Arrogant

CLAY

I arrived at the house and grabbed the hay from the back of my truck. Emily grabbed the small bag of chicken feed and carried it towards their chicken coop.

The horses haven’t had hay in days, and today they deserved to get spoiled. As I approached the pen with the small block on my shoulders, the horses trotted towards the fence, looking excited about their treat. 

“Easy, my friends. I’m here to get you the best of Jimmy’s. He even says hi to you all,” I said as I untied the string from the block and spread it all around the pen. I sat on the fence to watch them eat, taking a deep breath and enjoying the fresh afternoon breeze.

“They love that hay, Daddy, and I love seeing them eat it,” Emily said, climbing the fence to sit on it. I ruffled her hair and kissed her little hand.

Suddenly, I was lost in thoughts, and the first image on my mind was her. Not only because she was beautiful, but I think I have seen her somewhere, and I couldn’t put my finger on it.

Maybe I can put it into her, but that would be highly inappropriate. 

Taking another deep breath, I could hear two cars approaching the house, and it was strange since no one had come around this place from the moment it got boarded up, except for Katherine, who would stop by now and then to see the house.  

I hopped off the fence and closed the horse pen, making my way towards the vehicles. One was instantly recognizable. It was Katherine in her blue Beetle, and the other one was that black Porsche. I now knew who it was, that beauty from town. 

Was she really going to buy this house? She will be highly disappointed when she sees it. 

“Hello, Clay. This is Vanessa Harper. She went to Hallie’s to buy the house,” she said with a big smile on her face. Vanessa Harper, I haven’t heard that name before, but she still looked so familiar. 

“Vanessa, let me introduce you to Clay Steele. He is the town handyman, and he comes up here to take care of the beautiful horses over there. I hope you don’t mind having them here. We will take them out of the property soon.”

“Take them out of the property? What happened to try to convince the new owner to keep them here? I will take care of them every morning. She won’t even have to move a single finger,” I said, having those naughty thoughts again.

She pulled her sunglasses down and studied me, biting her lips.

“Nice to see you again, Mr. Steele,” she said, walking past me and heading towards the house.

“This house certainly doesn’t look like the one in the picture. Is that why it was so cheap? You should have warned me about its current condition, Mrs. Bale.” She frowned.

I sent Emily to the truck. I didn’t want her to be involved in this sure to be dramatic episode.

“I would appreciate it if you showed some respect to Katherine. She’s trying to sell this house as fast as she can. With a little fixing, it can come back to life for you.”

“And who is going to fix it, you?” She asked.

Her arrogant attitude was getting on my nerves. Maybe because it disappointed her to see the house like this, or was she this rude and annoying?

“I will fix it all for you, Mrs. Harper,” I said, irritated.

“Oh, and the horses, yeah, it’s a good idea that they leave the property. I don’t want mud all over the grass or the whole place smelling like them.” She mentioned, looking at them with longing. 

She was lying. Something was telling me she liked them. Shaking her head, she kept exploring the house. She looked around the outside, and I could see by her face that she was not happy about it. 

“Would you show me the inside of the house, please? I just hope it’s not worse than what it is on the outside.” 

I took the board off the door, and Katherine put the key inside. As I looked at her, I could see a tear falling down her cheek, making me wipe it with my thumb. 

“Don’t worry, beautiful. There’s always a way to bring people like her down from their high horses. Don’t cry, okay?” I whispered, kissing her head. I tried to comfort her as I looked at the woman standing in front of me. She didn’t have an ounce of shame. 

One thing came to my mind, she was hiding pain and frustration, but I doubted she was a bad person. At least she was not showing it back in town. I could be wrong about her.

Katherine finally opened the door and walked inside, being followed by Vanessa and me. She stood by the side, trying to hide how hurt she was, her cheeks red in embarrassment. This house was her treasure, and the only thing she hoped for was someone to love it and care for it as much as she still does. 

Vanessa was looking around, and she was right; the house was worse on the inside, but there was nothing that couldn’t be fixed; Plumbing maybe, electricity definitely, and some painting would make it look like new. I will do that for her. Well, not for her, for Katherine.

“Do you know the penalty for false advertisement and ripping people off?” She asked rudely, folding her arms on her chest as she turned around to face us. Her hazel eyes were pulling me in, and I tried so hard not to stare at her.

“I just wanted my house to be sold fast. Clay here will help with anything that needs to be fixed. He will be available for you when you need him. At any time.”

I leaned down to whisper in her ear.

“I won’t be available to spoil her, if that’s what you mean, Kat. There are other clients in town that need jobs done in their homes, and also, my daughter needs me there. I can’t stop my fatherly duties for this arrogant woman.”

“Nonsense. They don’t need you too often, Clay. You have had no business in a while except for the plumbing in Mark and Lacey’s house. Besides, you can stay away from Lucy too, so that is a bonus. And I will take care of Emily in the meantime. Or she can even help you. You know she loves doing that,” she replied; no more tears were falling from her eyes as she patted my cheek with a smile.

I didn’t have any choice but to take a deep breath and stay quiet. But this woman would not insult Katherine, not in my presence.

“Well, I could sue you for this…” there she goes. I was about to open my mouth when, “but I won’t, just because you promise me that your friend here will get everything done.”

That’s more like it. 

“But, that doesn’t mean I’m happy with the whole situation. I barely have any money left, and this might cost me a fortune.”

There it is again.

And… I just remembered where I had seen her. She is Vanessa Donovan, ex-wife of the billionaire Alex Donovan. Strange to see her here and with no money at all. He must have kept everything to himself. 

“Don’t worry, the stores here can open a tab for you, and you can pay bit by bit when you find a job. Does that work for you?” Katherine asked. Vanessa nodded, turning back around to inspect the house. 

This was going to be a long afternoon, and I was not looking forward to it. I didn’t know how I would deal with Vanessa Donovan or Harper, whatever her last name is.

But one thing I was sure about, we would humble her in no time. She would see this is not the place where she can get spoiled.

The reality was going to hit her hard. When she realizes she has to work hard for everything, she has. No more rich man, no more fancy parties. Just mud and grass, maybe some horses to go with it. 

Oh, this should be fun.