Country Love

ix

 When I wake up the next morning, I realise I have been seducing all the wrong people.

If I want to get anything done around here, the man I need is Chad. All my scanty clothes have horse hair on them, and since Brad has been told to wash the horses, he isn't around to do my laundry. So I wear a short red dress, and apply a lot of red lipstick that brings out the fullness of my gorgeous lips.

The dress looks lovely with my long blond hair. I know I look ethereal in everything, but the frills in the red cloth and the way it clings to my skin gives me an underworldly beauty.

I put on the highest heels that I have, and stomp down the stairs. I have not anticipated how high these heels are though, and when I step off the last step onto the carpet, I lose my balance. Before I can fall, I feel someone steady me from behind. I catch a glimpse of Chad's shining golden hair and curved lips. His denim orbs are still dimmed with sleep, but they light up when he catches me staring.

Chad is shirtless, and his blue shorts are frayed at the seams- he was clearly not expecting to run into anyone this early. It's only ten o'clock after all. The household wakes up much later.

I realise we have been looking at each other too long. I try to pull out of his grasp, but he seems reluctant to let me go.

Just then, the front door opens, and Brad sneaks in. His eyes go wide when he sees us, and he glances around guiltily. I notice a wonderful smell in the air, and wonder what is being cooked in the kitchen.

"What are you doing in the house, Bradley?" Chad asks sternly, withdrawing the arm that was around my waist.

"I was. . .just coming in to see if there was. . .any food. . ." he replies.

"Don't tell me you finished all your chickpeas again!" Chad exclaims, walking toward Brad. Then he notices the delicious smell too. "Is that my manure I smell on you? Why were you at the manure store?" he almost screams, fury in his voice.

Brad looks very scared, and I almost feel bad for him. Chad's muscular back is turned to me, so I cannot see his face.

"I was washing the horses, like you asked. But then my hay got all wet, so there was no place to sleep. I didn't mean to break into the store, but it was so cold outside, and I had to sleep somewhere so-" Brad whimpers.

"You washed the horses in your stall? How many times have I told you to do it out in the fields?"

"I know, but I forgot."

"You had no right to enter the manure store without my permission. Don't you know how much the store means to me?" I'm afraid Chad will punch Brad, and I know nothing can stand in the way of those glorious arms once they start fighting. I stumble towards the boys in my heels and place a gentle hand on Chad's bare arm. The contact sends a shiver down my spine. My soothing touch seems to calm him down somewhat. When he speaks next, he sounds more in control of himself.

"Why did you walk all the way to the store instead of just sleeping in the kennel with Randy's dog? Or you could have begged me to come inside the house if you were that desperate."

Chad is very kind to say this. I know he would have let Brad sleep on the floor inside the house out of the sheer goodness of his heart. But Brad just had to go and enter the manure store.

"I was hoping nobody would notice," Brad admits with a sigh.

"Did you sleep in the storage room with all the manure sacks? You don't deserve to be in the same room with them, especially not after what you've done." Chad's anger is not unfounded. How could Brad have done such a thing?