luck that I saw Jessa leaving the ranch and going into town. It's clear she didn't see me, but I made the split decision to follow her, wanting to make sure she was all right.
I knew her first stop would be the diner to get a cup of coffee. She's a creature of habit, and this time, like usual, she doesn’t vary her routine. After I park in the bar’s lot, I sit in my truck, and watch through the diner’s windows. I can see her talking to Jo and getting her coffee.
Once she leaves the diner, she appears to be in a better mood. Thankfully, there was no sign of that asshole ranch hand anywhere near her. She heads into the pharmacy next, and I wonder what she's getting there. If it wasn't such a small town, I would follow her in and find out, but there's no way I could get in under the radar here in Rock Springs.
This might be stalker behavior, but I justify it as making sure she's safe. I know Alex would want to make sure that she was protected.
I wish I could say that this was the first time I've watched her from a distance, but it's not. When she was living in Dallas, I would go into the city about once a month just to put my eyes on her and make sure she was okay. Most of the time, I'd watch her leave work and head home. But every once in a while, she would go out with friends, and I would watch her every move to make sure she got home okay.
Even though I would see her and know she was safe, it wouldn’t be enough. It was like an addiction. I needed to have my eyes on her more and more often. When I heard she was moving back to the ranch, I was relieved because I knew she would be safe there. At least, I thought so before I saw how Mark was talking to her. I trust my gut, and my gut says something is off there.
Once she left the pharmacy, she gets in her truck, but didn't leave right away. Instead, she just sits there, and I wonder if maybe she got a phone call. I'm itching to know who she is talking to. Who has her attention?
When my phone dings, I almost ignore it because I don't want to take my eyes off of her. But quickly glancing down at my phone, I see the text is from her. I’m so surprised I almost drop my phone.
After reading the text several times, I’m smiling like a complete fool, because she said that it was good to see me.
Fuck, do I have it bad. Before I have time to respond, she's pulling out of the parking spot. Being careful to keep enough distance between us, I follow her. Once I realize she's heading back to the ranch, I pull over on the side of the road and wait just a little bit, not wanting to get in too close to the same time she’ll pull in.
But when I get there, I'm surprised to see she's still sitting in her truck. At least she smiles when she sees me and gets out.
"Hey, what are you doing here?" she asks, greeting me once I pull up.
"I'm here to help out. It was a good thing you sent that text because I was already on my way," I joke with her.
Then I reach into her back seat and grab the bags that I know she stashed there before I turn and follow her towards the house.
When her smile grows even bigger, my heart skips a beat. It's easy to fool myself into thinking that she's happy because she wants me here. In reality, she's probably just relieved to have some help.
"Well, come on in. I just got back from town picking up Vicki's anti-nausea medication and running a few errands."
"We have a guest," she calls out as she walks into the house. We meet up with her brother in the kitchen and it's clear there's tension there.
I'll have to ask her about it later because Alex greets me with a huge smile."Couldn't stay away, huh?" He jokes but still gives me a hug.
"I think it's the fresh air. It’s addicting. Plus, I know you guys could use some help and I've got free time." I tell him honestly.
Her relief at my words is pretty obvious on Jess's face. Though there's some strain on Alex's, which is not exactly the response I expected.
"Well, I'm going to go out to the barn," Jessa says.
"Let me go with you, and you can show me around and help me get the hang of things again," I say before turning to Alex. "We'll catch up at dinner."
"All right, I'm really glad you're here, man," Alex says.
As I follow Jessa out the back door towards the barn, we catch up.
"Not much has changed since we were kids," she says.
I used to hang out on the ranch with them all the time, so much so that their dad put me to work on my own set of chores when I was here. Like everyone else, I started out mucking out stalls. I may not admit it to many people, but I absolutely loved it.
"Do you remember how to groom a horse?" she asks as we enter the barn.
"Yes, I'm pretty sure it's seared into my memory," I joke with a smile.
Shaking her head at me, she says, "Well, you take these first three horses and get them groomed. I'll work on these three at the end of the row." Then she proceeds to show me where everything's stored. It’s pretty much in the same place.
One of the advantages of us working together in the barn is I've got a direct view of her. Also, I’m keeping an eye on Mark every time Mark walks by her. I don't mind the nasty looks he gives me, but the ones where he's leering at her almost have me lunging at him.
"Make sure you muck out their stalls before you put them back," he says to us.
"Actually, the rule is that the lowest man on the totem pole has that job. While you may be head ranch hand right now, but standing in the barn with the two of us, you are the lowest ranking man. We both grew up on this ranch, and I know the rules. She's your boss. So, get to mucking unless you have someone else who can do it." I stand to my full six feet four inches in height, towering over him by a good five inches.
He stares me down for a minute, neither of us saying anything. He takes a few steps backward. "I'll send Randy in to do it," he says, walking out of the barn. When he's gone, I look over at Jessa, who has smile lighting up her face.
"Thank you. When I tried this morning to talk to Alex about the way he was talking to me, it only ended up with the fight. He told me that we're all under a bunch of stress and I should just let it go, but I'm still not okay with it."
"There's absolutely no way you should let that go. It's complete disrespect. I won't let him talk to you like that as long as I'm around, and I will say something to your brother." But I can’t help but wonder why Alex isn't sticking up for her.
"Thanks, I know he's more inclined to listen to you anyway. Well, at least right now," she says. A man, who I assume is Randy, walks in and goes straight to one of the empty stalls to clean it out.
After watching what just happened, I know it's a good thing I decided to come when I did. It looks like Jessa needs me more than I realized.