True Love Waits

Chapter Eleven

       "Who's out there?" The voice called into the darkness.

        Maleena let out a breath when she heard the slightly familiar voice. "It's me, Maleena Lackley." Swallowing, she took a step closer to the man who was still pointing a gun at her. "Who are you? I can't see."

       "Maleena?" The voice softened, walking out of the darkness and towards the barn lights to see who he had just terrified. "Chandler's sister, right? We met the other day?" He lowered the gun.

        "Yeah, Cody, right?" Maleena was glad the gun was lowered, but yet she was still shaking.

         "Yes, ma'am." Cody said, ejecting the shell on the old lever action 12 gauge before turning on the safety, setting the gun on the ground. "I am so sorry for scarin' you. Your truck triggered the alarm, and we have had folks come in here and vandalize and rob the place, so the owner takes the security very seriously. Hence, the shotgun. We just got robbed last weekend, so everyone here is on edge about it." Cody chuckled, running a hand through his hair. "I would never ever shoot anyone, the gun is supposed to just be a noise distraction and an incentive to not rob the place. I am so sorry, though. I promise I'd never shoot you." Cody rambled, stepping into the light so he could better see Maleena. 

           Cody was wearing a wrinkled white t-shirt with blue plaid pajama pants that were tucked into his cowboy boots. His hair was ruffled, and he looked tired. Maleena reckoned that she had woken him up.

             "I'm really sorry for wakin' you up, and setting off your alarm. I-" Maleena stopped, looking around. That's when reality set in. "I should never have come here. I'm sorry. I don't know what I was thinking." Maleena fumbled to get the keys out of her jeans as she walked to her truck, but Cody softly grabbing her wrist made her quit what she was doing and look up at him.

            "Is everything okay?" Cody looked genuinely concerned despite how tired he looked. 

           Maleena was so thankful to have him ask her that, and all she wanted to do was rant about what happened back home, but she had only met Cody once before. How did she know that she could trust him? Taking in a deep breath, she simply said, "Just problems at home." 

           Cody dropped his hand from her arm. "Do you want to talk about it?" 

           Looking between her truck and the keys in her hand, Maleena glanced at Cody. He was a friend of her brother's afterall, and Chandler really liked the guy, so Maleena knew he couldn't be half bad. "You're probably really tired, so I should just go." Seeing Cody making no motion to leave, Maleena added, "But having someone to talk to would be really nice." 

           "Sure. Why don't we go into the barn office? There's chairs in there, and it's lit better." Cody chuckled, motioning towards the poorly lit barn that anyone could hardly see in the night time. 

            "That sounds fine." Maleena said, following Cody into the barn. 

            Once inside the office, Cody turned on the light switch. "Would you like some tea or some hot chocolate? I know it's kind of chilly in here." He pointed to the pot of water sitting on a hot plate on the counter. 

            "Hot chocolate would be nice, thank you." Maleena looked around the office, deciding to take a seat on the comfortable brown leather couch as she waited for her drink to be finished. 

            "With or without marshmallows?" Cody asked as he poured the brown powder into the mug of hot water. 

            "With, please. Thank you." She looked around at the decorated walls until Cody handed her the mug, equipped with a spoon to stir and marshmallows on top. Thanking him for the mug, Maleena expected Cody to sit next to her on the couch but instead he took a seat on the top of the wooden desk right in front of her. 

           "So, tell me what's goin' on." Cody crossed his ankles as he looked at Maleena who was gripping her warm mug of hot chocolate. 

          After taking a deep breath, Maleena dove into the story, but left out many details because Cody was still a stranger to her, and she wasn't quite ready to tell him everything about Dillion. Plus, how did Maleena know she could trust Cody, let alone know that he wouldn't go tell Chandler everything.

           "So, yeah, that's pretty much everything. Things are...messed up back home, to say the least." Maleena finished, letting out a chuckle. She lifted her mug of now cooled hot chocolate to her lips, taking a gulp. "Thank you for lettin' me vent." Maleena forced a smile. 

           "Anytime. I don't mean to cut this short, but it's gettin' awful late, and I don't want you to get in any more trouble. Here," Cody reached behind him to grab a pen and a piece of paper. "I'll give you my number and..." He scribbled out his number, handing the note to Maleena. "Shoot me a text when you get home safe, and we can talk more." 

           "I certainly will. Thank you so much, Cody, for everything." Maleena flashed a smile, standing up from the couch. 

            "I'll walk you to your truck." Cody said, following her out of the barn office door. "Oh, um, what are you doin' tomorrow?" 

          Maleena fished in her pocket for her truck keys. Unlocking the truck, she opened the front door, standing beside it. "Tomorrow? I don't think anything. I'm grounded, so I doubt I will be allowed to leave the house without sneaking out again. Why?" 

           Cody slipped a hand in his pajama pants pocket. "Tomorrow night is Saturday. It's rodeo night, and I know that you said you are new here, and haven't competed for months, but I thought it could be a good time for you to get back out there, y'know."

           Maleena mulled it over in her head. "My horse is no where near being ready to race though. He is still adjusting to the move. I'm not sure I want to put him through that." 

            "My family has plenty of horses you could ride if you wanted." Cody kindly offered. "If not, it's alright. I really don't want you to get in trouble, but I know you miss competing..." 

            Letting out a sigh, Maleena grinned. "Alright. You've convinced me. But I'm ridin' my horse." She pointed at Cody. "What time do I need to be here and where do I sign up?" 

          "We allow walk-ins, so just come into the barn office around 5:30, and I will get you signed up and such. When you get here, pull into the first driveway on your right, and park your truck, with the trailer facing the arena, somewhere in the grass over on that end." 

           "5:30 in the barn office. I'll see you then." Maleena smiled, hopping into her truck. Cody shut the door for her once she was inside her truck, waving at her as she drove away. Looking in her rear view mirror, Maleena saw Cody watching her drive away. Taking a deep breath as she looked back to the road, she couldn't help but remember the butterflies she got in her stomach the first time she met Cody. She also couldn't deny the sparks she felt between them tonight. Closing her eyes momentarily, Maleena tried to convince herself that whatever she felt for Cody was just because she was meeting a new person, and her and Dillion were fighting, and Cody was the one person who would have an unbiased opinion about everything. She has only seen the guy twice, there was no way she could already have feelings for him already...right?