Because of Fate (Book 1 of Because of Series)

Chapter 17- Margaret's POV

The hair on the back of my neck stood at attention, and my whole body grew tense, not knowing where he was going with that statement.

"Thanks..?" I asked and narrowed my eyes just a tad while my whole body grew tense.

Blake's eyes instantly grew wide when he realized how it must have sounded to me, and he quickly shook his head. "Oh, no, no, no," he said, and his cheeks grew red. "I do not want anything from you. I promise." He raised his hands in surrender and took a step back away from the water hose and me, biting back a small gulp. "All I am saying is that I will help and can be like a family member to you, like an older brother if you will."

"Why?" I asked and furrowed my brows in confusion while I studied him, not knowing why he would say something like that. "Why would you want to do something like that?"

Blake shrugged and stuffed his hands into his pockets while he shifted on his feet. "Because it seems to me like you don't want to be in a relationship just yet. And to be frank, you are just not my type."

The warning bells in my head seemed to stop, and I tried to raise my eyebrow in question, only to have them both grow up, earning an amused grin from him. "Oh?" I asked, and he nodded in confirmation. "And what is your type?"

"Blondes," he replied instantly, and I bit back a small snort and rolled my eyes before I turned away from him and started to walk back to the trough with the hose in my hand.

Of course...

"Now, now, Miss Prince," Blake teased and narrowed his eyes as if he knew what I was thinking. "I wouldn't cheat on a girl or have a different girl change her hair color to suit my needs. I just prefer blondes over anything else."

"And what if you find someone that is a red head and has all of the other qualities that you look for in someone as a partner?" I asked. "Would you give it a shot or would you not because you only prefer blondes?"

"I'd give it a shot," Blake said and shrugged, biting back a small grimace. "I wouldn't mind getting to know a woman that has red hair or brown hair. Hell, I wouldn't even care if they had kids. I'd consider them my own when given the chance."

"But I am not your type." I glanced at him from the corner of my eye and raised both eyebrows in unison, giving him a pointed look.

"Well, Miss Prince, you scare me," he said, blurting it out, and I couldn't help but bite back a small laugh, shocked and surprised. "And I would much prefer to have my parts where they belong and not in some bag in the hospital. If you catch my drift." He flashed me a small smirk and a wink, and I couldn't help but roll my eyes, amused.

"And you don't want to be with someone that scares you. Got it." I nodded, biting back a small smirk because I had a feeling that he didn't want to be with me, which was fine.

He wasn't my type anyway...

"Now, now, Miss Prince," Blake said with a small laugh in his voice, and he shook his head. "That is not what I meant, and I hope that you know that."

I shrugged, and the smirk appeared on my face because I did know what he meant. I carried on my way to the trough. I got into the pasture and flipped the trough over until it was right side up before I placed the hose into it and looked at him. "Ok, you can go ahead and start it, Blake," I called back to Blake.

Blake grunted and did what I told him to do. He leaned against the water spigot and folded his arms across his chest while he frowned in my direction.

"What?" I asked with a small laugh in my voice. "What did I do?" I cocked my head to the side and studied him, trying but failing to bite back a small smirk.

"Do you know that I didn't mean it like that or not?" he asked and raised an eyebrow in question, and a scowl appeared on his face while he looked at me.

I chuckled a little and nodded in confirmation. "Yes," I said before I cleared my throat and shifted on my feet. "I knew that you didn't mean it like that. However, I wanted to see how you would react to my comment."

Blake shrugged and bit back a small smile, and his whole body seemed to grow relaxed while he looked at me. "I think that you are not in the right headspace to date anyone right now anyway," he said. He paused, and his cheeks turned red while he blushed. "You can correct me if I am wrong or not. I don't mind."

I sighed and moved a hand through my hair and across my face, nodding while I grew serious and more tired. "Ya, I do not think that I am either," I said and shrugged, biting back a small grimace. "After my ex and sister got together after cheating on me..." I shrugged and grimaced, pressing my lips into a thin line while I trailed off. "I am ok for now, being by myself and not being in a relationship. I have my brother and daughter to look after, and I want whoever I end up with to know that my brother and daughter are my life and I will do anything in my power to make sure that they are alive and well."

Blake nodded. "Well, I hope that they will learn that before you do something with them like falling in love," he said and flashed me a small smirk and a wink before he grew serious. "I know that my brother is attempting to make our nephew and niece his life, but it is hard. He has also been in a long time relationship and ya..." He shrugged and grimaced, pressing his lips into a thin line.

He had also either been dumped by someone or had dumped someone...

I nodded and pressed my lips into a thin line. I didn't say a word and looked at the water trough to make sure that it hadn't overfilled before I looked at him.

"Can you do me a favor?" Blake asked after a moment's pause.

"What is it?" I asked and cocked my head to the side while I studied him. "What do you want me to do, Blake?"

Blake smiled and rubbed the back of his neck, sheepishly, and that smile started to turn into a grimace. "Can you not tell Bryson that I had told you that? He is private about all of this and his feelings, and I know that he will not like it at all. He'll yell at me, and he is scary when he yells and is mad." He flashed me a small smirk and a wink, and I couldn't help but roll my eyes with a small snort.

I bit back a small laugh and nodded. "Ok," I said, "I will not tell him that you told me and will not tell him anything. I will make sure that I don't make him mad because I don't like people yelling."

Blake breathed a small sigh of relief and slowly nodded. "I do want to apologize on his behalf beforehand if he is ever short with you and cold. He doesn't mean it, not often, and ya." He shrugged and grimaced, pressing his lips into a thin line.

I bit back a tired sigh and nodded before I looked at the water trough. "It'll be fine," I said and looked at him. "As long as he isn't short with my kids, then it'll be fine."

"And if he is short with your kids?" Blake asked and raised an eyebrow in question. An amused smile appeared on his face while he looked at me, and I could tell that he had a feeling as to what I was thinking.

I looked at him and flashed him a small smirk and a wink without saying a word about what would happen to his brother if he was short with my kids.

Blake bit back a small chuckle and nodded without saying a word or asking me to clarify what I meant by that look. All he did was wait for me to tell him when the trough was filled with water so that we could get the other one filled with water for my horses.

And after all of that was done, it would be time to talk to the man of the house and see what I needed to do and figure everything out with this job that I was supposed to do.

And hopefully I wouldn't lose my mind in the end because I needed to be there for my kids, for I was their only hope...