"I don't suppose I could catch a lift with you into town this morning?" I asked, popping two pieces of bread into the toaster and pushing the lever down. As I feared it would, sparks emitted from the power point, and the appliance hissed, smoke spewing from the slots. I quickly pulled the plug.
Uncle Tom jumped up and took control of the toaster. "Err... let me do that for you. It looks like one of those days." I shrugged and grinned ruefully, backing away from the stricken appliance. He plugged in the toaster and pushed the lever down, and it worked perfectly. "So, what are your plans for today?"
"Shopping with Alison." I got the butter from the fridge, ignoring the flickering light and strange buzz coming from the fridge motor. "Which is why I need a lift..."
He placed my toast onto a plate then took a final swig of coffee and deposited the mug upside down in the sink. "Sure. Although you'll have to find your own way back - I'm not stopping in Craigsville. I've got business at the Junction."
By 'business', he meant talking and drinking with other local ranchers at Mallory's Steakhouse, the main watering hole in the next town along from Craigsville. Sometimes it was preceded by a stock sale, but usually the entire day was dedicated to social activities (in other words: drinking beer). It was a monthly ritual, and it was rare that any of the local ranchers would miss it. By the end of the alcohol-fueled day, most of the ranchers would be in no state to drive, and their long-suffering partners would arrive at Mallory's to drive them home. The Sunday after 'Business at the Junction' was always spent listening to Aunt Janet's complaints about drunken debauchery and how much of a nuisance it was to have to drive my uncle back to fetch his abandoned truck when he sobered up.
Making a small concession to Aunt Janet's chore list I stopped to wash the breakfast dishes.
When I'd finished I headed outside and found Uncle Tom was waiting for me in the pick-up. He was alone.
"Where's Gus?" Gus never missed 'business' at the Junction.
"He's not coming - Nell's making him talk to a condo salesman this morning. She wants them to retire to the coast, and she's hoping this guy is fast talking enough to budge Gus from the saddle."
This was surprising. Gus and Nell had lived in the cottage behind the barn for fifteen years. They were as much a fixture of Shadow Bend Ranch as the rickety farmhouse which sat comfortably at a bend of the Carson's Creek beneath the looming bulk of Shadow Mountain. I couldn't imagine them gone from here, and I certainly couldn't imagine Gus sitting by the beach with his feet up. He was almost glued to the saddle, and had been an indispensable help to Uncle Tom in the day to day running of the ranch. But Nell was a determined woman, and Gus adored her, so if she wanted to spend the rest of their days in retirement by the sea, she would probably get her way.
I spotted Aunt Janet walking from the vegetable garden beside the barn. "Let's get out of here!" I yelped.
Uncle Tom laughed and steered the pick-up truck down the drive, whisking me away to safety.
We pulled into the car park at Josie's Cafe, where I'd agreed to meet Alison. We were going to have a late breakfast/early lunch, then hit the stores - for Alison, who was always loaded with money, to buy up big, and me to just browse, as, money being in short supply at home, I was always broke aside from a few dollars I scrounged for my lunch.
"You'll call your aunt to come pick you up, right?" Uncle Tom said as he climbed out of the car.
I cocked my head and gave him an exasperated look. "Yeah, right, I'm sure she'd love to drive all the way over here to pick me up. Don't worry about me - I'll find a lift from someone."
He scratched his ear, his brow creased in exasperation. "She won't mind."
"You know that's not true."
We grinned at each other - who was he kidding?
"Call her anyway. You can always put your fingers in your ears all the way home." His voice was light, but there was a hint of genuine concern. He was both proud and disturbed by my independence. He knew the reason behind it.
I grabbed his arm and steered him toward his truck. "I'll be fine - really. Go, drink your beer, talk, brag, whatever guy things you all do there."
As I ushered him to the car he fished his wallet from his pocket. Pressing two fifty dollar bills into my hand, he smiled at me. "Get yourself something nice."
"No! This is too much!" I protested, trying to hand him back the bills. He pushed the money back at me, then turned and headed to the truck.
"Spend it - or else!" he called over his shoulder. When he reached the truck, he stopped and dipped his battered Stetson in a small salute of goodbye. "It'll make me happy," he said with a grin. Driving away in the rattling pick-up, he waved again out the open window. I waved back and pocketed the money with a guilty conscience.
As I turned and headed for the cafe, it struck me a teenage girl being forced to spend money was pretty bizarre. At that moment, I had no idea life was about to get much weirder.
* * * * *
Josie's Cafe was actually run by an old man called Sid. He was the stereotypical overweight, sweaty fry cook you often see in movies. I'd witnessed Sid wipe his sweaty face with a tea towel, then dry one of his pots with the same sweaty towel straight after. Unfortunately, Josie's was the only eatery in town that opened before lunch, so when we needed to meet up for a meal, my friends and I had no choice but to stop there. We were careful not to order from the hot menu though, and usually settled for milkshakes and pie, which was served by much more hygienic waitresses.
Alison was waiting for me in one of the booths.
"You look like crap," she said cheerily. "Those bags under your eyes look like testicles!" Her sense of humor was rather caustic but her jokes rarely bothered me.
"I didn't sleep well last night. In fact, I sleepwalked out to the barn and slept on the ground all night. My back is killing me."
Alison screwed up her nose and gestured toward the cafe counter.
"I've already ordered for us - vanilla milkshake and apple pie?"
I thanked her and slumped back in my seat. Now, sitting still, I realized just how tired I was. I hoped I could last the distance with Alison - she was relentless in her pursuit of bargains. She prattled on about clothes until our food arrived. I sat, half listening feeling my eyelids grow heavy.
"Jeez you really are a bag of fun today."
I stirred a lump of unblended ice cream around the top of my milkshake.
"Sorry, I think I should have stayed in bed."
Alison grunted. "Fat chance of that - doesn't your aunt whip you like a slave on Saturdays?"
I grimaced, "Not just Saturdays."
The bell attached to the front door of the cafe tinkled, and I looked up to see Jenny, another friend from school. Spotting us, she headed over and I shuffled across the seat so she could sit down.
"I thought you had to work today?" Alison asked. Jenny had a part time job at the local veterinary clinic, a job she loved as she was planning to study veterinary science when she left school. She shook her head and her red ringlets bounced about her face.
"Joe is cutting back my hours. With that new vet in Morrisbank, business is a bit slow - I'm only working every other week now."
The door bell jingled again, and Alison groaned as she realized it was Steven Hornesby entering the cafe.
"Don't look now," she said to me, "but loverboy has just entered the building."
I slapped her hand and hissed 'shh.'
His eyes lit up when he spotted me, and he headed for our booth. He made a point of staring at the empty spot next to Alison, until she relented and slid over. He sat down, uninvited.
Steven was never one for noticing social niceties. A loner at school, ultra intelligent - perhaps what you would term a typical 'nerd', and he was picked on quite a bit. I just found it sad, and tried to be friendly whenever he was around. He mistook my friendliness for something else though, and now he had a crush on me.
"So, ladies, what are you up to today?"
Alison rolled her eyes. "
Nothing you would be interested in."
I nudged her leg underneath the table. "We're clothes shopping."
"You should head to the supermarket Lucy, buy yourself some garbage bags."
We all looked at him blankly. I lifted an eyebrow in query.
"You'd look good even wearing just a garbage bag. Save yourself some money." He chuckled to himself, obviously pleased at his 'joke'.
"Right..." I said. It wasn't really funny; the way he said it was actually kind of creepy. Alison groaned and Jenny looked down at a spot on the table, trying to hold in a laugh. Jokes that fall flat are incredibly uncomfortable, but Steven was oblivious to its failure.
The moment was mercifully interrupted by the arrival of the waitress. Jenny ordered a milkshake and pie, and Steven ordered what seemed to be the whole fry menu. I tried to talk him out of it, but he insisted he was in the mood for a Josie Burger and fries (and a salmonella side-plate). Alison and Jenny stifled their gag reflexes, and even the waitress raised an eyebrow and shook her head as she walked away to arrange the order.
The next five minutes was spent making idle conversation; Alison obviously ignoring Steven's contribution, and myself trying to make up for her rudeness. The waitress arrived with the food, and Steven tucked in to his greasy burger. We were making plans for a movie night at Jenny's place, when Alison kicked me in the shin, and leaned over the table.
"Don't look," she said, hiding her words with an obvious hand to the side of her mouth, "but there is a drop dead gorgeous guy staring at you from that table over there!"
I was about to turn in the direction of the table across the aisle from ours, but she stopped me with her hand over mine. "I said don't look!" she whispered loudly. "Be cool!"
I leaned closer to her. "If I can't look, then why'd you tell me about it!" I hissed.
Jenny turned and looked straight at him. Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped down into an 'O' shape. "Wow!" was all she said.
Seeing her reaction, I just had to turn to look for myself. When I saw him I caught my breath. He was more than a 'wow'. He sat in the booth across the aisle from us, propped against the wall, as he fiddled slowly with a teaspoon. His hair, long enough to graze his collar, fell carelessly in an unpretentious style. It was the color of sunlit wheat. He was looking at me from under a wayward lock of golden hair, his eyes the most amazing azure color - like the reflection of a clear sky on a deep tropical lagoon. Alison was right - he was gorgeous, but his appeal was more than that, he held an aura of... what? I couldn't describe it. I felt drawn to him, fascinated, and I knew I would gape open mouthed at him all day like an idiot if I didn't snap out of it.
There was something else about him, besides his good looks... I felt as though there was some sort of recognition between us. It confused me. Surely I'd have remembered a guy who oozed... what was it? Charisma? A presence? An aura of... something. I couldn't get my head around it.
Steven looked over at him, and looked back to see the three of us sneaking surreptitious glances at the stranger. "How'd he get in here? I didn't see him come in, and the bell didn't ring at the door either."
"I don't know," said Alison. "Who cares?" She leaned in closer to me again. "Lucy, he's still staring at you!"
I sneaked a peek at him out the corner of my eye. He was, indeed, looking straight at me, his captivating eyes attentive but unreadable. I blushed.
"Staring at someone like that is creepy," Steven said, shoveling a handful of fries into his mouth.
"No doubt you're an expert on the subject," said Alison dryly. "If you're ugly, it's creepy, if you're hot, it's not."
The stranger continued to stare at me. Steven was right, the guy was either incredibly confident or just lacking in social skills. I was mildly irritated by his blatant observation of me, as well as strangely pleased he found me interesting at all.
Jenny leaned toward me. "He likes you! Do something!" she whispered.
I was clueless in these kind of situations. "Do what?"
Jenny and Alison leaned in and we huddled together to discuss a plan of action. We must have looked incredibly un-cool. Lacking any appropriate knowledge on the subject, Steven just listened in while he continued to devour his food.
"Get his phone number. Or leave him yours." Jenny suggested. I gulped nervously. I'd never asked a guy for his number before.
"I don't know..."
"You can do it!" Alison whispered confidently. She stole a glance at the table, sat up straight, and gasped. "What the-?! Where'd he go?!?"
The booth the stranger had been sitting at was empty. We looked up and down the cafe. There was only the one exit - the one with the bell which chimed when the door was opened, and we hadn't heard it jingling.
"Okay, that was weird," said Jenny. "We should have seen him go past when he left."
Steven swallowed the last of his burger and wiped his greasy hands on a napkin. "Maybe he was a ghost."
Alison threw him a look of disdain and proceeded to ignore him.
"Damn, that was a missed opportunity if ever I've seen one," she said. "Maybe we can find him outside." She jumped up, collected her bag, and we quickly followed her to the door. She stopped and turned to us. "Remember, if he's out there, be cool okay? You kind of acted like an idiot back there Luce, you probably scared him off."
"Me?!" I said incredulously. I wasn't the only one acting like a dork at the table. Three blushing, giggling seventeen year old girls. We'd probably put him off his food.
The main street was fairly busy as it was a Saturday morning, and the locals were out and about on their weekend off. We looked up and down the street, peering into store windows, but there was no sign of the guy. My heart sank - talk about a 'missed opportunity'. I couldn't shake off the feeling I'd met him before and I was eager to find out where and when.
The rest of the day was spent shopping. Alison managed to run off Steve, and Jenny stuck around seeing as she didn't have a job to go to. We all kept our eyes peeled for the stranger, but by three o'clock, we were all shopped out. I was exhausted and grumpy, and resigned to the fact he'd disappeared from town.
Jenny offered to give me a lift home. She was the only one in our group of friends with her driver's license. She had saved up enough to buy a temperamental car which was broken down more often than it was on the roads. Today though the car was having a good day, and Jenny bravely decided to risk being stuck in the middle of the countryside by driving me home. We were just heading to the car park, when we heard the toot of a horn. It was Uncle Tom. He never drove after a drinking session, so he mustn't have made it to the Junction. He motioned to the car park and pulled up next to Jenny's old bomb. It looked like I wouldn't need a lift with Jenny after all.
Uncle Tom got out, and I caught my breath as I realized he had a passenger with him. It was the stranger from the cafe. My uncle motioned to him and he got out of the car and moved toward us. I felt as though I was going to hyperventilate. "Be cool" - Alison's words stuck in my head, and Jenny and I both looked at each other quickly. She looked as if she were going to pass out with excitement at the return of my good fortune.
"This is Aric Brennan. Aric, this is my niece Lucy, and her friend Jenny."
Aric nodded and smiled at us. My heart skipped a beat - his smile was slightly lop-sided, which made him seem all the more adorable. I made a silent plea to my face not to become too red.
"Aric's been looking for a job. I met him at the tool shop and we headed on over to the Junction to have a chat. It seems he'll do nicely as Gus's replacement, so I've offered him a job."
"Oh! Good..." was all I managed to say. Jenny nudged my shoulder.
"We saw you in the cafe this morning, and we were going to say hello - but you... disappeared," she blurted out, speaking a little too quickly.
Aric turned his attention to Jenny, and she blushed under the full force of his gaze. "I remember you. Nice to meet you. Better late than never, I guess." He flashed her an enchanting smile.
Un
cle Tom pretended not to notice our blushing.
"Aric's got a truck here. I've, er... not got started at the Junction and I'm going back, so I've asked him to take you home. You can show him around for me, introduce him to Janet and the boys."
I'm sure Jenny was biting back a squeal. Be cool, I told myself again. "Sure." I said.
Uncle Tom looked at my shopping bags and winked. "I see you've bought yourself something."
"Yeah, well, Alison is contagious. I got caught up in the moment."
He smiled approvingly and turned to Aric. "Well, I'll see you later tonight. Lucy here will look after you." He gave me parting instructions to get the portable bed out in the tack room in the barn. It wasn't much, but it would have to do until Gus and Nell vacated their cabin.
After saying goodbye to Jenny and my uncle, Aric and I were left alone in the car park. We looked at each other silently for a moment, his expression unreadable. My face probably had 'AWKWARD' written all over it. His mouth twitched into a smile, and he gestured to my shopping.
"Here, let me take those for you." My heart fluttered a little, no guy had ever offered to carry my bags for me. It was kind of old fashioned, but nice.
"My truck's over there," he said.
His pick-up truck was big and black and looked brand new. Spotless and shiny, even the tires looked new - blackened and un-scuffed. I wondered how someone in need of a job had scored himself a brand new car. His clothes seemed new and rather expensive too. It didn't quite add up. Why would someone as apparently well-heeled as Aric want to work as a farm hand, with long hard hours and basic wages?
He opened the car door for me and closed it when I was comfortably seated.
I pointed him in the direction of our ranch.
After what seemed an eternity of uncomfortable silence, I decided to break the ice. I wracked my brains to think of something to say.
"Haven't we met before?" I didn't mean to blurt that out.
"Well, in the cafe, this morning..."
Starcrossed: Perigee - A paranormal romance trilogy Page 2
