Page 11 of Out of Place

The two of them start eating right away while I hesitantly put a bite in my mouth and chew. It’s not terrible, but it’s definitely not the tuna poke bowl I would rather be having.

“So, where are you from, Olivia?” Landon asks. I’m surprised he even has time to talk with how fast he’s shoveling food in his mouth.

“New York.”

“Should’ve known,” he says.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I ask.

“Calm down, hotshot. Just that you look like someone who would be from New York with your fancy clothes and all that,” he explains.

“Well, it’s better than looking like I grew up in a barn.”

He looks down at his clothes and smiles. “I did grow up in a barn. Been around barns all my life. I’m not ashamed of that.”

He’s so cool and calm about it that it pisses me off even more.

“You do realize you smell terrible, right?” I ask, taking another bite of the mush from my plate.

“Olivia,” Aunt Dottie says.

Landon laughs. “I’m afraid it comes with the job, sweetheart. You’ll get used to it in a few days, I’m sure.”

“Um, I don’t think so. I know how to shower properly.”

He raises his stupid eyebrows at me.“Is that so?”

“Yep,” I say, popping the P.

He smiles at me. “We’ll see about that. So, what’re you doing down here?” he asks. I won’t be giving him any fuel to make fun of me. He doesn’t need to know that I was forced against my will to come down here because my parents are embarrassed by me and don’t think I can handle money. Nope. I’ll be keeping that to myself.

“I came down to help Aunt Dottie,” I explain.

“I know that, but why?” he presses.

I shrug, acting like I’m not bothered by his questions. “Just wanted to.”

He looks to Dottie and then back to me. “You, princess of New York City, decided to come down to a farm in south Georgia to help out of the goodness of your heart?”

“Yes,” I respond quickly so that Aunt Dottie doesn’t have a chance to correct him. Thankfully, she seems to be on my side and doesn’t say a word.

Landon shakes his head. “Alright, if you say so.”

He focuses back on his plate, and Aunt Dottie asks him questions about the farm. They talk about chickens and cows and something about blueberries. I tune them out, not caring about any of it.

I finish my plate because I’m starving, not necessarily because it was good, but I thank Aunt Dottie anyway. After dinner, Landon offers to wash the dishes, but she declines, telling him to go home and get some sleep.

Before he leaves, he turns to me. “It’s been a pleasure, Ms. Olivia. See you in the morning.”

I cross my arms over my chest and say, “Bye.”

He smiles, grabs his hat, and leaves. I watch him walk down the hall and out the front door. As annoying as he is, he is kinda hot. His ratty, cut-off T-shirt shows off his toned arms, and his jeans fit his ass so perfectly that I can’t stop staring. But when the door closes, I snap out of it. He could be the hottest guy in the world, but he’s still annoying.

Aunt Dottie starts cleaning the dishes. “Alright, Olivia. I gave you your rest day. Tomorrow, you’re getting your hands dirty. You need to be out the door by five to help feed the cows and milk ’em. Then, you’ll check the coops for eggs and do some blueberry harvesting. We’ll see how the day is at that point. Moving forward, I’ll cook, and you’ll do the dishes. I always feed the boys lunch, so you’ll do the dishes after lunch and dinner. I’ll handle breakfast since you’ll be with the cows.”

“That seems like a lot to do.” I don’t even know what half of those things mean, but it definitely sounds like too many things for one person to do.

She nods. “It is, but you’ll get used to it. Your parents sent you here to work, so you’re gonna work.”