Macintyre Farm

Ten

ANDREA POV

I held my hand, palm facing up, toward my brother once we got out of his truck.

"You sure, Andy?" Austin asked, tilting his head at me.

"Yeah. I want to try to be social but I won't drink. You guys can enjoy yourselves and I'll be designated driver," I confirmed.

Bash chuckled, sliding his arm over my shoulders. "I am gonna stop at 2 beers either way so we can carry this guy out if we need to.  I'm just glad you're finally joining us, Andy."

Austin shook his head at us as we walked into the bar in downtown Raven's Pass. They had a bit of a New Years Eve party going on so when the guys mentioned it I agreed to join them for once... if I could be their driver so we got home safely.

Typically one of them just has a single beer then they grab food, too, so it was not an issue.  This meant they could both relax.

Joe's Diner was open til 1 am for the holiday so worst case, we decided to head down the road and get some pie with shakes.  I typically only ran into town for errands or feed store pick up orders when needed.  My life revolves around the farm since Mama needed us nearby as her sight continued to get worse.  Even if I had the chance, though, I would stay home.

I took my time getting ready for once and slipped into a shimmery silver halter crop top with a pair of black pants then grabbed a black fitted jacket.

And heeled boots... I got them for Christmas and figured it would work. My hair was down for once in waves, makeup in place and natural but more than Bash had ever seen.  The shoes made me closer to his height but he still had a couple inches on me so it was nice to have a change of scenery.

I always liked being 5'8".  My body matured early so I had my share of awkward teenage years but was glad I could use my height to my advantage.  Bash was at least 6'4" so I liked knowing he was a good amount taller than me.

Everything felt different when he returned from Wisconsin.

We didn't talk about our feelings but it was obvious our feelings grew after spending weeks handling night shift with the baby goats as well as 4 kittens.  I didn't know what to say and Bash was more affectionate so I took that as a sign he was not completely disinterested.  All of a sudden he had the coffee going when I made my way downstairs so I could head to the barn before breakfast.  Bash had even more intention in his actions and that was enough for the moment.

Every time I went night riding he joined me, even before he left for a few days.

I could tell he saw the beauty of enjoying a calm winter evening in that way.  Bash also loved the piece of land by the pond as much as I did.  He had seen it in passing but on one of our long middle of the night rides I decided to show him around more.  Maybe I was imagining things, but it felt like he could understand how much that corner of our land meant to me.

Maybe the best part of my connection with Bash was how I did not have to explain myself.  He could tell how much it mattered that he jumped in to help without even asking.  There were so many moments after I was injured where that caught me off guard.  I was thankful for those times, both because it allowed us the chance to get to know one another and our trust was able to grow.

Part of me wanted to stay home and just binge watch YouTube while I ate chocolate chip cookie dough.  Bash and Austin were excited to get out and even more hyped when I said I'd join, though, so I could pretend I was outgoing for one evening.

Being social was always a struggle.  I might be 21, but whenever I was near the Harris twins or some of the jerks from high school I felt like that 15 year old with a broken nose who was mocked relentlessly every day.  Just months after I finally had a man I thought liked me but then realized he was actually using me for his own gain.