Janey
“Breakfast.”
I look over my shoulder to find Alex behind me.
I was just stripping out of my coveralls at the back of my truck, and loading everything up.
It was a good morning, difficult, but with the best possible outcome. Thank God for all the help, otherwise it could’ve ended up with a totally different result. Everyone stepped up, but I was particularly impressed with JD, and not just because of that smooth, sculpted chest he was flashing.
As if his good looks weren’t intimidating enough, that chest only emphasized it. Not only do I suspect he is years too young for me, but I know for a fact he’s well out of my league in the looks department.
Still, when he announced we needed to talk, I folded like a cheap suit instead of telling him where to shove it. Then he stalked out of the barn, leaving me standing there like an idiot. So I quickly washed up, and rushed to pack up my things, hoping to be out of here before he returned.
“I can’t,” I tell Alex.
“Yeah, you can. You haven’t even had the coffee I brought into the barn. Besides, Ama will have a shit fit if you take off before eating something.”
“I have clinic this morning,” I insist.
“Then grab something for on the go. It’ll take you five minutes.”
The walk-in clinic opened an hour ago, five minutes won’t make a big difference.
“Okay. I’ll drive the truck over.”
Since my business here is usually at the barn, I park my truck there and not by the house. In fact, I don’t think I’ve actually ever been inside the house. The outside is beautiful—all natural stone and wood—so I imagine the inside will be spectacular as well.
I pull the truck into an empty spot next to JD’s old pickup and walk up to the porch, where Alex is waiting for me. She leads the way into the house, where the smell of bacon and fresh coffee greet me. We walk through a hallway, past a set of stairs leading up to a large, open kitchen. The entire back of the house is one open living space, with a large dining space in front of massive picture windows in the middle, and a comfortable seating area with a big stone fireplace on the far side.
Ama glances up when we walk in and points her spatula at a seat at the huge kitchen island.
“Sit.”
She is not someone to mess with, from what I understand. I’ve been told she’s waved the scepter at the ranch house since long before Alex came along, even though she doesn’t live here. At the time, I guess it was just Jonas and his men living here, but over the years more women came along, as they all seemed to have found their significant others.
Now there are only a couple of single men left, one of whom is sitting at the dining table, reading a newspaper over breakfast; Thomas Harvey, Alex’s father-in-law. I wave at him as I take my seat.
“How do you take your coffee?” Ama asks, her tone begging no argument.
“Cream and sugar, please,” I return politely.
I mumble, “Thank you,” when she sets a large mug in front of me.
I feel Alex’s eyes on me and when I glance over, the older woman wears a little smirk on her face. I’m sure she knew exactly what she was doing when she invited me in. From what I’ve seen from a distance, Ama is a little intimidating, and I don’t really want to get on her bad side. Therefore, I don’t argue when she piles a plate high with waffles, scrambled eggs, home fries, and bacon, and slides it in front of me.
“Eat up.”
“Ma, she’s not a dog,” I hear a familiar voice snap behind me.
“No, but she works as hard as you boys do and needs her fuel just the same. She just doesn’t have someone looking out for her like you do.”
Undeterred by his mother’s stern expression, JD rounds the kitchen island and bends down to kiss her cheek. His thick, short black hair is wet and he’s wearing a clean shirt. Looks like he had a quick shower. I could probably use one too, but mine’s going to have to wait.
Ama waves her spatula again. “Sit,” she orders him, and he complies with a grin, taking the stool next to mine. In no time he has a hot coffee and a steaming plate of food in front of him too.
“Well, don’t let it get cold.”
Right.
I dig in and, having worked up a healthy appetite, manage to finish about three-quarters of what had been piled on my plate. But the five minutes I was going to spend have already turned into twenty, and I really need to get back to the clinic.
“This was delicious. Thank you. But I really should get going,” I announce, resolutely getting to my feet.
I grab my mug and plate, and carry them over to the sink.
“See how easy that is?” I hear Ama say.
When I turn around, I see she has her eyes fixed on her son, who is grinning at her with a mouthful of food, but wisely keeps it shut.
“These boys,” she continues with a headshake. “And I bet you left the wet towels on the bathroom floor as well. I already pity the woman who decides to take you on.”
“Don’t worry, Ma. For the right woman I may even put my dirty socks in the hamper.”
Alex snickers, and I don’t know why I’m suddenly blushing like a schoolgirl, but I’m instantly in a rush to get out of here.
“Thanks again. Have a good day.” I throw in an awkward little wave and beeline it to the front door.
I barely make it to my truck when I hear heavy boots coming down the porch steps after me.
“I thought we were going to talk?” JD points out as he catches up with me.
“I have to get back to the clinic. I probably have a waiting room full.”
I’m already climbing in behind the wheel, but he’s holding on to my door.
“Okay, but I’d still like to talk to you,” he insists. “How about dinner?”
“I don’t know if I’ll have time,” I sputter.
He snorts. “You’re gonna have to eat at some point. I’ll pick you up at seven.”
This is not a good idea, Janey.
But I’m so eager to get out of here, when I open my mouth, “Fine,” comes shooting out.
As an afterthought, I add, “Unless I’m called out.”
He leans in, fixing those dark, brooding eyes on me.
“See you at seven.”
JD
“Nice.”
The quarter horse Jonas backs out of the trailer is a beauty; dapple gray with a white mane and tail. He carries both his tail and his head high, dancing on his feet as he takes in his new surroundings.
“Yeah, he’s a looker,” Jonas confirms. “Spirited too, and already a big boy, even though he still has a good year—maybe two—before he’s done growing.”
Based on that, I’m guessing he’s two and a half, at most, three years old. Horses are generally at full height at between four to five years of age.
Sully takes the lead from Jonas and starts walking the new stallion—who dances sideways alongside him—to the stables.
“He’ll make some pretty babies,” I observe.
“Let’s hope he produces,” my boss states. “I want Doc over here checking him out as soon as possible.”
“Doc was just here this morning. Sunny went into labor and the foal was stuck backward.”
At Jonas’s look of concern, I immediately clarify, “Both are fine, but it took some doing. They’re both still in one of the birthing stalls. The mare had a prolapse Doc managed to get back in place, but she was gonna check in again in the morning.”
Jonas nods. “Call her. See if she can have a look at the new load then too.” He points at the large trailer. “Picked up a couple of draft-quarter crosses, solid trail horses. Help me unload them?”
Most of the team’s horses are that crossbreed, mainly because they’re strong, sure-footed, and reliable, all of which are traits we need when we’re out in the field. We want to be able to keep our focus on what’s around us, rather than on trying to keep our horse controlled. Sure, it’s fun from time to time to ride one with a bit more spunk, more spirit, but for work strong and steady does the job.
“We’ll put these guys in the small paddock behind the barn for now.”
By the time we’ve unloaded the three horses, and I’ve made sure they have some fresh hay and a filled water trough, it’s already closing in on six thirty. I need to get home and grab another quick shower before I go pick up Janey.
“Taking off without dinner?”
Ma is just helping Thomas inside from his rocker on the porch when she catches me heading for my truck.
“I’ll grab something. See you tomorrow,” I quickly add as I jump behind the wheel.
If I don’t get out of here right now, I know Ma will give me the third degree. As it is, I can see her watching me back out of my spot, her eyes narrowed in speculation. The woman has a sixth sense, she always knows when something is up. I never could lie worth shit to her, she always found a way to pick the truth out of me. She can be relentless.
As is evident two minutes later, when I pull onto the road and my phone notifies me I have a message. A quick glance shows it’s Ma.
Don’t forget your sister is visiting this weekend, in case you were hoping to make other plans.
Like I could’ve forgotten, she’s been reminding me Una is coming up from California at least once a day for weeks. Ma doesn’t know I probably talk to my sister more than she does, and I’d like to keep it that way.
Una is a little over four years younger than me. Growing up, I took my role as her protector pretty seriously, it was engrained by my father I had to look out for her. But that ended up taking on a different meaning than what he’d intended as we got older.
Una had a turbulent adolescence, facing off with my more traditional parents—especially Ma—constantly. My sister was struggling with her identity, something I’d become aware of, but our parents were oblivious to. Things became so strained between my parents and sister, that the moment she graduated high school, she packed her stuff and hit the road.
She landed in California where she ended up becoming a wildland firefighter with the CCC, the California Conservation Corps. She’s stationed out of San Luis Obispo and, from what I can gather, is happy there.
She rarely comes home though, maybe once or twice a year, and my parents have never been to visit her. I carefully suggested it a few times to both Una and our parents, but was shut down quickly with one excuse or another. They’re civil to each other, but it’s like they’re still locked in a standoff, with Ma and Una equally stubborn.
Unfortunately, I know for Una it’s more than stubbornness keeping her away, but it’s not my story to tell and a secret I’ll take to my grave. Still, I’m not keen on being stuck in the middle, which is what it feels like on those rare occasions my family is together.
The moment I pull up to my trailer, I force thoughts of my family out of my head, and focus on getting cleaned up in record time.
With barely a minute to spare, I walk up to the door of the modest, single-story house set back from the road. I’ve been here before when Doc Evans was still living here, but I never realized how isolated this property is. Janey has a few neighbors, but they’re not exactly within shouting distance since the house and clinic sit on a couple of acres. It’s not like she can easily hop off her porch and knock on a neighbor’s door for help. I should ask her about security.
But when I hear her footsteps approach, and the door opens to reveal Janey, every noble thought dissipates, only to be replaced with mostly indecent ones. It’s the hair; dark and shiny, hanging loose in generous waves skimming her shoulders. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her without braids or a ponytail, and I immediately want to sink my hands in those thick tresses.
The jean jacket and cowboy boots are familiar, but the blue floral, flowy sundress underneath is also very different. Unexpected and very feminine, yet still Janey. She looks gorgeous. I’d like to think she dressed up for me, but I haven’t seen that much of her outside of work, so I wouldn’t really know if this is more the norm than the exception. Either way, I’m glad I thought to put on my dark jeans, good boots, and a navy dress shirt.
“Ready?” I ask when I’m finally able to peel my tongue off the roof of my mouth.
“Sure, let me grab my keys.”
I notice her purse is a small, crossbody bag the size of a wallet, which can’t house more than her phone, maybe a tube of lip balm, and now her house keys. She’s clearly not a fussy woman, which suits me just fine.
As I open the passenger side door of my truck for her, she turns to face me.
“So where are we going?”
Fuck.
Maybe I should’ve planned this better.