by Piper Frost
“I didn’t guilt him into taking you to prom or anything,” he finally says. “I may have planted a seed that homecoming is in a few weeks, however.” He’s staring at the road trying not to laugh.
“I can’t believe you,” I mutter.
If Fenton even had a hint of feelings for me at all, my brother probably just made me seem like the most desperate girl in the county and now he’s not going to want to touch me! “What? The guy’s new. He needs to know about these things!” He barks out a laugh and pulls into our drive. “All I asked was if he has a date yet. That’s all.”
“Promise?” I ask, hopping out of the truck and slamming the door.
Grinning, he races to the front door. We have one minute before my dad loses his shit because we’re late.
“Night, sis!” he yells, jogging up the stairs.
God, he irritates me.
The next morning Gray’s flipping on my bedroom light and blaring music when the moon’s still shining in my window. He shrieks that it’s work time and jogs on to the next room. I’m not sure when he sleeps, but every Saturday morning right around this time it’s like he’s had six cups of coffee or some speed.
“God!” I groan, rolling out of bed and throwing on my clothes and boots, meeting everyone at the barn just as the sun starts to make the sky glow. “Morning.” I rub my eyes.
“Late night?” My dad glances over at me and I shrug.
“Nope. I’m good, daddy.” I smile. Usually laying it on thick first thing in the morning makes my days a little easier, but it doesn’t look like my dad’s had enough coffee yet today. “Where’s uncle Tommy?” I don’t want to work in the fields, but the look my dad’s giving me makes me groan. “I don’t get to work with Tommy today, do I?”
“You’ve got pens to clean first. And horses to exercise. You haven’t been on Ruin all week, Paige.”
I huff, guilt ebbing into me. I love that horse more than anything and he’s right, this week’s been so busy I haven’t been on her since Sunday.
“I guess there are worse ways to spend a Saturday morning.”
There are also much better ways to spend it. Like laying in bed dreaming of the new kid in school.
Fenton Sterling.
With nothing to do and having to walk to the school, I was at the field an hour early doing drills alone until Coach Matthews showed up. He runs through a few drills with me and the guy’s a beast. Usually he’s just screaming from the sidelines. I didn’t think he could actually keep up.
“There’s Gray.” He’s panting but not showing he’s beat. “Run a few with him and Kirby.”
I jog up to them and Kirby looks like he just woke up. “We gotta run drills.” I grin, happy Kirby’s going to be miserable.
He keeps trying to embarrass me about Paige, but I'm not. She's a Kenshaw. And a virgin. Her virginity isn't a problem, but she is a Kenshaw. I gotta get her out of my head.
At the first break Coach gives us, Gray walks over to me with his water bottle in hand. “Hot as hell out here today,” he mutters, watching the track team practice across the field. “You want a ride home after this or are you coming straight over?”
“Uh, no, I gotta go home first. My dad’s gonna pick me up from practice. He’s dropping off my brother.” I look away from him and down at my water.
When I hear a group of laughing girls, I perk up, hoping one’s Paige, but it’s not. It’s just the track girls watching us.
“Awesome. You need a ride over after that? Your brother can come, too, there’s tons to do there.” He swipes at his face with his towel and smirks at the group of girls.
“No, I can use my aunt’s car. She’s home today. Thanks, man.” I smirk at him with a head shake. The Kenshaws are too nice.
“Hey, so what I talked to you about last night?” Gray turns and looks at me, tossing his towel on the bench. “You think about it?”
He wants me to take Paige to Homecoming. I want to take her, but it might not be a good idea. I’m only supposed to get a job on their ranch, not date their daughter. Their virgin daughter. Shit, shit, shit.
“Yeah, I don’t even know if I’m going to go to homecoming.” I’ve already been asked by three other girls and I haven’t given them answers because I’ve kind of been hung up on Paige.
Not that anything can come of that, but if she were interested, I don’t want her to see me with another girl and think she can’t talk to me anymore. But maybe that’d be for the best, because I’m not hooking up with Paige Kenshaw.
Why does shit have to be so complicated in high school?
“Aw, come on, man.” Gray slaps my back. “You’re like, the only guy in this school I’d trust taking her. And we’ll all be in a big group anyway, so it’ll be fun. Plus, no one’s asked her yet so you should get on that before anyone else does.” He wiggles his eyebrows and takes a final drink before Coach Matthews screams for us to get our asses back into practice.
“Yeah, man,” I mutter.
I don’t have a choice if Gray asks me. He’s done a lot for me since I’ve shown up and going to Homecoming with Paige isn’t really a chore.
The second I see my dad pull into the parking lot I blurt, “Rides here, gotta go,” and snatch my helmet and pads up.
Not giving anyone an option to stop me, I sprint to his truck before he makes it to a spot.
“Dude.” My brother gives me a squeeze when I get in next to him. “The farm’s so boring without you.”
“Shut up,” my dad grumbles, jabbing his elbow into Sutton’s side.
“Dad!” I blurt. If he’s already this aggressive, he’s probably been drinking the entire ride here. “Geeze, he didn’t do anything.” I try to tend to my brother but he pushes me back, holding his side and gritting his teeth.
Sutton never cries anymore. He used to all the time, mostly because his spirit was broken, and not from the physical pain. But not anymore. He’s learned to bury it, probably hates my dad, and he just takes his shit.
“You shut up too.” My dad’s finger is in my face and I almost smack it away but I don’t. I can’t. “Have you gotten a job yet?”
“Yeah,” I grumble. “On the Kenshaw ranch. I start this afternoon. So you don’t gotta stick around ‘cause I gotta get to work.”
There’s no reply from him, that means he doesn’t plan on it. Thankfully.
“Aw, man, what the crap, Fen,” Sutton whines. “I don’t want to watch you work.”
“You could help.” I laugh at him.
“They gonna pay me?” He eyes me curiously and I shake my head with a grin.
“I don’t know. Probably not.”
“Then hell no.” His arms cross over his chest.
“You just do what your brother tells you to do at that ranch and keep your trap shut. If you fuck this up for him, I’ll end you.”
Pins prickle my skin. I hate when he says that. I’ll end you. He’s been threatening us like that since we were little, and now, I believe he means it.
Thankfully he doesn’t come in, and my dad put me in such a shit mood that I walk right into the house and shower while Sutton visits with our aunt. It’s amazing how different from my dad she is. Don’t get me wrong, she’s not a saint and is too self-centered to have kids of her own, but she treats me better than I’ve ever been treated. That very well might be because we rarely see each other, but it doesn't make it any less true.
During the ride to the ranch, my brother doesn’t stop talking. I have to hear every stupid story about my dad, and I have to listen because the kid needs to vent. The worst part though, he sounds like he’s starting to agree with the crazy things my dad believes. My dad’s a huge conspiracy theorist and he can convince himself of anything if it’s crazy enough. Which is why I’m in the situation of getting kicked off the farm and living with my aunt.
I’m trying not to shake as we walk toward a huge barn on the Kenshaw Ranch. Much bigger than any barns on our farm and this is just one of a few.
“Shi
t,” I whisper and Sutton nudges me.
“Just act cool,” he says and I nod.
My eyes land on bright blonde hair and a smile I can see all the way from here. Paige has her shirt tied up, short jean shorts on, a pair of cowboy boots, and a Stetson on her head. Shit, I never knew the cowgirl look could be as sexy as this.
“Oh fuck. Who’s that?” Sutton asks a little too loud and I hit him.
“Shut up. She’s a Kenshaw, that’s all that matters.” I can’t stop smiling as she approaches. “Hey, Paige. This is my brother, Sutton.”
“Hey.” He’s staring right at her tits and I want to throw him back into the car.
“Hi,” she says, smiling bright. She adjusts the hat on her head and turns to look back towards the field. “My dad’s out there. He’s expecting you. You came ready to work, right?”
“Yeah. We’re ready.” I glance toward my brother who’s still staring at her chest. “Right?” I clamp my hand on the back of his neck and jostle him, hoping his stupid eyes fall out of his head.
“You working?” he asks, pointing at her.
“Yeah, but not out there. I’m in the barn working with some of the goats. We’ve got a few new ones that are the cutest freaking things.” She grins. “Wanna see?”
“Yeah,” I blurt when Sutton rolls his eyes.
When she leads the way, I shove him and shoot him a look that he returns like I’m the annoying one.
“Uncle Tommy!” she yells once we make it into the massive barn. “I’ve got a couple people for you to meet.” She pushes the barn door wider and it opens into a huge stall area, full of goats and pigs. “Sorry if it stinks in here, you get used to it.”
“I lived on a farm,” I tell her. “My dad farms cows.”
Sutton’s hand swings discreetly and he almost hits me in the nuts, barely missing. We glare at each other for a minute until a dude covered in tattoos like Coach Matthews approaches.
I nod to him, “Sir,” and put my hand out. “Fenton. And my brother Sutton.”
“Tommy. This one’s uncle,” he says, nodding towards Paige. “So Paige says you’re looking for work?” He looks at me then glances at my brother. “What about you? We getting two new sets of hands around here?”
“Hell no. I’m just hanging with him today,” Sutton says and I huff.
“No, sir. My brother doesn’t live with me. I’m new to town and need a job, so hopefully I’ll be helping out here.” I smile looking at Paige but put my eyes back on Tommy because he’s staring at me, watching me closely.
“Awesome.” He nods, then looks between Paige and I. “So Mr. Kenshaw, Paige’s dad, is out in the field. I’ll shoot him a text that you’re on your way out to meet him. Paige and I have some things to work on in here if you want to stay.” He looks at Sutton. “Or you can head over to the horse barn. I think the other kids are in there.”
“Yeah, whatever.” My brother shrugs and I clamp his neck.
“He can stick by me.” I look at Paige. “We’ll wait to see what your dad wants us to do.”
“I’ll walk you out there. I’ll be back, Uncle Tommy,” she tells him and nods towards the back doors. “This way.” She starts walking and my eyes travel the length of her legs, ending in those cowboy boots. I hear Sutton snicker next to me and I nudge him, trying to focus on something other than Paige’s legs and ass in those shorts.
“So do you all help out around here? Or does your dad hire people to help?” I ask her.
“He’s got a good amount of hired help, but they all have their specialties. Grant helps with crop dusting, Tommy’s the vet, there’s Tyler that helps harvest in the fall, but for the most part it’s odd jobs that we help dad with. Gray helps the most out of us that are still in school but only because he loves it. He’s my dad to the core when it comes to this ranch. Annie, my older sister, does a lot of the business side of things. And I just like being outside so I hang around and work with Tommy most days when he’s here, just to learn as much as I can.”
“You can tell you like to be outside. You got a good tan. Not a single tan line,” Sutton says, staring at her legs, even when she looks back. I almost trip him but don’t want her to see.
“Yeah.” She chuckles.
“That’s cool. This place is huge. A lot bigger than I thought.” There are acres of land that seem to belong to them. There’s a lot to learn about this place.
I see her dad in the distance and as we get closer, my steps get slower.
“Yeah, it’s grown a lot over the years. Later we can take the four wheelers and I’ll show you the property.” She grins back at me. “Unless you’re scared to get dirty.” The gleam in her eyes isn’t one I want to see when her dad’s staring me down.
“Not scared.” I smirk. “I work on my family farm too,” I remind her for the hundredth time. She’s so caught up on thinking I’m a city boy, but I’ll show her I know my shit around a ranch. My brother nudges me again but I can’t keep everything about myself a secret. I stand up taller as we approach Mr. Kenshaw. “Sir.” I approach with my hand out. “Fenton Sterling. And my brother Sutton.” I gesture to him but Sutton doesn’t step forward to shake hands. He’s glaring at him.
“Nice to meet you, Sutton.” Her dad reaches out and all but forces a handshake out of my kid brother, then he looks at me. “Glad to see you have a shirt on today, Sterling.”
“Uh.” I chuckle and glance at Paige. “My shoulder’s feeling much better.”
“Good to hear. You’re going to need it, we’ve got some work for ya. And if today goes well, Gray says you’re looking for something a little more steady?”
“Yeah, I’d like that. If you can work around my football schedule, I’ll be here.”
“You can have the same schedule as Gray if it works. I’m not going to stop you boys from being kids, but I expect you to be here when you’re supposed to.” He looks at my brother. “You up for helping today? Gray said you’re in town just for the weekend?”
“Yeah. Whatever.” He shrugs and I drop my head in embarrassment.
“Actually, I think I’ll take him back to my aunt’s,” I speak up, looking at Mr. Kenshaw who’s glaring at Sutton.
“No,” Sutton whines. “I don’t want to sit there doing nothin’ all day. Can’t I just play around here. I’m not getting paid. Why the hell would I work?”
I almost blurt the word shit, but clamp my lips. “Uh, sorry,” I apologize to the Kenshaws. “My brother woke up early today.” I can’t even make a valid excuse for him acting like this.
“You’re not roaming the property aimlessly,” Mr. Kenshaw says. “Stick by your brother. You don’t have to work, but Fenton,” he looks at me, “he’s your responsibility today. And kid,” he looks at my brother again, “it’d do you a world of good to learn some manners like your big brother.”
“He’s not usually like this,” I blurt for him, just wanting him to keep his mouth shut. My brother doesn’t act like this but my dad’s convinced him they’re not good people, all because their ranch is doing better than ours. “I’ll keep him at my side. Thank you for the opportunity, Mr. Kenshaw.”
“I’m heading back to the barn. See you boys in a few hours.” Paige turns her back to her dad and winks at me as she walks past.
I don’t mean to but I glance over my shoulder to get another look at her and when I look back, her dad’s staring at me.
“Alright, follow me. I’ll show you two where you’re starting.” Mr. Kenshaw heads off towards the other side of the field.
When we’re alone I look at Sutton. “You better learn some respect, Sutton,” I snap at him.
“Fuck these people, Fen. I don’t have to respect them.”
“Shut up.” I glance around. “Just shut up and do something. You didn’t have to come today.”
“I didn’t want to sit at Aunt Mae’s! It’s boring as hell there.”
“Good, now shut up and help me.” I toss him the rope.
Having music would be nice, b
ut I don’t want to tune my brother out completely. He’s got a bad attitude and I’m regretting him being here this weekend. Me and my brother are close, but the shit my dad is putting in his head is making him suck lately. I try to talk about school, see how he’s doing on the football team, but all he wants to do is complain about the heat. He wouldn’t be doing this at home. We work just as hard on my dad’s farm.
“Man, stop,” I huff. “Just shut up or something. Shit, Sut, let me take you back to Aunt Mae’s. You’re on my last nerve.”
“Screw you,” he grumbles and walks away. We need a break for a minute so I let him go.
Sitting down, I drink from my water bottle and look toward the barn seeing Paige. She’s bent over and I can’t stop staring at her ass. I didn’t mean to like her, but she’s cute. Hell, way better than cute. She’s the hottest girl in our school and I’m not the only person that notices it. And she’s smart and knows it. And most of all, she’s happy. Thinking about her makes me smile and I don’t have much to smile about, which is why I need to leave her the hell alone. But I can’t. Because she likes me. I know she does. She waves or says hi any chance she gets. She stares at me almost as much as I stare at her. She’s sweet. Maybe a little wild, but she’s a sweet girl and I like that about her. My ex loved it when people were afraid of her or when they called her a bitch. It was a badge she wore with honor. But being bitchy isn’t something to be proud of. It’s a personality flaw. Being sweet is something you should be proud of, because people aren’t sweet nowadays. They’re mean and vindictive.
I would know.
When Paige stands, she turns my way and catches me staring. Blocking the sun with her hand, she waves and I do the same until a gush of water is squirted in my face. I gasp and shoot to my feet while Sutton laughs his ass off.
“You idiot!” He’s laughing so hard his face is turning red. “You shoulda seen your face. I’m gonna tell her dumbass dad you want to put it in her butt.”
“Sutton.” I growl and dart toward him but he takes off running.
I stop chasing him when a girl steps around the corner and they almost crash into each other. Sutton jumps out of the way so he doesn’t knock her down and she stands frozen in fear. He skids to a stop that brings him to his knees then looks up at the frightened girl.
