by Tiana Cole
Cecilia finally pulled into the sprawling ranch and looked around, just barely stopping herself from wrinkling her nose against the pungent smell and pervasive dust and mud. This was definitely not what she had in mind for her career when she had become an accountant. She had envisioned a quiet office in some high-powered firm for a few years and then starting her own practice as a certified public accountant. Instead, she had been canned for a mistake someone else had made, and it was haunting her at every interview, sending her career spiraling further down until she ended up here, of all places. It was likely this one would be no different, although she wasn’t sure that she cared.
Working as the bookkeeper for some cowboy type was definitely not ideal. She thought again of her upcoming rent and utilities, and the cell phone and Internet that were just days from being turned off. With bills to pay though, beggars couldn’t be choosers. Mustering her best smile, she stepped out of her older BMW, which looked horribly out of place among the trucks and farm equipment around her.
Hesitatingly, she walked up the short incline, looking around the large ranch for any sign of life besides the chickens who were clucking contentedly in a group, pecking at the dirt road in hopes of extra grains or seeds. One looked up at her with its tiny, beady eyes and she took a hasty step back. Don’t look at me, buddy, she thought as she continued up the small hill, giving the birds a wide girth. Her gaze landed on movement at the top, and she headed in that direction, giving the chicken one last warning look behind her shoulder.
“Mr. Mayhew?” she asked tentatively, addressing the broad shoulders of someone in jeans and a flannel shirt who was overseeing what appeared to be work on a tractor of some sort. He turned to look at her and grinned as he appeared to take in her pressed black suit and matching pumps with some amusement. His look had her smoothing her hands unconsciously down the front of the crisp, ankle length skirt.
“No. I’m the ranch foreman. Jack is around behind the barn with an employee,” he said, his words drawled in a way that had her working at it for a moment before she understood what he said.
“I see. I’m supposed to have an interview with him this morning,” she said.
“You don’t look like a farm hand to me,” the man laughed.
“I’m here for the accountant position,” she replied primly.
“Ah,” he looked her up and down again. “That makes much more sense. If you just walk around the edge of the barn right there, you’ll see him,” he told her, pointing her in the direction of the large red barn sitting a few yards away.
“Thank you,” she said uncertainly, heading off in the direction that he had pointed. Her heels scuffed in the gravel along the side of the road and then dug into the ground around the edge of the barn, sinking into the moistened soil left behind by a recent rain. She arrived behind the back of the large structure with mud caked along the heels and bottoms of her shoes. So much for first impressions, she thought to herself. And then she calculated the cost of a new pair of respectable heels, knowing it would be impossible to work it into her meager budget. She could always try to salvage them herself. She glanced down, noticing a small tear in the leather itself from an especially sharp rock. Or, maybe not, Cecilia sighed.
She looked up at the angry voice that reached her first, and then she saw them.
“You can’t just run over things that you don’t want to stop and deal with, Irvin. Look what you’ve done to the blades. How am I supposed to use this as a demo machine when necessary if you keep tearing up the blades like this?” The man standing with his back to her barked at someone who appeared to be a young farm hand.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Mayhew. I just don’t always see stuff,” the young man replied, scuffing a boot in the dirt, trying to look anywhere but at his irate boss.
“Don’t see it? How can you miss a large sheet of twisted tin that has blown off the barn? You had to run over it with the tractor before it got jammed up in the pull behind. This is the last time this is going to happen, or you’ll find yourself looking for another ranch to work. I’m going to lose three days getting this repaired, and now I have to either bring out a new pull behind or put off my demonstration tomorrow. If your father wasn’t an old friend, I’d fire you on the spot,” the man barked at him. She watched as the young man dropped his head and nodded in response to his employer’s admonishment.
Cecilia stood there awkwardly as the young man shuffled dejectedly away to his next task, the other man still mumbling angrily to himself as he examined the twisted piece of metal in front of him. She took a tentative step forward, and then another, clearing her throat. She cleared it again, hoping he would notice her presence, and when it was clear he wouldn’t, she stepped up behind him and spoke.
“Excuse me. Mr. Mayhew,” she interjected his grumbling reluctantly. He turned toward her, a scowl still on his face.
“Yes?” he said impatiently, his attention obviously still on fixing the problem in front of him.
“I am sorry to interrupt, but I was supposed to be here at eight a.m. to interview for the position as an accountant. I’m Cecilia Barnes. The Kelly Group sent me,” she told him, extending her hand out in greeting.
“You’re late,” he barked, “And this isn’t a good time,” he said gruffly, turning back toward his employee, stopping him before he could get any further away. “Go home for the day, Irvin.” He threw that last comment over his shoulder as he turned back to the mangled machinery.
“Um, I know, I apologize.” Cecilia swallowed hard when he still didn’t look up at her. “I got a little lost trying to get out here…” She trailed off when it was clear he wasn’t listening to her anyway. “When would be a better time?” she asked, trying to maintain her composure. He finally turned around, spearing her with his striking gaze. Despite herself, her heart started beating just a little faster under that look.
She couldn’t help but notice that Jack Mayhew was an attractive man despite his somewhat weather-worn appearance. He was tall, tanned, and very fit with muscular shoulders and a chiseled jaw line. The sprigs of dark hair that stuck out from beneath his cap were slightly curled, sticking to his neck in the heat as he turned back to look at her with his deep blue eyes slightly squinted against the sunlight. He seemed to fit perfectly in his rugged surroundings, like he was as much a part of them as the trees, the rocks, the ponds, and small streams.
“I tell you what, I’ll just interview you while I finish up a few things. I don’t have time for anything else. Follow me,” he gestured for her to walk with him as he turned, heading for another part of the ranch, taking for granted that she would tag along after him.
Southern Charm
