Hidden Falls (2 page)

“
Some
of us don’t
do early mornings, ‘kay? We can’t all be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed with the
sun.” She walked over to the office door and unlocked it.  She flipped the
lights on and went inside, planting her gorgeous cheeks in Betty’s leather
chair.  The thought of Betty brought me up short.  As I looked at Katy I
couldn’t help but imagine it was Betty sitting there.  I could see it so
clearly in my mind: her sun-weathered face drawn down in concentration and her
hands continuously messing with her silver hair. 

In that moment my heart
broke again.  I had kept my pain inside since she died, never bothering to let
it loose on the world.  I knew what my pain was capable of producing and it was
never good.  For anyone involved.  I tried to shake the feeling off, determined
to put the heart-ache away yet again.  There was work to be done and I couldn’t
let painful memories drag me down.

I walked into the office
and stood in front of the desk.  “You know, I’m not going to muck out those
stalls by myself.  Why don’t you grab a pitch fork and make yourself useful?”

Her honey brown eyes
slowly rose to meet mine and in that moment I knew I was in trouble.  “Roxie
asked me to make sure the delivery of hay for the horses came in today.  So
that’s what I’m doing.  You wanna go play in poo? Go right ahead. I’ll be right
here, in the air conditioning.”

I shook off her attitude
and squared my shoulders.  I refused to let her get to me, no matter how hard she
glared at me.  No matter how much contempt shone through.  “Fine.  But once
you’re done, you better come help me. I ain’t gonna do all this by myself for
the entire two weeks woman.”

I turned and left her
there, her mouth hanging open.  I wouldn’t give her the option of responding. 
Besides, I could feel the front of my jeans becoming uncomfortably tight as we
argued.  Her feisty attitude had always been a turn on, but this time I
couldn’t enjoy it.  This time I had to ignore her and do my job.  I couldn’t
let Roxie down.  She was going through enough right now, what with her parents
being in town.  Chase had told me that things had been rough since they showed
up for graduation, but I had a feeling he wasn’t telling me the whole story. 

I knew that it was none of
my business, but I was dying to know what would happen next.  I had a feeling
that Roxie’s parents would try to take her back to New York but, would she end
up letting them?  The one member of her family that tied her to this place was
gone.  I couldn’t help but wonder if her love for my brother was enough to keep
her here for the long haul.  If it wasn’t, then God help Chase’s soul.  His
whole life was sure to crumble.

Chapter Three

Katy

That’s right Brian, walk
away.  Gah! He makes me so mad sometimes!  That flippant attitude would drive
me to drink, if I was legal.  And that damn nickname! How many times do I have
to tell him that I’m no kitty! If I was, I would be a lion, dammit!  I watched
as he walked out of the office, the sway of his hips hypnotizing. 

Wait. What was I doing? 
Was I seriously checking out his backside? Frustrated, I got up and walked to
the office door.  I peeked out, finding him in the closest stall working, and
then slammed the door shut.  I leaned back against the wood, my breath coming
in rapid spurts.  What was wrong with me?  This was Brian, Chase’s little
brother.  The epitome of pain in the ass. 

I shook my head, desperate
to shake off the icky feeling that was coursing through my body.  I stalked
back to the desk and sat down, my eyes landing on the framed picture on the
desk.  The ornate silver frame had been a gift from Chase and Brian last year
for Betty’s birthday.  Inside, taken from what seemed like a million years ago,
was a picture of Betty with her arms around Roxie.  They were both smiling as
if they had no cares in the world. 

I could still remember the
day it was taken.  It was two weeks after Roxie discovered that Betty had
cancer.  They had both been so determined at that point.  They kept repeating
the same mantra: Nothing will make us stop living, not even cancer.  It was
their affirmation for each day.  For me, it had been a constant reminder of the
inevitable.  For them, it was their shining light.  Their only hope.  I envied
them both then.  They were so strong, both of them determined to live life to
its fullest.

With Betty gone, the farm
didn’t seem to hold the same feeling as it once had.  The workers that Betty
hired so many years ago had all left.  Roxie told me that they couldn’t stay,
that the memory of Betty haunted them each day.  I wanted to slap each and
every one of them.  Did they not realize what Roxie was going through? No, they
only focused on what
they
were feeling.  She tried to act as if it
didn’t bother her, but I knew it had.  She had no idea what she was doing,
running the farm, but she was determined to make a go of it.

Now, with her parents
here, I feared the worst.  No one spoke about it, but it was there, in the back
of our minds.  Would she stay?  Would her parents drag her back, kicking and
screaming?  She was 18 now, but if they pulled the financial plug, she would be
in trouble.  The farm was never a real money maker, but it allowed Betty to
live a comfortable life. 

The ringing of the phone
pulled me from my thoughts.  I picked it up and placed it against my ear. 
“This is Katy.”

“Hey, has Brian made it
there yet?” Chase.  Of course it was Chase.  He was always checking up on his
brother, even though he was officially a grown man.

“He’s in the stalls. 
What’s up?” I leaned back in the chair, easing my feet up on the corner of the
desk. 

“Just wanted to make sure
he didn’t bail.  He...umm...yeah.  Okay, gotta go!”

I shook my head and placed
the phone back on its cradle.  I walked over to the door, prepared to pull it
open, when I heard Brian’s voice through the door.  He sounded like he was
talking to someone, obviously on the phone since we were the only ones in the
barn.  I was immediately intrigued.  I had always been nosey, but this took the
cake.

I cracked the door enough
to let his voice filter through.  Irritation thick in his voice, Brian all but growled
into the phone, “Back off, Chase.  Let me handle my own problems.  I’ll talk to
her when I’m good and damn ready!”

I leaned away from the
opening and gently closed the door again.  I couldn’t contain my curiosity.  Who
were they talking about?  Obviously he was having problems with some girl and
Chase was harping on him, like usual.    I wanted to walk out there and find
out who he was talking about, but I knew it wasn’t my place to do so.  Brian
and I had never been close, at least not like Chase and I were.  Even though we
were closer in age, we were complete opposites.  Plus, he didn’t make my blood
boil in a good way like Chase had. 

When I saw the delivery
truck full of hay pull into the yard, I moved to leave the office.  I had to
meet them to check out the inventory before it was unloaded, so I grabbed the
clipboard from the wall before I walked out door.  Once outside I was met with spectacle
that would make any woman sit up and beg.  There, clad in jean overalls,
looking like the epitome of sex-on-a-stick, stood Skylar Wells.

“Well, well, if it isn’t
Kitty Kat in the flesh,” he said with a charming grin.  I swear the temperature
went up a couple of degree because I practically melted right there in the
grass.

“Hey Sky.  How’s it
going?” I tried to be nonchalant, but the unmistakable quiver in my voice
couldn’t be hidden. 

“Same shit different day,
I guess,” he shrugged.  “I’ve got a delivery for Roxie Lynn.  Is she here?”

“Nope, just me.  I’m
handling things for her for the next few weeks.”

“So that means I’ll get to
see that gorgeous smile every other day?  I think I can live with that,” he
replied, his perfectly straight teeth a dazzling shade of white.  If I stared
at them any longer I would have go blind!

I giggled in response,
unsure what to say to something like that.  No one had ever said
anything
about me was gorgeous.  This was a first.  I couldn’t hide the cat-swallowed-the-canary
grin on my face either.  For the first time since I agreed to help on the farm,
I thought I might enjoy being here.

Chapter Four

Brian

Watching Katy flirting
with Skylar was definitely not the high point of my day.  Her smile said it
all.  She liked him, probably more than she liked me.  Well, that was stupid,
‘cause I already knew she didn’t like me.  At least, not in the same way that I
like her.  I swear, if it wasn’t for my raging hormones I would swear off women
altogether. 

Chase got lucky.  He took
a big risk when he fell for Roxie, but no one can say they aren’t perfect for
each other.  And he keeps reminding me of this. Every. Single. Damn.  Day.  I
mean, I get it.  Katy was way too good for me, but I had known that since the
day I met her.  It didn’t stop my heart from falling for her.

Feeling a wave of
protectiveness, I stalked outside into the blinding sun.  I met Skylar’s eyes
and watched as a glint of anger passed through them.  I wanted to laugh right
there in his face, but when Katy turned to look at me, I could tell it was a
bad idea.  The look on her face was one of disappointment and regret.  I hadn’t
meant to interrupt a moment between them...okay, maybe I had.  But couldn’t she
see that she was too good for that idiot? Besides, half the town had been in
his bed. 

“Everything okay, Brian?”
she asked, her eyes pleading me to turn around and walk away.  I couldn’t do
that.  Even if I wanted to, my body was on auto-pilot.  I walked over to her
and threw my arm around her shoulder, pulling her flush against my side.

“Everything’s great. Just
wanted to check on the delivery,” I replied with a smile.  The corners of her
mouth turned down in a frown, but I couldn’t be persuaded to stop yet.  I
turned to Skylar, my eyes hard as steel.  “Shouldn’t you be unloading that
already?”

“Yeah. I was just about to
do that,” he said.  He turned his attention back to Katy with a 1000-watt
smile. “I guess I’ll see you in a couple of days.  Unless,” he looked at me
briefly before facing her again.  “Would you be interested in going out
sometime?  Maybe Friday night?”

That rat bastard!  I was
standing right there and yet he asked her out anyway?  I looked down at Katy’s
face and found a look of pure happiness there.  “She’s got plans,” I said.  I
turned my stony stare back on Skylar, but felt Katy pull away at the same time.

“Plans? No, I don’t,” she
said.  “I would love to Sky.  Let me give you my number.”  She proceeded to
write her number on a slip of paper and hand it to him, her smile firmly in
place.  Beneath that smile, I knew there was a storm raging.  When he finally
left I would be getting an ear full.  But it was worth it. 

I watched as he walked
back to the truck and began unloading the hay.  I avoided looking Katy in the
eye, knowing good and damn well that she was about to rip my ass a new one. 
When she grabbed the front of my shirt and started pulling, I couldn’t help the
laughter that bubbled up, escaping my lips.

She stopped and faced me,
her hands firmly placed on her hips.  “Are you out of your freaking mind
Brian?  What was that about?” she asked, pointing towards Skylar’s truck.

“I don’t know what you’re
talking ‘bout,” I replied with a smile. 

“Don’t play dumb with me. 
Are you trying to screw this up for me?”

“Do you really want me to
answer that?” I asked with a sneer.  Her face made me falter.  She was genuinely
confused and angry.  “I was just having some fun with him, geez Kitty.”

Her eyes flared, a look of
disgust flaring across her tanned face.  “Dammit Brian!  Grow up already.” She
stomped away, her boots kicking up the dry dirt as she made her way back to the
barn doors.  I watched her, my eyes drifting from the top of her head to her
dust covered boots.  At that moment I wanted to slap myself.  In my attempt to
get her away from Skylar, I had pushed her even further away from me. 

I’ve always been a screw
up, but the one thing in this world that I knew was women.  They had always
fallen at my feet, completely endeared by my gruff nature and smart mouth. 
Now, the one time that I actually cared about a woman, she was completely
turned off by my charm.  Katy was one of those girls that, while beautiful, she
was subtle.  She didn’t flaunt her beauty and most of the time she had no idea
how delicious she actually looked.  Like today.

I made my way back into
the barn, my eyes wandering to the office.  The door was closed again, but
seeing it this time was like a punch to the gut.  She was shutting me out in
more than one way.  In that moment I wanted to put my fist through a wall.  I
wanted to mangle something, or someone.  I thought back to Skylar’s smug face
and felt my blood boil again.  He was the one I was really mad at, but if I
wanted any kind of future with Katy I had to keep my hands to myself.