling the whole thing off. He could walk back, tell them his dad had refused to help, and then send them on their way. It would be the safe thing to do, but he’d been playing it safe his entire life.
Daisy’s radiant smile flickered through his mind. He couldn’t bear the thought of leaving her to fend for herself. Even if she was as flighty as they cam
e, his bear would pitch a fit if he abandoned her.
“Let’s get going,” his dad said.
As Greg walked through the woods, the tension in his body increased until he was ready to snap. This wasn’t going to work. He’d been delusional to think that it would.
When they approached the spot where the bus sat, Daisy jumped up to meet them.
“Hello, Mister…” She looked at Greg.
“Grant.”
“Hello, Mr. Grant,” she said. “Thank you so much for agreeing to let us stay at your ranch.”
“I didn’t agree yet,” his dad barked. He raked his gaze across the four of them then turned to Greg. “You told me they weren’t hippies. Don’t you know what a hippie looks like? This one—” he pointed at Daisy, “—is half naked. And that guy over there looks like he hasn’t taken a bath in a month. No way. I’m not letting these lazy sons of bitches into my house.”
“Wait,” Daisy cried as his dad turned to leave. “We’ll work hard. I’m not lazy and neither is my brother.”
Greg noted that she hadn’t mentioned Meadow and River. He hoped they’d pull their weight if—by some miracle—his dad agreed to let them stay.
“All hippies are slackers,” his dad said. He turned to River and Andy. “You two aren’t draft dodgers are you?”
Andy glanced at Daisy. She slightly shook her head.
“No,” Andy said.
“No, sir,” River added.
“I’m going to have to talk this over with Betty. I don’t want her having to cook for four more mouths unless she thinks she can handle it,” his dad said.
Since when couldn’t his mom deal with four more people to feed? Before his brothers had left for the war or college, she’d been able to feed an army of kids. He didn’t question his dad. The fact that he was even considering letting them stay on the farm gave Greg enough hope that he kept his mouth shut.
“You can all follow us back to the farm, but I want you to wait outside while I talk to my wife,” his dad said.
“Yes, sir,” Daisy said. “Thank you so much.”
“Don’t thank me yet,” he grumbled.
When they arrived back at the ranch, Greg’s dad motioned for them to wait outside the barn.
“You stay here. I’ll be back.” He was halfway to the house when he turned and glared at Greg. “You coming?”
“Yes, dad.” He jogged to catch up with him. Before they stepped into the house, he turned and smiled at Daisy. His mom would be easier to convince than his dad, so maybe this would work out after all.
Inside the house, they turned right and walked into the kitchen where she stood over a steaming pot of stew.
“You’re in early,” she said.
Greg crossed the room to give her a kiss on the cheek. He might as well start buttering her up now.
“What was that for?” she asked.
“No reason,” Greg mumbled.
“Oh, he’s got one hell of a reason,” his dad said.
“What’s going on?” she asked as she set a bowl on the table. She opened the cupboard and pulled out a canister of flour.
“Your son found a gaggle of hippies stranded up on the edge of our property. Their car broke down and they can’t afford the parts. So Greg decided to invite them to stay at the house.”
“You did what?” His mom shot him an incredulous look.
Greg flashed a lopsided smile. Maybe this was going to be harder than he’d thought.
Chapter 6
Daisy paced back and forth along the side of the barn. Worst case scenario, Greg’s parents would refuse to help them and they’d have to hitchhike up to Canada. Or maybe they could try to get a job in town. They’d only have to work a few months to save up for the car parts. It might work. Maybe a job wasn’t such a terrible idea after all.
“Don’t worry,” Andy said as he joined her. “We’ll figure something out.”
“I’m getting tired of being broke,” she said.
“Me too. When I get to Canada, I’m going to find a job.”
“Seriously?” She stopped and looked up at him.
“Yeah. I know it’s not anything I’ve really talked about before, but I’ve been thinking a lot about where I want my life to go.”
“Screw that, man,” River said. “Live in the moment. You don’t want to give up your freedom. None of us do. We should just bail on this place. We don’t need their help. Right Meadow?”
Everyone turned to look at her. She shrugged her shoulders.
“If they’re going to feed us and all we have to do is pick some vegetables, I could dig it.” Meadow shuffled her feet through the dirt.
“Don’t tell me you’re ready to sell out too, babe,” River said.
“Asking for help isn’t selling out,” Meadow said. “What else are we going to do? Just ditch the bus? It took us a couple of years to save up enough to buy it. I don’t want to leave it on the side of the road out in the middle of nowhere.”
“How much farther do we have to go?” River asked. “We could just jack a car.”
“We’re not jacking anything,” Andy said. “Do you really want to go to jail instead of doing a little work?”
“You too?” River arched a shaggy brow.
“We need to be practical for once in our lives,” Andy said. “We can go back to hippie-dippy land once we get the bus fixed.”
“There’s no point in arguing until we know what Greg’s dad says,” Daisy said. “We might be fighting over nothing.”
The front door to the house opened and Greg stepped out. The screen door slammed shut behind him as he hopped over the porch steps. He jogged over to where they stood.
“All right,” Greg said. “I have good news. My parents have agreed to talk to you about the arrangement. It’s not a done deal yet, but I have a good feeling about it.”
“Groovy,” Daisy said.
“But before we go in, I have to give you a few tips,” Greg said.
“Here it comes,” River mumbled.
“I told them you were on your way to see your parents. So stick to that story. Be super respectful to my old man. If he thinks you are disrespecting him or my mother, he’ll boot you out so fast your head will spin. Don’t interrupt him—ever. And most importantly, don’t tell him you’re draft dodging.”
“I’m not going to roll over for some friggin’ uptight dick,” River said. “I’ll find a way to put some scratch together in town.”
“Stop being a hardheaded asshole for two seconds,” Daisy snapped. “We’re all going up there. If you don’t want to hang with us, then bail. But I think this guy’s our best hope right now.”
River scowled at her and turned to Meadow, who gnawed on her bottom lip.
“Well?” River asked.
“I’m going with them,” Meadow said. “I worked hard hustling for that bus. I don’t want to leave it.”
“Don’t you care about what happens to Andy?” Daisy asked River.
“What do you mean?”
“We’re doing all of this to save my brother’s life. If we don’t get him to Canada, our dad will find him and force him to report for the draft,” Daisy’s voice broke. “Do you really want him to die?”
“Shit, Daisy,” River said. “I don’t want that. You know I don’t.”
“Well then come inside with us and let’s do what we can to get through it. Okay?”
“Okay.”
Daisy breathed a sigh of relief as they headed back toward the house. Underneath his outwardly careless attitude, River was a good guy. A bit lackadaisical, but his heart was in the right place.
She followed Greg up the front steps and into the house. She gazed around the entryway. Wood planks lined the floors, walls, and ceiling. It was as if she’d stepped into a tree. Thick, woven rugs covered most of the floor. A threadbare couch and matching armchair sat in the center of the living room in front of a small television.
“My parents are in the kitchen,” Greg said.
&n
bsp; They turned right and filed into a lemon-yellow room. A bowl of fruit rested on the end of the counter. Cupboards without doors lined one wall, while cabinets with proper doors stretched across the opposite wall.
A woman stood at the stove stirring a huge pot of stew which smelled divine. She turned and smiled at them. A thick headband pulled back her golden-brown hair. Bangs hung down to the tops of her eyebrows. The fine ends of her hair flipped up and bounced as she moved. She reminded Daisy of Marlo Thomas from the television show That Girl.
“Hello, I’m Betty,” she said. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“I’m Daisy and this is my brother Andy and our friends Meadow and River.”
“You have interesting names,” Betty said.
“Meadow and I changed our names to reflect our true spirits,” River said.
“I suspected that they weren’t your given names,” Greg’s dad said sarcastically.
“Joseph,” Betty said softly.
Joseph folded his arms over his chest and scowled at them.
“I hear you’re having car troubles,” Betty said.
“Yes, ma’am,” Daisy said. “We’re hoping we might be able to help you with the harvest in exchange for the parts we need. We’re hard workers and we’ll earn our keep.”
“Where are you headed?” Betty asked.
“Gardner,” Daisy said.
“You have family up there?”
“Yes,” Daisy lied.
“Can they drive down and help you?” Betty asked.
“No,” Andy said quickly. “They don’t have a car.”
“They don’t?” Joseph asked skeptically.
“They did, but they had to sell it. They had some hard times so we’re on our way up to help them,” Daisy said.
She’d never known herself to have a slick tongue, but desperation made her spin a yard of lies. Hopefully they’d believe her improbable story. She glanced at Greg, who kept his gaze riveted on the floor. She’d half-expected him to blow their cover. But he really did seem to want to help them. She’d have to find a way to thank him later.