Page 8 of By Your Side

The enclosed room in the barn is set up to be a tack room, a few odds and ends are hanging on the wall. Making a mental note to take inventory of what’s on the property, I move to the back of the barn and slide the door open. It jams halfway through, but thankfully the space is wide enough to walk through.

The door opens to a space underneath a lean-to that is open on three sides. To the left of the door sits an intimidating looking tractor. Taking a deep breath, I try to focus on the positive, it looks like there is some kind of mower attachment already on it, so that’s promising. And the keys sit in the ignition, which seems weirdly trusting.

Creeping closer, I take in the different buttons and levers.

“Oh boy.” My voice is quiet. For the first time since stepping foot on the property, I second-guess my ability to handle this. There is so much work to do in the house and around the property, so much that I need to learn to do so I don’t do a crappy job that ends up needing to be fixed constantly.

Is this too much? I felt a little lost when I started searching for properties, knowing I needed a fresh start as part of my healing, but the land still holds that draw that led me to buying it. Shaking my head, I mutter, “You can figure this out, Adeline. Like Scott always said, you only fail when you quit trying.”

A YouTube video later, I have the tractor started and the mower running. It’s loud as I do my first pass up the driveway to the gate, but I shriek as I look behind me and see a path that is low and smooth.

My elation is short-lived when I turn to start my second pass and the tractor sputters, groans, and then lets out a horrifying squeal and quits, smoke billowing up from the engine.

Hopping down, I groan. “We were doing so well!”

Kicking the tire, I pull out my phone to Google “why is my tractor engine smoking?”

A video from the same guy I watched earlier comes up, so I hit play.

“What’re you watching?”

Screaming, I swing around and yelp when I come face to nose with a massive horse. Tilting my head up, the jerk from my first day here, Wally from what those women called him, stares down at me smirking.

“Did I really just see you taking advice from someone named Hillbilly Chuck on YouTube?”

Planting my hands on my hips, I frown. “So what? He helped me get the thing started. I figured he’d tell me why it’s smoking and won’t move.”

Wally swings down, his jeans cupping his ass and thighs as he dismounts with a smoothness that should be impossible in those pants. Swallowing, I take a deep breath as my heart thuds a little faster.

Staring down, my eyes burn as I avoid looking at Wally. I shouldn’t be staring at his ass, especially since I’m standing here like an incompetent fool.

As he towers over me, I shiver and step to the side.

“I can take a look. And piece of advice, Hillbilly Chuck is probably not the best source of knowledge.” He frowns as he turns his attention to the tractor, lifting the hood. A plume of smoke flows out before clearing and he starts digging around.

“Aren’t you just going to tell me to leave again? Why are you bothering to help me?” Stepping in next to him, I cross my arms.

He lifts his head, arching a brow, before returning his attention to what looks like an intricate system. “Just being neighborly.” He smirks, then continues, “There’s a bet around town wondering how long you’ll last in Frank’s place.”

Fighting to keep my face straight, I ignore the hurt and inquire, “I see. And how long did you bet?”

He fiddles some more before standing and closing the cover for the engine. “I haven’t decided yet.”

five

Adeline

Wally starts walking into my property.

“Where are you going?” Hurrying to catch up, I reach out to stop him, but let my arm fall.

He glances back at me, his lips tilting up a little before they fall back into the firm line I’m used to seeing. “You want your tractor to run, right?”

When he doesn’t continue, I nod.

“Well, what do tractors need to run? It’s kind of essential to the entire system?” His voice is gruff and filled with exasperation.

“Ohmygod. It ran out of gas.” Smacking my head, I laugh. “Of course I did that.”

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