“So everybody keeps telling me,” she muttered under her breath.
“Anyway, Laura told me that you needed to spend some time really living the ranching lifestyle, so you can get a feel for what types of fabrics you’ll be needing for the clothes,” Billy stated, as he leaned on the handle of his shovel and looked over at her with a smile.
“Yeah, that sounds like Laura,” Amber admitted with a nod. “What exactly do you need me to do? Feed the chickens? Milk some cows?”
“No, no,” Billy replied with a shake of his head. “Mrs. Harding tends to the chickens and the cows in the mornings. It’s her favorite chore to do, so we can’t be taking them away from her now!” He let out a laugh.
“So, what is there for me to do?” Amber questioned, feeling a little off kilter.
“Well, first, you can start by seeing to the horses,” Billy explained with a wry smile.
“Oh, that doesn’t sound so bad!” she replied, and began imagining herself being surrounded by beautiful, elegant horses. She imagined combing their tails and finally being able to take one out for a ride. Amber had always wanted to learn to ride a horse.
Billy laughed and broke her reverie. “I take it you’ve never cleaned up after horses before, am I right, Miss?”
Amber blushed a little. “Well, no, I haven’t, but they’re such beautiful creatures. It’ll be lovely to spend time with them!”
Billy laughed again. “Let’s see if you tell me that in an hours’ time,” he said, and pointed over to his left. “The stables are that way, you can’t miss ‘em. Just get a shovel to clean out the old hay, stick it in a wheelbarrow, and then use a fork to give them new hay. Simple.”
“Simple,” Amber echoed and strode off feeling a lot more confident about the whole thing.
That is, until she reached the stables.
The stench coming from the horses was awful. Amber had never smelled anything quite like it, and it was impossible to escape from! She dragged a wheelbarrow inside and reached for a shovel. When she looked inside the first horse’s pen, she couldn’t believe the amount of mess on the floor.
This is going to be a long day.
***
An hour later, Amber was still shoveling muck and sodden hay from the stables, and her back was breaking from the labor. She’d never worked with her arms so much in her life, and the muscles under her skin were aching and throbbing as she continued making the repetitive motions.
It didn’t help that the horses were beautiful. She was beginning to feel bitter that Billy had so many of them. After all, who needed ten horses anyway?! Just as she was muttering under her breath, Amber pressed her forefinger down on the shaft of the shovel and a loud snap resounded in the stables.
Her nail broke right off and fell to the floor.
“Oh my God, no!” she cried and brought it closer to her face to inspect it. “I don’t even have any press-ons with me!”
Feeling exhausted and regretting her decision to come to Valley Springs in the first place, Amber fell back onto a fresh bale of hay and threw her hands over her face. What was I thinking? There’s no way I can do this. I’m just a stupid, dumb girl obsessed with make-up and clothes. What do I know about working on a farm? She asked herself as she looked down at her nails and felt sorry for herself.
In the middle of her self-chastisement, Amber hadn’t noticed that the stable doors had been pushed open. The sun was still low enough that not much light entered, and Jesse crept in, also unaware of Amber’s presence. At least, he was unaware, until she started bawling.
Amber let her frustration with the hard work and her devastation over her break up with Mike all pour out of her at once. Her cheeks were wet with rivers of tears that made tracks down her face, and she couldn’t help the sobs that spilled from her mouth. Everything felt so wrong. How on Earth was she supposed to survive two whole months here?! She didn’t know the first thing about what she was doing.
“Amber?” Jesse called out into the dimly lit stable. “Is that you?”
Instantly, Amber’s sobs stopped. She peered over the tops of her fingers to look around the room, but she didn’t see anyone at first. She tried to remain silent, hoping that Jesse might just leave her alone… But she wasn’t that lucky.
“Oh, there you are,” Jesse said as he passed a wooden pole which held the roof up, and he finally spotted the redhead. “Everything okay, little lady?”
Although she had her differences with Jesse, Amber couldn’t hold back anymore. She burst into tears again and shook her head. “No, nothing is okay,” she muttered in between sobs. “I can’t do this. It’s too hard.”
Jesse laughed a little before dropping down onto the hay bale beside her. “You mean farm work? It’s not hard. Most city people think it’s easy work for us less-civilized people.”
“Well, anyone who thinks that has never actually been out here, clearly!” Amber cried in exasperation as she brushed away her salty tears. “This is so hard, Jesse. I don’t think I can do it for two months. My arms are already killing me.”
He smiled in such a sympathetic way that had her heart flipping in her chest. “Well, what on Earth were you thinking starting with something like this? Of course, you’re going to hurt yourself!”
Amber pouted. “I didn’t decide to do this! Billy was the one who told me to come here and clean out the horses! If I could be anywhere else, trust me, I would be.”
Jesse scrunched up his face as if he were deep in thought. “Okay, how about this? I’ll help you complete this task, and then you can go tell Billy you need to lie down or something,” he proposed. “You go rest for today and then tomorrow, you can come over to my ranch, and I’ll walk you through how to do everything.”
Amber stared over at him for a moment in shocked silence. “You would do that? For me?”
Jesse nodded. “And I’d ease you into it gently, too,” he added with a laugh. “Though I suppose that means I’ve got to put Buttercup’s exercise on hold for today.”
“Buttercup?” Amber questioned, her brows furrowing together.
“My horse,” Jesse told her. “I couldn’t find my bridle, so I came over to borrow one of Billy’s, since he has so many. Why else would I be here?”
“Honestly?” Amber began with a sigh. “I feel like you were put on this Earth just to torture me by turning up when I least wanted anyone to see me.”
The man beside her leaned in a little closer. “Or maybe I turn up when you most need someone,” he offered with a small smile.
“Yes, exactly, like when I need someone to see me wearing nothing but a towel,” she muttered sarcastically and felt her eyes drying up a little.
“Well, maybe that one was just for me,” Jesse said with a wink in her direction.
Before Amber could do much else other than flush a bright red color, Jesse was already pushing up off the hay bale to stand. “Right, little lady, let’s get going so we can get this finished up, yeah?”
Amber nodded and pushed up to stand. “Yes, the sooner this is over, the better.”
Chapter Seven
When Amber awoke the next day, she felt much better about setting off to work. Instead of having to fend for herself, Jesse was going to show her the ropes, and even though she still hadn’t figured out how she felt about the strange cowboy, she was grateful for any help she could get to survive the next few months.
She had explained to Billy the previous afternoon that she’d be heading over to Jesse’s ranch in order to get a more varied experience of farm life. He’d had no qualms or objections with her plan, which only served to make Amber feel more in charge of her life here.
After leaving food and water for Jellybean, Amber headed down the road in the direction of the entrance to Jesse’s land. She walked up the footpath which led to the house and stepped forward onto the porch before raising her hand to knock. Then, Jesse pulled the door open and made her gasp in surprise.
“Oh my God!” she exclaimed and dropped her hand to
cover her heart. “You frightened me.”
Jesse smiled. “You’re the one on my front porch, little lady,” he commented.
“About that, why do you keep calling me ‘little lady’? I’m only a few inches shorter than you!”
“Yeah and that makes you little,” he pointed out with a smug grin. “But before we start, you need to get some different clothes on.”
Amber stared at him with narrowed eyes. “What’s wrong with my clothes?” she asked.
“There ain’t nothing wrong with them; they just aren’t suitable for what we’re doing. You’ll need better protection from the sun and the environment,” he explained.
Amber glanced down at her clothes, and realized with a little chagrin, that he might actually be right. After all, she was wearing a tiny tank top that didn’t cover her shoulders or arms, and a pair of small denim shorts with her Jimmy Choo heeled boots from the day before.
“All right then, what do you propose I wear?” she asked.
“This,” he said and produced a bag from behind him in the house. “Go on now and get ready.” Jesse handed her the bag and ushered her inside the house.
Amber agreed and looked around while she was inside. The way Jesse decorated his house had to be the polar opposite of the way Amber’s apartment was decorated. Instead of her minimalist, black and white furniture made from glass or metal, Jesse’s furniture looked hand-carved from wood. He had pictures of himself and other people lining the surfaces — something Amber had never indulged in. There was even a real life fireplace in the living room, and though it wasn’t roaring at the moment, Amber didn’t doubt it’s warmth. We couldn’t be more different, she thought before heading into the downstairs bathroom and changing into the clothes Jesse provided.
When she was finished, Amber emerged and looked at him with a shrug. “Well, what do you think?” she asked.
“Just one more thing,” Jesse replied as he lifted up a pair of cheap, brown leather boots. “Put these on.”
“What’s wrong with my shoes?!” Amber argued, pouting in his direction.
“Well, they’ve got cute little heels on ‘em for a start,” he began, and laughed. “Besides, I’m sure you’d be more happy ruining these cheap shoes than the fancy, designer ones you have on right now. Am I right?”
Begrudgingly, Amber nodded, and set about swapping her Jimmy Choos for the pair Jesse had bought her. Surprisingly, they were comfortable and didn’t look half bad once they were on her feet.
“Can we get started or what?”
Without answering her, Jesse placed his wide-brimmed hat on top of his head and stepped past her toward the door. “Well, are you coming or not?” He asked over his shoulder.
“That depends,” Amber began. “Are you going to get me cleaning up after horses again?”
Jesse laughed. “Not today, little lady. Let’s start off with something a little easier.” He began walking off in the direction of the fields and Amber swiftly followed behind him, not wanting to lose him.
“Do you know what one of those is?” he asked as he pointed into the distance at a small wooden structure with a door fit for a fairy more than a person. There was even a little ramp attached to it.
“Um, no?” Amber replied as she squinted at it. “A tiny house?”
Jesse laughed again. “It’s a coop. For the chickens.”
“Oh,” Amber muttered, feeling a little stupid. “That makes much more sense.”
They continued walking in silence and Jesse approached the coop to slide the door open. Soon enough, brown and white feathered chickens were pushing their way out of the small opening and they bustled around on the grass, pecking at the floor and squawking happily.
“Grab that bag over there,” Jesse called to her as he stuck his hands inside the coop and began to scoop up eggs into a basket.
Amber did as she was told and approached a sealed bag on the back porch of Jesse’s house. As soon as she lifted it up, all the chickens began to swarm toward her, clucking loudly.
“Um, Jesse, a little help?” she called, feeling her voice grow more and more high-pitched as the chickens surrounded her.
The farmer turned and smiled widely. “They just want their food, Amber.”
“Well, feed them then!” she cried, staring down at the fierce birds with fear in her eyes. “Shoo, shoo, you can’t eat me!” she told them.
Jesse scrubbed a hand over his face and tried to stifle another chuckle. “You’re holding it, little lady.”
“Oh.” Amber glanced down at the bag and took a deep breath. God, I’m a dumbass sometimes, she scolded herself before piercing the bag at the top with one of her nails. “Here you go, sweet things,” she cooed as she grabbed a handful of pellets and began to drop them on the grass around her.
The effect was instantaneous. The chickens ducked their beaks between the blades of lush, green grass and began to peck until they found what they were looking for. With a smile on her face, Amber grabbed another handful and began to toss it around the grass for the little feathered creatures.
Once she had covered a large area in a fair number of pellets, Amber placed the bag back on the porch and smiled over at Jesse. “That wasn’t so hard!” she called.
The farmer lifted the basket full of eggs and trotted over in her direction. An unreadable expression was on his face and Amber felt confused for a moment before he opened his mouth and began to talk.
“You never did explain why a girl like you would even want to come to a place like this,” Jesse said, his eyes narrowing as he looked her up and down. “I can’t imagine you’d be here by choice.”
Amber huffed and turned her nose up at him. “I did so come here by choice!” she told him in an indignant tone.
“Oh, yeah?” He said, looking unconvinced. After he deposited the eggs on the back porch, the two of them began walking to their next destination.
“You say that people from the city judge you, but it sounds like you’re judging me right now,” Amber pointed out. “Aren’t you just as bad?”
Jesse peered over at her. “Maybe I am,” he admitted and turned away again. “You still never answered me, though.”
Amber sighed. “My boss wanted someone to go to a ranch in the south to try and get ideas for the fall fashion line,” she confessed with a shrug. “Laura wants a rustic and authentic
western-type style.”
Jesse stared at her for a long time after she finished, and Amber glanced back over to try and decipher what was going on in his head, but she couldn’t. “Well…?”
Jesse smiled. “It doesn’t surprise me that you work in fashion.”
“Why? Because I’m a superficial airhead?” Amber snapped.
“Are you a superficial airhead?” Jesse retorted.
“No.”
“I never called you one, either.”
“Yeah, but you were thinking it.”
“I was not,” Jesse implored, stopping and turning to face her. His eyes were wide and his expression was genuine. Amber could feel herself getting lost in those deep blue pools and her whole body began to tingle. Then he started to speak again and looked away from her. “Anyway, we’re here.”
Amber turned her attention back to the route they were taking and looked upon the last thing she wanted to see right then: A stable.
“Oh God, no,” she groaned. “I can’t do that again.”
Jesse laughed. “Don’t you worry, little lady, you won’t be mucking out the horses today. I want you to feed them.”
“Oh, okay, that sounds… Nicer,” she admitted, and entered the stable with him.
This stable was much smaller than the one in Billy’s ranch, and held only two horses. One was a palomino mare with golden fur and a bright white mane and tail, while the other was a bay stallion with a sooty, dark brown coat and an even darker raven mane and tail. She glanced between them and admired their appearance for a moment before approaching the mare with a raised hand.
“I take it
this one is Buttercup?” Amber stated before cooing at the horse in front of her.
“Yeah. The stallion is called Nightshade,” Jesse informed her.
Amber smirked and pressed her hand to Buttercup’s snout with a bright, toothy smile. “Well, aren’t you just the most beautiful horse I’ve ever seen?” she asked the animal before stroking her soft fur. “She’s very gentle.”
“I’ve had her all her life,” Jesse explained. “Horses raised by a kind and patient owner will always be gentle.”
“Raising horses doesn’t sound easy,” Amber commented before turning away from the mare and looking over at the farmer. “Do you do it often?”
Jesse glanced around at the half empty stable with a raised eyebrow. “Does it look like I do it often?”
Amber rolled her eyes. “Well, I guess not. Why Buttercup, then?”
“I found her,” Jesse said with a shrug. “When she was just a foal, I found her lying abandoned in the forest. She couldn’t have been more than a few days old. I took care of her all by myself.”
Amber’s heart warmed at the story, and she couldn’t help but feel like she was cracking through the aloof and distant exterior Jesse so often projected. “That was a very kind thing for you to do,” she told him.
“Anyone else would have done the same thing.”
Amber scoffed. “No, they definitely would not have.”
Jesse looked over at her with narrowed eyes and a tight smile. “Anyway, I’m sure this won’t have any impact on your fashion designs. There ain’t nothing fashionable about me.”
Amber turned and looked him up and down. She noticed for the first time that Jesse was actually really attractive. He was well-built, tall, and had a tanned Adonic look about him. His eyes shone in a beautiful aqua color, reminiscent of the Saint Lawrence Seaway on a summer’s day. His light brown hair was adorably tousled underneath his hat, and Amber couldn’t help but admire his handsome, chiseled features. His clothes were a little worn and old, especially his brown plaid shirt, and he had rips in the knees of his denim jeans, no doubt from hours of hard labor. It was a sight she wouldn’t forget for a long time, and despite her recent heartbreak, Amber felt the first stirrings of lust — faint and buried deep inside her, but it was definitely there.
Straddling States: A Contemporary Ranch Cowboy Romance (Western Valley Love Book 1) Page 4
