“Let’s get you something to drink. What’s your poison? Water, tea, lemonade or soda?”
“Tea please, sweet, no lemon.”
“Tea it is,” he grabs me a glass and carries it expertly back into the barn where his friends are waiting.
“Thank you,” I say, sitting down at the table after everyone scooches over to make room. “Everything looks so good, I’m not sure where to start.”
“The corn muffin,” Ava suggests. “They’re amazing!”
“So I hear!” I look at Matt who is still standing.
I grab the muffin and take a bite. I have to admit, it is one of the most delicious muffins I’ve ever had.
“It is …” I look around. “Amazing!”
Everyone laughs and I’m feeling even more at ease. Matt sits down next to me and I feel almost protected by his presence.
A few minutes into my feast, a beautiful blond comes over to the table.
“Hi, I’m Amanda,” she says, taking a seat next to Matt and making us all scoot even more together. “You must be the new girl I’ve been hearing so much about. Your parents bought the Shaker ranch right?”
“The Shaker Ranch?” I ask, wondering how she could hear about me since I just arrived yesterday.
“Once someone’s been living here a while, the land they’ve been on becomes known by their name. Like this will always be the Brooks Ranch because my family’s lived here for several generations,” Matt explains.
“Matt’s family has lived here for a long time,” Amanda informs me. “How many generations of Brooks have owned this land?”
Matt brushes the question off. “Six? Seven?”
“Matt has had his foot on every acre.”
“Wow,” I smile. “What do you do with all of this land?”
“Most of it is left wild, but we have certain areas sectioned off where we rotated the herds to give the other areas a rest for regrowth.”
“Are you in school?”
“I go to the community college to take some business courses like accounting and such. I’ll finish my four-year degree online. It’s important to my mother. But I have always planned on being a rancher, just like my father.”
“Is it hard work? Ranching?”
“It’s demanding work, but when you love something like I love this land and the animals and people, it hardly seems like I should call it work.”
“I understand,” I smile. “When I’m designing a home, it hardly seems like work at all. I love designing and building things.”
“Maybe one day you’ll design your dream home,” he smiles.
“That would be wonderful,” I smile back.
“I hope I get to see it.”
I feel at ease around Matt and I can also feel a seed of attraction to him. Unfortunately, that’s all it will ever be. Despite how nice he seems and genuine, I’ve been down that road before. Someone who seems so perfect and nice on the outside, turns into a monster once they have you in their grasp.
No.
Not again.
I’d rather be alone than go through that experience a second time.
My thoughts lead me down a path that terrifies me. Everything suddenly feels closed in and I’m having trouble breathing.
“Is something wrong?” he asks.
I stand up and excuse myself.
“I’m sorry,” I say, taking my half-eaten plate of food with me, stumbling and spilling the contents on the floor. Embarrassment floods my cheeks red and I apologize again. “I’m so, so sorry.”
My heart pounds and I feel as though I may collapse at any moment. I can barely breathe.
“It’s okay,” they all assure me, looking at me with concern etched on all their faces. They probably think I’m crazy or weird. Or both. My need to get away turns to panic.
“I need to find my parents,” I stammer. “I need to go home.”
I turn around, but not before hearing one of the girls ask Matt, “What did you say to her?” and his response, “I’m not sure.” Then one of the guys, “She’s as nervous as a new colt.”
Tears burn my eyes as I make my way through the crowd. I pull out my phone and frantically wait for my mother to answer.
“Faith?”
“I need to go,” I cry. “Now.”
Thankfully, my mother finds me quickly. She’s with Ava and Matt’s mom along with several other women. They all have concerned looks on their faces.
“What happened? Are you okay?”
“I need to go home,” I say, tears now flowing freely down my cheeks. “I just need to go home.”
Matt
“What’s got you so excited today?” I ask my younger sister who is bouncing off the walls with energy. “I know you’re usually more than ready for one of mama’s big parties, but today you seem extra excited.”
“That’s because I am big brother,” Ava twirls around me.
“Is this because Caleb and I came back early from our ride and you’ll get to see him tonight?”
“Nope!” she beams at me. “But I am excited you came back early, and I’ll get to see him tonight.”
“Then what’s got you so …” I gesture with my hands to indicate her extraness.
“You’ll see,” was all she would comment.
“Okay,” I comment, heading to my room.
“Watcha wearing tonight?”
“Excuse me?”
“You should wear your dark blue jeans and that white cotton shirt I gave you for your birthday.”
“Why?”
Ava just continues to have that “I’ve got a secret” look on her face and shrugs her shoulders.
“You look handsome in it,” she smiles. “Can’t I want my big brother to look good for one of the biggest parties of the year?”
I raise an eyebrow.
“What are you up to? You’re not trying to matchmake again are you, because the last time you did this it was a disaster.”
She just giggles, goes up on tiptoes and gave me a kiss on my cheek before prancing down the hall.
Shaking my head, I head to my bathroom and turn on the shower as hot as it will go. If Ava’s got matchmaking on her mind tonight, I’m afraid of what awaits me later this evening.
Two hours later we’re headed down to the barn past the tables being loaded up with all kinds of delicious-looking food.
“I’m glad you took my advice and wore that white shirt. I like your new hat too.”
“You’re not trying to get me back with Amanda are you?”
I try and stifle my laugh when she screws up her face as though she’s just smelled a skunk.
“Never. I wouldn’t have said this while you were with her, but I didn’t really care for Amanda.”
“I could tell,” I inform her.
“How?”
“Your face says everything Ava. Everything!”
She playfully punches my arm as we arrive at the barn where our parents are giving final instructions to the people helping out tonight.
“You look handsome,” my mother comments.
“Told you,” Ava grins.
“Ava’s got something up her sleeve,” I comment. “But she won’t tell me what it is.”
My mother eyes Ava suspiciously, before smiling.
“I think I know what she’s up to … and I approve!”
“Well now you’re in real trouble,” my father laughs. “If the two of them are in cahoots, your fate is sealed son.”
I eye both of them warily.
“I think the first of our guests are starting to arrive,” my mother says. I follow her gaze and see the cars and trucks are starting to stream in.
“This is going to be one of the biggest parties you’ve ever thrown, Mama,” Ava comments and runs toward the porch. She’s looking for someone, that much is clear. But who?