Page 32 of Till The Cows Come Home
We continued each day like this, greeting each other before getting lost in the workday and although the time we spent together was short, I couldn’t help but notice the difference it made on my day. Starting each morningseeing her smile and coo at Blossom sparked an optimism I hadn’t felt in a while, and I could slowly feel a fraction of the weight being lifted from my shoulders, knowing that I was no longer in this endeavor alone.
Wednesday morning quickly arrived and before I even handed off Sage’s coffee, I could tell something was off. Instead of the usual pleasantries I overheard, she was working in silence, tapping her feet nervously where she stood.
“You look like you saw a ghost. What's up?”
“You’re still coming, right?”
“Coming to what?”
“Don’t you dare,” she snared.
“Of course I’m still coming,” I assured her, but instead of answering she just walked towards me, setting her forehead against my chest as if it was too heavy for her to hold up herself.
“That’s not funny.”
“Sorry,” I mumbled into her hair.
Aside from the kiss she stole over the weekend, we’d existed platonically, and every time we came in contact, my self control was tested, my body begging to meet hers. Grasping at my restraint, I chuckled, tilting her chin until her eyes met mine.
“It’s going to be fun. But if you don’t cheer up, you’re going to ruin it before we even get there because you’re so deep inside your own head. Let’s leave at five. Be ready to have a blast.”
She nodded, pretending to mope back to Blossom, but as soon as she got within arm’s reach, the calf was nudging at her hands, forcing her to break her charade.
The evening snuck up on me and before I knew it I was standing in front of the bathroom mirror fixing my collar for what seemed like the hundredth time. Sage had told me to be casual, so I settled on a flannel and jeans, though I’d changed multiple times, as I made an effort to pick a color that was neither too dark nor too flashy. I wanted to blend in, knowing that the attention needed to be on Sage and her parents’ relationship. I was the icebreaker, and a slight worry coursed through me as if I'd somehow make a bad impression on people I’d already met.
In their defense, the Bakers were nothing but nice to me, but that was when I was bailing them out of debt. Now that I was trying to win over the daughter they’ve been spending their entire life trying to protect, it felt different. Not to mention, she was spending an awful lot of time at the farm while avoiding them, which could easily sour their feelings towards me, but I was knocked from my train of thought as Sage’s knocks hammered on my door.
I should have expected she’d be early and as her knocking continued, I quickly grasped she wasn’t about to stop until I opened the door. So I smoothed my collar one last time, accepting my current look as the winner in order to tend to the incessant pounding. When I opened the door, Sage’s fist was still raised to deliver another blow, her face painfully mirroring the same demeanor I caught her in this morning.
“Hi,” she grumbled, moving forward to enter past me.
“Nope,” I said, blocking her path. “Try again. We’re going to have a fabulous evening and if we need to stand here until your mindset reflects that, we will.”
I fought back laughter as her expression darkened, her eyebrows furrowing in displeasure as I closed the door in herface. When I opened it back up twenty seconds later, my heart sank, because in the few moments I made her wait, she disappeared.
When I stepped onto the deck to look for her, though, I immediately jumped back as the crouched demon sprung from behind the door.
“What’s wrong with you?” I gasped, bending over to slow my heart, which threatened to beat out of my chest.
“I’m sorry,” she said in between breaths of laughter. “I couldn’t pretend to be excited and I knew that would make me feel better. I think I’m ready to go now.”
She casually looped her arm in mine, guiding me towards my truck and all I could do was shake my head, gladly accepting that this woman may literally be the death of me.
I veered with her towards the passenger side of the truck, but once we reached the bed, she released her grasp.
“We don’t have time for chivalry today, lumberjack,” she grumbled, before walking off to open her own door.
I rounded the truck, climbing into my own seat, before turning to her.
“I know you can open your own door, Sage. But once in a while, it’s okay to let someone take the work off your hands.”
“Sorry,” she mumbled.
“Don’t apologize. Just understand that being an independent badass and being spoiled from time to time doesn’t have to be mutually exclusive. I promise you can have both.”
She nodded, taking my hand in hers with a squeeze, and while I drove she mindlessly traced my hand with her thumb. When we arrived at her parents just minutes later, she sat waiting, and I gladly rounded my truck to open the door for her. She took my hand again, leading me up the path to her parents’ porch, but when we approached the door, Sage stopped.
“Do you want me to knock?”
