CountryCore Series: The Ranch Hand (WLW)

Chapter Thirteen

Chris was stirred from her fidgety sleep by shaking like the world was in the middle of an earthquake. She shot up and grabbed someone who was beside her bed, then ran with them to the door. Settling in its frame, she held her hands on either side of who she now saw was Hazel and glanced around the room.

Everything was still in order and stood still.

Hazel just started laughing, so hard she was having to hold onto Chris' arms to stay upright, and then looked at her apologetically.

"W-What the hell...?" Chris muttered as she stomped back to her bed and jumped under the sheets. "Go away... I jus' want to sleep."

"Still no luck, 'ey? Feeling any better?" She felt Hazel sit down beside her, then lean against her back. She grunted and wriggled trying to shake her off, but Hazel didn't move and just laughed again. "I've got great news for you, auntie."

"Is it your ma come to get ya?" She joked from under the sheets, refusing to resurface.

"Ha-ha-haaaa!" Hazel said with so much sarcasm Chris found herself chuckling from under the sheets, sheets she needed to change from all the sweat she shed when her fever finally broke. She hated being sick, and sick as a dog had been how she felt only twelve hours ago, but it rarely happened. "Nope! Someone just got home, though."

Chris shot up out of bed again and ran to her door, then froze. She looked down at her body, only clothed in boxers and an oversized pullover, then whined. At least she didn't smell like sweat anymore since she'd showered in her tiny bathroom between her current room and her old one.

"She just pulled in. I know you said you needed to get a little extra sleep, but..." Chris felt Hazel watching as she pulled open several drawers of her dresser, throwing clothing all over the room. "It's just Hayley. Relax. Everything will be--"

"Don't finish that sentence!" Chris called out as she pulled her shirt from her body. "That's bad luck!"

"Seriously? You're going to be superstitious right now? Don't you have something more important to think about?"

Chris looked up in confusion as she pulled on her trousers. Hazel pointed at her face and she turned, glancing at her reflection in her mother's vanity. Her hair stuck up in every direction possible and there was an obvious drool trail down the side of her chin. She'd never been much of a graceful sleeper and it always showed when she woke in the morning, but she definitely looked a bit worse this time. Her eyes were puffy and dark underneath and her lips chapped.

She rubbed her hands over her face and shook her head, smacking her cheeks a few times to wake up a little more. After running her fingers through her hair for a few seconds, she was satisfied enough to let it be. She turned around with an awkward grin.

"I'm fine. Got enough rest."

"You're still sick, Chris. Just 'cause you don't have a fever doesn't mean you don't need rest. Maybe I could ask Hayley to come over and--"

"No! I'm good, 'kay?" She pressed the back of her hand against her forehead with a wide, ear-to-ear, grin. "See? No fever. I'm all better."

"You do know that's not reliable."

"Shuddup, brat." She guffawed, hearing Hazel giggle as she turned toward the closet. She hurriedly pulled on a shirt, then came back out. Holding her arms out to her sides, she asked, "Good? Not good?"

"Good, but you might want to wear a bra or one of those binder thingies." Hazel pointed at her chest and Chris looked down.

There were a pair of mounted, small breasts pricking against her clean pullover. When did these things come out? She grabbed a binder from her dresser. After a bit more maneuvering from within the closet she'd ducked into again, she came out and smoothed her shirt down, tucking it into her pants.