Page 31 of Meadowsweet and Marigold
"Morning, boss. You're at it early today."
"Lot to do," Meadow replies simply.
Eli leans against a post, squinting at him.
"You alright? You seem...tense."
"I'm fine." Meadow doesn't look up from his work, not wanting his expression to betray him.
"This wouldn't have anything to do with that pretty Omega who showed up yesterday, would it?" Eli asks, a knowing smile playing at his lips.
Meadow's head snaps up, a growl rumbling low in his chest before he can stop it. Eli's eyebrows shoot upward, and he raises his hands in surrender.
"Easy there, boss. Just making conversation."
Meadow forces himself to relax his grip on the pitchfork.
"She's...she'll be coming by today. To see about working with the rescue horses."
"That so?" Eli's tone is carefully neutral now, but Meadow can smell the curiosity radiating off him.
"She needs this," Meadow says quietly, more to himself than to Eli. "The horses... they can help her heal."
"And you know this how?" Eli asks, crossing his arms.
Meadow pauses, considering the question.
How does he know?
He's exchanged barely a handful of words with Marigold Everhart, and yet...
"I can see it in her," he finally says. "The hurt. The way she holds herself—like she's expecting the world to take another swing at her." He runs a hand through his hair, frustrated at his inability to articulate what he senses. "The horses don't judge. Don't betray. They just...are. Non-judgemental and loving. Compassion an Omega like her would thrive on."
Eli studies him for a long moment.
"Been a while since I've seen you take an interest in anyone," he observes.
"It's not like that," Meadow insists, though the lie tastes bitter on his tongue.
"If you say so." Eli pushes off from the post. "I'll start on that fence in the north pasture."
"Thanks," Meadow says, grateful for the change of subject.
Alone again, he leads Whiskey out to the corral for exercise, watching the powerful animal stretch into a trot around the enclosure. The sun climbs higher, warming his shoulders as he leans against the fence, his thoughts inevitably circling back to Marigold.
Will she actually come? And if she does, what then?
His Alpha instincts remain restlessly at the thought of her return, both eager and anxious. He hasn't felt this unsettled around an Omega since?—
No. He won't go down that road again.
"She's just looking for work," he reminds himself firmly. Just proved that the posters were good advertisements with how swiftly she came by. She needs the money and stability from wherever she came from. "Nothing more."
But as the morning wears on, he finds himself glancing repeatedly toward the long driveway that leads to the main road, ears attuned to the sound of an approaching car.
His senses feel heightened, every nerve ending alert and waiting.
He moves on to working with Echo, a skittish gray mare who came to him after being abandoned by her previous owners. The horse dances nervously at the end of the lead rope, eyes wide and nostrils flared.
