CountryCore Series: The Ranch Hand (WLW)

Chapter Eight

Hayley hadn't seen much of Chris over the last week and a half. When Daniel told her to follow him to the pig barn changing station a week ago, she hadn't asked any questions. Her mind was full of them and, surprisingly enough, they weren't all about Chris. Still, too many of them were. She swallowed her words and listened as Dan told her she would be working with the swine from here on out.

It really amazed her that she hadn't been laid off, but she whisked the thought away, recalling her conversation with Chris at Humphrey's. It felt like that talk had been months ago, but it'd only been around two weeks since.

When Hayley had gotten back into work, her muscles ached, but the sting that usually came to her lungs when working in the fields never did. Interestingly enough, Dan had taken her to town the week before for an allergy test. He'd told her they wanted to make sure she would be okay around the animals and the test involving the swine had done nothing to her. The test involving the goats however, had sparked up chest pains and Dan had disappointedly said no. That being said, she was relieved to have something to actually do on the ranch. Something she was allowed to do, that is. She was made to wear a mask, but still, the improvement was miraculous. Her dreams of working with the goats was pretty nonexistent after she spent one morning with the hogs.

She thought that perhaps the smell or the humidity may get to her, but she was alright. Another requirement from Dan, though she vaguely sensed it was from Chris by how when Dan told her about it he seemed completely befuddled, was that she must get an asthma nurse as soon as possible. He'd given her a list of the ones in town as he commented on how odd it was that they had nurses who specialized in home visits and it had settled her mind. Chris was definitely the one who'd told him to say it all. He clearly had no idea what he was talking about and Chris had to have done research on asthma...for her.

It hadn't taken Hayley too long to get into the swing of things and Dan knew everything about anything to do with swine. He involved himself in every aspect of the swine habitat and treatment and meeting his brother was a plus in Hayley's book.

Austin was adorable. Sometimes, it seemed like he may know more about pigs than Dan and when Austin wasn't around, he would admit it. The way Dan was with his little brother touched Hayley. On occasion, he would treat him more like a son than a brother, yet Austin never flinched. Now, he would definitely twitch nervously if he was touched without warning or permission, but he was a sweet, mostly calm boy.

Every night, Sav turned on the humidifier as Hayley walked into the room from her shower and asked how her day was. As lovely as Sav was, however, she wasn't the person with whom she craved conversation.

Chris avoided her like the plague and that was not an exaggeration. The most words that had taken place between them were simple pleasantries when they passed each other or the small "intro to hogs" speech she'd given her. During that entire speech, Chris looked around and over Hayley, never really looking her into the eyes. Her blank face was back like the evenings they'd spent together and the nights Chris had held her in her bed were things of fiction. Yet, Hayley could still feel her touch and she knew it wasn't fictitious.

Not only that, but she worried for more than just what had happened between them. Or rather, what hadn't. Chris was even more detached than before. So immersed in her work she became cold to any other person who spoke to her aside from Dan, Austin and Lee. Even Heath and Mike had felt the brunt of her aggravation when a tractor had overturned. No one had been hurt, luckily, but that was of little consequence when Chris held the men involved solely responsible and benched them. When they came back after being off for two days, it was almost as if they were afraid her wrath would come down on them again and always walked on eggshells.

Regardless, Chris had her hands full enough without having to concern herself with her. So did Hayley, as she had been assigned to help with the mating cycle between Hairy and his sow; a twenty-one day affair. They were a week into the cycle and they had around two to three days in which the sow, named Daisy, was receptive. Daisy was around eight months old and had never mated before. To top it all off, she was extremely shy and kept to herself, but Dan was insistent that they were to use natural methods.