That Handsome Country Boy

Chapter 12

Victoria's POV

 It had been a month since I came home from the hospital, and I was rapidly feeling stronger. Shane faithfully remained by my side every step of the way and our relationship was blossoming. Every thing he did for me, whether it be taking me out on dates, bringing me flowers, or telling me I looked beautiful when I clearly looked a mess, made me like him more each day. I knew that he was rapidly capturing my heart and soon there would be backing out from his grasp.

 Within five days of returning home, I had gone back to school, not being able to sit still any longer. When Shane held my hand, half the hallway stared in disbelief, and the news of our being together spread like wildfire. Soon, I was rocketed into popularity, due to Shane's prominent role on the football team, but I wanted none of it. I kept to my usual group of friends and tried to ignore all new attention being directed at me.

Liam began speaking to me again, but still hated Shane and our relationship with a burning passion. So, naturally at school, Shane avoided Liam, which meant that Shane fell into my crowd, eating lunch with us and going to outings with us instead of his so-called friends. I didn't mind though. I think Shane had a lot more fun with us than he did with the friends he used to hang out with. Although, Shane didn't appreciate Rob hanging around my group.

Finally, Wednesday rolled around, which meant that I could get rid of this horrendous cast on my leg. My mom and Shane went with me to the doctor's office to have it removed and after a couple hours, my leg was plaster-free. My leg was extremely stiff and despite being able to move on it for the last month, I still had slightly atrophied muscles. The doctor told me that stretching my leg would help rebuild the muscles strength and until then, I was to use my crutches as needed. Having to use those damn crutches more was slightly depressing, but I didn't let my excitement falter.

Shane helped me off the table, setting me lightly on the floor and wrapping his arm around my waist. I leaned into him for support, as standing without the cast felt overly odd and uncomfortable.

My mom turned to us, "Ready to go, kids?" We both nodded and followed her out of the office and into the parking lot. Shane was holding most of my weight, and when we reached the borrowed Ford, he helped me scramble up into the back seat, and then turned to offer help to my mother in as well.

Once he was in the driver's seat, he looked to us, "Where to, ladies?"

"Oh, I think we ought to head back to the farm. I need to start dinner, and I do believe that Victoria has a project she should be doing. There are just so many distractions for her these days," my mother shot me a sly smirk.

Shane simply nodded, but I could see the proud grin on his face in the rear view mirror. He caught my eye and held my gaze for a moment. I narrowed my eyes at him. It was thanks to him that I'd been distracted as of recent. The asshole knows it, too.

"I need to be doing homework, too, Mrs. Maxwell. I've been getting a bit behind with everything going on. I'm working on college stuff as well, so that's been stressing me out some."

Mom asked, "Where are you applying at, Shane?" I intently listened in. I'd forgotten that Shane would be off to college at the end of this year and suddenly nervousness set in.

"Well, I want to stick around here. Wherever gives me the best offer is what I'll probably take though."

Nodding her approval, my mom said, "That's an excellent mind set, Shane. Don't let anything keep you from your future."

Shane gave her a tight smile, but his eyes met mine again in the mirror. I so desperately didn't want him to leave me, but I wasn't going to stand in the way of his future. Giving him a look that said "we'll discuss this later," I looked away and stared out the window, watching traffic pass, all the way back to the farm.