by Amber Kelly
“Honestly, this is the best way to purchase all the equipment you need on the ranch, including vehicles. You paid cash for your last truck by pulling the money out of a CD. Gram could have left the money in the CD and financed the truck—not only saving you money, but also making you money.”
“How’s that?” Daddy asks.
“The money was making two percent more per month in the CD than the interest rate would have been to finance the truck. For example, if you have ten dollars in an account that is making three percent interest and you decide to buy a toy truck that cost five dollars, you can finance at a one and a half percent rate or take the whole five dollars out of your account and pay in cash. It makes more sense to leave the whole ten dollars in the account and finance the toy truck because it’s gaining double what the loan would cost. Does that make sense?” I try to illustrate the concept as simple as possible without talking down or disrespecting him.
“Perfect sense,” he agrees.
We leave the bank after signing all the paperwork and getting the loan process started.
Aunt Doreen nervously prattles on about keeping up with it all, so I decide to broach the subject of hiring some help on the way home.
“Have you thought any more about hiring an administrative assistant?” I ask her.
She eyes Daddy and then cautiously answers, “Not everyone is comfortable with hiring someone outside of the family.”
“That’s silly. Companies do it all the time.”
“We’re a family company,” Daddy insists.
“I realize that, but someone has to take care of the administrative side of the business with Gram gone, and I think it’s a little bigger than Aunt Doreen can manage.”
Even if I sat and trained her nonstop for the next week, she’s never going to catch on. She has zero experience using e-mail, much less a computer and accounting program. The mountain is insurmountable in the time we have.
“I trust that you know what you’re doing,” he replies in answer.
“I do, but I’m only here for another week or so, and you’ll need someone once I leave.”
“We’ll make do.”
That’s his infuriating answer.
“It’s not that simple,” I start to argue.
“We’ll figure it out, Sophie. We aren’t hiring anyone. If Doreen can’t manage it, then Elle will help.”
Elle has dreams that don’t include being Aunt Doreen’s assistant. She wants to go to school next year.
I drop the subject for now because the stubborn man is not going to budge. It’s not really my problem anyway, so I don’t know why I care so much.
I’m skipping dinner with the family tonight because Dallas and I are going on a double date. Russ and Trey are taking us to a farm-to-table restaurant the next county over, and then we’re going to the drive-in theater to watch the latest Marvel movie. I’m truly just going along for moral support. I like Trey well enough, but it’s not like we have any kind of possible future, whereas Dallas would very much like to see where things go with Russ.
I decide that comfortable is the way to go, so I dress in my low-slung jeans, a soft-pink cashmere sweater with a broad neckline so it falls off one shoulder, and brown cowgirl boots. I load a bag with thick wool blankets and homemade snacks provided by Aunt Ria for the drive-in. The nights are so cold, so we’ll be wrapped up to stay warm in the back of Dallas’s truck. I haven’t been to a drive-in before, so I’m excited to experience it for the first, and probably last, time tonight.
Aunt Ria tucks some hand-warmers into my bag along with the brownies and deer jerky. “You have fun tonight and keep your eye on Dallas.”
“I will. I think she’s a little nervous, which is odd. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her nervous before.”
“It’s good that you’re here. That ex-husband of hers did a number on her. She works so hard, and she is a good momma, but she deserves more than just Beau in her life.”
“Says the woman who never remarried after her husband was killed in the war. You’ve never batted an eyelash at another gentleman in all this time, have you? Aunt Doreen and Emmett have been sneaking kisses for years since Uncle Lee took off but not you.”
Uncle Arthur was killed in Vietnam in 1975. They had only been married for two short years, and Aunt Ria has never so much as looked sideways at another man. At least, according to Dallas.
“Sometimes, a love so big comes along, and even if you only get to hold on to it for a little while, it can fill you up for a lifetime. That was my Arthur. I’ve never felt the need to fill his place in my heart. I have my family and friends and have never suffered a single moment of loneliness. One day, I’ll be back with him, and until then, I’m quite content.”
“That’s beautiful. I hope I find that kind of love someday. I’m not the best at maintaining relationships,” I admit.
“Why not? You’re so easy to love, Sophie.”
“I think I’m always waiting for them to decide they want to leave. I expect it. So, I never really let them in, and eventually, they do.” I shrug.
She opens her mouth to say something and is cut off by Elle, yelling down the hallway, “Sophie, a hot guy in a sweet Range Rover is here to pick you up.”
Braxton
I toss another bag of grain down to Emmett from the storage loft off the side of the barn. He grabs it and throws it up on the truck bed.
“That’s the last of it, old man. Time to wash up and eat,” I say as I make my way down the ladder.
It’s been a long day. We finally got the fence patch reinforced in the back pasture, and I’m exhausted and starving.
We bring the ladder down and toss it on the truck bed with the feed. Just as I shut the tailgate, a shiny new Range Rover comes rolling to a stop in front of the house. A man I slightly recognize but can’t place steps out and speaks to Elle, who is on the front porch. She walks inside, and he waits by his truck.
“Emmett, who’s that?” I gesture toward the visitor with my chin.
He looks up and scans the driveway. “It must be that Eastman boy come to pick Sophie up for dinner. I heard her telling Ria about it this afternoon,” he answers.
Eastman—that’s it. We went to high school together. The guy was a real tool, always flaunting his family’s wealth.
“Dinner?” I question.
“Yep. He and his brother were out at the show in Denver, and they met the girls. I reckon he’s taken a fancy to Sophie.”
I don’t like the thought of her being alone with that guy—not one bit.
“He’s an idiot. Why would she have anything to do with him?” I ask the rhetorical question.
He answers me anyway, “I guess because none of the idiots around here have offered to take her to dinner.”
He slaps me on the back and walks toward the backyard.
I stand there and wait until she comes out the door. She looks beautiful in jeans and a fuzzy pink top that is feminine and still looks substantial enough to keep her warm. She greets him with a big smile and a hug, and then he opens the passenger door for her. She shrugs an overnight bag off her shoulder and hands it to him. He shuts her in, and then he opens the back door and tosses in her bag.
Surely, she doesn’t plan on staying the night with him. They just met.
I stomp my way across the yard and enter the back door. Everyone is seated for dinner with two open chairs—mine and Sophie’s. I roll up my sleeves and wash up. Then, I take my seat. I load my plate and start eating, still thinking about Sophie’s overnight bag sitting in that asshole’s backseat.
“Something wrong, Brax?” Jefferson gets my attention.
“No. Why?” I ask with my mouth full.
“Well, son, you poured gravy all over your baked apples and started shoveling it in like we were going to steal your plate. And your aunt Madeline has asked you the same question four times.”
I stop and look down at my plate. I did indeed pour gravy on my apples instead of the sliced turkey
breast.
I look back up, and everyone’s amused faces are staring back at me.
“What?” I bite out.
“No need to shout,” Doreen gently scolds me, “and no need to worry about Sophie. She’s a big girl who can take care of herself.”
“Who said I was worried about Sophie?”
She keeps talking as she salts and peppers her plate, “Aren’t you?”
“Why aren’t you? Do you know that guy? Does she? She took an overnight bag with her, for fuck’s sake.”
“Language,” she reprimands.
“I’m sorry. I just don’t like it.”
“She took a bag with supplies for the drive-in tonight. It’s loaded up with blankets and snacks, not pajamas and toiletries. She’ll be home tonight,” Ria reassures me.
Relief washes over me for a second, and then I notice they’re all still staring at me.
“Okay. I overreacted. I still don’t like it. Just because she met him once doesn’t mean she knows the guy.”
“Just how do you expect her to get to know him if she doesn’t go out with him?” Jefferson asks.
I shrug. I don’t exactly have an answer for that.
“Can we all just eat now?” I ask, hoping to end the conversation.
“Sure,” he answers, and we all finish our meal in silence.
Afterward, I head up to my room and let Hawkeye out. I check the showtimes at the drive-in and see that the show starts at eight thirty-five p.m., and it’s a double feature. Damn it, they won’t even be done until after midnight.
I build a fire in the fireplace and settle in with a beer. It’s going to be a long night. Hawkeye jumps up on the bed beside me. He has been sleeping with me since last week when Sophie let him. Now, he thinks he’s always allowed to sleep with us.
Us? Did I just think of Sophie and me as an us?
What the hell is wrong with me? The girl has gotten under my skin.
Hawk starts barking, and I look down at him.
“Yeah, I wish she were here too.”
Sophie
“Get up. It’s time for your driving lesson.”
I wake to the sound of Braxton’s voice at my bedroom door.
We got in late last night. After a fabulous dinner at The Heirloom Restaurant, we went to the drive-in. It was so much fun. Seriously, we got in for twenty dollars a carload. That was four adults watching two full-length new releases for twenty dollars. That would cost no less than a hundred twenty dollars in New York, and the drive-in lets you bring your own food. Charlotte and I usually hide food in our purses and sneak it in, but they allow you to bring it right on in and eat it out in the open. It was the craziest thing I’d ever seen. The night was beautiful, and the sky was clear, so once we got all cozy in the blankets, we were very comfortable.
Trey and I tried our best to pretend we didn’t notice when Russ and Dallas started making out halfway through the second feature. I was nervous that Trey would expect the same, but he was a gentleman and didn’t attempt so much as a kiss until he brought me back to my door. He walked me up onto the porch. Just as our lips touched, Braxton’s front door flew open, and Hawkeye shot across the yard, heading straight for us. He wedged himself between the two of us and started jumping up for me to pick him up. Braxton rounded the front with the leash in his hand, yelling after him. He apologized. We had pulled up just as he was leashing the puppy, but when Hawkeye heard our car doors shut, he darted right past a sleepy Brax and came looking for me.
The interruption had ruined the moment, so Trey wished me a good night and promised to call me today as Braxton and I wrangled an excited Hawkeye.
A sharp knock comes at the door.
“Go away, Braxton. I need a couple more hours of sleep,” I answer and roll over as I pull the covers over my head.
The door creaks open, and he snatches the comforter from the bottom of the bed, yanking hard.
It slides right off of me, exposing my bare legs. I’m not wearing anything but panties and his John Deere T-shirt.
“Lazy …” he starts. Then, his eyes glide down my body, and whatever he was about to say dies on his lips.
“Hey!” I protest as I sit up and grab the sheet. I pull it up to my chin, a little embarrassed that he caught me still sleeping in his shirt.
“Sorry. Just trying to get you moving. Daylight’s a-wasting.”
I roll my eyes. “We were up late last night. The world won’t end if we spend one morning sleeping past eight a.m.,” I gripe.
He grins and leans in close. “Keep pouting, and I’m going to bite that bottom lip. Now, get up and get dressed. Everyone is waiting for us downstairs.”
I gasp at his threat and suck my bottom lip in between my teeth.
That makes him flat-out smile.
“Who’s everyone?” I ask.
“Payne, Dallas and Beau, Silas and Chloe, Elle, Walker, and Myer. It’s been raining all morning. We’re going mudding down at Henry’s Knob.”
“Mudding? What are we, unruly teenagers?”
“Today we are. Now, get up.”
“Ugh, fine. Go away, and I’ll be down in a minute.”
I throw on jeans and a sweatshirt and run downstairs. The kitchen is filled with everyone chatting loudly as they load plates with bacon and eggs. Aunt Doreen is bent over the oven, pulling out a pan of biscuits, and Aunt Ria is cutting up a bowl of fruit.
I slide into one of the chairs at the table.
“You want coffee or juice, Sophie?” Aunt Ria asks.
“Coffee,” I groan.
“Here, eat this. You’ll need your energy,” Dallas says as she places a plate in front of me.
“How are you so bright-eyed and bushy-tailed this morning? You were out as late as I was last night,” I complain as I take a slice of bacon and pop it in my mouth.
“I’m a momma. We’re used to functioning on little to no sleep.” She shrugs.
“Well, I’m not. I need sleep,” I whine.
“We’re going mud-slinging, Miss Sophie,” Beau’s animated voice calls across the table.
He is sitting in his uncle Payne’s lap, and his mouth and hands are covered in grape jelly.
“I heard,” I say as I grin at him.
“Yaaaaay,” he squeals.
“It is a lot of fun,” Dallas says as she nudges me in the side.
“I’m sure it is,” I grumble.
One hour later, we are in three trucks out in the knob. Payne, Dallas, and Myer have Beau in one truck. Silas, Chloe, Elle and Walker are in another, and Braxton has me in his truck.
“I don’t know if a muddy field in a huge truck is the best place for me to learn how to drive,” I say nervously as I grip the stirring wheel so tightly that my knuckles turn white.
“Relax. It’s the perfect place. There’s no traffic out here. No one but you and me and the field.”
“And everyone else I know in Poplar Falls,” I snap.
“They’re playing in the mud. They aren’t paying us a bit of attention.”
“I don’t know about this, Braxton. I don’t even need to know how to drive.”
“Everyone should know how to drive. I taught Elle how when she was fourteen years old. You can do this.”
I take a deep breath and decide to try. “What do I do first?”
“First, adjust the seat. You want to be able to comfortably reach the pedals without being right up on the steering wheel. Then, adjust your mirrors. The button is in the door above the handle.”
I do as he instructed and nervously wait for what comes next.
“Now, the truck is in neutral, so push the clutch in. It’s on the left. Start the car and put it in first gear.”
He places his hand over mine on the gear shift and helps me move the truck into first.
“Here comes the tricky part. You want to let up off the clutch as you press the gas until you are completely off the clutch and moving forward.”
I do as he said, and the truck starts jumping under us.
“Easy. Try to do it at the same time.”
I try again, and the truck stalls.
I put my head against the steering wheel and groan, “Ugh.”
“It’s all right; no one gets it without stalling out the first time. Try again.”
He spends the next two hours patiently talking me through stall after stall. He never loses his cool. Even as I grind his clutch over and over. Finally, I get a feel for it and am able to take off and switch gears easily. Then, he spends time having me back up and stop and start on a hill.
It is fun once I get the hang of it.
“I did it!” I say excitedly as I put the truck in park. Then, I leap at him in the passenger seat and throw my arms around his neck.
“You did,” he says proudly into my hair.
“Thank you for teaching me how.” I beam at him.
“You’re welcome, Princess.”
He reaches his arms around my waist and pulls me closer to him. My arms are still around his neck, and as my excitement settles, I realize how close we are. I raise my head from his neck, and we are nose-to-nose.
“What’s next?”
“What do you want to be next, Princess?”
I stare into his eyes. Then, I nervously lick my lip. We are so close that my tongue touches his lip, and he groans.
His hand at my back presses me in closer, and my breath catches.
I thread my fingers into his hair and let him have my weight. He shifts slightly, and just as I’m about to climb across the cab of the truck and into his lap, a bang comes at the window beside his head.
Our hot breath has the window fogged up, and I hit my head on the roof as I jump back toward the driver’s side.
He rights himself and rolls the window down. A little blond head and a pair of round glasses peers up over the window at us.
“Miss Sophie, can I ride with you next?”
“I don’t feel comfortable driving with you as a passenger, but I bet, between the two of us, we could talk Braxton into slinging us around for a while.”
“Please, Mr. Braxton,” he pleads with his snaggle-toothed lisp.
