Outback Hearts (Beyond Reality Book 1)

by Stoker, Susan

  “Are you going to start with me first?” Missy asked Al while fluttering her eyelashes.

  “Sure,” Alex replied. He really hated mucking stalls, but it was funny to think of these women doing it. He laughed at Missy’s attempts to pitch the poo over the stall and into the bin. She was actually pretty fun to work in the stalls with. She was funny and entertaining and certainly easy on the eyes. Soon he moved on to Courtnee’s stall and decided she was also fun to work with. Besides the over-the-top flirting, the women seemed eager to learn what to do and they were funny as well. Finally, it was Sam’s turn. He moved up the barn to where Sam was working.

  “Hey, looks like you got the hang of this pretty fast,” Alex told her, impressed.

  “Yeah well, I got lots of practice yesterday,” Sam responded, deciding it didn’t matter if she’d done the same thing the day before.

  Alex immediately got a frown on his face. ”You did this yesterday? I didn’t realize—”

  Sam cut him off. “It’s okay, it’s not a big deal. I think I’d rather be doing this than some of the other jobs.” She smiled at him to try to let him know that she really was okay with it. “I’ve never even been near a horse, I’m sure it’d buck me off or something.”

  “Gosh, maybe they should hire you for a permanent job here in the barn,” Alex joked. “You’d make a good jillaroo.”

  Sam just looked at him. Was this all he thought she would be good at?

  Alex must have noticed she wasn’t laughing at his feeble joke. “Hey, I was kidding,” he said. When Sam turned around and continued to clean the stall, Alex touched her arm and pulled her around to look at him. “Honestly, I didn’t mean anything by it.”

  Sam shrugged. “It’s okay, really.”

  “Sammi,” Alex said, still holding on to her arm, firmly, but not hurting her. “Don’t do that.”

  “Do what?” Sam asked a bit peevishly.

  “Don’t lie and tell me what you think I want to hear rather than how you really feel.” After a beat where Sam didn’t say anything, he continued, “If you want to tell me to piss off, tell me to piss off. If I do something that hurts your feelings, tell me.” His voice suddenly lowered and he took her hands in his. Sam had to lean into him to hear him over the noise of the barn.

  “For the love of God, you’re the only real person here. If I can’t rely on you to tell me like it is, who will?” He paused. “Now, please tell me what upset you.”

  “It’s just that…” She paused, finally continuing when Alex squeezed her hand. “I don’t fit in with the other women here, and I don’t want you to see me as…less…than they are. And when you said I’d be good at shoveling crap…It just hit me the wrong way.”

  “I don’t see you as less,” Alex immediately said, not even pausing to think about what he wanted to say. “We don’t really know each other, but when I’m lying in my cot at night I find myself thinking about you and what you are thinking about.” He brushed his knuckle over her reddening cheek and continued, “I’d never intentionally insult you like that. I just have to learn how I can tease you and not have you take offense.”

  They just stood there and looked at each other for a brief moment until they heard Courtnee laugh in the next stall over. The moment between them was broken and Alex dropped her hands and took a step back.

  Searching for something to talk to him about, she asked inanely, “How’re you doing? I mean, are you enjoying the experience of dating all these women?”

  Alex laughed. “It’s certainly interesting.”

  They spent the next few minutes chatting about nothing in particular while cleaning out one stall and moving to the next.

  Alex rotated between talking with Courtnee, Missy, and Sam for another thirty minutes, then said he had to go and visit with the other women.

  “Are you going to miss me?” Missy pouted.

  “Uh, yeah, but I’ll see you later,” Alex responded quickly with a look in his eye, like a rabbit cornered by a hound dog.

  Missy grabbed Alex and kissed him on the lips, and Courtnee, not to be outdone, also grabbed Alex and kissed her way down his face to his lips. Alex finally extricated himself from the two women and looked toward Sammi. She merely waved at Al from the stall she was cleaning, refusing to stoop to Missy’s level of desperation, and then went back to work.

  “Whew.” Missy fanned her face. “That man is hot! I can’t wait to have him to myself!”

  “What makes you think that’ll happen?” Courtnee complained. “There’s no guarantee you’ll get the chance.”

  “You idiot,” Missy told Courtnee snidely. “These shows always have one-on-one time with the bachelor. I’ll get my chance.”

  The two women continued to sit on bales of hay and discuss Al and what they’d do when they had him alone and when they won at the end. Sam tuned them out. It was obvious they were pretty much done mucking out the stalls for the day. Figured that as soon as Al left, they stopped pretending and just quit. Sam knew they wouldn’t get as many stalls done as they’d done yesterday. After all, it was only her working. She’d do what she could, and Henry would just have to finish up when they were released. She didn’t like to put the work back on him, but she could only do so much.

  “Hey goodie-two-shoes,” Sam heard Courtnee call out and decided to try to ignore her. She wasn’t going to start anything with them.

  “Hey, I was talking to you!” Sam heard Courtnee say from outside the stall she was currently mucking out.

  “What do you want?” Sam asked peevishly, not bothering to even turn and look at the other woman.

  “We’re going to take a break, we’ve been working really hard, so you just keep shoveling and make sure you get to the other side of the barn by the time we get back. We wouldn’t want anyone to think you weren’t doing your work.” Courtnee giggled evilly and turned and left the barn with Missy.

  Sam ignored them as they walked out of the barn. It wouldn’t do any good to argue, they would do what they wanted to anyway. She’d continue with her work and she’d not do theirs as well. It was ridiculous. They were grown women acting like they were in middle school! Sam certainly didn’t want to re-live middle or high school. It wasn’t terrible, but she certainly wasn’t one of the popular kids. As a result, she occasionally got picked on and teased, but she had a feeling that Courtnee was a pro at making others feel small.

  Sam worked hard for the next hour. She’d finished her side of the barn and had even laid down fresh hay. She’d really gotten the hang of the mucking the stalls thing. Since she was finished with her portion of the task, and she was really thirsty, she decided to go around the back of the house where she’d seen a water pump. Perhaps she’d get herself some water. She was hot and tired and she knew she probably smelled horrible.

  She walked around the barn to the pump at the back of the house. She didn’t see anyone around. Sam pumped some water into her hands and slurped it up. Man, was it good. The water must be coming from deep within the ground because it was ice cold. By the time Sam was finished refreshing herself, she was wet from almost head to toe. She’d splashed water onto her face and it had dripped down onto the front of her shirt. She felt much better and could even manage a smile. The water felt so good evaporating from her skin. She turned around to go back to the barn and almost collided with a woman that was standing behind her.

  “Oh, excuse me, I didn’t see you there,” Sam said breathlessly.

  “Who are you?” the woman asked with hardly any inflection in her tone.

  Sam couldn’t tell if she was mad or irritated or some other emotion. She decided it’d be best not to antagonize her.

  “I’m Sammi,” she responded, remembering her “new” name for while she was on the show. “Uh, I was working in the barn and finished up and thought I would come and get a drink…um…I’m sorry if I’m not supposed to be here, I didn’t know.”

  Nancy looked the woman over. She’d noticed her the day before, but didn’t really pay mu
ch attention. The woman hadn’t done anything to garner any attention. In fact, she couldn’t remember what chore she’d been assigned the day before. Nancy noticed her shirt was about soaked through from the water she’d splashed on her face. Her face was rosy red from the heat and effort she’d been putting forth in the barn. She wasn’t as tall as some of the other women, and definitely not as slender, but she wasn’t really overweight either. Nancy wasn’t even one hundred percent convinced this woman was even a contestant on the show. She certainly didn’t fit the “mold” of the other contestants. Nancy knew she needed to get to know as many of the women as possible if she was going to be able to make an informed choice about who would stay and who would be leaving. She went with the assumption that this woman was a contestant.

  “It’s okay, it is a hot day today. I’d rather you drink than pass out from heat exhaustion.” And with that she let down the wall she’d unconsciously put up and smiled at Sam. “What are you doing in the barn today? I can only think of one thing, and I’m sure it’s not pleasant. What job did you have yesterday?”

  Sam smiled at her. “It’s not too bad, it’s nice to know that what I’m doing will help the horses have a comfortable place to sleep at night. And yesterday I did the same thing! Guess I was really lucky, huh?” she said with a grin.

  Nancy couldn’t believe the woman had to muck out the barn twice! The “rules” didn’t say anything about having a different job on each day. It was the luck of the draw, she supposed. “Where are you from, Sammi?” Nancy asked.

  “Albuquerque, New Mexico. I really like it there. It’s not so much a huge city, but it’s big enough to have what I want,” Sam replied.

  “I’ve never been there,” Nancy responded somewhat expectedly, “but I’ve heard it’s a nice city. If you could’ve done any of the other chores today, what would you have chosen?”

  Sam didn’t have to think about it and immediately told the woman standing there, “Help with feeding the animals,” she responded.

  “You sound like you’ve thought it over. Wouldn’t you want to be in the house where it’s air conditioned?” Nancy asked, trying to understand.

  “That’d be nice on a day like today,” Sam agreed, “but I love animals and I think it would’ve been interesting to see what everyone eats and how they’re all fed,” Sammi told her. “I’m a sucker for animals, especially dogs. I have three at home and I’m sure I’d have more if I could. I know feeding animals isn’t as simple as some people would assume. My dogs all eat the same food, but I have to remember to put Duke’s pills in his food, and the supplement in Albert’s.” Sam winced, it was a bit too much information, she was sure. She continued meekly, trying to forget that she was just babbling on to this stranger. “I would’ve loved to see the inside of the house, though. I bet it’s just as beautiful on the inside as it is on the outside. I love to go to open houses and see all the fancy houses back in Albuquerque. ”

  Nancy looked at Sam thoughtfully. “Well, I might be biased since I live here, but I sure think it’s a beautiful place to live.”

  “Oh!” Sam exclaimed. “You live here? I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to take up your time. I’m sure you’re busy. I didn’t mean to keep you...I mean…I don’t know if I’m even supposed to be talking to you…I’ll just be on my way…” Sam looked around as if to see if anyone was seeing what she was going and looked down at her hands. “I’d offer to shake your hand, but I just washed them, and they’re still damp and certainly cold.”

  Nancy smiled at her for the first time. “It’s okay, I’ve shaken cold hands before.” And with that she held out her own hand to Sam. Sam didn’t really have a choice. She took the woman’s hand and shook it firmly. They smiled at each other and each headed back from where they came.

  When Nancy reached the house, she looked back to see Sam entering the barn. She tilted her head to the side, nodded, and continued into the house.

  Sam entered the barn, and was glad for the shade, even though the smell was pungent. As soon as she shut the barn door she heard Courtnee talking.

  “And we were working hard all day and she just walked out and left us to do her part. It’s not fair!”

  Sam walked up toward the front of the barn and saw Courtnee and Missy talking with John, one of the jackaroos who worked on the station. Sam hadn’t met him face to face, but had seen him from a distance.

  “Yeah,” Missy joined in. They hadn’t seen her standing in the barn door yet. “When we asked where she was going she just glared at us and said ‘out.’ We couldn’t do hers and ours and still get it all done.”

  “That’s a lie!” Sam said loudly, not able to keep quiet anymore while the women ground her reputation into the dirt at their feet. She startled the trio and they all turned in her direction. “If anyone wasn’t doing their parts it was the two of you!”

  Courtnee looked Sam up and down, paying attention to her wet shirt and then turned to John and somehow managed to have two tears fall from her eyes. “John, we’ve been here all day working really hard. Look at our hands, they’re filthy!” Missy and Courtnee held out their hands and sure enough they were very dirty. “Let’s see her hands.”

  Sam knew this was going to end badly. She knew her hands weren’t exactly clean, but they were much cleaner than the other women’s since she’d just washed them at the back of the house. She figured the other two women had run their hands through the dirt on the floor recently, just for this reason. Sam hesitated, not knowing whether to show them right away or explain where she was and what she’d been doing. John took the choice out of her hand and didn’t let her say a word before saying gruffly, “Let’s see ‘em.”

  Sam held out her hands. They were pretty clean as Courtnee accused them of being, albeit covered with calluses and a fresh blister, but clean. The water she’d used to wash them had finally dried.

  “Go outside,” John said to Missy and Courtnee. The last thing Sam saw was the smirks on their faces as they went out the front of the barn.

  “What do you have to say for yourself?” John asked Sam. Sam held up her head. She knew she wouldn’t win this and if she tried, it would turn out badly. She now knew what Courtnee and Missy were capable of, and she really didn’t want to make a big deal out of this. She knew she was an outsider in the group of women and if she made a misstep she would be even more on the outside.

  She took a deep breath and willed the tears gathering in the back of her eyes not to fall and further humiliate her.

  “Nothing I think you’d believe,” she answered John defiantly.

  “I think it’s awful that you aren’t even trying to do your part,” John told her disdainfully. “Everyone else here is out of their element too, but you don’t see them trying to get out of their work, do you? Look at them, they’re all beautiful women who have everything going for them and they’re doing their part. I don’t know why you can’t do yours too. You look like you should know better,” John said in a scathing tone of voice. He continued, “I expect the rest of the ladies will be done with their chores soon, but since you decided you didn’t want to do yours, you can finish up in here. It looks like there are ten stalls left. You clean those out and put down fresh straw. Once you finish that you can come back and join the others. If there’s time left you can eat your lunch late, which is what everyone else will be doing while you’re doing the work that you should’ve done earlier today. I’ll inspect your work before you’ll be allowed to leave, so don’t think you can somehow get out of it. Everyone on this station does their part. We don’t tolerate those who don’t pull their own weight.” And with that John left the barn.

  Sam took another deep breath and couldn’t keep a few tears from squeezing out of her eyes. She was exhausted. She’d already cleaned out most of the other stalls that day. She figured she’d do more in the first place since she knew Missy and Courtnee had no clue what they were doing and she figured they’d slack off. It wasn’t fair to the horses to come back to a messy stall just b
ecause she didn’t want to do extra. Besides, she really didn’t have a choice. What the hell was she doing here? This was one more thing that made her think it was time for her to go home. No one wanted her here, so why was she still trying to participate in this stupid show? No guy was worth this. Sam picked up the pitchfork, walked to the first stall and tried to forget how good looking Al was and how she felt when he singled her out to talk to.

  The women were all gathered around the buffet table that had been set out on the expansive lawn of the station. Discussions were going back and forth about the day and about the adventures the women had. Jennie and Kiki were telling everyone they’d made most of the meal. They were very proud of themselves. They acted like they made the entire meal all by themselves, when most of the women knew that certainly wasn’t the case. They were all pretty tired from their chores for the day and for the most part took their seats on the long picnic tables and ate. There weren’t even that many comments about how many calories they were consuming, they were just too tired to think about it.

  Alex had spent the day going from chore to chore, talking with the women and trying to get to know them all a bit better. It was tough, especially when they were competing for his attention. That was something he usually laughed about and enjoyed when he was out with his buddies, but for some reason it was grating on his nerves here. He went in the house to look for Aunt Nancy so they could go over the highlights of the day on the tapes.

  Alex found Nancy in the back family room. It looked like she’d gotten a head start and was watching the tapes from the chores from earlier in the day. She was taking it very seriously. She had a notepad out and was taking notes about the women and their actions. Al smiled. He’d always liked his aunt and he was sorry they didn’t get to see each other that much since they lived on different continents.

  “How’s it goin’?” Alex asked her.