WALKING INTO THE hardware store, I saw Henry talking to Haley about paint.
“Would it be possible to have the paint delivered when it comes in?” asked Haley.
“We can do that for you.”
“Great, let’s do that then.” Haley smiled.
“Should we put that on the farm account along everything else that you need?”
“That would be great, Henry, thanks.”
I walked up behind Haley. “Hi, Bentley, I’ll be with you in a minute. I’m just going to finish up with Haley.” Henry gestured.
“No, thanks, Henry, I’m actually here with Haley today,” I smiled.
“Then let’s go up to the front and put the order together.” Henry and I waited until Haley went first. I loved watching her ass in those jeans. I heard Henry clear this throat. I looked at him and shrugged my shoulders, what? Henry chuckled until we reached the counter.
“Look over everything and make sure it’s right then sign at the bottom. I’ll call you when it’s here. Shouldn’t be more than two days.” Henry said, sliding the paper over to Haley.
My phone rang in my pocket. Taking it out, I saw that it was the farm calling. I put my hand on Haley’s shoulder, “Haley, I’ll meet you outside, I just need to take this call.”
“Okay,” she looked up and smiled. Her smile is cute, and I love her mini dimple that comes out. I shook my head while heading outside.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Bentley, it’s Mom.”
“Hey, Mom, what’s up?”
“Just checking in.”
“I’m good. How are you and Dad?”
“Oh, we’re good, sweetheart. What are you doing today?”
“I’m in town with Haley. She had a few errands to run and I thought I’d help her.”
“Haley who? I don’t recall you being friends with a Haley?” Mom probed.
“Haley Wells. She’s the granddaughter of Eleanor and Wyatt. The football team is helping out at the Wells’ ranch in exchange for new uniforms.”
“The same ranch Travis is helping out at this week?”
“That’s the one, Mom.”
“Travis and the boys say she’s quite pretty.”
“Have they now?” I tried hard not to sound irritated, but I don’t think I succeeded.
I could hear the humor in my mom’s voice, “Yes, and Maggie says she is absolutely delightful.”
“Mom, you called to talk about Haley, not to check in,” I laughed.
“You caught me,” she laughed back.
I pulled the phone away from my ear and took a breath. “Mom, I see Haley coming out of the hardware store, so I’ve got to go. I’ll catch you later.”
“Oh, just wait a sec, hon, your dad wants to talk to you.”
“Sure.”
I smiled at Haley as she approached me, she mouthed, “Everything okay?”
I nodded my head yes, before I answered my dad. “Hey, Dad.”
“Since you are in town, do you mind stopping in at John Deere and picking up that seal, they called this morning and said it came in.”
“I can do that.”
“I see you later then.”
“Bye, Dad.”
I hung up the phone and slid it into my pocket, “Would you mind if we took a detour to the John Deere dealership? I need to pick a seal up for my dad.”
“Sure but it’s gonna cost ya.”
I moved closer to her, “It will, will it?”
“Yep, I see a strawberry milkshake in my future,” she mocked.
“Oh, I think I can handle that,” I said while opening the passenger door for her.
I HELD THE door open to the dealership for Haley as she walked and said, “It’s going to be awhile, look at all the farmers here.” I put my hand on the small of her back, hoping she wasn’t going to flinch away, “It rained, so they have down time. It’s a good day to grab parts and stuff.” I walked us over to the line at the parts counter.
Standing in line for twenty minutes, I realized my wallet was in the glove compartment of my truck. “Hales, I’ll be right back, I forgot my wallet in the truck.”
“Sure, take your time,” she answered back, looking at the gloves in the display case.
I lightly touched her arm, “You okay here alone?”
Haley looked around the dealership, “I think I’ll be okay, I don’t see any boogie men in here, unless one is hiding behind those pails of oil.”
“Smart ass,” I grinned before I left.
Walking back in, I saw Haley’s shoulders shaking, like she’s trying not to laugh out loud. I walked up beside her and whispered in her ear, “Hey, what’s so funny?”
She turned and faced me with tears in her eyes. “Just wait, you’ll see.”
Not even ten seconds later, an older lady with a red coat was pouncing around the store yelling, “What is taking so damn long?” Haley leaned in towards me, still trying not to laugh as the woman continued, “Jesus Christ, it’s not like we’re ordering parts, we’re just picking up a fucking knife for the combine,” she ranted in front of her husband.
“Oh,” I said. Haley just nodded her head, still holding on to me.
The lady took another walk around the store and stopped in front of her husband again and screeched, “Fucking hell!” before she stormed out. By this time, Haley was leaning fully into my side with her head pressed tight into my shoulder laughing. I wrapped my arm around her and enjoyed the feeling.
Backing away from me, and drying her tears she said, “That was the best freaking moment of the day.”
I smiled at her, “Yeah, it was.” already missing her touch.
“Here’s your part, Bentley, sorry it took so long,” Cole said, smiling over at Haley.
“Cole, have you met Haley?”
He runs his hands down his shirt, “No, I don’t believe I have.”
I rolled my eyes at him, “Haley, this is Cole, his dad owns the dealership.” Cole held out his hand, and it took everything I had in me to not smack it away so he wouldn’t touch her.
“It’s nice to meet you, Cole, but if you’ll please excuse us, Bentley is taking me to lunch,” Haley replied sweetly, shaking his hand.
I just about whipped my head over to her, but I managed to keep my eyes glued to Cole to watch his response. He withdrew his hand slowly and smiled back, “Enjoy your lunch.”
“We will, and thank you.” Haley grabbed my hand and turned us towards the door. I looked back at Cole and grinned.
“BURGER AND FRIES?” I asked Bentley.
Bentley stopped us just before we got to his truck, “What was that?”
I scrunched my forehead not understanding, “What was what?”
“The whole grabbing my hand and telling Cole were going for lunch.”
“You’re not hungry?” I asked testing the water.
“Hales.”
“Fine, he gave me a creepy feeling. I’m sorry I used you.”
Bentley stood taller and smirked. “Bentley, knock it off.” I slapped his chest.
He walked around me to open my door again, “You can use me any time you want, Hales,” and he winked at me. “Want to go to Maggie’s or somewhere else?”
“Maggie’s please, she makes the best milkshakes.”
Driving over to Maggie’s, I thought about how easy going my day has been so far with Bentley. Sure there were intense moments, but all in all, it’s easy to hang out with him. And I liked the fact he tried to claim ownership of me with Cole; that guy is just creepy, and he needs to brush his teeth a little more than once a week. I shivered with the thought of his hand touching mine. I must remember to wash my hand as soon as we get to Maggie’s.
“Are you cold? I can turn on the heat,” Bentley asked concerned.
I rubbed my arms and shook the thought of Cole being interested from my head, “No, I’m good.”
“Okay.” But out of the corner of my eye, I saw Bentley turn the heat up a little which made me grin inside.
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Walking into the diner, I turned towards the bathroom, “I’m just going to wash the Cole germs off my hands, why don’t you grab a booth and I’ll meet you there.”
“It’s okay, I’ll wait here for you.” I quickly walked to the bathroom, wondering if Bentley saw this as a date?
“Do you care where we sit?” Bentley asked me as I returned from the bathroom.
“Maybe a window, the sun is starting to come out,” I replied, eyeing a booth in the middle of the diner.
“Sounds good to me.” Bentley looked at the waitress and waved.
“Hey, Bentley, just help yourselves to a seat, I’ll be right with you,” said the waitress. She was beautiful, my height, brown hair with the prettiest green eyes I’ve ever seen, but definitely younger than me.
“Thanks, Whitney.”
I slid into the booth facing the back of the diner while Bentley slid in across from me. “Still want that strawberry milkshake?” Bentley asked.
“Yes, please,” I answered and grabbed a menu.
“Sorry about that.” I looked up and saw the waitress smiling at Bentley. I don’t know why but I kind of wanted to claw her eyes out. I let out a little laugh at the thought.
“Whitney, have you met Haley Wells yet? Her grandfather owns the ranch Travis and the football team are working at.”
“No, I don’t think I have.” Whitney bounced on her heels facing me and stuck out her hand. “Hi I’m Whitney, Travis’s girlfriend.”
Just like that, I had a smile on my face as I shook her hand, “It’s nice to meet you. I’ve heard wonderful things about you. Travis really cares for you.”
“Well he better, because I love him to death. Now what can I get you two to drink?”
“Two strawberry milkshakes please,” Bentley ordered.
“Coming up.”
“Is Maggie in?” I asked looking towards the kitchen.
“I’m sorry she’s not in ‘til four.”
“I just wanted to say hi.”
“I can tell her for you, if you’d like,” Whitney offered.
“It’s okay, maybe I’ll stop in later,” I smiled.
“I’ll be right back with your milkshakes.”
“So tell me, how do you know Maggie?” Bentley asked while stretching out his body and getting more comfortable in the booth.
“Well, she and my dad dated in high school and then my dad decided to go to college somewhere else, and Maggie wanted to stay here. When I moved in with my grandparents, Maggie became like a second mom.”
“Does your dad come here often; I don’t recall ever meeting him?”
“He comes once, maybe twice a year, his job keeps him pretty busy on the road.”
“What does he do?”
“He helps design machines for big rig companies, kind of like an engineer.”
“Are you two close?”
“We are,” I answered happily. “I talk to my dad at least once a week, if not twice.”
“What about your mom?”
“What’s with all the questions, Bentley?”
“Nothing, I’m just trying to get to know my new friend. If you don’t want to answer the question, you don’t have to.”
“With my dad traveling all the time for his job, my mom just got tired of dealing with life all on her own. So she decided to split and leave me with my dad; neither one of us has seen or heard from her since.”
“That’s rough,” Bentley said, laying his arm across the back of the booth pulling his t-shirt taught across his chest.
“It’s okay. Well, I don’t mean okay she left her child behind, because seriously, who does that, right? But everything worked out; I travelled lots with my dad and when I couldn’t any more he sent me to one of the best schools in the country. Then, in high school, I asked to live with my grandparents, and well, you know the rest,” I shrugged.
Whitney walked over and handed us our milkshakes. “Have y’all decided what to order yet?”
“I think I’ll get the pork chops with the hash brown casserole and a side garden salad with a vinaigrette dressing, please,” I said then put my menu back in the holder.
“I’ll have a steak sandwich, medium with a loaded bake potato and steamed vegetables, Whitney.”
“Good choices, it shouldn’t take too long.”
Looking straight at me, Bentley replied, “We’re not in a hurry.”
Whitney looked down at the two of us and smiled before she walked away to put in our order.
I waited for Bentley to take a sip of his milkshake before I asked, “Well, what do you think?”
“You’re right, they are good. I can’t believe I haven’t had once since I was a kid.”
“Do you want to know Maggie’s secret?” I asked leaning in towards the table.
Bentley met me half way, “Yes.”
I looked around the diner before I crooked my finger, telling Bentley to come closer, “She not only uses real strawberries, but she adds a bit of jam, too.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll take that info to the grave,” he whispered back.
I leaned closer to the milkshake, “Nah, don’t worry about it. My grams makes them the same way. Who do you think taught her how to make them?” I took a big drink, but kept my eyes on Bentley.
I pulled back a little, and Bentley swiped my bottom lip with his thumb then stuck it into his mouth. “You had a little milkshake on your lip, thought I’d get it for you.”
“Thanks,” I sighed back.
“Did you always like it here? I mean with your grandparents and all,” he asked.
“I love it here, always have. I couldn’t wait to spend my summers here as a kid. Then, when I was old enough for school, I counted down the days until Thanksgiving, Christmas, spring break, and everything else in between to get back here.”
“If you had the opportunity to stay here, would you?” Bentley asked with a different tone in his voice I didn’t quite understand.
“I’d need a job to stay,” I replied truthfully.
“If you had that, would you stay, even after all the bullshit I put you through?”
I didn’t even hesitate, “Bentley, I would give anything to stay here.”
“Even giving up your job at the academy? Schools here can’t pay you what you make there.”
“True, but if I could teach and live here, I would. Money isn’t everything, Bentley.”
Bentley sat back and looked like he was thinking about what I said. I drank my milkshake while I waited for him to process whatever he was going after. “Hales.”
“Yeah?” I said looking up to him.
“I really am sorry for what I did and said to you in high school.”
I placed my hand on his, “I know, and I accept your apology. I don’t think you are the same person any more. If you were, I wouldn’t be sitting here.”
RUBBING MY BELLY and pushing my plate away, I announced, “I’m full. That was so good. I can’t believe I forgot how great the cooking is here.”
Bentley laughed, “I can’t believe you ate it all. I don’t even know where you put it.”
“My ass.”
“Well if that is where it went, I’m grateful, because girl, your ass is de-lish-ous.”
“Funny. Does that line work often?”
Bentley smirked, “I don’t know, does it?”
Rolling my eyes, I couldn’t help but giggle.
“Want to share a piece of strawberry shortcake?”
JUST AS I asked Haley if she wanted dessert, I saw Mandie walk into the diner. I hope to hell she doesn’t see me. It’s not like I could hide behind a menu, or anything. Like that wouldn’t look weird.
“Hey, you okay? You zoned out on me.” I heard Haley say.
“Yeah I just…” and fuck!
Mandie stood beside Haley, looking her up and down with evil eyes. I could tell what was going to happen before Mandie even opened her mouth. I tried to stop it, but Haley beat me to it, “May we help you?”
Mandie let out a sneer before walking over to me and running one of her troll nails down my cheek, “You can’t, but Bentley here sure can.”
“Mandie, get your hands off me.” I shifted in the booth to get some space between us.
“Bentley, don’t be like that, you know what we had four nights ago was magic. When you are done here with—whatever this is—why don’t you stop by my place and we can finish where we left off. And you can get the t-shirt you left behind.” she purred.
How in the fuck did I ever find this bitch attractive?
“Jesus, Mandie, would you leave Bentley alone?” called out Whitney.
“What? I wasn’t doing anything wrong. I was just saying hello to Bentley, and politely introducing myself to his friend.”
“Oh, cut the shit,” Whitney huffed. “Haley, this is my second cousin, Mandie. Please don’t mind her, she was just leaving.”
“I am not.” Mandie snarled, “I was just going to join them.”
“Well, don’t bother. I was just about to bring them their check,” Whitney hissed.
“Nonsense, I’ll just slide in beside Bentley, and we’ll have dessert. What is Ms. Maggie’s pie special today?”
Haley stood, “You know, I just don’t feel like having dessert. Whitney, it was wonderful to meet you. Anytime Travis is at the farm, please don’t hesitate to stop in, okay?” Then she turned to me, “Bentley, I’ll meet you outside, whenever you’re ready.”
I watched as Haley placed the napkin on the table before walking out of the door. I slid out of the booth and got in Mandie’s face, “I don’t know what the fuck kind of game you’re playing, but knock it the hell off.” Mandie stood there, her mouth hanging open, as I continued, “I can’t believe how you just acted, were you always such a conniving bitch?”
“You used to think it was my best quality,” she growled back.
“Yeah, in high school. When are you going to grow the fuck up?” I dug in my pocket and shoved some cash in Whitney’s hand on my way to the door. I looked back at Mandie, shaking my head, “What the fuck was I thinking, ever going out with you?” Then I hurried out of the diner, hoping to save the rest of the day with Haley.
Falling for Bentley (Part One) Page 7
