Chapter 29
Waking up, I hear the tractor going in the distance and several people laughing and talking. What time is it? I peek at the clock and can hardly believe that it is almost noon. I never sleep this late. Feeling a little upset with myself, I jump up and start to throw on some old clothes when I realize I’m good in the clothes from last night. Pausing, I glance at my phone and see the text has been read but there’s no response. My heart sinks a little, but it’s time to help Daddy on the farm and I can’t wait.
Stopping by the guest room, Jake is nowhere to be found. Walking to the kitchen, Mama has brunch ready for me since I missed breakfast.
“Hey, suga! I saved you some, but you better be glad I did. Those men ate like a house full of teenage boys. I don’t know what I would’ve done with a house full of those!”
Shaking my head, I take the plate, eat, and talk to Mama about everything.
“Mama, I don’t know what to do.”
“Belle, sweet girl. Let me tell you. Be careful whatever you do, but know that if you choose Jake, things will never be the same with Chase. He’s always loved you. Beau will always support you, but it’s been hard on him. He wants out, and I want to help him, but I have no clue how.”
“Mama, I have Beau covered,” she looks at me confused. “I haven’t told him yet, but if I headline, he’s going to work for me doing my sets.”
“Can you decide that or does the label?”
“Not sure, but I’m going to make it happen. It will open so many doors for him. Mama, I was really mean to him last night, though. Jake called us five-year-olds.”
Mama laughs as she sets her coffee cup back down. “Y’all will always be that way.”
“So, where is everyone?”
Mama points to the window and I see Daddy, Beau, and Jake out in the field working together. I smile as I finish my food and then walk outside.
“Somebody could’ve woken me, ya know? Someone needs to show you how to really do work on a farm,” I tell Jake who is standing there in a pair of worn-out jeans and cutoff t-shirt that he must have borrowed from Beau. Man, who thought my brother’s clothes could look that good?
“I think someone needed to rest up after a long night on the tire swing,” Beau says, and I cut my eyes at him and mouth for him to be quiet.
Jake looks at me inquisitively, “You don’t want to know.”
Shaking it off, he goes back to working and I join right in. After a couple of hours, we are all beat, and Mama has an afternoon snack ready. We go in, take a piece of the fresh Parker’s peach pie, a glass of sweet tea, and enjoy it on the front porch before going to finish one more task for Daddy.
“Hey, Jake. I gotta go check the fence out by the creek. You wanna go?” He gives me another curious look and smirks.
“Yeah, I wanna go.”
Loading up the Gator, we take anything we might need to repair a loose post or wire. It’s an easy fix, especially with both of us working.
“Man, it’s hot out here,” he says, wiping sweat from his brow.
“Wanna go for a swim?” I wink.
“I thought you’d never ask,” he says as he takes off his shirt and tosses it onto the Gator before removing his jeans. I know exactly what I’m about to do, but I decide to keep his curiosity piqued as we head down to the creek.
Once we are there, I kick off my shoes, unbutton my shorts, and shimmy out of them while keeping one eye on Jake. Yeah, that was the right move. Then I pull my tank top over my head and toss it onto the pile on the ground before jumping in.
As I surface, I’m met by another splash and automatically dragged underwater in one swift motion. When I reach the top, I find Jake with eyes full of heat.
“Belle, why’d you have to do that? Are you tryin’ to kill me? I’m tryin’ to be a good boy.”
“Well now, who said I wanted a good boy?” Disappearing under the water, I swim toward the rock island in the middle of the creek.
As I begin to crawl up the rock, Jake comes up behind me and pulls me back into the water. Falling backwards, I land right in his arms. He turns me around, pushes me up against the rock, and takes control like any good man would, but never crosses the point of no return.
Jake
Pushing her up against that rock, I look into her eyes which are pleading for me to take things further, and I do exactly that. I take her lips in mine and kiss her roughly, and her body reacts to mine. I push her to the brink. Tiptoeing around crossing that line, I remain on the right side of it because I know that if I want to follow through with my plans, I can't cross it. It's a very thin line, but she's got to realize who is meant for her.
“Jake, please.”
Kissing her neck, her head falls back and I take my time with her, but never moving past second base. Funny thing is if this was yesterday, I’d have loved to hit a home run with her.
Slowing our rhythm, I can’t get her too worked up or I might have a change of heart. “Belle, as much as I want to, we need to slow down. This isn’t the place to worship you from head to toe.”
She bites her lower lip and nods in agreement and I kiss those perfectly plump lips one more time.
Taking a few minutes to relax, I pull her in for a hug and kiss the top of her forehead.
“I guess we better get back. We’ve got a big night ahead of us tonight. I can only imagine what Mark’s got planned.”
“More like what Laurel and Chase have planned. You know they are the ones behind it,” I assure her but know there is so much more going to happen tonight.
“I know, but that’s why I love them. They love me for me,” she says with a smile and a sparkle in her eyes, and I know I'm right.
Climbing out of the creek, she puts her clothes back on before we walk to the Gator and I do the same.
“I really hate that this is gonna end tomorrow,” I say as sadness runs across her face.
“Whatcha mean?”
“I just mean all of this,” pointing to the farm. “This has been the best break I’ve ever had…ever.” Placing her hand on my cheek, I see the look in her eyes. The one that says she’s not sure, but she wishes she was. Regardless, she removes the space between us and places her lips on mine and her arms around my neck. When I pull away, I start to laugh.
“What’s so funny?”
“You know we aren’t gonna get anything done on tour now. We can’t keep ourselves off each other.”
“That’s not a bad thing,” she says, making her way to the driver’s seat. “Come on, music god. We’ve got places to go and people to sing our hearts to.”