by Terri Marie
Daniel drove back in the direction of the farm. His heart felt broken, and his head, confused. His mood was very foul. Wait a minute. She has to go back and cover for that Emily woman. Daniel wasn't happy with his thoughts or his jealous rage that was flaring. He found out one thing; when it came to Katherine he couldn't simply walk away.
Daniel raced his truck back to the bar. Inside he found Emily taking off her apron. He approached her without hesitation.
“So, I was kind of hoping that you’d share a dance with me before you left, sweetheart.” Daniel gave her a sexy smile.
“Oh my, you’re just what the doctor ordered!” Emily sauntered over to the jukebox and selected a nice, slow love song. She wasted no time walking into the yummy stranger’s arms.
Daniel turned her slowly so he could face the door. When he saw it open he pulled Emily close to his body, whispered how sexy she looked, then buried his face in her neck. Her perfume was strong and suffocating.
Katherine stopped dead in her tracks when she opened the door. He really is a pig! She tried to hide her hurt and anger and proceeded to the bar like it didn’t even phase her. She was heartbroken. Emily will definitely put out. What a bastard! She watched as the couple flirted and moved slowly on the dance floor.
Daniel knew that he was getting to Katherine. For a little added visual, he slid his hand down from her lower back and squeezed her behind some. Even Emily was surprised, but hell, she wasn’t going to complain. She simply returned the sexy touch.
“Okay, Emily, you’re back on and I’m out of here. Have a nice evening.”
Daniel watched as Katherine snatched up her purse and keys and stormed out of the bar.
Daniel wanted to run after her. But no way was he going to bend. “Well, I have to get some shuteye, Emily. Thanks for the dance.”
“Anytime, sexy thang. I will always have a dance for you, and if you ever want to ...” Emily smiled, blushed, and winked at Daniel.
He was getting more turned off by the second. Emily’s bleached-out hair, heavy makeup, and raunchy perfume was getting to him. He couldn’t wait to get away from this woman. All he wanted to do was confront Katherine. He had accomplished making her feel upset, probably jealous. But he wasn’t feeling good about it at all now. He drove around for a while, trying to calm down and get the visual of Katherine in someone else’s embrace out of his head. It didn't work.
Pulling into the driveway, he spotted Rosie walking over to him.
“John, could you come in and change a bulb for me? It’s too dark to go haul the ladder in here, and I can’t reach it even on a chair.”
“Sure, Rosie.” Daniel climbed out of the truck and headed toward the house.
Rosie spotted his mood quickly. “John, what’s gotten under your hat this evening?”
“Nothing, Rosie, I’m okay.”
Rosie shook her head in disbelief and walked with Daniel to the house. He quickly changed the bulb and silently walked out of the house to the barn.
The horses gave him their ‘soft talk’, as Rosie called it, when he entered the barn. He stopped to give them both some attention. At the moment, they were his two favorite females. They didn’t talk. They didn’t use him. They didn’t play any games. “Since when am I, Daniel Giordano, not good enough?” He went inside of his room and lay down on the bed. He wished he could just shut off his thoughts. He could still picture Katherine in the arms of another guy. She was in my arms last night! A Corvette. Really?? Daniel began to question himself further. Without money and a flashy lifestyle, do I not have anything to offer?
The longer Daniel lay there thinking, the more pissed he became. He walked out to his truck, climbed in the sputtering machine, and headed over to the bar. He wasn’t finished telling Katherine exactly what he was thinking. Hopefully a good fight with her would make him want to throw her far out of his mind, or bring her to her senses. His insides were hoping for the latter.
Blond Guy’s Corvette was sitting in the parking lot. Damn! Daniel walked right in the front door of the bar with his fists clenched at his sides. There she was, standing at the bar, with a beer in her hand. Blond Guy’s arm was around her. She was laughing and smiling.
Katherine felt someone’s presence behind her. She turned her head and saw John about six feet away.
“I’m going to go upstairs. Are you coming?” She said to Blond Guy.
“Yep, I’m just going to finish this beer, then I’ll be up.”
Katherine smiled, kissed his cheek, and left the bar.
Daniel went right behind her.
“Why are you following me, John?”
“Katherine, what are you doing? You were in my arms last night and now you’re in his? Are you really like this? Was I completely wrong about you?”
“John, you have the wrong idea…”
“The HELL I do!” Daniel yelled just as Blond Guy grabbed him by the shoulder and spun him around.
“I thought we straightened out your ignorant behavior,” said Blond Guy as he drew back his fist.
Daniel had enough. He blocked the punch and hit the poor bastard right in the face. “There you go, Katherine. He’s already lying down for you and everything. Sorry if he can’t kiss you for a couple of days.”
“Oh my God! Jacob!”
“Jacob…yeah, you have fun with Jacob. Just remember one thing, Katherine, I could have made you a very happy woman.”
With that, Daniel stepped over Jacob’s sprawled out body and climbed in the truck. He knew that there was no other option than to get the hell out of Prairie. Get the hell away from Katherine.
Daniel spent his days busting his butt around the farm, sleeping, avoiding Carl’s phone calls, and sleeping some more. He vowed to never step foot in that bar again. Weeks had passed and he still couldn’t get Katherine out of his head. He avoided going into town as much as possible. The last thing he needed was to run into her precious Jacob. Daniel had lots of different names for him and would love to loudly verbalize each one to his face, but to avoid jail, he had to stay away from the guy.
He picked up the phone and dialed his father.
“Daniel, how are you?” Francesco got up and walked over to the large office windows that looked over Manhattan. He wanted to retire; he wanted his son to take over the business.
“Father, I’m sorry for everything. You were right, I needed to grow up and learn some things. I desperately need to come home though.”
“What have you learned?” Francesco missed his son and couldn’t hide the compassion in his voice. But he had to be sure. He weakened when it came to Daniel, and that’s the worst thing he could do.
“I’ve learned about hard work, making it on my own, that women are crazy, and that I’ll remain a bachelor for the rest of my life!” Daniel didn’t realize how loud and fast he was talking.
“If you feel all of that, Daniel, you still aren’t ready to come home. What you’re doing is running, which you’ve done all your life. You run to escape decisions, emotions, and responsibility. I love you and I miss you, my son, but now isn’t the time.”
Daniel listened to his father hang up the phone.
The weeks were one big blur to Daniel. He felt as if everything had been stripped from him. Everything had. He was feeling that way each morning as he got up for work at the farm. Mornings turned into nights, nights turned into the dreaded mornings of knowing there was nothing for him to look forward to. He didn’t even care about the family business anymore. He had definitely avoided the bar at all costs.
Daniel’s body had gotten more muscular, but it didn’t make the work any easier under the heat of the sun. He never planted a thing in his life, let alone rows of vegetables, corn, potatoes, and other things. What saved him was the daydreaming. Constantly dreaming of Katherine made the hours fly by. She had proved him wrong, though. She was no different than Marissa and the rest of the women he entertained.
It wasn’t normal for him to be thinking of just one woman. He didn’t want to
think about Katherine, but if he stopped, it would mean that she’d be totally gone. She wasn’t someone Daniel was ready to let go of.
The summer months had blended, and the heat was horrid. The horseflies had left their share of bites, as Daniel had become accustomed to taking off his shirt. He found himself working ridiculously hard so Rosie would have less to do. Why aren’t there other people helping? Where the hell is Sam?
He stopped one blistering day to wash his head down with the garden hose. The rows of plants that were producing delicious food for the table gave him a sense of pride, a sense of accomplishment, respect for the south and the clean, peaceful scenery. The most respect was for the farmers. No one works harder. Even though he felt sore most days, he could definitely see why Rosie loved it here so much.
He had become so fond of the horses and had absolutely no fear of them. Without being asked, he would wash them down and groom them. Daniel had more conversations with these horses than he could count.
The summer flew by for Daniel. He was grateful when the days began to cool off and autumn spread its glorious colors across the land.
It was such a beautiful day. The temperature was perfect, so Daniel wanted to walk and just enjoy the scenery. He was feeling completely relaxed until he found himself standing in the meadow, right where he’d pulled Katherine into his arms. Right where he’d held her when she cried and told him the things she wanted out of life. She disclosed her sorrow, her pain, and did it so well. Some guy shows up with the nicest car that Prairie has probably ever seen, and she runs to him! He left the meadow with his mood no longer light. Daniel headed to his room so he could doze off. Sleeping and working the land had become his favorite times of each day. Being in his own head was crushing him. He’d never felt this way before and was just sinking inside himself.
Rosie was waiting for him at the kitchen table with a plate full of food that she had prepared, and a steaming cup of coffee. The leaves had fallen from the trees, and the sky stayed gloomy more days than it didn’t. The morning frosts were definitely warning of winter’s arrival. The young man had been on the farm for eight months, and Rosie had become quite fond of him. His joyful disposition had dropped like the leaves, and she couldn’t withhold her concern any longer.
“Okay, spill it.” Rosie was done watching him mope around. He was way too young not be enjoying himself in life.
“Spill what?” Daniel ate without even bothering to savor the flavor of the delicious, hot meal.
“John, you’re not even the same person. Something happened to you, and if I had to guess, I’d say it has something to do with a female.”
“There isn’t a female in my life.” Daniel wished she would just change the topic.
“There are more fish in the sea, it’s a true story.”
“Rosie, I do not want a woman in my life. They all want the same thing.” Daniel had to change the topic for her, or he risked spilling something about his real identity. He was forbidden to attach himself to the Giordano name. The deal was to make it on his own without having the family’s wealth and reputation carry him.
“So, how are the horses?”
“You were with them last night for over two hours. Those aren’t the females I was talking about. What’s going on, John? Maybe the advice from an old bat like me could help some.”
“No offense, Rosie, but there aren’t any good women left. They all want material things you can give to them, not what your heart can offer.”
“John, that’s a big crock of bull.”
“Well, I met someone and all she did was take off with the first guy in a fancy car.” A piece of shit car.
“If you want that woman, go get her. That’s how you do it. Sitting around moping, not having any contact with her, isn’t going to get you anyplace. If you don’t tell her, she’ll never know how you feel. Women aren’t mind readers, John.” Rosie winked at Daniel, then walked outside towards the barn to take care of the horses. She heard the door open and close behind her.
“So just go get her? I’m not a caveman. Besides, I don't have any problems getting women.” Just not the woman I want. Daniel’s voice was rising just bringing the topic up. He had tried to be a gentleman, he hadn’t rushed her. And she turned around and did what she did. She deserved that display with Emily.
“I’ll tell you what. We did a lot out in the field yesterday and there isn’t anything pressing today. Go find her and tell this woman what you feel. Women need that.”
“If it goes like the last time I was at the bar, will you bail me out of jail?”
“Absolutely!” Rosie laughed, gave him a quick hug, and told him to get prettied up and head on over.
Daniel insisted on helping out until around noon. There was no way he was going to take time off with her out there killing herself. He finished the work for the day by going a lot faster, then got cleaned up and headed into town. Daniel found that the small barbershop was open, so he stopped in for a quick cut and shave. He wanted to at least look presentable when he saw her, but he was afraid to step inside the bar. If that little bastard is there…
His excitement grew when he had full view of the parking lot. He saw Katherine’s little Chevy in the back, and there was no sign of the Corvette. Walking inside of the dim bar, he could see only one other patron, a young man eating a sandwich. He didn’t see Katherine and didn’t want to seem like that was his reason for coming there. He ordered a corn beef on rye and had a beer to help his anxiety from boiling over. He decided to go approach the owner, who was standing at the register inspecting the tape.
“Excuse me,” said Daniel. This was Katherine’s uncle, so he would be able to call her upstairs and ask her to come down. He was kicking himself for tearing up her phone number. There was no way that Daniel was going to risk getting a door slammed in his face from going to her apartment.
“What can I get for ya?”
Daniel reached out his hand and introduced himself. “My name’s John Williams. I’ve been in here a few times but I don’t believe we’ve met.”
“Name’s Andy.” Andy smiled and shook the young man’s hand. “You must be new around here. I know pretty much everyone who lives in these parts.” He laughed like a good Irish man. He didn’t want to embarrass the poor man by pointing out that he saw him get one punched and was out for the count. It didn’t stop him from laughing to himself.
“I moved here not that long ago. I’m trying to find Katherine. Is she working today?” Daniel’s heart was beating faster.
“Nope. Not today, not tomorrow, or anytime in the near future is my guess.” Andy shook his head with disappointment.
“Why not? Is she okay?”
“She told me that she had to leave Prairie. I can’t say I much blame her. There isn’t anything here for a young woman other than trouble.”
“Where did she go?” Daniel was almost in a full-blown panic.
“I’m not sure. She took off one night and called me the next morning. It really saddened me. I have plenty of staff to cover, but I’m going to miss that kid. We’re family.”
“Andy, did she go by herself?”
“No, thank God. I’d be scared half to death if she did.”
“Did she leave town with a guy who drives a black Corvette?”
“She sure did. I hope he takes care of her, but I don’t put much hope in that. He’s too footloose and fancy free, but I gotta love that kid too. He don’t have much upstairs, but he’s still my nephew.”
“Your nephew? As in Katherine’s cousin??”
“Yep, his name’s Jacob. His mouth gets him into trouble now and then. Seen him with a pretty cut up and swollen mouth here some months back. That boy is always fighting. I hate to be rude but I have a delivery coming and I gotta clear out some space in the back. Nice meeting you, John.”
Oh my God! That was her cousin? I accused her of such horrible things, and she was with her cousin?! That crap I pulled with Emily? Oh…my…God.
Daniel hoppe
d in his pickup and drove as fast as he could down to the farm. He went to his room and shut the door. He thought his heart was going to beat right out of his chest. When he felt like his stomach was no longer sitting in his throat and he could breathe better, he got out his phone and called his father.
“Daniel, it’s good to hear your voice. How are you?”
“Father, I need to come home.”
“Are you missing your luxuries? Your penthouse and car are fine, Daniel. I checked on them just this morning.”
