Drifting into Darkness (10 page)

“Yep,” she called over her shoulder with a wave.

With no other reason to wait, I climbed onto the four-wheeler and headed to the stables. The heat was almost at its peak of the day and I could feel it all over my exposed skin as I rode down the trail. I didn’t think about the need to wear sunblock, but I’d stop on the way home to pick some up. I didn’t want to get sunburned and then have to deal with it being in the sun every day. I’m sure that would be painful and I didn’t want to find out.

I pulled up to the stables and stopped the four-wheeler next to Landon’s truck. Even though the wind felt great, my shirt was again sticking to my back with sweat.

When I got into the stables, I walked directly to the little office Lisa had showed me to get a Gatorade. I had been drinking water since I got here, but I needed the electrolytes so I wouldn’t feel drained in all this heat.

I looked around the office and noticed that everything looked exactly as it did the day before. Maybe they used this office for something? I had no idea, but it definitely needed a deep cleaning.

I walked out of the office ready to find Landon so I could get this pooper scooper business over with. The quicker it got done, the quicker I’d get out of there. Except, Landon was nowhere to be found. I walked the full length of the stable and I couldn’t find him. Then I walked outside to see if he was there, but he wasn’t.
How the hell am I supposed to get this done if I don’t know exactly what I’m supposed to be doing?

I kicked at the dirt causing a plume of dust to rise up and headed back into the stables. There was no way I was looking everywhere for him in this heat. Spotting a stool a few feet away from the office door, I sat down and waited.

I wiped my hand down my face and stared at the dirt. At times, I felt like my life was moving in fast forward. There I was in a new state, a new house, new job, making new friends. I missed Erin, even though I was still pissed at her. Not even pissed at her, it was more like extremely hurt. I felt stupid and blind, like I must have seen what was going on right in front of me, but I didn’t. She knew all along and didn’t clue me in. It felt like she was sitting on the sidelines watching me burn from a distance just waiting for the other shoe to fall. Who does that? I tried to put myself in her position. Would I tell her if the same thing happened to her? I could see how she thought her actions were justifiable, but I would never wait around while she was there looking like a fool. And oh what a fool I was!

I told myself I wouldn’t think about it again, but this was six years of my life, just gone.

I shook my head at myself and laughed quietly as I wiped at my eyes where tears had formed.
Seriously, do men ever feel this way?
Sitting around in a stable thinking about a past love with the smell of shit in the air. I was thinking…no. That made me laugh harder. I really needed to get my shit together.

Speaking of shit, where the hell was Landon? I’d been sitting here for at least fifteen minutes.

That’s when I heard a truck door slam and loud talking ensue.

I sat there and waited for someone to walk in, but nobody made an appearance. I could still hear whoever it was just outside the stables, two different voices and an argument. I needed to make my presence known, so I walked toward the opening on the other side of the stables.

The voices got louder and I could tell that one was Landon, but I wasn’t sure who the other person was until he solved that puzzle for me.

“Son,” Mr. Johnson said exasperated, “you have to understand why you are needed here. I built this empire so my children could take it over. Not for you to frolic around and try to bed every woman under the age of thirty in a forty mile radius. Your attitude needs to change and your priorities need to be straightened.”

“My priorities need to be straightened? Really, Dad, that’s rich coming from you. You of all people have to understand why I need to leave.” Landon let out a heavy breath and continued. “One day I’m just going to pack and do it.”

Footsteps started my way and startled me out of my spying location. I scurried away from the opening as quietly as I could.

“Landon,” Mr. Johnson called, causing the footsteps to halt. “The past can’t be changed. You need to get out of your car fantasyland and take responsibility. Think about your family. I understand why you
think
you need to leave, but this is exactly where you
need
to be,” he said in a sympathetic tone.

I heard the truck door close and the footsteps continue, rounding into the stables. I’d already made it halfway in so I stopped and leaned against one of the stall doors, thankful that the latch was locked, and tried to look as casual as possible as Landon stormed in.

By the look on his face as he walked in, I could tell he was pissed. Maybe not so much pissed as confused. Sad? I had no idea. I wasn’t even sure why I was trying to analyze his facial expression. Then his eyes locked onto mine as he finally noticed me standing there.

He was definitely pissed. “How long have you been here?” he said a little too harshly.

I lifted up my arm and looked at my imaginary watch. “Well, I’d say about twenty minutes give or take. But who’s counting.” I gave him a fake smile and waited. I knew he’d have a reply by the way he had replied to me earlier. So, I was surprised when he ignored me completely and walked right past me. He was probably one of those guys who held their anger in, which was never a good thing. That shit could blow up at any time.

I watched as he walked to the other end of the stable and pulled the latch up on one of the stalls. He disappeared inside while I stood there not knowing what I was supposed to be doing.
Did he want me to follow him?

That’s when his head popped out. “You coming?” He sounded irritated, like he had better things to do than be around me for the next hour, but I had news for him. Being around him wasn’t turning out to be a day in the park. I was sure he wasn’t used to girls giving him a piece of his own medicine, but I wasn’t about to put up with any shit.

Walking to the stall, I decided the best idea was that I wouldn’t speak to him again unless it was necessary. There was obviously something going on with him, or at least, that’s what I gathered from that conversation I overheard. So, even though I didn’t seem like his favorite person I didn’t want to make it worse. And I was definitely smart-ass enough to make it worse.

I walked into the stall to see the poop can, the rake, and the shovel waiting. I also noticed a pair of gloves, which I was happy about, I didn’t want to get calluses all over my hands.

Landon stood with his hands on his hips, as I looked everything over. “So, this doesn’t take a scientist to figure out,” he said, mimicking my sarcastic tone. “Rake everything, including the straw, into a pile. Then use the shovel to dump it into the can. When you’re done you need to go out back and fill the wheelbarrow with hay to replace what you scooped up,” he gestured toward the ground. “Then repeat that for every stall.”

Every stall? There were eight stalls. I wanted to huff and sigh, but I kept it in. I wasn’t going to complain. I was getting paid to clean up horseshit and it didn’t really smell that bad; it mostly smelled like hay with a side of shit. “Okay,” I nodded, “that doesn’t sound too bad.”

He turned, sidestepping the horse droppings and then stopped just as he was about to walk out of the stall, casting his eyes on me. “If you need me,” he said pointedly, “I’ll be in the office making phone calls.” He left without another word, leaving me to focus on the task at hand.

It only took me about five minutes to rake the hay into a pile, but I knew the challenging part was scooping it all up and getting it into the can. Setting the rake aside I picked up the shovel that looked like it’d seen better days and started scooping it up. It really wasn’t that hard. I was optimistic that it wouldn’t take too long. That is, until I dug the shovel in to get a big scoop and the shovel part snapped off, leaving me standing there with a stick. “Oh, shit!”

Landon ran into the stall, stopping when he saw me holding a stick with no shovel. “What the hell happened?” he asked me, voice filled with accusation.

My eyes widened at his tone. “Nothing, I was just…it just fell off.” I pointed to the shovel stuck in the poop. “It just broke off.” He looked at the shovel, and then to me, shaking his head.

I could see his jaw tensing like he was mulling something over. He walked over to me and rudely snatched the stick out of my hand. I gasped at the forcefulness. He was seriously being a dick. I looked him over and could tell he was seething, the furrowed brow, the ticking in his cheek, the way he was standing. This guy had some serious issues.

“Excuse me, Mr. Rude. I would have handed it over to you. You didn’t have to snatch it from me.” I crossed my arms over my chest.

He ignored my comment. “I can’t fix it. It cracked off. You’ll either have to use what is there or do it by hand, with your gloves.”

“What?” I screeched.

“What is it that you aren’t comprehending?”

“Are you telling me you only have one shovel on the entire farm?” He had to be kidding. Part of me had a feeling he was doing this just to get under my skin. And it was working.

“That’s what it sounds like, doesn’t it?” I swear there was a hint of a smile again, which only made me want to lash out at him. “So, like I said. Either use what you have,” he pointed to the shovel, “or use your hands.” That made me want to gag and I’m sure my face showed my disgust. “It’s your choice, city girl. It’s got to be done either way.”

I tried to hold my tongue, but I couldn’t. “Firstly,” I said, holding my hand up, “I don’t appreciate your attitude. Secondly, I have a name. Use it. Thirdly, I’ll get the job done.” I could feel my face burning with my irritation. “I didn’t call you for help. I’m sure I’ll manage to get the job done one way or another. You can go on and do whatever it is you were doing, but make sure to take some Midol; it helps with PMS. Your mood swings are out of control today or is this just how you normally behave?” I stood with my arms crossed over my chest again and chastised myself
again
for talking like that to the boss’s son. I had a feeling this would happen often and I was sure he could have me fired. It would be sad to be fired on my first day, but I didn’t need this job if this was how it would be every day.

Without a word, he turned and walked off. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to work with a guy like him. But then again, my mom would just tell me that this was preparing me for work out in the real world.

Letting out a defeated sigh, I bent down and picked up the shovel. This was definitely going to take me longer. The smile I had inside from knowing that this task wouldn’t take me long was replaced with dread. This would definitely take longer than expected and my back would be feeling it tomorrow.

Seven

Groaning, I rolled over out of my warm cocoon to turn off my screeching alarm. My mother had been right. Hard labor was not my thing. Even after soaking in the tub last night, my lower back was still killing me. Muscles I didn’t know I had were aching. It took me almost two hours to clean up all those stalls yesterday, with no help from Landon. I wasn’t sure what the hell he was doing in that office for two hours, but he didn’t come out to see if I needed help.

I knocked on the office door to let him know I was done, but I didn’t wait around to see if he had heard me. I finished that particular job, so I left. At that point, if there was something else I needed to do, I wasn’t even sure I could have done it. I was that worn out. I hopped onto the four-wheeler and rode back to the front office where I was greeted with Nan’s warm smile. I only had an hour left to work, so I found Lisa and finished out the day bagging the rest of the corn.

When I got home, I went straight to the shower to wash the dirt and grime off my body. I would have stayed in there for an hour or more, but I was starving after all that work. I had used all the energy I got from lunch shoveling all those stalls. I’d have to bring protein bars with me so I didn’t feel so drained.

Mom greeted me in the kitchen when I went to the main house. She asked me about my first day and I told her all about it. I surprised myself by even telling her about Landon. She suggested that maybe he was just having a bad day, that being in the heat does that to people. I was leaning more toward him just being an ass, but her suggestion made sense too. I ate a second lunch and took a nap in the living room while mom did whatever it was she did all day. I woke up when my dad got home and we ate dinner together while I told my father about the farm. He seemed genuinely happy that I found a job and that I opted to work on a farm rather than try to find a job at the mall. I wasn’t sure what he was trying to imply, but I thought best to just leave it alone. I spent the rest of the night at my place, soaking in the tub and fell asleep in bed watching TV. I didn’t get to call Erin like I wanted to, so I’d have to make the effort to try and call her after work.

I really didn’t want to get out of bed for another day of labor, but I was sure they all said that when their alarm went off at five thirty in the morning.

Walking like an old woman, I made it to the bathroom and took a long hot shower. Being somewhat presentable was not in the cards today. Old ripped khaki shorts, and plain white t-shirt, with my hair in a messy bun was all they were getting from me. It even hurt to lift my arms to brush my hair. It was sad that I was aching so much. I was twenty years old and had nonexistent muscle mass, but I was sure that would change by the end of the summer.

After grabbing my coffee, a spare change of clothes, and some Ibuprofen for my aching muscles, I left for another day working on the farm.

I pulled up with two minutes to spare. Nan was in her rocker with a cup of coffee, looking as she did the day before.

“Good Morning,” I said softly as I passed by her to clock in.