Tell Me You'll Stay

Chapter 4

The lovely Beth Richards.

Lunch. Her favorite part of the day. She and Beth were sitting in the break room eating some salads. "Hey, Kiernan... You know what would be great?" I glanced up at her, fork halfway to my open mouth. "If you went to the feed store and picked up some dog food." She grinned. I gave her a glare as I ate my forkful. "You love me." She laughed. "You know," I muttered over my bottle of water, "That's debatable." Beth feigned hurt and brought a hand to her heart. "I'm hurt." She choked out. She stood and rushed out of the room. Not ten seconds later I heard her laughing. "Liar!" I yelled at her with a laugh. Shaking my head, I cleared our trash and grabbed my purse. "Here I go! Into the cold! To get feed you should have gotten when you knew it was low!" I yelled after her, making my way to the front. I heard a faint "Suck it up, buttercup!"

"You cannot use my own line against me!" I yelled. You just don't do that, I mused to myself.  "Bye, Fluffy. Be good." I murmured to Fonzie whilst putting on my windbreaker. He, along with Pepper and Daisy, wagged their tails as I left.

I pulled up my hood at the gust that whipped through my hair. Oh, fall was gonna feel like winter this year. I continued walking maybe a block until I reached 'Laramie Feeds'. A man who'd lived here most of his life grew the corn, wheat, hay, dried apple bits, and so on at his farm. He imported the pellets and pet feed. A slight push of the door and I entered the warm building. I removed my hood and made my way for the back of the store, stopping now again to say a quick hi to some of her clients. I was pretty much muttering a song to myself as I searched for the 50lb bag of feed we usually got. "None? How can there be-..." I cut myself short.. Who the fuck puts a 50lb bag on the second to top shelf? People like me can't reach it! I crossed my arms as I ran through some possibilities.

I could go get someone and have to wait forever to get someone to get it. I could climb up there and pull it down, possibly bust it open. Or I could just get two smaller bags for 5 dollars more.... Oh, they all sounded so great. Not. I let out something mixed between a sigh and a groan. Looks like I'll have to get someone.

"Issues?" An amused, masculine voice sounded beside me. I swallowed. Hard. I know who that is. I turned to see Travis, his eyes glittering with amusement as he watched me. "Yea," I muttered, "Serious ones." I merely gave him a 'shoot me' look and pointed a finger to the bag. "Oh. I see," he chuckled, "You're short and the bag doesn't seem to be in your reach." I frowned at him. "You don't have to rub it in." I stuck my tongue out at him when he turned to look at the bag "I saw that.. I was gonna help you," he drug out the 'was', "But I don't think your attitude helped any." He winked. "Who says I needed your help?"  I tossed at him. "Then by all means, Miss Kiernan, go for it." He took a step back and gestured to the bag. "Fine. but you have to catch it. I mean. I did fix your dog." I mused. "Deal." Although he seemed confused at what I meant. Let's hope these designer boots are good for something! I marched forward and began my ascent. I reached for feed and pulled it down. "Catch, cowboy." I chuckled and slid it over the edge. He caught it with ease and set it on the ground, still watching me. "Do be careful." He warned. "Yeah, yeah. I've got it." I made it halfway before jumping off and landing on my feet. "Thanks for the help." I picked up the bag, sent him a wink and went for the counter. I felt brave for some reason.. Was it the cold weather making me frisky and bold? Who knew.

I paid for the food, picked it up and began my walk back to the clinic. I stopped right out side the door and dropped the bag.. It was really freaking cold. As I propped my hood, Travis exited the building and before I knew it, he had my bag in his arms. "You look like you could use some help." He offered. "Oh.. there's no, uh, need for that." I stammered.He nodded "But my manners won't let you carry it back yourself." He smiled. I nodded and  lead the way back to the clinic.

"You can set it back here." I pointed to the storage room. He went past me and set the bag next to a tub. "Thanks for bringing it in here. I appreciate it." He flashed his white teeth in a killer grin, "Not a problem."  I lead the way back to the lobby, suddenly loosing my talkative personality. "If you need any help, I'd be happy to oblige." He offered. "I'm sure there's some tall objects I'm bound to have issues with." I chuckled. He laughed as well. "Well.. Ill be seeing you around, Miss Kiernan." He gave a small tip of his stetson and made his way out with that slow sexy gait.

Wow.... What a cowboy.