Page 3 of The Cowboy's Witchy Second Chance
“You’re joining us. It’s final.”
We say goodnight to Amos and walk over to the farmhouse. The porch screen door squeaks as we walk in and Clementine’s voice yells out from the kitchen.
“Dinner is almost ready. Go wash up!”
“We have an extra mouth to feed tonight, Clem!” Beau shouts.
“Then that makes two.” Clem yells back.
We head to the downstairs bathroom to wash our hands and faces. Ranch work is dirty work.
Beau finishes first and heads to the kitchen. As I walk up to the entrance, I hear Beau greet someone and a familiar voice respond, which stops me in my tracks. There is no way this voice belongs to who it sounds like. Absolutely no way.
I am quickly proven wrong when I walk into the kitchen to find the familiar, and beautiful, face of my ex-high school girlfriend. She looks almost the same to me as she did 30 years ago, except her auburn hair now has stunning streaks of gray woven into it and her body is rocking extra curves in all the right places.
“Hey, Alona.”
My ex looks at me with horrified eyes, but says hello back. I can’t help but notice her eyes meeting Clementine’s, who mouths, “Sorry, I didn’t know.”
Heat flows up from my chest, to my face, and I am positive I am blushing like a fool. Of course, seeing me horrifies Alona. I was such an ass when we dated. Constantly getting into fights, trouble with the law, and barely graduating. She dumped my pathetic ass right before senior year ended. And, once I graduated, I left town to get as far away from my shitty stepdad as possible.
My mom’s dad took me in on his Montana ranch and taught me everything he knew. He loved me, but worked me hard and didn’t put up with any of my bad temper nonsense. Those six years did wonders for me. He taught me how to be a good man, unlike my stepdad, who just smacked me around nonstop. If only my mother had given custody to my grandfather instead of my abusive stepfather when she received her terminal breast cancer diagnosis, my young life would have begun much differently. But, it is what it is.
Now I stand in the same room with the only woman I have ever loved. Well, she was a girl at the time. But, boy, is she a woman now. Dang.
Alona looks very uncomfortable with me being in the kitchen, but I think it would be weird if I just suddenly left before dinner. I try to be respectful, keeping out of her way and sitting at the far end of the dining table. I eat quietly, listening to Beau and his brothers ask her about the farm she inherited from her great aunt. She is apparently back in Corvid Valley to stay.
“I am totally out of my element and not really sure why I didn’t just sell the place and pocket the money. But here I am. Clueless and feeling a little desperate.”
“And you are about to lose your temporary help?” Wyatt, Clem’s twin, asks in between forkfuls of casserole.
“Yeah. I need to get onto hiring some ranch help. Should have done that before even moving out here.”
Alona sighs as she stabs an asparagus spear. Beau catches my eye, gives me a wink, and says something that blows my mind.
“I’ll send Ford here to help you until you hire someone. He’s a super hard worker and will be a good person to help you get the lay of the land.”
Across the table, Alona and I both look at each other with wide eyes and Clem narrows her own to stare at her older brother.
“Oh, uh, I…” Alona stammers out.
Beau points his fork at me.
“Don’t worry. Mate, I’ll still pay you. But she needs you more than we do right now.”
I clear my throat and nod my head. I can’t say no. Alona clearly needs help. But she also clearly wants nothing to do with me.
I open my mouth to respond, but the kids at the table argue over the last bread roll and the Brooks siblings all step in to break it up.
After dinner, I help clear off the table until Clem shoos me away from the kitchen.
“Thank you, Ford, but Alona is about to leave, so you should probably exchange numbers or plans or whatever.”
I find my ex grabbing her jacket by the front door.
“Hey. What time would you like me tomorrow?”
Alona turns to face me, her cheeks colored bright pink.
