Country Love Ch. 03

She set up the funnel she would attach the chute to and went around back to get the tractor which was attached to the machine that would pour out the grain. She pulled the tractor around and backed the chute into the open window which the funnel waited inside of. She fired up the machine and realized that she needed a second person to pull the lever that would start and stop the pouring process. She climbed back into the feed room expecting to attach the funnel and chute and ready the bags and twine but it was already done. She looked around and saw Ronnie leaning against the wall with his arms crossed and a smirk on his face. She needed another hand but she was pissed that it had to be his.

"Need a little help?" he asked even though he already knew the answer.

"Yes," she said, "So get out there and man that lever." She smiled mockingly as the smirk left his face.

"No way!" he said, "There is no way a little girl like you can lift hundred pound feed bag across this room for the next hour. At least not easily!" She simply crossed her arms and held her ground. She may have moved to the city but she continued riding horses and that was no easy work. Whatever she had to do here, she could do with a little bit of effort. Ronnie dropped his head and walked up to her. He got within a foot of her and said, "I'm sorry. That sexist bullshit I pulled behind the shed was un-called for, but I'm not letting a little girl do a bunch of hard manual labor while I sit and watch. Please go out and push that button so we can get this done. Together." His last word sounded like it burned his tongue to say but Cora knew his apology burned his pride even more so she jumped down and started her work.

Once the bags were filled and stacked she and Ronnie silently stalked off to the old shed. They looked around at the job ahead of them. There were piles of rusted parts to tractors and trucks, sheets of scrap metal, and old bikes and wagons that her mother probably played with as a child. They easily loaded everything into the back of Ronnie's truck. When it was empty they examined their work side by side. With a sigh Cora let her head rest on Ronnie's arm. She was relieved that the work day was over. Ronnie looked down at the little head resting against his arm and fought back a smile. He reached over and brushed a little blonde wisp back behind her ear. Surprised Cora looked up at him, but in the split second his face hardened again and he turned and walked out of the shed. "See you tomorrow Cora." he said as he hopped in his truck and sped off.



Cora dragged her tired little body home. She walked through the front door and kicked off her boots, she peeled of her sweaty shirts, dropped her jean shorts, and left her panties on the trail to the bathroom. She ran the water warm and stepped in. She washed bits of hay seed out of her hair and scrubbed all traces of sweat from her body. Then she made the water hotter and relaxed thinking about Ronnie. If he wasn't such a jerk she might have liked him. Who was she really kidding though? he was the most handsome human being she had every laid her eyes on. She wanted to see more muscles than just those big strong arms. She wanted to run her fingers through that thick dark mop of his. And she wanted to see him smile. He was trying too hard to be a man. He was still a boy. He was only twenty years old for goodness sake. He was very kind to have taken so much trouble to make her comfortable and he was sincerely worried when she cut her leg. She decided that tomorrow she would have more patience with him.

She got out of the shower and dried herself down and threw her hair up in the towel. It was beginning to get dark and the sunset was beautiful. Crickets were starting their music and the breeze blew the leaves in the trees. It was perfect. She pulled on a little cotton dress. It did nothing for her figure but it was comfortable. She let down her long hair and combed through it. Just as she was going to fix dinner up she heard a certain truck pull up her drive and slam its doors outside. Then came a short knock on the door.

As she answered the door she took in Ronnie's more cleaned up appearance. He wore dark blue jeans, a pair of black boots, and a Motley Crue t-shirt that accentuated his muscular form. She didn't understand why he would be at her house at this time of day and immediately imagined the worst. " What's the matter?" she asked rather excitedly, " Is something wrong at the farm? Is Pop ok? Come in, come in."

She stepped aside so he could enter her house. He stepped in quickly and placed both hands on her shoulders.

"Quiet. Relax nothing is wrong." he said giving her a little shake to snap her out of it. She looked at him puzzled. "I just wanted to come see if you had had a chance to go out yet. I mean like see the new stuff in town. I don't know. Maybe this was a bad idea." He dropped his hands and looked away.

"Oh, yes, well no. I haven't seen anything yet. Are you saying you want to go somewhere in public with me?"

"Well you could put it like that," he said, "or you could say I'm asking you to go out with me tonight."

"I will," she said rather surprised at his sudden change of heart, "just let me get a little prettier."

As she walked away from him he let out a deep breath. He watched her slim little figure turn around and walk away. Damn was she beautiful he thought. He thought of when he first saw her in those little shorts with those long suntanned legs. How her long silky blonde hair smelled sweet even after she had worked with animals and dirt all day. He loved those eyes of hers too. They were light blue almost grey and they were filled with laughter and feistiness. He was astounded by her confidence, willpower, and playful personality, He misjudged her when he heard about her. She wasn't the boss's grand daughter turned city slicker, she was a farm girl at heart and that spirit had never left her.

He looked up when he heard her come down the stairs. She had put on flowing cotton tank top, tucked it into some light washed jean cutoffs, and slipped into some moccasins. She had let her hair air dry which had giving it volume and shine, and it fell almost to her butt. She looked perfect with the little bit of sheer makeup she had but on and he couldn't wait to show her around.

They hopped into his truck. It smelled less like a farm truck and more like a man. The cab was clean and empty except for sun glasses in the cup holder and a 12 gauge laying across the back seat. The uncomfortable silence had to be broken so Cora switched on the CD player. Some Dierks Bentley started streaming through the truck and it made her smile. Ronnie turned it down a little and asked her what she wanted to see. After explaining to him that she didn't know what there was to see he told her he would take care of it.

He showed her the new restaurant the old school that closed down a bridge they had built last year and finally he wanted to take her to the cliff that over looked the town. They drove around some back roads that wound through the woods and stopped in front of a foot bridge that crossed over a stream that connected to a waterfall. " Can you go inside that?" she asked pointing towards the waterfall.

"Yeah there's a shallow cave behind it. It's surprisingly not very well known about but me and my brother went into it once. It's beautiful in there. I'll take you sometime."

They continued on about seventy five yards and stopped where the earth ended. Cora looked down and her eyes widened she had no idea such a small town could make such a beautiful display. She smiled up at Ronnie who returned the gesture. This is the first time she had seen any happy emotion come from him and it was beautiful his teeth were like a line of pearls, and his smile spread into his eyes that twinkled with the lights from the town.

"Thank you for taking me out. I had a lot of fun with you tonight." Cora said burying her hands in the back pockets of her shorts and putting her head down. She was very nervous even though she had no reason to be. She shouldn't have to impress him after his actions today. He should have to impress her. That hadn't taken much though. She looked at Trimbridge from her birds eye view and smiled again. Then she felt his two strong arms drape over her shoulders and his body pressed into her. She tensed at the contact. She hoped he couldn't feel her heart pounding under his embrace, but she was let down when he let out a little chuckle. He placed his right hand over her left breast. Her heart was pounding out of her chest. "You aright there?" he teased as he let her go. She turned around quickly and looked at the warm smile that was now spread across his face. She was speechless so she just kept looking at him in surprise. "Come away from the edge Cora." he said and took her small hand in his big one. He led her just a few feet away and she followed. She would follow him anywhere he led her now, she thought as she walked with him back to the truck. He helped her in and when he got into the cab he pulled her close to his side and kept his arm around her the whole ride home.

When they arrived home he helped her down out of the truck and walked her to the door. Before she went inside he took her hand pulled her back to him for a moment, he bent down, and kissed her on the forehead. "Goodnight Cora, I'll see you tomorrow I hope." He walked down the porch steps got in his truck and smiled at her before he pulled away. She watched smiling until his truck drove out of sight.