Chapter 3: Warning - Males Approaching

Two days later, I finish cleaning house and look back into the living room. Memories fill every corner with love; the hobbyhorse, the old chest with my treasures, the wooden rocking chair that Dad made for me. I wonder if the people from Boston will see our place like I do. Full of old, but good furniture, roomy and comfortable. Ignoring the twinges in my heart, I head outside to clean the stable.

I pull on rubber boots and gloves and grab the pitchfork and wheelbarrow. My boots squish in horse manure mixed with pee. Beyond gross. Horse manure isn’t so bad when it’s dry. Just digested grass, grain and alfalfa that don’t smell. It’s great for manure fights with Dad, kinda’ like throwing lightweight snowballs. When it is wet with pee, ugh. I start raking. An hour of shoveling later, my clothes are ready for the washer. I pull hay out of my hair, imagining I look like Frankenstein’s bride.

I hear unfamiliar whistling. Kong growls deep in his throat. The sun highlights three dark figures standing in the open stable doors.

“You in here, Win?”

David is early.

I can’t be seen looking like this in front of strangers. I wish Jac were here. She’s the only person I know who can do barn duty and never get dirty. She could have sidetracked these guys. What good is having a best friend if she’s on vacation when you need her?

“Win?” asks David again.

Throwing down the pitchfork, I leap into a pile of hay to hide. The pointy strands of hay stab like needles through my shirt and into my skin. I moan quietly and hear footsteps.

“Nice view, Win. You’ve grown a bit,” David says, laughing.

I stop wiggling my butt. Heat whooshes to my face. I feel like a beached ostrich.

“Come out, come out, wherever you are.”

I want to kill David for teasing me in front of strangers. I crawl out. “I lost a ring,” I fudge, looking down at my clothes.

Kong wags his tail, his tongue hanging out. David bends down and pets him.

“Hi, Kong, old boy. Meet John and Scott.” Kong slobbers happily.

I snatch the hay from my hair and try to rub the manure off my pants.

Four pairs of male eyes stare at me. One of them sniffs loudly and burrows his nose in my crotch.

“Get away, Kong,” I croak, getting hotter and hotter. My voice squeaks. I want to sink into the ground and disappear. Could this get any worse? Oh, yes.

I look up. “Hi, David.”

Where is my brother? This is a man, inches taller than I remember. Way over six feet. I want to jump into his arms, but he looks like a blonde god and I hold back. At least, his sky blue eyes are the same.

David steps aside. “This is my friend and best man, John Masters.”

I pretend I’m not covered in manure and smile at John. He is shorter and thinner than my brother, almost six feet tall. Nice looking, with warm brown eyes surrounded by glasses.

“Hello, Win,” John says. “May I call you that? David talks so much about you.”

“This is Scott, John’s younger brother,” David says.

Like I want to meet a boy, now. David didn’t learn anything in college about girls. How did he find one to marry?

Scott stops petting Kong and slumps over to me. I swipe stringy hair out of my face and get a good look. Whoa. Scott is maybe two years older and four inches taller than me. Broad shoulders, small waist and hips. Muscles bulge under his t-shirt. My heart thumps faster. His dark eyes look defiant. Jac would call him “hot.”

“A real cowgirl.” Scott says. His voice is sexy.

I don’t like his tone. Nobody should look that good when they insult you. I explode inside and look Scott up and down. “A real city slicker.”

John whistles. “See what you mean, David. She’s a firecracker.”

I straighten my back, furious inside. Nobody should talk about you behind your back. Tears sting my eyes.

“Where’s Dad?” asks my brother, the traitor.

“Office.” My voice cracks.

Scott snickers.

I back up, ready to explode. WHACK. My foot hits steel. The pitchfork slams me in the back of the head. Concerned voices filter into my brain. I really see stars.

“It’s nothing. I do this all the time,” I blab.

Dumb. Dumb. Dumb. I run out of the stable, bright red and completely humiliated.