Road Not Taken

Chapter 3: Meet the Greens

Day one of staying with the Greens has been.... interesting. I had my chance to meet everyone and get to know them a little bit more. I helped out Asher with grooming and feeding the horses. After that, he left to go do something rodeo-related. Asher wasn't much of a talker, but I could tell that he had pride in what he did. 

Then I had a nice chat with Jackson as we mucked out the horse stalls. He spent most of his time trying to flirt with me while smelling like horse poop, it was not a great look for him. He also mentioned another girl, hopefully she can deal with his antics. Luckily for me, Elizabeth seems to be the normal sibling around here. We went outside and she talked about growing up on the farm with her brothers and having a single mother. No one likes to mention Mr. Green so I'm sort of clueless as to he is or was a person.

"Sorry here I am talking your ear off about my family." Elizabeth says as she rests against the fence. "So.... what is your family like? Besides Mallory."

I was hoping to avoid this conversation, so I decided to only talk about who I consider family. "I have an older brother, Mark. He's the best, he practically raised me and taught me everything I know. I wish Mallory could have gotten to know him."

"You talk about him like he's gone or something."

"He isn't, I just haven't seen him in a while. Not since we ran away from home."

"Why did you run away? If you don't mind me asking."

I look down at the ground debating if I want to answer the question. "I-"

I hear footsteps as Amy walks over to us. "There you are. I have been looking everywhere for you." She says out of breath.

"What is it Ma?" Elizabeth asks.

"Jackson needs help moving the bales. I would ask Asher to help but he's out at the rodeo."

"Where's Matt?"

"He's watching Mallory." I answer. "Again, he totally didn't have to watch her."

"Nonsense he loves kids." Amy says.

"Alright, looks like we will have to finish this conversation at a later time." Elizabeth states as she leaves.

I rest against the fence as silence falls between me and Amy.

"I'm guessing the kids have talked your ears off about our family."

"Not really."

"Well, what do you want to know?"

"I don't want to stick my nose where it doesn't belong."

"Be nosy, I don't care."

"What.... what was Mr. Green like?"

She lets out a sweet laugh. "One thing for sure is that he hated being called Mr. Green. I always called him by his first name, Jake. He was one of the best bull riders in the state. Tons of fame and money. I was one of his, what do you call it? Fangirls. We were head over heels in love with each other. We got married, had kids, and moved out here after my parents passed."

"Oh, I'm so sorry."

"Don't be, they would have loved the fact that all of this got passed down to me."

"So, I take it that the farm is family owned?"

"Yes, passed down from generation to generation."

"Why does no one talk about Mr-Jake?"

"Well.... he wasn't without his faults. He drank a ton and never really cared for being a dad. It was strange though because you see the love he had for the kids in his eyes, but he never expressed it."

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay. I still love him."

I looked up and could tell from the dark clouds forming and deep blue sky that it was getting late.

"Does Matt need to be relieved of his babysitting duties?" I ask.

"Nope. Like I said, he loves kids. He seems to be getting along with Mallory."

I smile a little at that. "Good."

"So.... you and Matt?" Amy asks as she nudges my shoulder.

"I....um.... what?"

"Oh, come on. I'm not blind and if I was, I could still tell that you two obviously like each other."

"We are just friends."

"If you need my approval, you have it sweetie."

"I don't, but thanks."

"Anytime. Come on, let's go inside before they send out a search patrol."