Accepted Fate (50 page)

"Yummy, huh? It's starting to get really hot out," he purrs against my ear seductively and that's when I feel it; skin, bare and hard, rubbing up against me and transferring sweat against my shirt. Oh my heavens, he did not just take off his shirt. He cranks the engine to the tractor and it roars to life.

I turn around to confirm he is, in fact, shirtless. My throat now feels dry and I need a fan. Oh. My. Bloody. Hades. He is hot! I don't mean in the temperature sense either. He doesn't have an ounce of fat and the boots and ball cap just add the icing on the cake. His V of muscle is staring at me, beckoning me to follow the arrow into the tight, dark jeans. Do I want to follow the yellow brick road? Why yes. In fact, I do. I would love to see that Emerald City that awaits at the other side, full of bliss and pleasure.

Each time I see him like this, I feel like someone hosed me down with pheromones.
Put a cork in it, Kinzleigh. This is the wrong time and place to be turned on. You're going to meet his grandmother soon for goodness sakes.
I can feel the heat radiating from my cheeks, telling me I probably look like a tomato right now. I begin lightly slapping my cheeks in an attempt to not look so obvious.

I clear my throat, trying to feign indifference. "Hot? I didn't notice. I'm fine. Are we going to get this party started?" My voice cracks slightly towards the end.
Thank you my traitorous body. You just can't let me win for once can you?
He moves me from his right thigh to the center of his lap, brushing my rear against his manhood.
Do not think dirty thoughts, do not think dirty thoughts. Eyes on the grass ahead.

I can feel his smile spread as he brushes my hair to the side and kisses my neck. He puts it in gear and begins backing up and out into the open of the field. As he begins, I watch as he steers and shifts which causes me to wonder if it's normal that I find this sexy. Each time he turns the wheel with the palm of his hand, his biceps form into rocks and I can feel the movement of his pectorals bouncing on my back.

On the back of the tractor is an attachment that looks like a fork. I'm assuming that is the way he is going to haul the ginormous bales of hay to the various locations. He begins backing up until it slides underneath the bale and then raises the attachment just enough it doesn't drag along the ground.

Several loads later he pulls the tractor back into its parked location. I hop down off the tractor and turn to watch as he does the same. Looking around, I spot something and get an idea. There is a baseball lying against the wall. An odd place for a baseball, but I pick it up regardless.

Turning around, I toss it lightly at Breyson's chest underhanded as if it is a softball instead of a baseball. I was going to jokingly catch him off guard but my plan backfires as he catches it midair. "Oh, you're going to pay for that," he says as a smirk forms and his eyes glaze.

Eyes widening, I take off running through the field. I can hear him trampling after me. I heighten my stride through the tall grass, running as fast as my short legs will allow. Halfway through the field, I turn back to see how far back he is and he's gone. Where on earth did he go? Slowing my pace a little, I turn back in front of me and slam into him, falling backwards. I scream in surprise as he pins me down and he locks our lips, shushing me. My eyes close at the heated contact. Upon release he looks me in the eyes. "You're playing with fire baby. I'm not the best running back because of my looks. Besides, I will
always
catch you. It's about time to start remembering."

"Noted; although, you caught me a long time ago," I inform him and lock my legs around his waist, playing with the short hair on his head.       

"Good, because I'll remind you until you do. Let's go. I'm sure Pops has already told Mims to expect us." He stands as I break my hold and pulls me upright by my hand.

We walk through the field and a large house comes into view. It's a beautiful white, plantation style, house with a wraparound porch and mint green shutters. Its high roof, with double dog houses hints at an upper floor. The closer we come to the wooden door, the more nervous I become. I try to breathe out the anxiety building when Breyson stops, halting me as well. Turning to face him behind me, he pulls me to him and grasps my face in his hands. "What's wrong," I ask.

"She's going to love you. Relax baby. I don't like seeing you get worked up. I promise you have nothing to worry about." Just hearing his voice is calming me down significantly.

"Okay." He kisses me lightly and grabs my hand, interlocking our fingers. We begin walking once again.

We walk into the large door and the house is more beautiful on the inside. The ceilings are high with beams running from one end to the other. It looks like something out of a
southern living
magazine. The floors are gray and look like it's made out of 8x12 plywood versus hardwood pre-made floor planks. It's classy but country. The walls are beige and the furniture is made of cattle hide leather. The chandelier and the table side lamps look like they are made out of some type of antlers and the coffee table is glass and rot iron, stacked with various magazines.

As we walk through the living room he calls out loud for her. "Mims? Where you at?"

We begin walking towards a kitchen that is just as spotless as the rest of the house. As we come into the door, the cabinets are all the way to ceiling height and a cherry in color with a rope style edging. The appliances are stainless steel and the countertops a white marble. "Breyson? Honey is that you?" She has the sweetest voice I've ever heard. It's soft and light.

"Yeah Mims, it's me and Kinzleigh." She walks out from a door to the left of the bar. She is absolutely adorable. She isn't very tall and round in figure. She is actually probably slightly shorter than me which is less than five foot two and she has short hair, curled and teased. She has on an apron over her clothes that says
Kiss the cook
. Now that I see it, I notice the smell lingering in the air. It smells delicious; like oatmeal and peanut butter.

"Oh good son, I was waiting for you both. I'm making cookies. Are y'all hungry?" She walks closer to us and pulls Breyson in for a hug. She swats him on the butt and releases him from her hold. "Next time don't wait so long before you come and see me. I'm not getting any younger, ya know. You're not too old to bend over my knee," she says teasingly and it makes me melt.

He kisses her on the cheek. "Yes ma'am. Smells good. You know I don't turn down my favorite cookies. Mims this is Kinzleigh, my girlfriend."

She looks at me and pulls me in for a hug as well and really hugs me. A genuine hug. "It's a pleasure to meet you Kinzleigh. You have a beautiful name." She brings her voice down to a whisper outside of my ear opposite Breyson. "You must be a pretty special girl for him to bring you home honey. You're definitely the first." She pulls back and winks at me. 

"It's lovely to meet you Mrs. Abercrombie and thank you."

She waves her hand at me through the air. "Please, call me Mims. I can't remember the last time someone called me by my last name." She turns back to Breyson, whom is just standing there watching the interaction. "Sweetie, why don't you leave us girls to the kitchen? Surely you have something outside you can be doing with Pops. Kinzleigh and I can bond over fixing dinner. You'll both be staying won't you?"

Breyson looks at me, silently asking if I'm okay with him leaving me here. I nod to reassure him I'll be fine. "Okay Mims. I have to clean out the stalls for the horses." He kisses me on the cheek. "See you in a bit?"

"Sure. I'll be fine here." He grabs a cookie from the freshly made batch cooling on the counter, stuffs it in his mouth and heads back in the direction we came from earlier.

She grasps my freshly manicured nails. I'm normally a natural kind of girl, but Adalynn said girl dates didn't only consist of shopping but also the nail salon. I'm still getting used to the tips even though they are cut shorter so I can function. "I hope you don't mind getting these hands a little dirty, sweetheart. Your nails are beautiful but I would love to have your help."

"Oh absolutely. I'm not worried about messing them up; it was more of a friend's idea than mine. I may not be the best helper, though. My mom has showed me a little in the kitchen but with her crazy schedule it's not a regular seven day a week occurrence."

"Don't be silly. Every woman has to learn. Cooking is an art that has to be mastered over time. Anyone who claims to be a perfect cook is full of it. Pops has eaten his fair share of burnt or tasteless food over the years." In this moment I adore her. She doesn't look at me as the girl that comes from money or the girl that is spoiled and doesn't know how to do things for herself. She looks at me as anyone else; a clean canvas, ready to be painted. His family is one of the most humble clans of people I've ever met.

An hour later, the food is all done. I'd have to say that I'm pretty proud of myself. She taught me how to make homemade cornbread and somehow, I managed to do it without burning it. It looks like the menu is grilled pork chops, macaroni and cheese, green bean casserole and cornbread. She also made sweet tea and laughed when I crinkled my nose as she scooped the many cups of sugar into the freshly boiled tea saying, "Honey, I guess we haven't broken you into the sweet tea yet. That's okay, it's a southern thing and you're probably better off without it anyways."

She hands me a stack of plates to set the table. The size of the stack intimidates me just a little. I don't remember seeing anyone else here. As I'm placing them around the table, the door flings open and a line of males in cowboy attire walk in, taking various seats around the table.

Breyson walks in last and his face is dirty along with his clothes. The front of his hair is standing up in the front from the wet of his sweat. I have never thought sweat and dirt looked good until now. If I wasn't in a room full of people, I would run up and jump in his arms.

He walks towards the sink to wash up and someone begins talking. "Who's the fine kitchen help you have Mims?" I turn around to see a male in about his mid twenties with a smirk on his face. He has reddish brown hair peeping out of his hat and brown eyes. His skin is of an olive complexion with a red hue. I may not know much about boys, but I know that look and I wish he would stop before Breyson does something crazy. He trails his eyes down my body.

"Tex, this is Kinzleigh, Breyson's girlfriend." Tex? That's a rather strange name. Mims walks over beside me pointing to where I sit which is right across from him. Great. "Kinzleigh, this is Tex. He's our hand from Texas, hints the name."

He is really making me uncomfortable and I begin fiddling with my hands. "Breyson huh? What you doing messing around with boys? A girl like you needs a real man." He's cocky and already he's grinding my nerves. This is the kind of guy I always stayed away from; for good reason. They're nothing but trouble. Moving through women like tee shirts. I used to watch friends get all bent out of shape over guys like this because they gave them a little attention and a few compliments to get them in bed and then acted as if they didn't exist or became cruel to rid of them, leaving a bruised ego and tears behind.

"Knock it off Tex." A pair of arms I recognize snake around my waist. "Don't let him bother you," he whispers but not that quietly. "He can only get girls by being an ass hat. It's the only thing he has going for him."

The guy begins clenching his jaw and moves forward slightly as if he's about to plunge at Breyson over the table. "You better be lucky I have some manners or we'd take this outside."

"Don't threaten me Tex unless you're prepared to back it up. I'm tired of your cocky attitude towards everyone." Breyson stands up straight as if he's waiting for the challenge.

"Sit down boys. Not on my property. Both of you know I don't condone fighting. Tex, you're one of the best hands I've got; don't make me fire you over stupidity." Pops takes a place at the head of the table and everyone else is already seated. Breyson goes around the table introducing me to each person before finally sitting down himself.

The rest of dinner went by pretty uneventful. I realized I do like southern food, all except the sweet tea. It was horrible. I don't know how anyone drinks that stuff. I felt like I could go into a diabetic coma with one sip. I politely asked for water and everyone laughed after my reaction.

We're standing at the door ready to leave and Breyson's grandparents both hug me tightly. "You make him bring you back, you hear?" Mims releases me and cups my face. "You can't get him to bring you, just give me a call and I'll come get you myself." She winks and releases me. "I could use a trip out of this house anyways."

Pops comes to stand beside her and places his arm around her shoulder. "I have a feeling we'll be seeing her more, honey. Isn't that right son?" He looks at Breyson and his smile is broad, causing Breyson to nod happily in response as he takes hold of my hand. His grandparents are so cute together. It gives the world hope that there are actually happy endings.

We pull into my driveway and the lights are on, signaling my parents are home. "Want to come in," I ask as he comes to a stop.

"I would baby but I'm filthy. Can I just call you later? I promised Braxton some bro time. He's been riding me lately. Seems someone has taken up all my time in the recent months past," he says with a smile that makes my heart flutter.

"Okay." He reaches across the truck and he trails his thumb across my bottom lip before he pulls me towards him. Closing his eyes, he kisses me. My whole body stills and I'm taken to my happy place; the place where thought escapes me. The place where nothing in the world exists for the time his lips are pressed to mine. No bad, no ugly; just the beautiful dancing of his tongue with mine.

He breaks free. "It doesn't mean I won't miss you though. Every time I'm away, my heart longs for yours. One day Kinzleigh, we won't be separated by houses. Take it how you want, but the day will come. I love you beautiful girl."