Page 30 of Homesick

“Hey!”

“You look like you want something,” he states as I get closer.

“I’m doing great! Thank you so much for asking,” I respond with crossed arms and a hint of sass. “But yes, I do have a favor to ask.”

Blake drops the tool he was using and grabs a rag to wipe off the grease on his hands. My mouth waters at the idea of him wiping his hands off after doing something else. Get it together, I say, scolding myself for getting off track with weird, dirty thoughts.

“Well, ask away, Campbell.”

I roll my eyes at his use of my last name. At least he doesn’t call me Little Campbell anymore. Blake and my brother used to terrorize me with that nickname and for some reason, it really got to me most of the time. I remember one or two occasions where tears were shed.

“I have to leave early tonight. Would you be able to finish up in the main barn before you leave? They need to be fed right at seven-thirty and I need to start getting ready by then.

He narrows his eyes as he examines my body language. I quickly straighten my posture and try to act normal. His eyes travel up and down my body and I can feel my skin heat up under his stare. This is almost as bad as the eye-fuck he gave me at the pond. I prepare myself for the next question he’ll most certainly ask.

“Yeah, that’s fine, but on one condition. You have to tell me what you’re up to. You look like you’ve got a secret.”

So, the acting cool part did not work. Good to know.

I decide to lay all my cards out on the table and answer truthfully. “Umm . . . I guess I have a date tonight.”

For one of the first times this summer, he looks like the one caught off guard. It’s very brief, but I see the look of disbelief on his face. I’m not sure whether to be offended or happy that he’s shocked I have a date. I decide to go with the latter.

Blake quickly regains his composure and replies, “with who?” I must look annoyed with his question because he quickly follows up with, “you don’t have to tell me. I’m just curious.”

I decide I don’t have anything to hide and tell him straight out. “His name is Adam Davis.”

“The guy you drunkenly danced with at the bar that one night? I didn’t know the two of you had been hanging out.”

My eyes snap to his and I’m quickly thrown by the fact that he’s able to remember that, but I wasn’t. But then again, I was very drunk, and he was not. I do, however, decide to award myself an imaginary point because my goal of that dance was to get Blake to notice and it seemed to have worked.

“Well, funny story. I didn’t remember him, but then he came into work a few days ago and we hit it off.”

Blake is quiet as he scratches his jaw. I try to think about what to say next to relieve some of the tension that’s currently floating around us. Before this moment, I felt like he couldn’t care less about my dating life.

Sure, he was flirty, but he’d been like that his entire life. I had to stop my mind from reeling as I began getting irritated that he was acting this way. My hand begins to curl into a fist and I press my nails into the skin of my palm. He was the one that broke things off with me. He didn’t get to get upset when I tried to move on.

“This has been fun, but I should probably get back to it. Thank you for helping.”

I turn and head to the calf barn before Blake can have a chance to react. I promised I wouldn’t run away from him anymore, but I would argue this was the perfect time to remove myself from the conversation.

I walk into the calf barn and all the babies run to the feeding troughs. Mocha is hanging out in his corner, which is normal, but something feels off. When I noticed his nose was dry yesterday, I decided to put some electrolytes in his water, but it didn’t seem to help. I walk over and crouch down to give him a quick once over. His eyes look a little dull and he doesn’t seem as attentive as he usually is.

My palms start to sweat as soon as I think of all the things that could be wrong. Growing up on a farm, I was trained not to get attached to these animals, but I had done exactly that. Also, I had been taking care of the calf barn these past few weeks and if anything happens to him, it’s my fault. I run my hand through my hair and head outside to track Blake down. I quickly forget how awkward we left things just minutes ago.

I run out to where Blake was working, but he’s nowhere in sight. I can feel my temperature rise the more panicked I get. My legs feel weak from all the extra energy my body is exerting.

I search every barn, but he’s nowhere to be found. Soon I give up and decide to call his phone. My thumb hovers over the call button, but I ignore any hesitation.

I hear buzzing above me and I automatically look up at the hay loft. I was so panicked I completely missed that the ladder to the loft is currently unlatched. I climb the old metal object and pop my head into the loft to see Blake sitting by himself on one of the hay bales sitting off to the side. Any other time, I would question why he was up here, but there are bigger issues at hand.

Blake turns his body toward me and I ignore the look of hope I see in his eyes. “I was just about to answer your call. Is everything okay?”

I rapidly explain everything happening with my new four-legged friend. He instantly notices my mood and shifts into vet mode. He doesn’t even laugh when I refer to the calf as Mocha. If Chris were here, he’d roll his eyes and tell me it was just a cow, but not Blake. I can see the way he hangs on to every word, like he genuinely cares how upset I am.

Minutes later, he’s in the calf barn with his vet kit that he keeps in his truck. This is only the second time I’ve seen him work with the animals on the farm, but I notice the care he takes in each touch. I feel my entire body start to calm down the second I see Mocha is in good hands.

After finishing his examination, I notice a calmness in his body language, and I pray that’s a good sign. His eyes meet mine and he greets me with a gentle smile. “He’s going to be alright, Wren. The poor guy has a mild case of scours.”

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