Alex“Oh my god! Seriously! What the hell are you doing?” I wanted to say so much more. I wanted to wring the neck of the kid that had been riding my last nerve. I wanted to kick rocks and punch a bale of hay. I hated feeling so angry, but I couldn’t shake it. The anger left a bitter taste in my mouth and a burning fire in my belly.The young ranch hand looked up from what he was doing. “Uh, I’m putting gas in the chainsaw.”I closed my eyes. “No! That is not the gas for the chainsaw. Did you not read the can? That is gas.”He looked at the can and then back at me. “I know.”I threw my hands into the air and shouted. “No. No. No! That one. The one that says ‘chainsaw mix’!”“Oh, I’m sorry,” he mumbled, quickly capping the first can and going for the second.I shook my head, muttering under my breath as I stomped back to the other two kids that were hooking up the trailer to the truck. I had taken a job close to home on a ranch. I didn’t typically take ranch jobs, but this one paid wel
AlexI needed to talk to her. I didn’t want to talk about Damion, but I needed a friend in general.“Are you actually taking a lunch break?” Sadie asked, sliding into the booth.“No.”“Rawr!” she said with a laugh. “Someone is seriously cranky.”“I’m not cranky,” I pouted.“Why are you here? You never take a lunch when you’re working.”I sighed. “No, I don’t. But I’m not working. Not anymore.”“What does that mean? Are you off for the day?”“I’m off for many days, until I get another job. If I get another job. At this point, I’m not sure I want one.”“What happened?” she asked.“I quit.”Her eyes went wide. “No, you didn’t.”“I did. He didn’t like the way I talked to his precious little boys. He wants to coddle them. I don’t coddle. Period. His money isn’t worth that much to me. So, I quit.”She was shaking her head. “I cannot believe you quit. Are you sure you didn’t just say you were taking a long lunch?”“I’m very sure.”“Girl, you are in a very dark, dark place right now.”“I’m ma
DamionI tapped my fingers against the steering wheel. Traffic was at a standstill. It was always at a standstill. It was fucking New York City. I had only been gone less than two months and I had forgotten what a bitch it was to drive in the city. I couldn’t hop in the car and hit the open road. I hopped in the car and waited, barely moving an inch at a time. It was beyond irritating.I glanced in the mirror. Oliver’s attention was on his tablet. He was still not talking to me. He wasn’t ignoring me, but he wasn’t exactly in the mood for conversation. It had been that way for weeks. It was getting old. It amazed me that a five-year-old had the fortitude to hold such a serious grudge. He was taking his anger very seriously.“Are you excited to see your new friends?” I asked.“They’re not my friends,” he answered without looking up from the tablet.“They will be your friends. Friendships happen over time. You hang out a little every day, and pretty soon, you’re friends.”“I had a frien
Damion“You’re a puppet. You don’t have an original thought in your head. You do whatever the boss man says. He’s got his hand up your ass, making all the decisions. Pussy.”I stared at him. In the back of my mind, I could hear my grandfather in my ear. I thought back to the last time I had seen him. I had been in a very similar situation. I had been in the process of being insulted by another disgruntled employee. I remembered the look of disgust and disappointment on his face. I had embarrassed him by not standing up for myself then.I wasn’t going to make that mistake again. “Get out,” I said, my voice low.“No.”“Get out, or I will throw you out.”“You can’t throw me out.”I jumped up from my seat and towered over the punk, still sitting. That wiped the smirk off his face. I had no problem using my considerable size to intimidate him. “Get up or I will do it for you.”He got to his feet, his chin raised as he glared at me. “You can’t touch me. I’ll have your ass thrown in jail fas
AlexI shouldn’t have been so hasty. I had quit the job before really thinking it through. I had been hotheaded and walked off without thinking about the consequences. I had sullied my reputation. I was hoping I could overcome a little black spot on what was a solid reputation. I wasn’t going to make excuses if a potential client asked me about the situation.I felt a little bad for my behavior, but I wasn’t about to grovel and ask for my job back. I didn’t want it. I didn’t want to work with kids. I worked best alone. Or with adults that had a clue. There were other jobs. I just had to muster up the energy to actually want one. I didn’t. I wasn’t ready to deal with people.But being in the house was driving me crazy. I was bored out of my skull. I had nothing to do. The house was clean. All the laundry that had been piled up for years was put away or thrown out. There was nothing that needed my attention. Nothing. I had spent the bulk of my life feeling like I didn’t have enough time
Alex“I’ll keep that in mind. So, what have you been doing back in Montana?”I sighed. “Not a lot.”“Did you reconnect with your man?”“Oh, Wayne,” I groaned.“That doesn’t sound good.”“It’s fine—”His laughter came through the phone. “Fine. That word. I won’t pry. I’m here if you need an ear to bend.”“Thank you. I do appreciate that. It really is okay. I think I’m going to go for a drive.”“All right. Take care of yourself.”“I will, Wayne. Thank you for calling.”We ended the call, and once again, I was plunged into silence. I closed my eyes. I probably should have taken him up on his offer. I could get up, go to Wyoming, and leave Montana behind. All of it. It was what I should have done long ago. I couldn’t come up with a good reason for sticking around. A fresh start in a new place where no one knew me was very appealing.I got up from the couch, walking around the tiny house, pacing like a caged animal. I wanted an excuse to check on the farm. I had heard through the grapevine
DamionIt felt good to be back. I was exhausted, but it didn’t matter. We had touched down last night, rented a truck, and were home. Home for good. I didn’t know what the future held in store for me, but being home was the first step in the right direction. Since we had left with only a few suitcases, the rest of our things were still in the house. I had returned the car, breaking my lease and not caring about the cost.The horses were back. We were back and I was ready to get started living, like truly living. I knew it wasn’t going to be a cakewalk. There would still be shit to deal with, but it would be in much smaller chunks. I didn’t have an exit strategy, which would force me to deal with that shit instead of getting up and leaving. I had burned my bridges in New York.There was no going back.“You good?” I asked Oliver, who was sitting in the rocking chair beside mine on the porch.He looked over at me, a huge grin on his face. “I’m good.”I laughed. “Do you feel happy?”He no
DamionI knocked again. I could hear movement beyond the door and knew she realized it was me. “Alex. Alex, can we talk?”I waited. Nothing. I shook my head. She was going to make it difficult. I leaned my forehead against the door. “Alex, please. Open up. I need to talk to you.”I heard a noise. It sounded like the door locking. She was making sure I didn’t bust in. It was a pretty clear signal that she was not going to invite me in and she was certainly not going to come outside so we could talk. If I wanted to say what I came to say, it was going to be through the door. Not exactly the scene I had envisioned, but I would take what I could get.I turned around, leaning my shoulders and head against the door, the warm sun beating down on me as I collected my thoughts. Everything was riding on what I said next. I wanted to take a few seconds to mull it over. I wouldn’t likely get another chance.“I’m sorry,” I started. “I shouldn’t have walked away. I was angry with myself. I realized