“So, you’re in school?” I ask, thinking about how I’m so glad to be done with classes. Only clinical hours left, and then taking my certification for my license.
“Yeah, I guess that’s what you’d call it. I’m taking a couple of classes to keep my brothers off my ass, but between me and you.” She looks up and we lock eyes. I give her a nod, telling her she can trust me. “I haven’t signed up for next semester. I don’t want to be in school. I want to do what I’ve wanted to do my entire life, work the farm and raise a family like my ma did.”
I smile, thinking she’s a lot like Fernanda. I can get that. If it’s what she wants, it’s what she should do. My sister is beyond happy and I wouldn’t take that away from her for anything in the whole world. “My sister was the same way. When we were growing up, I had big dreams of leaving home and working. Wanting to go to school and then have a career. My sister was the complete opposite. She fell in love with her husband at sixteen, and as soon as they could get married they did. Then they started making babies, and she’s the happiest I’ve ever seen her. She’s an incredible mother.”
Dolly sighs and puts her chin in her hands. “That sounds wonderful. I just need to convince my soon-to-be-baby daddy that he’s the one.” I think it sounds wonderful, too. I never thought that I could have both those things, a family of my own and my work but being here with Blake has me thinking differently. Maybe I could have both. Have it all. It all seems too good to be true.
“Baby daddy?” I ask, smiling. Wonder what her brothers would think of her using that term. I also wonder who this man is.
“Yeah, he doesn’t know it yet. But he’ll come around.” She winks at me and goes back to cooking.
I pull out some ingredients I need for homemade tortillas and get to work. We’re making Tex-Mex buffet-style so we can all pick what we want. It’s an easy meal, one Dolly and I seem to know by heart, so we work well in the kitchen together. It reminds me of home and makes me feel at ease.
I felt it all day with Blake. The peace of the land and being beside him. Something about this place seems magical. I’ve never felt so calm and at home in a place I’d never been before. Seeing him out on his land and showing me the place, it was like I was meant to come here. I could see how much he cared about his animals and how easily he trusted me with them. It’s as if I’ve been working towards this place all along. It’s all new, yet so familiar. I have dreamed about this a thousand times, and recently he’s started to appear in the dreams, too. How is it possible that it’s all coming true so fast?
“So you and Blake?” Dolly asks, pulling me from my thoughts.
“I’m working here until I get my farm hours.” I shrug noncommittally. I don’t want to jinx it. It’s so new and I don’t have it fully in my grasp yet. I could lose it at any moment. The thought makes a rock sit deep in my stomach. “Once that’s over, I’ll see about working out this way full time. Blake told me that your family has a lot of land and a need for a vet out this way.”
“We sure do. Ty has the most animals, but Blake seems to get the sick and injured ones the most. I think that man has a soft spot for the more delicate ones.”
Warmth spreads in my chest. I’ve seen how tender and sweet he can be. But there is an undercurrent of strength there, too. I catch it every now and then when he looks at me. I get a sense he’s holding something back, and I’m curious to see what would happen if that full intensity was unleashed. Has it ever been before?
“I’ve got dairy cows on my land. I’m a sucker for their big brown eyes. Think Blake might be, too.” She winks at me, and I can feel myself blush.
We talk about movies and books, and I find myself laughing with Dolly. We have a lot in common with our trashy romance tastes, and when she puts on some music, we start dancing as we cook in the kitchen. It’s a happy place here, and I’m falling more in love every second.
“Hey, we should go dancing in town. There’s a place with a live band and it’s a lot of fun. We could have a girls’ night.”
“That sounds like fun,” I say. I can’t remember the last time I went out for a girls’ night. If ever. If my sister and I ever went anywhere special, it was always something with the kids. Whenever she got free time she spent it with her husband, which I totally got. I’d want that too if I was married to Blake. The thought hits me hard, almost taking the breath from my lungs. It’s too overwhelming, so I push it aside.
“How about tomorrow night?” Dolly asks excitedly.
I get the feeling she is as starved for girly fun as I am. Living with my family, I never got to cut loose a lot, and I was always so focused on school I never took the time to party. This might be exactly what I need.
“I’m in,” I say, and we clink our tea glasses together. It sounds like a lot of fun. Maybe I can pull some more stuff about her brother from her.
We’re getting out our plates and making our food when the front door bangs open. We both turn and see Blake nearly running in, almost out of breath.
“Jesus, dude, did you run all the way home?” Dolly asks in surprise.
“No,” he says, looking over to me. “Just hungry is all.”
“Is everything okay?” I ask, wondering if his brother is okay.
“Don’t know. He was acting strange when I went to the door, and then he wouldn’t let me inside. It was weird, but I didn’t push it. I said I’d check on him again tomorrow, and he seemed even more mad about that. I finally left after he threatened to throw me off his land. It’s not like him, but he didn’t look hurt or anything.”
“That’s odd,” Dolly mumbles around a mouth full of food as she studies Blake.
I fix Blake a plate, and we sit down together at the table. He scoots his chair as close to me as possible. So close we are touching. But I don’t complain. I like having him with me. I keep telling myself that this can’t be real. No way is this guy so perfect and trying to give me his attention. Maybe he likes to flirt with everyone. I wasn’t in town long enough to hear any kind of talk about him, but I bet if I asked the right people next time I went in, I could find out some things. They may be things I don’t want to hear, but I may need to hear them right now. Before I get in way over my head.
Hell, who am I kidding. I’m already starting to fall for this guy.
“Time to go, Dolly,” Blake says after we finish eating and he’s cleaned up the dishes. I helped him as Dolly was picking at what was left of the food.
“Fine,” she huffs as she grabs her bag and heads to the front door. “See you tomorrow, Luciana,” she throws over her shoulder before shutting the door behind her.
“Why is she coming back tomorrow?” Blake asks, then shakes his head. “Why am I even asking? It’s probably to eat.”
I laugh, but decide not to tell him about our planned night out. I don’t know why, but I feel like it’s kind of our secret. Girls’ night with no boys allowed. It feels fun and sneaky.
After the kitchen is cleaned up, I have to stifle a yawn with the back of my hand. Blake watches me, then laces his fingers with mine, leading me down the hallway.
When we get to my bedroom, he leans against the doorframe as I step in. This moment feels so intimate, like he’s walking me home after a date. I guess in a way, he is.
“So I’ll see you in the morning?” I say, then I feel dumb. Of course I’ll see him in the morning. This is his house.
“As soon as the sun comes up.” He reaches out and brushes a stray lock of hair from my cheek, and for a moment I think he’s going to lean in and kiss me.
But to my disappointment he takes his hand away and steps back.
I don’t want this to be over. I know we are just a door apart, but I still don’t want to break this moment.
“Sleep sweet, Lucy.”
As he closes the door, I fall back on my bed and put my hands over my face. I’ve never wanted a man to grab me up and kiss me so bad in my life.
I lie there for what feels like forever. Sleep doesn’t come as my
mind churns with thoughts of Blake and this day. I’ve never had a more perfect day in my life. I’m scared if I close my eyes I’ll wake up and this will all have been a dream.
I toss and turn to no avail. Giving up on sleep, I pull myself from the bed and open my bedroom door to see Blake standing there. His eyes widen with surprise.
“I was just going to check on you,” he tells me, making me smile. I’ve been noticing he’s always worried about me. It’s nice to be someone’s sole focus. It’s different.
“Couldn’t sleep,” I admit.
He grabs my hand, pulling me from my doorway and down the hall and into the kitchen. He lifts me up, taking me by surprise as he sits me on the counter. Then he starts pulling stuff from the fridge and cupboard.
“My ma used to make this for me when I couldn’t sleep,” he tells me, taking the cup he prepared from the microwave. “It’s pretty much the only thing I know how to cook being as I don’t sleep that well. My mind doesn’t want to shut off when it gets going about things.”
I take the cup from his hand and bring it to my lips. A warm caramel taste fills my mouth.
“Wow. That’s wonderful.”