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I turned to Cricket. “Your work?”
Her cheeks flushed an enticing vermillion. Oh, Cricket. You would be so smart not to blush again.
“Yeah,” she answered simply.
She seemed embarrassed, adding to how attractive I found her, and studied the ground with her hands tucked behind her back. She fought a smile while I fought to keep my hands at my side.
She made herself busy by clearing a stool covered in scrap metal. She cleared her throat nervously and presented the stool to me before rounding the table she’d been working at when I discovered her.
I sat, my legs spread and hung both my arms over the back of the stool. Her eyes widened when she turned my direction and I almost laughed out loud. I unnerved her. Click.
“Cricket Hunt, show me your stuff.”
Her head whipped my direction. “Excuse me?”
“Your sculptures?”
“Oh,” she giggled, “sure. Uh,” she began and stiffened her back, “but first you have to promise not to laugh at any of them.”
“Cross my heart,” I told her, making the motion my thumb.
ldn’t help my grin. “Trying to make me feel better. That’s nice but not necessary.”
“I’m not trying to make you feel better. Sometimes you can avoid the conflict and sometimes it’s just necessary.”
I smiled at her.
When we finally arrived at the ranch, I was incredibly relieved and incredibly exhausted. I couldn’t believe how much work it took to run a ranch. I was definitely earning my keep.
We fed and watered the herd, then cleaned up before sitting down to a big lunch courtesy of Bridge and Ellie and two other house workers, one they called Cookie. I assume because she could cook the crap out of a good meal, and the other I overheard someone call Roberta the first day. Roberta was more on an assisting level Bridge had told me. She said the kitchen ranked herself at the bottom, then Roberta, Cookie and Ellie. She also said it was pleasant working with the women, as they were all cheeky and hilarious. The only drawback was that the main house didn’t have air conditioning and the kitchen could turn stifling.
I sat next to Bridge at lunch. “I heard about what happened,” she said.
“How in the world?” I sat, bewildered.
“Jonah ran up to the house after he’d put away the horses.”
“Is that so?” I asked, looking for Jonah, but he was nowhere to be found. Lucky bastard.
“Listen, I like Jonah and all, but you’ve got to nip this thing in the bud, Bridge,” I spoke quietly. “I mean, for gosh sakes, does he not realize that you’re pregnant with another dude’s baby?”
“You’re so clever, Spence,” she bit sarcastically. “Let me check you because apparently you think I’ve forgotten why we’re here. Stop reminding me that I’m pregnant. The constant nausea is reminder enough. Got me?” I nodded, feeling guilty already. “And furthermore, I’m being reasonably kind to Jonah because he’s kind to me. I don’t know where you’re getting this idea that he’s interested in me. He’s aware I’m harboring a fugitive.”
“You’re right, Bridge, again. I’m sorry, but I want you to make it very clear to Jonah that you’re not interested.”
She shook her head at me. “I don’t care how screwed up you think it is. This is going to be my last opportunity to feel like a normal girl because in a couple of months I’m going to be smuggling a basketball up in here,” she said, gesturing wildly at her stomach. “Let me just have this normal friendship with Jonah. Just...let me, Spencer,” she added quietly.
I sighed. “Whatever, Bridge. Just don’t set yourself up for disappointment, because as soon as you start showing, that guy is going to want nothing to do with you.”
Her eyes turned glassy and she shrugged, looking defeated. “He’s a very sweet guy willing to be my friend, Spencer. Don’t make me feel any more an outcast than I already do.”
I let it lie there, partly because I felt like an asshole and partly because I was worried about her and didn’t know how to fix it. I wished my mom was there to help. I felt so alone, like there was a weight upon my shoulders and I had no one else to share the burden with.
I looked around the table and spotted Cricket. Despite everything, despite the fact I knew I couldn’t have her, that I shouldn’t have her, I still felt a desperate need to know everything about her. I never had that feeling for anyone else. Not even for Sophie Price. Huh. Sophie. I hadn’t given her a second thought since L.A. Funny, that.
The day went by quickly. Jonah and I worked side by side when Ethan took Cricket into town for some reason. There were two new things I learned that day. One, Jonah was, despite loathing to acknowledge it, a pretty nice guy. He was more innocent than any other guy I’d ever hung with, and he actually made me want to be a better person. Go figure. And two, I hated Ethan. Yes, I promised myself that Cricket would be my friend and only my friend, but that didn’t mean I was going to pretend I wasn’t violently attracted to her, and it sure as hell meant that I wasn’t going to like when Ethan touched her, kissed her or took her into town. I couldn’t watch them when he took her into town and that thought, selfish as it may be, bugged the shit out of me. I hated him for no other reason than he got to do those things with her.
That evening, after dinner, I walked back down to our trailer. I was beyond irritated because Ethan and Cricket didn’t show at dinner. I wondered where the hell they were but was too afraid to ask because I didn’t want her family reading too much into my interest.
