Page 53 of Rival
Things are different now and it’s my fucking fault. From the corner of my eye, I watch as she moves achingly slow around her station, the skin around her mouth stretched tight as if she’s trying to hold everything inside. She seems as if she’s in pain, and I’m certain I’m the cause because she won’t meet my eyes.
Her texts swim through my head, and my guilt only deepens. I turn and scroll through the last messages she’s sent, and I feel like such a dick. I could have at least responded. Grief over my sister always has a way of fucking with my head.
Did your day end up better than it started? Since the build was cancelled, I actually found myself with nothing to do at home. Well, I guess if you discount regular chores.
Hey, Jaxon. Will you give Noir a pat on the nose for me? And I wanted to say thank you for letting me meet him and teaching me the other day. I can’t wait to try again, even if he IS way out of my league. He’s a good boy.
I hope things are going well for you. I’m sure you’re still busy, which is expected with running your business and everything. I wanted to tell you that one of the kittens got into so much trouble today! He climbed up on the rail in the cow barn and tried to jump to the back of a calf. THEN, the calf freaked out because kitten nails are like razors and literally started a riot with ALL the babies in there! The kitten, I’ve named him Buck, took off and scared all the calves so badly that they started running around the stalls and spilled water and food everywhere. One little kitten did ALL that damage in less than two minutes. But I love him.
Sorry, that was so long!
Hope you’re good. I’m rereading one of my favorite books with a friend. The Count of Monte Cristo. Have you ever read it?
I apologize that I keep texting, but I grew concerned that something was wrong. Are you okay? Is there anything I can do for you or that you need?
My head lifts and I find her again. I only can catch the side of her face, but fuck, she looks sad. Dragging my eyes away, they fall on Ruth. Nowthatwoman isn’t avoiding eye contact. She’s locked on me without blinking, and I feel as if I’m being judged by Jesus himself. When she raises a brow in question, I know I need to fix things with my friendnow.
Ruth’s eyes follow me as I head over to Edith. Reaching up, I touch her shoulder to gain her attention, then frown when she flinches away. As soon as she sees me, her features soften, and a half-hearted smile replaces the grimace she’s been carrying for the past hour.
“Oh, hey Jaxon. Do you need these? I’m almost finished up and can bring them over if you’d like.” She holds up some smaller frames that will go in as supports for the barn roof.
Leaning my hip against her bench, I cross my arms and look down at how much she’s accomplished already. “This is all looking so good, Edith. No, I don’t need it right now. I wanted to come over and see how you’ve been.” I eye her carefully and when her eyes fall, I feel another punch to my chest.
“I’m good. This is pretty easy. Mindless, really.”
Leaning down, I tilt my head to catch her attention. “Edith. I’m sorry for being distant last week. I had some shit I needed to deal with, but I should have at least let you know why I was quiet.”
Edith lifts her head with a fake smile plastered on. “It’s okay! I figured you just got busy. You have absolutely nothing to apologize for.” And because she’s literally the sweetest person I’ve ever met, she asks, “Has everything worked out for you now? You’re good?”
“Yeah, I’m good now. I got into my head about my sister and I kind of went off grid to deal with that.” Her eyes flick up to me, this time with more understanding, and I add, “I should haveresponded. It wasn’t you. It was me being self-absorbed. Forgive me?”
A small exhale leaves her mouth. “I’ll always forgive you.”
Movement from the corner of my eye draws my attention, and I notice Ruth heading out of the barn with an arm hooked on one of the volunteers, leaving the two of us alone. I slide my body closer to hers and keep my posture lowered, so she doesn’t feel like I’m hovering.
“Hey, areyoudoing okay? Aside from maybe being mad at me, you seem a bit off.”
She sets her work down and peers at me. “I’m not mad at you. I’m…” Trailing off, she bites her lip and straightens her shoulders. “Can I ask you something? It’s really personal and I don’t know where our line of friendship starts and ends, but I’m confused about something. It’s embarrassing and really,reallypersonal.”
“Do we need to go somewhere else?” Edith doesn’t seem to be the type to create drama out of nothing, so her asking to discuss something personal has me taking it seriously.
“You think they’ll mind?” Then she second guesses herself. “No, it’s okay. I can manage, I think. I think the Danielsons would be disappointed in me if I took you away for this particular reason.”
Well, now my curiosity is definitely piqued, so I take her hand and pull her away from her table. “Nope. I’ve been absent for too long. Ruth will be alright for a bit. Let’s go for a walk or something.”
“But, what about—”
Spinning around, I place a finger on my lips and wink. “Hush. It’ll be fine.”
Edith giggles and allows me to drag her out the door. I lift my chin toward Ruth, who only nods once before turning back to the person she’s speaking with, their backs to us. Smart lady.Everyone around here is nosy, and I’m sure they’d be whispering nonsense if I’m seen dragging a young woman off toward a field.
Once we manage to swim through the knee-high crops, I find a spot that’s been washed out in the center and sit down, pulling her with me. She sits at my side, keeping a small space between us.
Looking around us, Edith grins. “It’s like a little room out here. We’ll be able to hear someone coming from a mile away, but they won’t hear us.”
“Exactly,” I say with another wink. “Whichmeansyou can tell me what’s going on without worry of being overheard. What’s got you bothered?”
Her breath hitches just before she immediately begins to dig her fingers into the dirt. “I know I already said it, but are you sure? It’sincrediblypersonal and probably way too much information.”
