by J. Darling
Jake cleared his throat. “You said you stopped at the bakery and picked up the rolls, then you said you make them with Kesella. So, which is it? Did you get them at the bakery, or did you make them?”
She smiled and looked down at her hands. “Both.”
“What?! I thought you said you used to work there?”
“I did, when I was in high school. Now, I just go back and help make some of the more traditional baked goods popular at Christmas and the Midsummer holiday, when the bakery’s at its busiest.”
Jake looked at her in stunned disbelief as the rest of them chuckled.
“What?” she said, looking back at him, “I told you I liked to cook.” Turning away from her, she watched as his jaw clenched.
Gathering another bite, he spoke, his words strained, “Linnie told us you were making supper tonight. Do you have everything you need?”
She nodded, then realized he couldn’t see her. “I think so. I, ah, was going to make some traditional Swedish dishes, but I’m...we should just have hamburgers or something.”
“NO!” They all said at once, scaring her and making her jump, causing her to lose her fork in the process. Kris was shaking his head, and Nik, finished up quick with, “We want Swedish!”
“Okay,” she answered, feeling uncertain. “You all go back to your cow stuff, and let me get back to work then. I’ll clean this up.”
None of them listened. They got up and started clearing the table and loading the dishwasher. One began washing the pots, while another wiped off the table and counters. The kitchen was clean within a matter of minutes. Then they all filed out with the exception of Jake. He simply stood there solemnly looking at her.
Feeling uncomfortable, she looked away. This was what it was like all her life, being there but not fitting in, people listening and staring, either completely put off by her or inappropriately overtaken. She wanted to kick herself. Who was she trying to kid? She didn’t have a clue as to what she was doing here. She should’ve stayed in Chicago.
What had she done wrong? She couldn’t help but feel she’d done something wrong, but what? Maybe she hadn’t. Oh, what the heck would she know, she didn’t have experience with people on this level, let alone with a group of men. She took a deep breath, the wind having been let out of her sails.
Walking over to her, Jake pulled her out of her chair and into his arms, kissing her tender and gentle to start, then with more sincerity. She moved her hands up his chest, wanting to go farther, but didn’t know if she should. She returned his kiss in kind, and soon his tongue was teasing hers, while one of his hands moved way down, cupping her bottom and pulling her in tight.
Breathless, he pulled back, then looked down at her guardedly. “You’re a fantastic cook, and a phenomenal kisser, and I’m not just saying that, I mean every word.”
Okaaay, she thought, more worried than ever. If that’s the case then, why’s he so morose?
Letting her go, he stepped back and left the room.
Feeling weak in the knees, Jules reached out and grabbed the back of a chair, steadying herself as she watched him walk out of the house. She was so confused. This had been the oddest morning, but the worst part of it all, was that even though Jake was there, it felt like he was a million miles away. “Well, Connecticut,” she said, with a pain in her heart and tears in her eyes, “here I come.”
*****
Jake stomped to the barn. He knew he shouldn’t be upset, but seriously, why would she ever want him. The writing was on the wall, and flashing like a neon sign. Hell, it was obvious she didn’t need him. She was accomplished, financially solvent, and solid. He wasn’t. All he had were some stupid old trophies, stacks of sporting magazines, some skates and hockey sticks, a truck, and a three hundred and sixty-five days a year job, with no vacation time or benefits. Further, the pay was variable, and the effort a gamble. He was, by all intents and purposes, a bad bet.
Getting in the bobcat, he headed over to the food mixer and started dumping in bucket loads of feed materials. After a while, Kris showed up and hauled it all away. Heading to the calving area, he examined the moms to be, a couple of them were within days of calving. After feeding and tending to his girls, he went to the calf pens for the babies, and group stalls for older calves, assessing for issues. Grabbing a shovel and rake, he decided to give the pens a thorough cleaning. If nothing else, it would be good for the calves, but mostly it would allow him to work off some of his frustration.
Several hours later, he walked into the lunchroom of the old creamery and was relieved to see he was alone. Heading to the sink, he washed up, then stepped into the cooler and grabbed a jug of milk, along with stuff to make sandwiches. He walked out to Kris and Nik sitting at the table waiting for him.
Nik started in, “She’s a good cook.”
Ah hell, he should get back in the bobcat, no one could bug him there.
“Yeah, Jake, mighty fine grub this morning,” Kris added.
Double trouble. Jake growled inside and ignored them both.
“Did you taste them French eggs?” Nik asked no one in particular. “Woowee, soft, buttery, creamy little morsels that melted in your mouth. I thought I died and went to heaven. We think you should marry her.”
Jake snorted as he reached for a knife. Yeah, he thought so too, but the likelihood of that happening was zero to none. Hell, Hey Diddle Diddle’s cow had a better chance of jumping over the moon, than he did of marrying her.
In walked his dad, reaching for the bread as he sat.
“Hey, you listening?” Kris asked, as he smacked Jake on the arm, trying to get his attention.
Ignoring them all, Jake just kept on making his sandwiches.
“Come on, man, she made butter. Not just any butter, she made ghee and raw butter, not to mention the curd cream. Jake, stop, look at me.”
Jake stopped, looking off in the distance. He felt like kicking something, he was so damn irritated.
Kris continued, “She’s doing things that Mama did when she was alive. She has the knowhow, and the potential is there for the specialty end of the business again. The thing is, Mama just used to make the stuff, but Jules makes it and uses it. Couple that with her knowledge and background, and the results are mind boggling.”
Jake snapped. “Do you think I don’t know this? But why, huh, why would she ever want to marry me? She speaks multiple languages, is an accomplished painter, has a six figure income, and is gorgeous, as well as smart. Me, I’m out here slinging cow shit with the three of you, with no guaranteed income, and my only certifiable experience is applying automatic milking machines to cow tits.”
Nik got a big grin on his face. “You better make it good for her then, really, really good. Treat her like a queen. At least you’ll have fun in the process.”
“What the hell are you talking abo—you idiot! You think sexing her up is going to pull her in? I said she was smart, didn’t I? She can have any guy she wants, good bets, safe bets. They’d all be capable of taking care of her needs.”
“Which is why you need to make it really, really good for her. You need to be better, treat her better than the rest.”
Jake shook his head. “Would you just shut up? Please.”
“He’s right,” Kris added.
Grinning from ear to ear, Nik wiggled his eyebrows and nodded his head in agreement.
“Shut up.” Jake snapped.
“Jake, come on, you need to at least try,” Kris encouraged. “She likes you, she chose you over us. Which is still a mystery by the way, but still, we won’t hold it against her. Anyways, the worst that could happen is she says no, and that’s the end of it, or she could say yes, and it would be the start of something great.”
“Yeah,” Nik added, “you may think it’s a long shot, but you’ve always been pretty dang lucky. You really don’t have much to lose by trying, but if you don’t, and let her walk away, your loss will be immeasurable.”
Jake took a deep breath and let it out. Nik w
as right. If he let her walk away, the loss would be staggering. He shook his head, unable to see a way to make it all work. “How? What do I do? I don’t know what to do.”
“What?” his brothers said in shocked unison. Even his dad, who’d done nothing but listen, stopped chewing and looked at him with raised eyebrows.
“Ah, Jake,” Nik said, looking at him like he had a few screws loose. “You’ve been bringing the ladies out to Frisky’s pen long enough to know how things go, where they go.”
Jake rolled his eyes and growled in frustration. “Would you shut up! I don’t need a tutorial on the sex act, you dope. She’s a virgin. I can’t walk in there, throw her on the bed, and just go at it. Good grief. No mystery here, this is why she picked me over you two. Look, six weeks ago, I listened to her tell Linnie that if a date went well with a guy, she might let him hold and kiss her hand, and that’s it.”
“Yeah, but you’re already on first base,” Kris interrupted. “We saw you hug and kiss her this morning. So treat her right. Do all the things we do here, and then some. Make sure she’s comfortable, has good food and drink, a place to rest, relax, tend to her, talk to her, take her places, do things with her, then when the time is right, go for second and third base. Before you know it, you’ll be sliding into home.”
Both his brothers snickered at the pun, while his dad just shook his head. Jake rolled his eyes again. “Duh, Einstein. I know all that. The problem is time. You don’t go from kissing her hand, to sliding into home, within a few days with someone like her. In four days time, she’ll be packing for Chicago, and then who knows when or if I’ll ever see her again. She’s been asked to interview for a higher position at work. I looked into that company of hers, and they have offices all over the world. If she gets that job, it’s possible she may not even be in Chicago anymore. If I wasn’t such a pathetic loser, I would’ve been on her doorstep weeks ago.”
Nik clapped him on the shoulder. “Yep, you’re pathetic alright, but because Kris and I are the world’s best brothers, we’ll take on your chores from now till she leaves. That’ll give you roughly ninety six hours to work your magic. Divide that by the average four hours per date, and you’ll have about…twenty-four dates while she’s here, then at approximately six to eight dates a month, that brings you in at… roughly three to four months of dating over the next four days.”
Jake narrowed his eyes as he looked at the two of them. “Best brothers my ass. You just want her to stay so she’ll cook for you.”
“Damn straight. Now get your ass in the house, the day’s more than half over and I’m hungry.”
Trying to rub some of the tension from his neck, Jake thought things over. Looking to his dad, he said, “What do you think?”
His dad chewed, then swallowed. “Depends on how much you like her?”
“If I had the means, I’d marry her today.”
Finishing his sandwich and taking a drink of milk, his dad sat back and looked at the three of them, then settled on Jake. “So what are you thinking?”
Jake shrugged. “I don’t know, go back to school, finish up, get a degree.”
“You leaving the farm then?”
Alarmed, Jake answered quickly, “Nooo, I don’t want to, this is all I’ve ever wanted to do, but Dad, come on, what am I supposed to say to her…please marry me, my dad will take care of us?”
His brothers were quiet for once, looking anywhere but there.
Taking several deep breaths, his dad looked down at the table. “I guess I owe the three of you an apology. I’m sorry. Nate disappearing, the loss of your mother, Linnie leaving and not coming home, then the closing of the creamery, it… well…” He stumbled and stopped. After a few moments, he looked up at them and continued, “Your mother and I had plans. One thought was for the business to become Albrecht and Sons Creamery and Dairy. We never moved on it because we didn’t know about Linnie, and we didn’t want to ignore her place in the family.”
Sitting forward, he went on, “In addition, each of you were to get twenty acres along the east side of the property. Two at each corner, with our home being in the middle. That’s why there’s a well in each location. At the time, we put them in to water the animals when at the far ends of the property, but we did so with the thought that in the future, they’d be shared between the two families. I think it’s time for all that. I’ll work with Nate and Linnie to make things right for her.”
“Dad…” Jake said shocked, his brothers equally so.
Nodding his head and affirming his words, his dad went on, “Yep, it’s time, and you’re right, each of you need to start thinking of your future. I’ve watched the three of you over the years, and I’m mighty proud of each of you. Farming’s a tough man’s job, and you’ve each done well. Based on your talents and interests, I’m putting each of you in charge of an aspect of the farm. Kris you’ll be in charge of the land and crops, Jake you’re on herd management and quality control, and Nik, you’re on overall farm operations. I’ll call the accountant and see what we can realistically do for wages.”
“Dad, you’re not retiring are you?” Jake asked worried.
“Nope, I’ll still oversee things, work with the three of you till we get it right, but my load will be lighter with all of you doing your thing.” He started smiling. “Heck, I see lots of fishing in my future, but I don’t know that I’ll ever be able to sleep beyond sun up.”
Jake returned his smile. “Thanks, Dad. We appreciate it.”
His brothers chimed in, expressing their gratitude.
“Alright then,” his dad said, “with that settled, it’s time to go after your girl.”
Walking to the house, Jake’s mind was a blur. At least he had a little something to offer a woman now, but would it be enough? He was still a risk though, and he had nothing to fall back on if the farm hit on hard times. Shit, his mind was all over the place, it was like he was on some emotional roller coaster. He’d been happy when he woke next to Jules, than frustrated and irritable after breakfast, to angry with his brothers, then elated after talking with his dad, and now back to worrying again.
Stepping in the house and closing the door, he looked to the kitchen. Jules appeared in the archway looking wary. Aww hell, he had to control himself from letting out a string of curse words. She was nervous and scared again. She’d shocked them this morning, and they’d reacted funny towards her. Damn it! He’d tried to reassure her before leaving, but it hadn’t worked.
“Um, are you, ah, hungry?” she asked tentatively. “I, um, could make you something to eat.”
He shook his head and she flinched, then nodded as she looked away, chewing on her bottom lip. She’d interpreted his answer to mean he didn’t want to eat her cooking. Linnie was going to kill them. He began taking off his winter wear, and she hightailed it into the kitchen.
Going up the stairs, he went after her, then stopped and stared. She was on the other side of the table, arranging and rearranging his mother’s silver and china. That stuff hadn’t been out since his mother had last used it six Christmases ago. Things shimmered and shined, and there were napkins on the table folded all fancy. The table looked stunning, better than when his mother was alive, and he could tell she’d worked hard to make things special.
She started wringing her hands, then said in a panic, “Linnie said it’d be okay, but…” She quickly started gathering things up.
Linnie was going to kill him. He was around the table in a flash, and she flew the opposite direction, moving away from him. “Precious, come here.” She looked at him with pained confusion in her eyes, and he could see she was trembling.
“Please, don’t call me that. I…I can’t bear it.” Then she looked away, hiding from him.
“Why? You are precious…to me.”
Her head fell, and tears ran down her face. Going around the table, he took her in his arms. “It’s not you, it’s not. It’s me, it’s all of us—”
She started shaking her head rapidly. “No, Ja
ke, it is me, it is,” she said, trying to convince him. “It’s always been like this, all my life it’s been like this. People staring, looking and staring, and then when I say something, they freeze and stare, looking at me like I’ve grown horns and a tail. I’m an oddity for people.” She pulled back, looking down at her twisting fingers as she took some deep breaths.
“It’s always been like this, and well, Linnie said it would be different here, that you’d all be protective, take me under your wing, and I thought maybe she was right, but... It’s just… I don’t know what I’m doing wrong, how to fix it. Nana said all I needed to do was be kind, and treat others the way I’d want to be treated, and when I tried, girls became meaner and boys got the wrong impression. It didn’t change when I became an adult, it only got worse. It’s why I stay to myself, I’ve always made people uncomfortable.”
He was so goddamn pissed right now he was about to erupt. Here he thought she was shy, but oh no, she actually believed there was something wrong with her to the extent she isolated herself from others. Taking her face in his hands, he tilted her face up. When she saw him, she immediately diverted her eyes. If he looked half as angry as he felt, she was probably shaking in her boots. “Look at me…look at me, now.”
She did as he demanded and her chin quivered.
“Listen to me and listen well, because I want you to come back to this moment often over your lifetime. People don’t stop and stare at you because there’s something wrong with you. They stop and stare because you’re so undeniably beautiful. They’re in awe, Precious, total and complete awe. And when you speak, your voice, it sends shivers across the body, making ones hair stand on end. And as if that isn’t enough, you don’t have a clue as to your appeal, and that in and of itself creates an inner beauty so phenomenal it transcends the rest. Throw in your intelligence, and you’re the total package. The total package. If there was a star in the sky for every person on this earth, you’d be the sun. You’re brilliant, beautiful, bright, breathtaking, and without a doubt beguiling. Trust me, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with you. You’re perfect. It’s the rest of us who are flawed.”