I’m here because my brothers think I need something familiar. Time to heal. Fresh mountain air. That small town, apple pie life. And I’m here because I really have no idea where else I should be.
It’s been a couple of months. I mostly stick to myself. And yesterday’s interaction at the feed store, is a good example of why. It was a surprise to find Willow Brookes working in her dad’s feed store. A bigger surprise to see how nicely she has filled out over the years. And no surprise that she thinks I would kill a chicken.
But it is a big damn surprise to see her driving up the gravel drive to my house right now. Behind the wheel of her daddy’s truck. She’s got no business coming this far up the mountain and turning up at my property.
I watch as she jumps out of the truck. She may be cute, but she won’t be getting any friendly greetings from me. Though I do note that I can see the outline of her bra through the thin t-shirt she wears. And that she looks better without the store apron she was wearing yesterday. Better to admire her curves without it.
“What are you doing here?”
“I came to check on Ms. Bubbleworth.”
“What?” I’m seriously confused. There is nobody up here but me.
“It’s the chicken’s name.”
“Oh.” I give her my best hard glare. A look that has seen grown men turn and run. But Willow just puts her shoulders back, hands on her hips and glares right back at me. Her courage is to be admired. The look on her face is down right adorable.
I feel a little crack in my resistance. Willow Brookes is not the enemy. My oldest brother Thorne, newly in love and happy, keeps telling me that I need to let people in.
“You can’t go in hot. Be open to getting to know people. Let someone in. You don’t know, they could surprise you.” The words of a man who once swore he didn’t need anyone. And now Thorne is even helping our cousins to organize town events.
I try a smile. Even holding my hands up to show Willow I don’t want to fight. “The chicken is fine. She’s over here if you want to see for yourself?”
Chapter 3
Willow
It was impulse to come up here. But I wanted to see the chicken. Just the chicken.
That’s what I told myself the whole way here.
But I know in my heart I wanted to see Falcon again. The moment I step out of the truck I can’t deny how he makes my heart race. I feel a sense of excitement I haven’t felt in a long time.
My life has always been planned out. I did the classes I was good at. I went to the college my parents thought was best for me. I did the things I was told I should do. Leaving college filled me with fear. But I just knew it was something I had to do.
But this is something new and exciting. Thrilling. I’m here with no plan. It’s something I probably shouldn’t do. And it feels….good.
“Your chicken is over here.”
Falcon shows me to a little chicken hut with an attached run. It has a little hand built house, painted black and white, complete with shutters and a little porch, railings and all the trimmings.
“You made this?” I ask.
He shoves his hands in his pockets and nods. “My brother builds things. He built my cabin, and he showed me a few things.”
“Why is Ms. Bubbleworth here on her own?” There is a bigger chicken coop a few steps away that obviously has five or six chickens in it.
Falcon opens a hutch and reaches in, pulling out a chicken that was hidden.
“This is BB. She’s got a bad foot and she was being picked on by the others, so I moved her over here, but she needed a friend.” He holds the chicken like a pro, giving it a little pet on its neck. “I agree that an animal shouldn’t be doomed just because it is different. I’m hoping that these two get along, but if not, well, I’ll build a third hutch and just keep trying.”
Never, in a thousand years, would I have pictured Falcon Kinglsey caring that an injured chicken has a friend. Even going as far as to build a second chicken coop. There is more to this man than I gave him credit for.
I watch as he carefully places BB back in her half of the coop. Then Falcon looks up at me, and again, there is just the hint of an almost smile. “Do you want to see something cool?”
I nod and follow him into the barn where I let out a little gasp of surprise. There in a pen is a mumma goat with three of the cutest little baby goats. The babies are running around, jumping off each other, jumping off their mumma. They are amazing. Doing crazy little leaps where all four hoofs leave the ground at the same time.
Falcon picks one up and hands it to me before picking up the other two to cuddle to his big chest. Oh my, they are so soft. Ihold the little baby up to my face and laugh when it tries to eat the collar of my shirt.
