Page 4 of Rival
Our land is so full of junk while theirs is pristine and beautiful. I’ve always wanted to go over the fence and explore,but I fear my father’s fists more. Maybe I shouldn’t. I’m almost twenty-one years old and should be able to do what I want.
Would the Coopers be annoyed if I snuck over there? I can’t imagine they’d be terribly angry. It’s not like I’d do anything other than look.
Our properties have butted up next to each other for my entire life, and I know they have a son who runs their small ranch now. I’ve never talked to him before. My father swears he’s awful, but I’m sure that’s not true. The back portions of our properties stop right at the edge of a small cliff, which is one of my favorite places to venture.
Our town is one of four that surrounds the Broken Ridges. A break in the rolling hills that’s cut into pieces, forming ragged ridges. Aptly named, and I love the view we have. It’s one of the few things about my father’s property that I love.
Picking my way to the back, I follow the fence which separates us from the Cooper ranch. My fingers trail along the roughened wood and I snatch my hand away when I hear the thundering hooves of a horse.
Glancing quickly over my shoulder, I check to see if it’s Raleigh and my father, but I don’t see them, and the pounding of hooves is coming from more to my left. Peeking through the bushes, I watch as a form leaning low over the neck of a gorgeous white horse comes into view.
It must be Mason Cooper.
Father hates him more than any other Cooper with a passion. There have always been disputes and complaints over the clutter stacked along the fencing on our side of the property from their family. I imagine it’s an eyesore, and I can’t help but feel embarrassed by the state of how things are kept around here.
Mason doesn’t see me frozen in place as he sails past along the edge of his land, clearly in a rush to get to his destination. He’s a lot larger than I expected, his body like a God seated onthe back of his horse. His muscled arms are gripped around the reins tightly, and there’s a serious look etched on his face with his lips pressed together. I haven’t seen him for a long time, and if my memory serves me correctly, I don’t think we’ve ever actually had a conversation before.
When I was younger, the few times I saw him rumble past in his truck, I only received a quick glance. Never a smile or wave in greeting, just his eyes for a brief few seconds before he’d look away and continue down the road to the entrance of the Cooper’s drive.
I’m not sure, but I’m fairly confident that he doesn’t live there any longer. I know his parents do, since the ranch is flourishing under their care. I assume Mason comes over every day to work, then leaves to head back to his home.
The pounding hooves disappear as he kicks his horse to speed up and they disappear over a slight hill out of my view. He’s headed in the same direction I am, and my curiosity gets the best of me to see what he’s up to.Maybe I can offer to help him out if he needs a hand.
I pick up my pace and hurry to the edge of the property where the fencing ends a few feet before the ridge drops off. I stay as close to the post as possible, my eyes staying away from the valley to avoid noticing how high I am right now. As much as I love the view, heights scare me to death, and I’ve only got about a three-foot space to slip around before I’m on Cooper land.
My heart kicks up to a fast pace when I consider that I’m trespassing right now. I’ve never been allowed to go onto their land, but what if he needs help? I’d give anything to be useful to someone right now.
Steeling my nerves, I lift my chin and head in the direction he was riding toward until I hear grunting and cursing. My resolve falters when I hear a loud, “Come thefuck on!” shouted.
Should I just go back? What if it’s a serious situation and he needs me?
With dragging feet, I push myself forward until I spy Mason wrestling with a calf who seems to have escaped from the herd. I’m not sure if there’s ever been a moment I’ve been this close to my neighbor, so I take the advantage to study him before he catches sight of me. Assuming he’s around the same age as my father, it’s clear he takes much better care of himself than Clayborn Hughes. There are some fine lines on his face, with some crow’s feet just developing at the corners of his eyes. Disregarding how frustrated he seems with his lips pressed tightly together, it’s easy to see his jaw is cut sharply underneath his short, dark brown beard. It’s a bit unkempt, but it suits him. I’m not sure of the color of his hair on his head, hidden in the shadows under his hat, but it seems to match the whiskers on his face.
My eyes roam over his body, and I’m surprised to see how muscular his arms are. More than the average man, not that I’ve seen many up close, but there are veins running from the back of his hands all the way up his arms until they disappear where his sleeves are rolled back. I swallow hard and jerk my eyes away, feeling guilty for ogling him.
Glancing around, I see another calf wandering about twenty feet from where he’s wrestling with the first and realize he’s got some babies who decided to go on a bit of an exploration.
Chuckling at how adorable they are, I freeze when Mason’s head whips up and zeroes in on where I’m standing.
“Who the fuck are you?” he snaps out, and my stomach clenches.
I fight the instinct to back away and give him a forced smile instead. “I’m your neighbor, Edith Hughes. I saw you riding past. It seemed like something was wrong.” I hesitate only a moment, then ask, “Do… do you need a hand?”
“I’m fuckin’ fine.” His answer is clipped. I knew he’d send me away the moment I mentioned my last name and his face grew dark. “Hughes ain’t welcome here, so you best turn your ass around and go back the way you came.”
His dismissal is humiliating, so I only nod once and take a step away to go back toward our side. I wish I knew why the Coopers and Hughes were at odds with each other, but I know I can’t ask my father. I certainly won’t ask Mason.
Scurrying away, I freeze when he calls out, “How’d you get over here, anyway?”
Turning back to face him, I swallow against my dry throat. “Th-There’s a gap along the ridge where the fence ends.”
He nods once as if he suspected my answer. Then, mumbling to himself, I can only just make out his response. “Gonna have to fix that in the mornin’.”
Without waiting for more, I walk as quickly as possible back to the ridge and slip back onto our property. By the time I’m past the fence, my heart is beating painfully hard. I don’t think I breathed for even a second during my departure. I suck in a loud, gasping mouthful of air to settle my nerves.
I never should have gone over there. Oh God, what if he tells my father?
My face falls along with my stomach, realizing I may have just seriously messed up. Father will be furious if he hears I bothered one of the Hughes.
