you're my fresh air

chapter four

ashlynn

"ashlynn, you can't work on a farm in white sneakers and dresses." wyatt said, glancing at me.

god, the way my name rolled off his tongue, my knees nearly buckled in the middle of the train station car park.

why was i so attracted to him? i hadn't seen him shirtless, and its not like we were flirting or anything. he's just so intriguing.

i need to snap out of this. i just need to go home, but of course i'm stuck in the sexiest man alives house for like a month!

it's gonna be difficult keeping my hands off him. but i will. he's a prick anyway, i need to remember that.

we drove for a couple minutes through town, and i took the time to take in the streets. there was few shops. a pub, bakery, swimming pool, corner store, post office, a few little old houses, and a shop with a sign above it saying "bushman's stop".

wyatt pulled up in front of the bushmans stop and we climbed out.

he held the door open for me, and a bell jingled as we walked in. there was all sort of gear. horse tack, animal food, hats, belts, work shirts, jeans, boots, and other hardware like shovels and hammers and things.

"get yourself some jeans, boots and shirts. i need to grab a few things." wyatt said, dismissing me and walking across the store. they had three pairs of womens boot cut jeans left, and they were all my size.

i guess today was my lucky day. aside from the fact that i'm stuck in rural new south wales. i'll find a way out soon enough, i'm sure of it. i looked around at the boots. there was so many different styles. this was overwhelming.

"can i help you, love?" came a sweet voice from nearby. i looked up, and a short elderly woman stood in front of me. "looking for some boots?"

"oh, yes. i'm just not too sure what i'm looking for. i'm new to this scene, you see" i said, chuckling slightly to break the ice.

"not a problem, dear. i suggest these," she said, picking up a box from a lower shelf.

she opened the box revealing brown boots with turquoise stitching on the side.

"they're gorgeous." i said, smiling at the lady.

"they are. super comfy and long lasting too. what size are you sweetie?" she asked me, returning the smile.

"oh a seven, thank you."

she pulled out a box that was size seven, and i tried them on. they were perfect. i felt like i was walking on a cloud. i didn't plan on staying in this town any longer than i need to, but these boots made me feel so special.

"okay, i'll take these ones, thank you." i said, slipping the boots off and putting them back into the hox.

"alright dear, i'll take them to the counter for you." she replied. she was a very sweet woman.

i walked around the racks, picking out some button up "work" shirts. pink, yellow and a light blue. well, at least i was gonna look good.

my eyes scanned the walls, seeing if there was anything else i would need. some horse tack caught my eye. it was all so pretty. i wish my mother let me continue my lessons through high school. i loved the horses we had before we moved further into the city.

something about horses always fascinated me.

i heard wyatt behind me, clearing his throat. i spun around looking up at him. he was quite significantly taller than me, but that wasn't hard.

"those boots looked really nice on you." he said, looking down.

"thank you, mr becking." i smiled.

with my words, his eyes went wide, and he nervously shoved his hands into his pockets. i just chuckled, and continued past him to the counter.

i placed the shirts down in front of the lady, as well as a belt i had picked up on my browsing, and wyatt appeared behind me.

"are you two together?" she asked, looking up to wyatt.

"he wishes" i responded, rolling my eyes.

"don't be silly daphne, you know what i'm like. just me and jack." wyatt chuckled. they must be quite familiar with eachother.

she nodded her head, smiling. "just the horse feed today?" she asked wyatt.

"ashlynn, block your ears." he said, looking down on me.

"what? n-" i tried to argue but he cupped his hands over my ears. i couldn't be bothered to fight back, so i just rolled my eyes and stood still.

wyatt

"i'll cover her stuff too, daph." i said, looking down at ashlynn as she rolled her eyes.

daphne nodded. "she's a gorgeous girl wyatt, you two would make cute little ones." she laughed, scanning the shirts through the register.

my cheeks flushed, and i just looked away.

"seriously though, treat her well. it's about time you had a new girl in your life" she said, holding out the eftpos machine to me.

ashlynn must have realised what was happening, and reached into her purse for her card frantically.

my hands left her ears, and i swiftly tapped my card before she got the chance.

she turned around, looking up at my through the thick eyelashes. she shoved me shoulder with her hand.

"i can pay for myself." she said

i dismissed her, and grabbed the things off the counter.

"see you later daph" i said, and she waves back.

ashlynn waved and smiled at daphne, and followed me as i walked out of the store.

i threw the feed in the back of the ute, and ashlynns clothes in the cab.

she climbed into the ute. it was funny watching her. my ute only had a 2 inch lift, but she's quite short, plus i dont have side steps.

she pulled herself up, and threw herself down on the seat, huffing and puffing the whole time. she is so god damn gorgeous. her hair just falls effortlessly, framing her face perfectly. once she got her seatbelt on and sorted herself out, her big bright eyes looked up at me through her thick eyelashes.

i realised i had just stared at her the whole time.

"what?" she said, giving me a weird look.

i just smirked and shook my head, turning to start the car.