Simple Beginnings

by Janelle Stalder

  “You screamed like a girl before you hit the water,” he said as he tried to catch his breath.

  I tread water, trying my best to give him my finest death stare while keeping my teeth from chattering.

  “I am a girl,” I pointed out.

  “Yeah, but I’ve never heard you sound like one before. You would have thought you’d just jumped off a building instead of a rope into water.” He cracked up again.

  “Shut up,” I yelled, trying my best not to smile. Gage had a laugh that was contagious. I’d forgotten until now. It had a deeper baritone to it now, but it was still just as infectious. “Okay, okay, Chuckles,” I said. “Let’s see what you’ve got.”

  “Gladly,” he said, finally pulling himself together. “You reached to the stump behind you.”

  I looked back. “No way!” I argued. “I had to have gotten further than that.”

  He shook his head smiling as he reached for the bottom hem of his shirt. “I don’t think so, sweetheart. I was watching closely. All I have to do is get further than that and then I win.”

  “Whatever,” I muttered. “I can handle more chores anyway …” My voice faded as the t-shirt was pulled over his head. He walked around the outside toward the tree, motioning for the rope. It took me a couple of tries to get it over to him and then he was stepping back to prepare.

  “Just for the record,” he said, pausing. “I never said anything about you doing my chores if I win.”

  “We agreed …” Wait. Shit. Did we? Damn it. Why did I always do that? Gage was notorious for never outlining his end of a bet when I was running my mouth off. It was why I’d found myself in so many precarious situations as a child. And Gage was the type to hold on to his winnings for a long time, pulling them out when you least expected it. I sighed loudly. “What do I have to do if you win?” I asked, my heart racing.

  He smiled slowly, not helping. My breath was coming increasingly faster, which didn’t help as I tried to continue treading water.

  “I’ll let you know when the time comes,” he said.

  Of course. Some things never change, I thought, wanting nothing more but to smack myself in the forehead. I should have known better.

  Gage ran forward, his muscles bunching and flexing in a way that made me want to check and see if I had drool coming out the corner of my mouth as he gripped the rope and swung out over the water. He let out a loud shout right before he let go, splashing into the water. He beat me by a landslide. By the size of his smile when he finally emerged from the water, I knew he knew it too.

  He swam over, too close for comfort, his large arms treading close to mine, our fingers almost touching.

  “I’m pretty sure I won,” he said triumphantly. I rolled my eyes, splashing water in his face as his laughter filled the air around us. “Hey! No splashing!”

  I laughed, splashing him again as I turned and hurriedly swam for the shore.

  “Oh no you don’t,” he said, his voice closer than I wanted it to be. I only got another foot before I felt two hands on my hips beneath the water, pulling me under.

  The world disappeared, the sound of the fields around us muffled now by the water all around me. I turned to find Gage right there, bubbles escaping his nose as he smiled under the water. His hair floated around his head in a dark sort of halo. My eyes drifted over him even as my lungs started to scream for me to rise to the surface.

  Gage’s smile softened, no longer playful as he stared back. His hand reached out to brush back the hair that had floated in front of my face, his fingers lingering over my cheek. Even under the cool water, his touch was like fire against my skin. Everything seemed to freeze around us for that brief moment before he reached out again, tweaking my nose playfully and then rising upward. I shook my head at that familiar action, following him to the surface.

  I sucked in a huge breath, my lungs expanding in relief. “You are such a brat,” I said, pushing my hair back off my face.

  He chuckled. “You know it.”

  We swam to the shore, and it was only then that I realized just how stupid this was. We had no towels or dry clothes, and now my pale pink tank top clung to my every curve in a way that I knew wasn’t going to go unnoticed by Gage. It didn’t help that I was wearing a lace bra with no wiring or padding at that, making it seem almost as though I wasn’t wearing a bra at all.

  I looked up slowly to find him staring at me with wide eyes, his mouth slightly open. His cheeks seemed flush as he took in my soaking wet form.

  “Tell me that isn’t little Ella Page I see,” a voice called out.

  I turned to see someone walking down the slight slope toward us. There was no mistaking Cam Hunter, even though he looked very different from what I remembered. Cam had always been the bigger, fitter of the three Hunter brothers, but now he was just – wow. Words were hard to come by.

  Thick arms stuck out of the rolled-up sleeves of his t-shirt, one of them decorated in tattoos. His blonde hair was now shaved short on the sides, the middle longer and pulled back into a ponytail. A small mustache and goatee covered the bottom of his face, but didn’t hide those Hunter dimples as he smiled at me, drawing closer.

  “Well I’ll be damned,” he said, while I just stood there like an idiot. “Take a look at you.”

  He was suddenly gone from my vision, my eyes now blocked by Gage’s bare back.

  “What do you want, Cam?” he asked, his voice unusually tight all of a sudden. Even the muscles on his back seemed a little more tense than they’d been a moment ago. It didn’t make much sense to me, considering the two brothers had always been the best of friends. I couldn’t imagine them not getting along.

  “Nothing,” Cam answered easily. “I just happened to see the delivery truck and thought I’d come down and see what you were up to. You don’t normally swim down here anymore.”

  He didn’t? That was odd. Gage always loved his pond. Why did he even suggest it today if he didn’t use it anymore?

  “I didn’t realize you had company,” he went on, looking around his younger brother to catch my eye. “How you been, little Ella?”

  “Fine, thanks,” I finally managed, smiling back at him. His eyes were more hazel than both his brothers. I’d always found them interesting to stare at, especially when they sparkled when he was amused by something. Depending on what he wore, they could look very green, or brown, or sometimes even grey. They certainly weren’t that deep, warm brown of Gage’s. Their older brother, Chris, was the most exotic looking of the three with his light, almost tan eyes. At least from what I remembered. Now I wondered if he looked really different from my childhood memories too.

  “How are you enjoying working on the farm again?”

  I shrugged, giving Gage’s back a look as I tried to see Cam around him. Why was he still standing there like some guard? It was making this conversation harder than it needed to be. I took a step to my left.

  “Well I need to get to work, but it was nice seeing you again.”

  “Yeah, you too.” Really nice, I thought with a snicker.

  “You should get Gage here to bring you by the field party Friday and we can hang out a bit.”

  I glanced at Gage’s profile and knew he wasn’t thrilled with this suggestion. What happened to wanting to be friends? What? Suddenly he didn’t want me going and hanging out with his group? He must have felt my eyes on him, because he turned to meet my gaze, the firm set of his jaw instantly softening.

  “Uh, maybe,” I said, unsure.

  “Well, I hope you can make it. I’ll talk to you later, Gage.”

  “Yeah, see ya,” Gage said, not bothering to look back at his brother. We were still looking at each other as Cam disappeared back toward the house.

  He opened his mouth to speak. I wasn't sure what I expected him to say. Possibly a reason as to why he was acting so strangely around his brother, or some sort of explanation why he didn't seem to want me at the field party. I got neither. What I got instead didn't sit well with me - at a
ll.

  "You ready to head back?" he asked, his eyes shuttering in front of me.

  I let out a slow breath, crossing my arms over my chest. The air didn't feel so warm anymore. "Yeah," I replied softly, turning to head back to the truck.

  "So? What have you been up to?" Olivia asked.

  I shifted so my phone was better nestled between my cheek and shoulder as I painted my right baby toe. “Just working,” I said.

  She laughed. “Wow, don’t sound too excited now.”

  I snorted. “If you had to wake up at the crack of dawn and work your butt off all day until dinner, you wouldn’t be too enthusiastic about it either.”

  “True. But at least you get Nan’s cooking when you’re done.”

  I nodded, almost losing the phone. Scrambling to get it secured again, I said, “that is one plus. As fast as I’m working off the pounds, she’s putting them back on me. If I didn’t work so hard, my ass would probably be the size of a football field by the time summer is over.”

  “I’m sure the boys would love that,” she snickered. “Especially Rannon.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Oh please. That guy loves anything with a pair of legs. It doesn’t matter what they look like.”

  She chuckled. “He’s definitely a character. Apparently his mom broke up with that asshole boyfriend of hers, so he’s been in an exceptionally good mood lately. Colt said the guy was awful.”

  “Well that’s good then,” I agreed, twisting on the lid to the nail polish as I looked at my work. There was nothing like painting your nails a nice, deep red to make you feel better. Except …I didn’t really feel all that much better. Huh. Normally this worked. The sickening feeling I’d had the rest of the day in the pit of my stomach was still there. Apparently no fabulous shade of polish was going to help rid me of it.

  The drive back to the farm, even though short, was tense and awkward to say the least. I couldn’t make sense of what had gotten into Gage, but he’d been silent and suspiciously absent for the remainder of the day until he popped his head into the kitchen to say bye before leaving again. It wasn’t like I knew this grown up Gage to really base an opinion on, but it just seemed out of character for him. Normally he was so open, especially when it came to me. If there was a problem, he would have just told me.

  Of course, that was back when we were close friends. Even though we were trying to be friends again now, it obviously wasn’t the same. This afternoon was the first time I’d wished things were back to our old way so I could fix whatever was bothering him. Sighing, I wiggled my toes sadly. At least they still looked pretty.

  “You still there?”

  “Huh? Oh, yeah, sorry. I’m just a little spacey. Fatigue, you know?”

  Olivia paused. “You sure that’s it? You don’t sound like yourself? Is everything okay?”

  I considered telling her about Gage, but really, what was there to tell? I’d have to go back and tell her our entire history, and I just didn’t have it in me right then. Putting on a fake smile, even though she couldn’t see me, and putting as much energy as I could into my voice, I told her everything was fine. I even threw in a laugh for good measure. We agreed to talk again on the weekend and hung up.

  “How’s Olivia?”

  I jumped, turning to look at Nan standing in the doorway to my bedroom. “You’re going to give me a heart attack one day,” I accused.

  Nan just shrugged. “You should pay better attention.”

  “Right,” I said dryly. “Olivia is great. Young and in love. What else can you ask for?”

  “Careful, Peach. You sound a tad bit bitter.”

  “Not at all,” I replied with a shake of my head. “I’m super happy for her. I’m just tired. I think I’m going to hit the sack soon.”

  “Hmmm, yes maybe you should. That way you might get up at a decent time in the morning.”

  I had slept in until five-thirty. Five-thirty! What did she expect? “Not likely,” I muttered, not wanting to argue.

  She laughed softly. “Have a good sleep, dear.” Turning to leave, she paused looking back at me questioningly. “Do you know what was wrong with Gage before he left? He seemed a bit upset about something.”

  “How should I know?” I said with a shrug. “Boys are always moody.”

  Her eyebrows lifted but she just nodded and walked away. Sometimes a silent Nan was worse than a talkative one. The things that could go on in that woman’s brain were frightening.

  I waited until I heard her bedroom door close before reaching under my pillow and grabbing the woven bracelet hidden there. The braided threads were exactly the same as its counterpart hanging in the rear view mirror of a beat up old truck. I sighed, rolling the soft threads between my hands, remembering the exact day when I’d made them for us. It was strange how something so long ago could feel like it was just yesterday. Things had been so easy back then between us, so simple. I doubted it would ever feel that way again.

  Ten

  Gage

  It had been raining all day. Not the kind that was just a light sprinkle either. No, this was heavy rain that soaked you the second you stepped outside of shelter. Nan wasn’t one to let the weather stop her farm from running though. As soon as I’d looked out my window as I’d finally rolled out of bed to see the grey sky, I knew I was still expected at the farm.

  The sky had opened up the second I’d turned on to the road and hadn’t stopped since. Running across the field toward the barn, I kept my head down and shoulders hunched against the cool, fat drops. As soon as the warmth of the barn surrounded me I let out a good shake like a dog¸ not caring how stupid I looked.

  A loud snort told me exactly what someone thought of my soaked appearance.

  “You’re lucky you’re in here, old man,” I told Tut. I turned to look outside, my eyes searching the sky for any break in the clouds. From what I could see there was a bit of lighter blue on the horizon, but who knew with summer weather. These storms weren’t abnormal around these parts, unfortunately.

  As my gaze lowered, I focused on the lighted window of the farm house. From the way my stomach was grumbling, I’d guess it was close to lunch time. No doubt Ella was in there with Nan getting something to eat. I’d caught glimpses of her from afar, but hadn’t actually spoken to her yet today. I was still embarrassed by the way I acted the day before. Cam seeing Ella that way, her clothes clinging to her in ways that should be illegal, had me seeing red with jealousy. I’d never felt that way before when it came to a girl and still didn’t know what to make of it.

  “You know, sometimes I think he really is talking back to you.”

  Speak of the devil, I thought, spinning around to see Ella walking toward me with a nervous smile. It made me feel even more like an ass than I already did. She probably thought I was pissed at her, something I never wanted.

  “He does,” I replied, smiling back, praying she’d see what happened yesterday had nothing to do with her. Well, it did, technically¸ just probably not the way she imagined. “Tut and I have some extremely intellectual conversations.”

  She laughed. “I bet.” She stopped just beside me, looking out the barn door. I couldn’t seem to look away from her, taking in the scuffed up rain boots, paired with another pair of jean shorts. She covered a white tank with a tight plaid shirt. The whole ensemble made me want nothing more than to tear it all off.

  How large rubber boots could look so appealing was beyond me.

  “I thought you’d be up at the house,” I said, fumbling for something to say.

  “I was going to, but I figured I’d wait until the rain let up a bit. I was just starting to get dry,” she said with a pinch of her lips. Ella hated the rain. She always had.

  “Why don’t you help me shovel out the stalls then while we wait?”

  She perked up. “Is that you calling in your win for the bet?”

  I threw my head back and laughed as I made my way further into the barn. “You wish, sweetheart. Now come help me.”

&nb
sp; To my surprise she actually listened, grabbing the other shovel and heading to the stall across from the one I was working in.

  “So did you get up early enough for Nan?” I asked, filling the silence between us. I glanced at Tut and swore he rolled his eyes at my lame attempt. What did horses know anyway?

  “From the burnt toast I got with my dry eggs, I’d say no. That woman is worse than an army drill sergeant.”

  “It’s damn close that’s for sure.”

  She snorted in an entirely non-feminine way, but so Ella. “You have no idea. For some reason she thinks the sun shines out of your ass. Gage Hunter can do no wrong,” she said sarcastically.

  I couldn’t help but laugh. “Perhaps you’ve just forgotten how incredibly awesome I am.”

  “No, I’m pretty sure I remember what a brat you are just fine. The problem is the adults never seemed to catch on. It’s those dimples.”

  I could feel the grin on my face widen to epic proportions. “What, these things?” I said innocently, pointing to my face.

  She glanced over, lips twitching. “Yes, those things. They got you out of more trouble than I can fathom. All three of you should count your blessings you got those, or half this town would never put up with the lot of you.”

  Chuckling, I went back to work, shaking my head. “You’re one to talk,” I said.

  “How so?” she said, standing up straighter, pieces of hair falling from the messy bun on the top of her head.

  I stood up t0o, facing her across the barn. “Don’t play stupid with me,” I chided.

  Her eyes widened. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. I don’t even have dimples.”

  “No, but you have those baby blue eyes. As soon as you look at someone and bat those eyelashes you have everyone believing whatever it is you’re saying. You never got in trouble either.”

  Her mouth hung open in silence for a second before a laugh escaped. “You’ve got to be joking me. I think you’re remembering things wrong.”

  I shook my head. “Nope, I’m pretty sure I’ve got it right. Even Cam use to say he was thankful for your blue eyes and freckles because it always got us out of whatever mess we’d found ourselves in. Even my mom couldn’t resist them.”