However, the stupid screw kept tilting, never wanting to remain straight. When I finally got it where I wanted, I pulled the trigger, but it began spinning way faster than I thought and fell to the ground.
I groaned but picked it up and tried again. By my third attempt, I was getting frustrated.
On my fourth, I couldn't help it. "Fuck! Why won't it just stay?" I said aloud, losing my temper.
I only briefly considered throwing the machine into the cows’ water when Brooks set the wood down.
"Can I show you how it works?" he asked.
There was no irritation orI told you soin his voice, though there should have been.
"I guess," I snapped. I shouldn't be rude to him considering how kind he was being even though I wasn't actually helping him, but the tone just fell off my tongue.
"Here." He picked up one of the boards that was hanging there, attached only on one single side. He held it with one hand, then grabbed a screw. "The drill bit is magnetic. You want to line it up and put pressure behind it in a straight line. You might need to put your hand on the back to add enough force."
When he did it, it went through the wood seamlessly.
"Now you try."
He handed it over to me. The one he’d just screwed in was holding it nicely, so I lined up another, making sure to follow his instructions. It wiggled once again and fell to the grass.
"Try again," Brooks encouraged.
I blew my bangs out of my face and tried even harder. It started to wiggle, but before it could fall, I felt his body behind me and his warm hands came over mine, pushing harder and sending the screw forward and straight through the wood like butter.
"You did it," he said, sounding genuinely impressed.
"With your help," I added.
"And next time you'll do it on your own.”
His hand was still over mine, his body still close. Neither of us moved away for a while. It was like he radiated heat, and everywhere we almost touched felt warmer than it should have.
A truck coming from the west finally made Brooks jump back, clearing his throat. I almost dropped the drill but managed to hold onto it before setting it down gently.
A silver truck rounded the bend. It stopped near us, and Blake, one of Brooks's brothers, and another farmhand I hadn't met jumped out.
"Hey, y’all," he said with a wave. "Heard you needed help."
"Yeah, the fence is still busted," Brooks replied as they approached. "I put the pieces together, but they need to be slotted into the posts."
"We got this," Blake assured him. "Why don't you guys continue with the tour?"
"Are you sure?" Brooks asked.
"Yeah, it’s no problem. I'm sure you're not interested in this part of things." Blake said to me, and I just nodded.
"Fine, thanks," Brooks responded, his voice a bit clipped. I was surprised at his tone but didn't question it too much.
His brother also looked confused for a moment but shrugged it off with a, "See ya later."
Brooks led me away from the barn and back in the direction we'd come from.
"Sorry about Blake,” he finally said.
I shrugged. "I guess he's not wrong. I'm here just to observe." Though something about the way he’d said it had annoyed me.
“We can head over to the chicken coop and you can do some more observing there."
