by Lexi Aurora
“Right,” I said. “Well, that’s the difference between you and I.”
A confused look passed over her face. “What?”
“You’ve never worked with your hands in your life, have you?” I asked. I was trying not to get angry, but her flirtatiousness, that sweet smile—it crawled under my skin and wouldn’t let go. It made me want to take her out, kiss her, hold her full body against my own. The desire to do so was what made me angry. It meant that her charms were working on me, even though I knew what her goal was. It meant I was stupid, and I hated being out of control in that way, so attracted to a woman that I couldn’t keep my head straight.
“I—I don’t—”
“Finish sweeping the stalls, please,” I said. “I’ll be back in an hour. I have to run to the office.”
“Okay,” she said slowly, her jaw tense. “I’ll see you later.”
I walked out without saying anything to her, knowing that I was being unkind, perhaps unreasonable. I told myself that it was perfectly reasonable to get angry at her for both deceiving me and leading me on with those seductive words and sensual, deep green eyes.
I went to the office for around an hour, greeting the employees there. It felt good to see them; growing up, these people were like family to me. I spent a lot of time at the business branch learning the ins and outs of the advertising business, and though I was an artist, I felt like this was what I was meant to do. For a few moments, I was able to forget about Violet and the things she had made me feel, the scheme that she was playing me with. It came to my mind again, though, as I got back in the car to go to the ranch.
I parked the car, expecting to see everyone inside. When I went in, there was a disapproving look on my mother’s face, her arms crossed over her chest.
“What’d I do?” I asked her immediately.
“You’ve had that poor girl working out there all day,” she said.
“I just told her to finish sweeping out the stables,” I said. “I thought it would only take her a few minutes. Has she not come in yet?”
“No,” said my mother. “And you ought to be ashamed of yourself, Cooper. Go get her and bring her in.”
“I didn’t—”
“Go get her,” my mother insisted, shooing me away and out the door. I grumbled and walked across the property to the stables, where the light was on and the door was slightly open. I went inside to see that her back was to the door and she was just holding the broom, leaning against it.
“Violet,” I said to her. She swiveled around on her heel and glared at me, her eyes narrowed and filled with rage.
“What do you want?” she asked.
“It’s time for dinner,” I said. “Look, I’m sorry, I thought you’d go in—”
“Fuck you, Cooper,” she hissed.
“What?” I asked her in a dull voice. “What did you say to me?”
“You’re an asshole,” she said, her voice full of anger, eyes flashing. “I was just trying to get along with you for a few minutes. And you left me here.”
“Violet, I am trying to apologize.”
“Screw your apology,” she spat, her hands on her hips, head cocked to the side. “I don’t want to hear it. You’re disgusting.”
I felt anger rise within me at her words. I stepped closer to her, then closer. She backed up against the wall, her eyes on mine, nostrils flared in defiance. It felt like my body was being drawn to hers like a magnet, so close that I could feel her breathing, feel how ragged it was coming out of her chest.
“You want to say that one more time?” I asked her, studying her face.
“Asshole,” she said, her voice trembling on the two syllables, breathless. I leaned into her, nipping at her bottom lip, unable to help myself. I tugged on it gently, pulling it back, letting it pop out of my mouth before I sucked on it tenderly. I nipped at it again, this time letting go, pulling back to look her in the eye.
“I ought to fire you,” I said. “I ought to get rid of you right now.”
“You are not my boss,” she said in a fierce voice. I leaned in to kiss her again and this time her lips parted for me. My tongue slid along her upper lip, tracing it, tasting it. It only made me want more from her. My hands pinned her in on either side, not wanting her to move, glad that she didn’t try to pull away from me. Instead, she stared at my mouth.
“I can’t stand you,” she said. “I didn’t come here to sweep your stables.”
“You came here for an easy ride,” I said to her gruffly. “You know why you came here.”
For an instant, I thought I saw guilt pass over her face. But then it was gone, replaced by a combination of lust and cool rage.
“Tomorrow, we go to the business branch,” she said.
“No,” I said firmly.
“What?”
“No, we’re not going. We’re doing this again tomorrow. Me and you. The branch can wait.”
“No,” she spat. “Why?”
“Because you don’t have any manners, rude girl,” I said softly, leaning in, placing one last kiss on her perfect mouth.
“Dinner is ready,” I said to her. “Better get going. Early day tomorrow.”
She muttered something under her breath, her voice filled with hatred. I didn’t care in that moment. I shoved open the barn door, holding it open for her behind me. She followed me silently, and I could feel her death look on the back of my neck. In that moment, I was glad that she was as angry as I was. We went inside and she stomped to her room without further word to me, and I went to my own, running my hand through my hair in exasperation.
Chapter 7: Violet
I woke up the next morning with my body aching, worn out from such a hard day’s work. I grumbled as I sat up and stretched my aching muscles, standing up and getting dressed for the day. My hands were raw and sore, tired to the bone, but I refused to complain to Cooper or his family—whatever game he was playing, I was here to do a job. I wasn’t going to show him weakness by letting him know how hard the farm work was on my body, and I wasn’t going to beg him to let me see the business branch, either.
I looked at the clock to see that it was past eight, the sun long since risen. It surprised me that Cooper hadn’t woken me up but I was grateful—I had needed the rest if I was going to go back to working with my hands today. I went downstairs from the bedroom and into the kitchen, where Abigail and Jane were sitting at the counter, both of them eating from massive plates.
“Go ahead,” they said when I walked in. “Eat what you want. You’re going to need it.”
I went to the counter and got a plate, filling it up, then went to sit with them. I felt shy around people I barely knew and felt no less so with these two, especially given that I was there in order to trick their brother. Still, they both gave me friendly smiles as I sat down to eat with them.
“So how is this whole thing going?” Abigail asked. “What do you think of Coop?”
“Uh—”
“You don’t have to lie,” Jane said. “We know he’s a pain. And ma told us about what he did to you yesterday. I would have kicked his ass if I would have known.”
“He didn’t really do anything wrong,” I said. “I could have come inside, I just—needed some time alone. I was upset.”
“Uh oh,” Jane said, crossing her arms over her chest. “What did he do to you?”
“Nothing,” I said quickly. “We just—don’t get along very well.”
“That’s because he likes you,” Abigail said. I snorted.
“No, he doesn’t,” I said. “If he liked me, he’d take me to see the branch. So far, he says he won’t.”
“He wants to test you. He does it with everyone. Wants to know what you’re made of.”
“He’s about to find out what I’m made of,” I grumbled.
“Good girl,” said Abigail, chortling. “Somebody needs to turn it around on him. What’s your plan with him, anyway?”
I swallowed, hoping they couldn’t read the guilt on my face.<
br />
“I’m supposed to figure out how he runs things and report back to the board,” I said.
“Honey,” Jane said. “You have all the power with him. Don’t let him push you around.”
“Is he always like that?”
“He’s tough, but he’s a good guy. He looks for values in people—how they work, how they treat people.”
“I see,” I said doubtfully. So far, I hadn’t seen him with many people, but he didn’t seem to value anything in me. I got angry all over again thinking about what he had said to me the day before about never working a day in my life; I had worked hard through school, working two jobs and going to classes full-time. Abigail could read the look on my face.
“Don’t let him get to you,” she said.
“Do you know where he is?”
“I think he’s out fixing the barn with Mercy and John.”
“Are they staff?”
Abigail nodded. “He told us to send you out there when you’re done.”
I stood up, then, carrying my dishes to the sink. Before I left, Abigail stopped me, looking at me intently.
“Don’t let him get to you. You be tough with him,” she said. I nodded, smiling at her, and left to go to the barn. I looked around the ranch as I walked across the property—it was massive and beautiful, with an apple orchard at the far end, three barns, the stables, and several other out buildings that I didn’t recognize. The place really was breathtaking, everything green and lush, natural and nothing like my place in the city.
I froze for an instant when I first saw Cooper, coming around the corner and catching a glimpse of him standing with a woman. He had a big grin on his face, flirtatious, his eyes low as he stared at her. My eyes wandered over him—he was shirtless, the hard lines of his muscles etched into a broad, strong body. There was sweat beading off of him, and my eyes lingered on his chest for a moment before he caught me staring.
“There you are,” he said, his smile falling when he saw me. “I’ve been waiting for you.”
“Seems like you’ve been plenty busy,” I said to him, glancing over at the woman, who was beautiful and dressed in a short denim skirt, a look that could not be pulled off by anyone bigger than a size ten. She looked me over, a smile on her face.
“Hi,” she said. “I’m Mercy. I hear you’re here evaluating our man.”
“Yes,” I said. “That’s what I’m here for.”
“What kind of impression has he left so far?”
“Mercy—”
“Not a great one,” I said to her dryly. She laughed. It was then that a boy joined us, no older than seventeen, with a thick dusting of freckles on his face, along with ginger hair. He was a scrawny kid, but obviously strong, as if he’d been working at the ranch for most of his life.
“Hey, John, you can get out of here,” Cooper said. “Thanks for your work today. Did you get those boards cut?”
“Yes, sir,” the boy said in a voice that was deeper than I expected. “Do you need anything else before I go? I can feed the horses—”
“No, thank you,” Cooper said. “You’re a good man. Go on home. Tell your mama that I’ll see her later.”
“Yes, sir,” the boy repeated, glancing at me nervously before he left.
“I guess I’d better let you two get back to work,” Mercy said, her eyes flitting between me and Cooper. “I’ll see you at dinner.”
“See you later, Mercy,” Cooper said, and I was surprised that his eyes didn’t follow her as she walked away. Instead, they were focused on me, my face, and briefly my lips. I remembered that kiss from the night before and it was like I could still feel his mouth against mine. No matter how angry I had been at him, that kiss was something that I would never be able to forget.
“How are you this morning?”
“Great,” I said sarcastically. “What are we doing?”
“We’re going out to fix a gate to the goat pens,” he said, his hands on his hips. “Think you can handle that?”
“I can handle anything you want me to do, Cooper.”
He grimaced. “I highly doubt that, Violet.”
The tone in his voice made me shiver. It was commanding, hard and unyielding. He was challenging me, but at the same time, he didn’t think I could live up to the challenge. I decided that no matter what happened, I was going to prove him wrong. I wouldn’t complain and I would do everything he told me to do. There was no way that I was going to confirm what he thought he knew about me—that I never worked with my hands, or wasn’t capable of doing these things on my own.
“What do you want me to do?”
“In general or right now?”
I didn’t answer him, but stared at his face, my eyes traveling down to his body again.
“Right now,” I said, my throat feeling dry. He grinned when I looked up at him again.
“Something on your mind, Violet?”
“No,” I said quickly. “No, I’m ready.”
“Okay,” he said, grabbing his shirt, throwing it over his shoulder as we walked. It was hot outside, and I was sweating under the sun. It felt good to stretch my legs, though, and it was nice to be outside in beautiful surroundings rather than cooped up in an office all day.
“Is Mercy your employee?”
“No, she’s a good friend of mine. She delivers us hay every once in a while.”
“And the boy?”
“Family friend,” he said. “Lives on the ranch next to us. He’ll be coming over to dinner tonight. Most of the workers come to supper on Thursday nights.”
“Really?” I asked.
“Yep. Ma feeds them all. It’s been a tradition in our family since before I was born. It’s the way my father did things for years.”
“How many employees do you have?”
“Six part-time employees right now, but only four of them will make it tonight. You’ll get to meet them before most of them come in tomorrow.”
“Will we be working outside tomorrow?” I asked him as we walked up to the goat pens. There were a dozen goats out there, two of them tiny, bleating and chewing as they eyed us. I saw that the wooden gate to the pen was falling off its hinges, propped up on a cinder block so that it wouldn’t budge if the goats tried to push it open.
“Yes,” he said. “If you can handle it.”
“Like I said, I can handle anything you throw at me.”
He stared at me, a small smile on his face.
“I’m starting to believe that, Violet.”
For a moment, we just looked at each other, and I felt something flutter in my stomach at the desire on his face. I had seen it the night before, too, in the stables when he’d kissed me. But I had sworn that it had just been the heat of the moment, that he’d been angry, wanting to shut me up. There was no way that somebody like Cooper Maverick would be truly attracted to me, not given the women I’d seen him flirt with so far.
“Come down here and hold this,” he said to me, gesturing for me to join him on the ground. I crouched down next to him, our knees touching. I stumbled slightly in the dirt, my foot slipping, and had to brace myself on his shoulder to keep from sliding onto my knees. I managed to hold myself up, but not before the feeling of his skin on mine spread an electric energy through my body.
“Hold what?” I asked him, but he didn’t respond. I turned to see that he was gazing at me, at my lips, a look of wonder on his face. I felt myself blush and cleared my throat.
“What do you want me to hold, Cooper?”
He shook his head, as if breaking himself from a reverie.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “Hold these two pieces together. I need to tie them closed.”
I did as he said, trying not to look at him. We were close, so close that I could feel him brush against my knee when he moved, beginning to wrap the fence tight with a thick, heavy twine.
“Why do you do all of this yourself?” I asked him. “You have more than enough money to hire someone to fix this gate. I wouldn’t think you’d
want to do all this hard work if you could avoid it.”
“I like it. I like working with my hands,” he said. I glanced over at his hands, how big they were, how adept as he quickly wrapped the gate together.
“There,” he said, looking at me. “Now you get to hammer it closed.”
“Me?” I asked. He grinned, nodding.
“Yes, you.”
“Good,” I said. “Sounds like fun.”
He chuckled. “I’m sure it does.”
“I like to work with my hands, too, you know,” I told him.
“And what do you do with your hands, Violet?”
“I like to paint,” I said. A real smile broke over his face then, not a sly grin or something dry and mirthless, but curious and happy. It made him look radiant along with his golden skin, his messy locks, that perfect body.
“Really?” he asked. “What do you like to paint?”
“Nothing interesting,” I shrugged, embarrassed to talk about it. I looked at the gate.
“So I’m going to hammer—”
“Hey,” he said. I glanced at him again, this time looking up to his face.
“What do you paint?” he asked.
“Abstracts, mostly,” I said. “Which I know sounds stupid, but—”
“No,” he said. “No, it doesn’t. I was never very good at abstracts myself.”
“You paint?” I asked him. He nodded.
“Portraits,” he said.
“Can I see some?”
“Only if you do something for me,” he said. I raised an eyebrow.
“What’s that?”
“I want you to promise to paint something for me,” he said.
“What?” I asked him, flushing again. “No, I couldn’t—”
“I have all the supplies. Everything you’ll need.”
“Is this another test?”
“You can think of it that way,” he said, his eyes sparkling as he looked at me.
“I don’t know,” I said. “Maybe.”
