After dinner Heath headed back outside to help with a horse that was being difficult, and Austin and I helped Clara clean up the kitchen. She was just putting leftovers into the fridge when Cal and Gene came in, begging for scraps.
“You two are lucky I’m in a good mood tonight,” she scolded her husband’s stable hands. She set the food on the counter and motioned for them to help themselves.
I headed up to my room after that to get ready to join Sam and her friends. Austin watched me from the bottom of the stairs, and after glancing around and realizing that no one was around to see him, he took the stairs three at a time and rushed me into my room.
“You are very bad,” I told him, shaking my head at him. “How are you going to get out of here now?”
He shrugged as he shut the door and smiled at me. “I guess I’ll figure that out later.”
Chapter Eight
Twelve days later was a Wednesday, my day off, so I headed down to Santa Clarita to see my family. I spent the morning with my grandpa first, and after taking him to the diner for lunch, Meryl and I took him back to Brookside Gardens and then went shopping for a bit. Both of my cousins were home for the summer, Michael and Lauren, so they met up with us for a matinee.
Around six I gave Austin a call and left him a message. He called me back ten minutes later as he was on his way home, just as I was also entering the city of Arcadia.
“I’d like to see you,” I told him.
“Oh, I’d love to see you, too. I really wish I was up north instead.”
“Hmm, well I’m probably five minutes away. Do you still wish you were up north?”
“What? Are you serious?”
“I’m just passing the golf course.”
“The Santa Anita Golf Course? Then you’re, like, two minutes away,” he chuckled. “You know where you’re headed?”
“Uh, I believe so. I’ll see you in a couple of minutes.”
I hung up, feeling happy that I could surprise him. I was glad that he seemed just as pleased, and my heart felt full and giddy at the same time.
I saw his Camaro right away; he hadn’t even gone inside his condo yet. He stood up from the porch when I got out of my car, and just the smile on his face was enough to make my day.
“Wow, you’re a sight after a rough day,” he said.
I slid my hands around his neck and kissed him as he led me inside and shut the door behind us.
Two days later it was a similar greeting on a Friday afternoon after he arrived at the ranch. Again I heard his car while I was in the stables, but I had five little puppies that were following me outside with Goldie. Austin saw me from the house, and I could even see him smile from where I was. I walked over to the grass and met him halfway, and I was a little caught off-guard when he kissed me right there in the front yard.
I pulled back quickly, showing my surprise.
“What?” he smiled.
I gave him a look, and then glanced around at our surroundings.
“No one saw,” he shrugged. “Well, minus your little puppy clan here.”
“Austin, please don’t do that,” I said. I even looked at the house, hoping that no one had actually been looking out a window.
He was going to say something, and then he changed his mind. Instead he said, “Come on, Goldie,” and the dog (and her five little replicas) followed him toward the garage. “Come on, Nova,” he smiled, calling me like the others.
I resisted the urge to make a retort, so I just followed behind him along with the last four-legged straggler.
Once in the garage, Austin pointed outside and said, “Goldie, go play.” The dog didn’t follow him in and she remained in the grass with her babies. He shut the door behind me and smiled as he pulled me close. “Is this better?”
“A little.”
“A little? Sheesh, I’m gonna saddle up a horse and take you into the woods, woman.”
“Really?” I smiled.
“If that’s what allows me time with you.”
I shrugged and said, “I’m game. I wanna see you ride a horse.”
He slightly shook his head and kissed me anyway, just as we heard several yips from the yard. I guess the puppies were trying to warn us because the door opened and just about nailed the both of us. Austin swung it open the rest of the way, like we were just coming out or something, and Katie stood there just as surprised to see us as we were to see her.
“Hey, Kate,” Austin said cheerfully.
He stepped outside and so did I, and Katie just kind of glanced us over before she entered the garage and shut the door behind her.
I looked at Austin and let out a sigh of frustration.
“What? She couldn’t care less.”
I didn’t reply and called Goldie to follow me.
“Nova,” he groaned at me.
I turned around and faced him. “Austin, I can’t do this. I’m trying to keep my professional life separate from my personal life and I can’t do it. It’s fine when we’re away from here. I mean Wednesday was…Wednesday was really nice, Austin. We could be together, and we could go out to dinner, and I didn’t have to worry about it affecting my job—”
“We could be together here and it wouldn’t affect your job.”
“Maybe not to you. Maybe you don’t see how it changes my work environment.”
“No, I don’t think you understand that it doesn’t affect your professional obligations. If you would just trust me on this…”
I sighed and shook my head. “I don’t know, Austin. Things are really good for me right now. I love it here. I love working with Jack and I’m finding my place here. I can’t jeopardize that.”
I called Goldie again and began walking toward the stables. I knew Austin was still behind me because he was encouraging the same little slowpoke to move along with us. I decided to put the dogs in the dog run instead of back in the barn since it was so nice out, so after Goldie entered through the gate with two of the puppies, I picked up the next two and set them inside. The last little pooch seemed to be on his own field trip, so Austin scooped him up and set him inside with the others.
“Nova, I’m sorry,” he said as I closed the gate.
“I am, too,” I replied, turning to face him. “I just don’t know what to do right now.”
“Well I do, but you don’t seem to trust me on making a decision when it comes to my own family.”
Of course when he put it that way I felt really awful about it. He had a point, but why couldn’t he see mine?
“I’m really worried about it,” I said.
“I know you are, but you need to trust me on this.”
He stepped closer to me and put his hands on my shoulders. Then he leaned forward and kissed me. Obviously I enjoyed his mouth melting into mine because I let him do it for so long, but my worry got the better of me.
“I don’t think I can do this.”
“Yes you can, Nova. This is my home. This is where I can actually kick back and relax. Yeah I work while I’m here, but it’s nothing like the real world. Working here is like I’m on vacation; it doesn’t even seem like work sometimes. Here you can have both. Nobody’s gonna fire you for being in a relationship with me. That’s not what it’s like here.”
“I don’t want people to think less of me, Austin. Can’t you understand that? I’ve been torn between this from day one, and I’ve never wanted to compromise the opportunity I’ve been given here—”
“Do you hear what I’m telling you? You’re not compromising anything. I want you to have this job—I’m glad you have this job—because I get to have you be a part of my world. Even if it is just a tiny part of it, but I’ll take it for all it’s worth.”
I didn’t say anything in response and he sighed.
“Look at me,” he said softly, taking my chin in his hand. I looked into his eyes just briefly, but it was enough to make me question my resolve all over again. He kissed me some more, and I had no fight in me to stop him. We continued to k
iss, and then he just held me against him. “Nova, you’re the only one objecting to us being together. My family knows how I feel about you. Jack knows how I feel about you. Every person that works here knows how crazy I am for you. They’re all okay with it, every one of them, and you’re not?”
“What do you mean everyone knows?”
“I mean that it’s really obvious,” he chuckled. “It’s not something I go around talking to everyone about because you asked me not to, but it’s not a secret.”
Just then Sam walked by and she caught sight of us against the side of the barn. We were still holding each other, but all Sam said was, “Oh, there you guys are. Austin, mom wants to know if you’ll be here for dinner.”
“Uh, probably not; I’m taking my girlfriend out.”
“Okay, I’ll let her know,” she said as she headed for the house.
Austin smiled at me as I gaped at him with disbelief. “See, nothing new,” he told me.
“Oh my gosh!” I exclaimed, thumping him in the chest.
“What?”
“You mean to tell me your family thinks I’m your girlfriend?”
“Thinks? You are, aren’t you?” he inquired with a tilt of his head.
“Yes,” I smiled. “I just meant…they know I’m your girlfriend?”
He took a deep breath and slowly let it out. Then he took my hand, and with his back against the barn, slid to sit on the ground. He tugged my hand to follow, so I did.
“About three months ago I told them about this girl that worked in a restaurant…” I stared at him for several seconds as it registered, and then he shrugged. “I told them about how beautiful I thought you were, and how quick you were to keep up with four smart ass guys giving you a hard time. I told them how much I liked your name, and your smile, and your determination… They looked forward to having you here, whether it was to work with Jack or not.”
I didn’t say anything at first, but even though I liked the things he said about me, I realized that I was kind of upset. “All this time it’s been common knowledge to everyone that you and I have had a thing?”
“No, no, no,” he said, shaking his head. “Just my family knows about all that—my parents and Jeff and Sami. But when you started working here I asked them to keep it to themselves.”
I felt somewhat relieved about that, but I still felt a little unsettled about the situation. Finally I said, “Well, I can’t do this anymore. It just feels really dishonest to be sneaking around with you and… I guess we should just get it out in the open. Is that going to bother you?”
He smiled and said, “Please.”
I lightly laughed and replied, “Okay, then; I’ll be right back.”
I hopped up and headed for Jack’s office, determined to get it over with no matter what. I didn’t even want to think about it anymore because I knew I should just do it, and I didn’t want to lose my nerve. It appeared that Jack was about to leave when I pretty much burst into the room, and he just stood there for a second with surprise, waiting for whatever it was I was about to announce.
And that was: “I’m in a relationship with Austin.”
He stared at me for several seconds and then blinked. “And?”
I returned the stare and then asked, “And what?”
“And why do you need to remind me of that?”
“Remind you?”
He tilted his head and studied me for a moment, and then he pretended to search his counters and asked, “Did you get into some medication or something…?”
“What?”
He looked at me and kind of chuckled. “Nova, I’ve always thought you and Austin were together. Are you telling me that it wasn’t supposed to be common knowledge?” When I didn’t respond he added, “I just thought you were super sensitive about mixing your personal life with your work. I had to respect that because you’re very serious about your studies. But here we’re just kind of a big family, and casual mention of that stuff comes up all the time. But it certainly doesn’t interfere with our work.”
After a few seconds I replied, “Oh.”
He smiled and said, “If you’re worried that it’s going to affect your professional standing here, don’t. I already thought I was mentoring Austin’s girlfriend. That’s why I agreed to meet you.”
“I could take offense to that,” I frowned.
“I know you could, but don’t. Austin was your link to a job that you needed, but you very much deserve to be here by your own qualifications. Some things just happen for a reason. I told him that I would meet with you, but I’d only mentor you if I chose to. But just from talking to you on the phone gave me my answer, and I’m very glad you’ve decided to join us here. Austin made a good call, but you’ve earned the job on your own, Nova. You’re here because you’ve impressed me on your own.”
I just stood there for a few seconds, not sure of what I should say. I guess I felt relieved and stupid at the same time. And I also felt bad that I hadn’t listened to Austin in the first place.
“Well, I’m sorry about how I handled this,” I finally said.
“No need to apologize; I kind of like this drama.”
I rolled my eyes and said, “I didn’t want there to be any drama.”
He smiled and replied, “I know, but what I mean is that Austin is a pretty great kid. I’m glad to see he’s found himself someone special.”
Yes, that compliment made me blush, and I was also happy to hear his praise of Austin. “Well thank you, I guess.”
He nodded and paused for a few seconds. Finally he let out a breath of air and said, “Okay, so any other personal declarations we should get out of the way?”
I smiled and shook my head. “Uh, none that I can think of at this time.”
“All right, then. See you around.”
He smiled at me as he left the office at the same time.
I rolled my eyes at myself and shook my head. I still felt that mixture of relief and stupidity, but I guess what was done was done and there wasn’t anything I could do to change it.
I decided to sit down at the counter and record my work for the day. Austin entered the office a minute later with a little smile. I only glanced up at him just long enough to see who had entered the room, but continued to write.
“I’m working,” I said, trying to hide a smile.
He had come around the counter to stand behind me, and he softly massaged my shoulders. “Okay,” he replied. I could tell he was still smiling as he kissed the top of my head and added, “I’ll pick you up at six, all right?”
I finished writing a sentence and asked, “And where are we going?”
I didn’t think he was going to tell me at first, but he set his forearm onto the counter next to me so we were facing each other.
“I suppose you need to know what to wear, right?” he asked with a smile.
My heart chose a quicker rhythm because of his closeness to me. “Yes, that would be nice,” I replied, returning the smile.
He barely nodded. “Okay, casual dinner and then a concert at the Fox Theatre.”
I raised an eyebrow and asked, “You got concert tickets, assuming I would say yes to going out with you tonight?”
He shrugged and said, “I hoped you would say yes, but figured Sami would go with me if you broke my heart and refused to come.”
I eyed him for a few seconds with a smile before nodding my agreement. “Okay, I’ll let your efforts pay off.”
He smiled his satisfaction and put his hand behind my neck to kiss me. I let him because we were in somewhat of a private setting and I wasn’t on the clock. But of course his dad had to walk in just as I put more affection into the exchange.
“Hey, I need to go over something with you when you have a few minutes,” Dave said to him. He left before Austin even had a chance to move away from me, but I soon realized he hadn’t intended to.
While he was still in the same position he tucked a strand of hair behind my ear and said, “I’ve got some ot
her work to do so I probably won’t see you until six, okay?”
I only nodded, and when he kissed me once more and then gave me a big cheesy smile, it made me forget all about the awkward moment with his dad. I watched him until he left and then I took a deep breath to concentrate on what I’d previously been doing.
It couldn’t have been more than ten minutes before Heath entered the office and said, “Jack’s gone for the evening; can you stitch me up?” He was holding a towel over his left arm and it was soaked in blood.
I stood up from the counter and removed the towel from his upper arm to take a peak. “Wow, that’s gross. What happened?”
I led him to the sink to rinse the wound with saline as he explained how Only the Strong Survive, a fairly new client, overpowered him in a battle over being loaded into the trailer, and Heath “scraped” his arm on something. Apparently the horse didn’t like to travel.
I sat Heath on a stool to stitch him up. Dave came in about halfway through to see if he was all right and they both had some things to say about the owner of the horse, and the horse itself. Then he told me the horse needed to be tranquilized so they could get him in the trailer and send him home.
“Is he calm yet?” I asked. “It might not work if he’s still all riled up.”
Dave politely smiled and replied, “Yes, we’ve been working on it.”
“Sorry, I suppose you already knew that,” I said, feeling a little embarrassed.
“It’s not a problem; I’m just glad that you know that,” he smiled again.
I returned the smile and then said, “Should I finish up here or make Heath suffer longer?”
Heath kind of groaned and Dave laughed, but Dave replied, “Finish him up so he can still help us.”
So after Dave left, I put a few more stitches into Heath’s arm, bandaged it up, and sent him on his way.
When I joined the commotion outside, it appeared that the owner of the horse, Carson, strongly objected to the horse being tranquilized. And when he saw me arrive with the syringe in my hand, he began to argue with Dave even more.
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