Storm Warning (Broken Heartland)

by Quinn, Caisey

  Ella Jane ignored the comment about her clothes and inspected the pie with the plastic fork he’d handed her. “Oh no. I hope your grandma’s okay. And I hope you didn’t just poison the whole town.”

  “Thanks for the vote of confidence. And yeah, she was just tired, I think.” He paused and set his own piece of pie aside. “Can I ask you something?”

  With her mouth full of warm apple pie—pretty decent pie actually—Ella Jane nodded.

  “Would you give two of me for one of Joe, er, Cooper?”

  “Um…” EJ forced herself to swallow. She couldn’t help but notice Hayden’s normally gleaming eyes seemed a little dimmer as he reached over and wiped a crumb from the corner of her mouth. Her skin burned where he touched her, and it was scary and intoxicating all at once. “Why would you ask that?”

  Hayden shrugged and removed his hand. “Something my grandpa said.” She studied his profile as he turned his face to the sky. “Ever feel like no matter how hard you try, nothing you do will ever be good enough? Like you can do two million things right but people will always remember you for the one thing you did wrong?”

  “Kind of. But I mean, all you can do is your best, right?”

  “Yeah. Yeah, you’re right.” He turned to her and tilted his head to the side.

  Ella Jane sucked in a breath as Hayden leaned his face toward hers.

  A loud boom interrupted whatever had been about to happen. Startled by the fireworks blossoming and falling in front of them, they jumped apart.

  “Aren’t they beautiful?” Ella Jane asked as the sky lit up with bright blasts of blue and purple and red and green. Flashes of light reflected on her face as the twinkly ones she loved went off.

  “You’re beautiful,” Hayden said quietly from beside her.

  “What’d you say?” she asked turning her attention back to him.

  “You’re the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen.”

  The abrupt honesty of his words shocked and thrilled her to her core. “I don’t… No one’s ever said that to me before. I don’t know what to say to that,” she breathed.

  “Most girls I know would say ‘I know I am,’” Hayden told her with a grin.

  “Really? What kind of girls do you know?”

  “Fake ones. Conceited ones. Insecure ones. Lots of different kinds. None like you though.”

  “And what kind of girl am I?” Ella Jane asked, her voice barely above a whisper. She held her breath as she waited for his answer.

  “Real. Honest. You don’t hide behind makeup or worry about what anyone else expects or thinks.” A breeze blew between them, and he brushed her hair gently out of her face. “I never know what you’re going to say next. You always know when I’m full of crap. You amaze me. And you scare me a little, too.”

  Ella Jane’s eyes widened. “What do you mean I scare you?”

  Hayden shook his head, glancing up as if the words he needed might drop from the sky like rain. “I don’t ever know what you’re thinking. Well…sometimes I do.”

  She laughed nervously, scooting a tiny bit closer to him on the tailgate. “Oh yeah? Like when?”

  “Like when you’re thinking about kissing me.”

  She scoffed, giving him a small playful shove. “Shut up.”

  “Seriously. It’s cute. I love that you try to pretend like you’re not thinking about how bad you want to kiss me every time you see me.” With his trademark smirk, he leaned in and placed his forehead on hers.

  “I’m not,” EJ whispered, shaking her head against his. “I’m not thinking about how bad I want to kiss you.”

  “Oh yeah?” Hayden pulled back a few inches. “Then what are you thinking about?”

  Pulling in a deep breath and gathering up all her courage, she met his stare and told the truth. “I’m thinking about how bad I want you to kiss me.”

  That was all the confirmation Hayden needed. “Ella Jane Mason, I’m going to kiss you before this night is over. If you don’t want me to, you should say so. Soon.” His eyes looked like they were memorizing her mouth.

  “If you don’t kiss me, after all that, then I’m going to be seriously disappointed.”

  “Well we can’t have that,” Hayden said softly just before he leaned in and pressed his lips to hers.

  Fireworks went off around them as they both fell headfirst in love for the first time ever.

  SOME guys had all the luck. They were born into wealthy families. Seemed to be in the right place at the right time. And they always, always, got the girl.

  Brantley Cooper was not one of those guys.

  As he stood at the edge of the brush with a handful of vibrant flowers that reminded him of the girl he was finally going to confess his feelings for, he wondered why he couldn’t just for once catch a damn break.

  Fireworks shot off in every direction behind the couple wrapped in each other’s arms.

  All he could see was their silhouette in the darkness, but it was enough. Ella Jane and Hayden were attached firmly at the mouth. He didn’t know if it was the first time but he suspected it was.

  He’d blown it. Chickened out when she’d needed him to man up and that was that.

  He glanced over at them once more, hoping that maybe it was someone else sitting on the tailgate of her truck with Bitch Boy. But he saw the long blond hair. It was her. His girl in someone else’s arms. Kissing someone else’s lips.

  Dropping the bouquet and letting the flowers scatter on the ground, he did the last thing he wanted to. Instead of barreling out of the woods and kicking Hayden Prescott’s ass, he did what his father said the bigger man always did. He walked away.

  He walked right back to his truck and drove to town. Then walked right into Harwell’s Gas Station. Thankfully, when he walked up to the counter with a case of beer in hand, Harwell’s nimrod stepson, Brody, was working the register. The same nimrod that hadn’t ever taken the time to ask Coop, Kyle, or any other underage kid brave enough to attempt to buy beer for identification. Ever.

  “Rough night?” he asked as Coop tossed a twenty down.

  “Something like that,” Coop mumbled, not really wanting to get into specifics. Especially not with Brody.

  “Wanna get high?” And there it was. Three words almost broke a smile free from Coop’s lips. Then he remembered EJ making out with Hayden Prescott. The urge to chuckle at the stoner who would probably work the nightshift at his stepdad’s gas station for the rest of his life was replaced with a pathetic sigh. Just like Brody would always get high and sell beer to minors, Coop would always be a farmer in a nothing town without the girl he really wanted.

  “Umm… no. Keep the change.”

  COOP really didn’t feel like going to the Masons’ the next morning. Hell, he didn’t even want to get out of bed. He’d spent the night drinking his sorrows away in the loft of his family’s barn.

  Last summer he and Kyle had fixed up the old loft and turned it into their man cave. They’d hooked up a television and Coop’s Xbox, found a couple old sofas, and cleared out all the dust. Even let Ella Jane put a rug down and a couple throw pillows on the couches. It wasn’t fancy, but they loved it. He’d made a pretty good dent in the case of beer he had bought last night before he finally passed out.

  Luckily, he’d remembered to hide the beer cans under the sofa, because as soon as the sun was up, his mom was out there waking him up. She would have been as mad as a box of frogs if she’d seen how much he’d drunk.

  “I need you to run these jars back over to Millie’s. She’s making another batch of salsa and she needs them this morning. Can’t believe how fast that stuff sold at the farmers market last week.”

  “Okay,” Coop reluctantly agreed, his voice still thick with sleep. His head was pounding, and despite what he’d thought last night when he was drinking, no amount of booze in the world would make him forget about seeing Ella Jane with another guy.

  He hopped in his truck and headed over there. He hadn’t even bothered changing his cloth
es from the night before. It was still early enough that he might be able to avoid seeing anyone. He’d just leave the jars on the porch and haul ass.

  He coasted up the lane and pulled to a stop in front of the house. Looked quiet enough. He slipped out of the truck and carried the box of jars up to the porch. He thought he’d been in stealth mode until he turned around and saw Hayden standing in front of him. He was surprised to see the little punk up this early, and from the dirt on his shirt, it looked like he’d been at it for a while already this morning.

  “Oh, it’s just you,” Hayden offered up with his usual charm. “Thought you were the mulch delivery.”

  “Just dropping off some stuff for Mrs. Mason.” Coop didn’t have the energy to argue with Hayden this morning. He brushed past him and headed back to his truck.

  “You’re awfully dressed up for farm work this morning,” Hayden called out. Coop looked down at the khaki cargo shorts and blue polo he’d put on for Ella Jane last night. Hell, he even had on flip-flops.

  “Feel free to mind your own business.”

  “Sorry I asked.” Hayden threw his hands up. “Look. I shouldn’t have said what I said about the handouts thing. That was a low blow and I regret it.”

  “Oh yeah? Losing sleep, are you?” Coop raised a brow. “My heart’s breaking for you, buddy.” Well, maybe he felt like arguing a little.

  “Whatever. I could care less what you think. I’m a big boy. I can admit when I’ve taken something too far.”

  “The only thing you’re taking too far is the game you’re trying to play will Ella Jane. Back off, man. Go back to your penthouse or whatever and leave her be.”

  “You’re awfully threatened by me, aren’t you?” Hayden smirked. “What I can’t work out is, you’ve known her forever, right? But now that I’m here, suddenly this is the summer you get all worked up thinking you have some claim on her. You piss a circle around her when I wasn’t looking?”

  Cooper breathed heavily through his nose, his broad chest rising and falling with each deep breath. He took a step closer, knowing how this could end but not caring. What did he have to lose? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. “You probably think she’s impressed by you. Your sunglasses probably cost more than my truck. But you know what the real difference between me and you is?”

  “Enlighten me.” Hayden crossed his arms and waited for Coop to finish.

  “The real difference is I work for what I have. From sunup to sundown, I bust my ass, and everything I have I paid for. Myself. What do you drive, Bitch Boy? A girly Mercedes or some shit?”

  “Bentley,” Hayden bit out at him.

  “Of course you do. And did Mommy and Daddy buy that pretty, shiny car for their little boy?”

  Snorting as if the words didn’t affect him, Hayden shrugged. “Your point?”

  “My point is, I’ve unloaded two tractors full of straw, mucked stalls, and plowed a thirty-acre field before you’ve even rolled your worthless ass out of bed. And while you’re working out, grinning at yourself in the mirror at the gym, I’m doing actual work. Man’s work. The kind that supports my family and puts food on the table. The kind of work that Ella Jane respects. The kind of work that can take care of her. So no matter what’s happened between you and her this summer, don’t for one second think I’m jealous of you. I don’t envy anyone who gets everything handed to them. I’m not impressed, and eventually, Ella Jane won’t be either. When you head on back home to Mommy and Daddy, I’ll still be here. And so will she.”

  THE cold, hard truth ignited a flare of self-hatred inside of Hayden. And now he was the one who was jealous. Joe was right. He could practically see him and Ella Jane together. The thought made him want to hit something. Hard. And Cooper wasn’t done.

  “Who do you think she’ll call when she really needs something? If she’s stranded on the side of the road and needs someone to tow her out? I’ll give you a hint. It probably won’t be you.”

  Hayden forced a cocky grin he wasn’t really feeling. “Yeah well, at least if she calls me I’ll actually show up. You’ll have to check with her brother first, right?”

  He watched as Cooper tried to murder him with his stare. “Let me guess, you’ve never been a decent friend to anyone? Screwed all your best friends’ girls behind their backs?”

  “Don’t act like you know me,” Hayden said through gritted teeth. He’d done some shady stuff in his past, but he was different now. And Joe was walking a fine line between speculation and sore subjects.

  “Fine. Then don’t act like you know her. Because no matter what happens between the two of you this summer, you won’t ever really know her like I do.”

  Hayden’s brows dipped in confusion. What the hell was Joe talking about? Had he and Ella Jane been sneaking around behind Kyle Mason’s back? Was she maybe not as innocent as she seemed? He almost shook his head at his own stupid thoughts. No way. He’d kissed her, tasted her sweet innocence on her lips.

  Coop huffed out a harsh laugh. “I can tell where your mind is going, and that’s exactly why I don’t like your ass. There’s more to knowing her than the way you’re thinking.”

  “You’re a mind reader now?”

  “I’m a dude, and I know you’re wondering if maybe there isn’t more to my friendship with Ellie May than meets the eye.” Cooper smirked. “Have fun wondering.”

  The slamming of the screen door jerked both boys’ attention back toward the porch.

  “What are y’all talking about?” Ella Jane asked as she practically skipped down the stairs to stand between them. Hayden smiled at her carefree expression. She was a much-needed breath of fresh air easing the tension that had built up in his chest.

  Glancing over, he saw her appearance had the opposite effect on Cooper. The guy’s eyes darkened, and he narrowed them at Hayden for a full minute before speaking. “Nothing,” he said, clenching his jaw as soon as the word was out of his mouth.

  “You, angel face. What else?” Hayden said, wishing she were standing closer to him instead of equally close to him and Coop.

  “Must be a slow news day if all y’all can talk about is little ol’ me.”

  “Something like that,” Coop grumbled, shooting Hayden another dirty look before nodding toward the boxes by the porch. “Get your boyfriend to carry those in. If he can lift them. Mama sent them over.”

  “Tell her thank you. And Mama said to let her know we’d pay for them. She wanted to give y’all a cut of the money she made at the market anyways.”

  Hayden watched as Cooper’s expression clouded over. “Don’t sweat it. I need to get back to the farm. Some of us do actual work for a living.”

  Dropping his arm across Ella Jane’s shoulders, Hayden fought the urge to wink at Cooper as he got in his truck. His stomach turned at the thought that this might be temporary. Ella Jane might only be his for the summer, and then what? Would Joe make a move once he was out of the way? It gave him a headache to think about. So he didn’t even look back at the other guy and focused all of his attention on the beautiful girl at his side.

  Dust and gravel flew behind him as Cooper tore out of the driveway.

  “Wonder what his problem is?” Ella Jane wondered out loud.

  Hayden shrugged as if he had no idea. “Who knows.”

  IT was nearly seven and his grandpa still hadn’t shown up to pick him up. Hayden was exhausted from working harder than he ever had in his entire life. Covered in dirt and sweat, he sat on the Masons’ front porch and sipped the glass of tea Ella Jane had brought him. Through the open door, he could hear her sweet voice placing orders for sod and fertilizer. She used her professional voice on the phone. He’d bet money the person on the other end couldn’t tell she was only sixteen.

  A breeze blew and he watched the tall grass in the field across the road bend and sway with the wind. Finishing off his drink, he stood and took in the view from the Masons’ front porch once more. There was something about this place.

  A peacefulness settled over h
im here. No so-called friends constantly up his ass about what the plans were that weekend, which girls they were hanging out with, or whatever. No dad hounding him about drumming up more business for whatever scheme he was currently involved in. Just long days, sunshine, cool breezes, and the most beautiful girl in the world.

  Deep down he hoped summer would never end. Maybe he’d talk to his parents about moving in with Gran and Pops for real. They were getting older. Surely they’d be happy to have some help.

  Before he had time to really formulate a proposal, Ella Jane burst out of the house. “Hayden, your grandpa just called.”

  The panicked expression she wore made his head throb. “Okay. What’d he say? Where is he?”

  She swallowed hard and turned her round, bright blue eyes up to his. “He’s at the hospital. He had to take your grandma to the emergency room.”

  They may strike quickly, with little or no warning.

  “I don’t know if that’s a good idea.” Cami looked up into Kyle’s eyes, hoping he’d drop it. She smoothed her hand down his chest, trying to distract him from his new favorite subject—convincing her to go on a real date with him. He’d been tossing the idea around for a while now, but ever since the close call at Pinkberry, Cami was more committed to hiding out at home than ever.

  “You really are ashamed of me, aren’t you?” he teased, grabbing her hand in his. She wasn’t sure, but she thought she still saw a trace of wounded concern in his beautiful blue eyes. “We’ve been seeing each other for what…” He squinted, calculating their time together. “Nearly two months now. And we’ve only been on one date.”

  “I like having you all to myself back here in our little oasis.” She grinned, turning in his arms to face the pool. The deck-side lounge chair they’d claimed as theirs barely fit both of their bodies. Neither of them minded the close proximity it forced.