Tethered (Book Two of The Invisible String Series)

Welcome To The Farm

I make sure to grab our bags from the backseat as my mother, Lizzie, and Benji make their way towards the house. It's such a surreal sight, to see the woman I love with every fiber of my being just fitting in so well with this place. With Sawyer, it had never been like this. I very rarely was ever allowed to come home, as Sawyer always had this thing with animals and my only aim was to make my then-wife happy. How the fuck I managed to let such a fowl creature have that much control over me, I don't know, but I'm extremely thankful that that part of my life is over and I'm back on track with someone who's just so...perfect.

Shaking myself of my thoughts, because now is really not the time to get all caught up in the past, I lug our stuff up the rest of the path and into the house, bypassing the living room and the kitchen, where my mom and Lizzie are laughing, and heading towards the basement. Which just so happens to be my old room.

Back when I first started really getting into learning and playing guitar, I kept my parents up at night so much that my father turned our basement into a sound-proof room. It also served a greater purpose during my later teenage years, when I solidified my interest in girls.

I can't help but snort a little as I drop our bags onto the freshly-made bed, glazing around the room and wondering what my sixteen year old self would say if she saw me with Lizzie. Something crass, no doubt.

Deciding to unpack later, I venture back up into the kitchen and instantly move around to make myself another cup of coffee. It's like almost four in the afternoon, but that flight was so long and I am extremely tired. The time difference alone is enough to make me want to fall asleep and succumb to the jet-lagged feeling clouding over my senses, so I'm going to need the caffeine to be able to survive the rest of the evening.

My mother passes by me, giving my shoulder a tight squeeze. "I know you were planning on showing Lizzie around, so I'll let you get to it. I have to run to the store anyway. Dinner will be ready around six, so just make sure you're back by then. Do me a favor and make sure all the animals are fed, please, Y/N."

I give the older woman a fake salute, which only prompts her to smack at me as she leaves. I take my now full mug of coffee and slump down into one of the chairs at the kitchen table, letting out a low groan. "Oh my god I am so tired."

"Well then, you'd best be getting your chores done."

I roll my eyes at Lizzie's jest, leaning forward to rest my elbows on the table's top. "Funny. Keep it up and I'll feed you to the goats."

It's almost funny when Lizzie's eyes widen dramatically. "You have goats?!"

Taking a large drink of my coffee I nod, letting the warm liquid burn its way down my throat and fill me with some much needed energy. "We do. My parents used to breed and sell them for a little extra money on the side. We also have chickens and ducks."

The brunette is up and out of her chair faster than I can blink, tugging on one of my hands excitedly. "I wanna see the goats!"

I laugh a little at the woman's obvious enthusiasm, standing from my own seat. "Okay, okay. Give me a second. Let me put my coffee up."

Once I've secured said liquid in the microwave (so I can finish it later), I make sure to bundle Lizzie up and give her the appropriate gear needed to go traversing through the farm. I end up snapping a few picks of her in a spare pair of knee-high rubber boots, finding this country-fied version of my girlfriend absolutely adorable. That's so going on Instagram later. After making sure that she's not going to freeze her ass off, I lead her out the back door and out towards the various buildings and enclosures that take up most of the farm's acreage.

We spend a few minutes standing amongst the flock of chickens and ducks that strut and waddle their way around us, eating the ground-up corn feed that I've sprinkled all around us. I even manage to catch a hen when it's close enough, letting Lizzie stroke her feathers and even feed it out of her hand. Eventually Lizzie starts complaining about the goats, and I lead her back out and towards the large barn. The second the lock on the door is moved our little four-legged friends start bellowing, and I almost laugh when Lizzie practically barrels through the open door and lets out a loud gasp. Apparently the newest doe my mother recently finally had her kids, and when I step around Lizzie's form I'm met by the sight of both babies staggering their way towards us.

"Oh my god, they're so cute!"

Shaking my head, I leave Lizzie to fawn over the babies while I move to fill each goat's stall with fresh food, water, and hay. By now the movements are just as methodical as playing the guitar, so I finish in just a few minutes' time and decide to join my girlfriend in loving on the kids. We spend god knows how long out there, and I'm almost positive that the two of us smell like farm animals by the time I manage to drag Lizzie away from the goats. I do promise to bring her back to see them again before we leave, which passifies her enough for the moment.

Mom still isn't back by the time we get back to the house, so I make sure to give Benji some food before deciding to give Lizzie the full tour of the house. I show her my parents room and all the various pictures my mother has hanging up all over the house. We finally end up in my old bedroom, and I let myself lean against the door frame as I watch Lizzie venture further into the room, her green eyes roaming all around her.

"It is exactly how I pictured it. Scratch that, it's almost exactly how I pictured it. It's missing a few pride flags."

Snorting, I walk over to my closet and fling the door open, revealing the tattered and faded pride flag that's nailed on the inside. It causes Lizzie and I both to laugh, and I take the momentary distraction to playfully drop myself down onto the bed, squishing the brunette underneath me.

"This bed is really comfortable."

I hum, settling myself on top of the brunette and letting my head rest against her chest. "I personally think the person in said bed is more comfortable, but yeah. It's a pretty comfortable mattress."

Lizzie chuckles, her fingers moving to trace random designs on my upper back. "Thanks, babe. So how did you end up all the way down here?"

"It was easier to soundproof the basement than the room upstairs."

The brunette's hand stills against my back. "The room's soundproof?"

I nod, cracking an eye open to look up at my girlfriend. "Yeah, why?"

A light blush instantly settles across the brunette's cheeks and I let out a hearty laugh before giving the woman underneath me a squeeze. "You have such a dirty mind, Olsen. But yeah, I had planned on taking full advantage of this room while we're here."

Much to my amusement, Lizzie's blush intensifies, but before the woman can respond there's a knock on the bedroom door. I slide off the bed, and my girlfriend, to reveal my mother on the other side. "I was just letting you know I'm fixing to get started on dinner. You two get cleaned up and then come up and help me, please."

I nod, waiting until my mother disappeared up the stairs before turning to see a still blushing Lizzie lounging on my bed, seemingly lost in her thoughts. I can only guess what's playing through the other woman's mind, and move to grab the nearest object and toss it in her direction. Luckily it's just one of my old flannels, and I let out a laugh when the piece of clothing hit Lizzie directly in the face. "C'mon, Olsen, get your mind out of the gutter so we can shower. We can delve into those fantasies of yours later."

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Woo, you all gotcha a twofer tonight! Honestly, though, my wife and I watched a scary movie when she got home from work and I needed something to distract my mind so I'll be able to sleep later, so you all get to benefit from my fear!

This is a pretty long chapter, and I had planned to include some smut, but I think I'll save that for the next one. Which is going to be the New Year's Eve party at the bar. We're gonna get to meet some of Y/N's old high school friends and there's gonna be a teeny-tiny, itty bit of angst in there. But only for like a few seconds and you all will LOVE how it ends, if you catch my drift. 😏

Let me know what you all thought! Love you all! Make good choices!

-C