Cody's POV
I woke up this morning with Rose's head on my shoulder while we sat cuddled on my couch in the loft. I made sure not to wake her as I got up and put a blanket over her. I got dressed and left quietly, going to do my daily routine and chores for the day. I start by going around and feeding all the animals, then continue with all the other chores I have to do today.
As I walk into the barn to muck out the stalls, my phone rings. It’s an unknown number. I ignored it at first but the caller is persistent. After the third time it rang, I answered, “Hello?”
“Hey, little bro. How ya been?”
“Adrian?” I question, confused.
“Of course, who else?”
How did you get my number? Why and how are you calling me right now? I thought you were still in prison.”
“Nah, I got released. My two years are up. I got your number from my case worker. I don’t know how he got it but he did. Can I not call my brother, after not hearing from him for two years?”
“Oh.” I respond, not knowing what else to say.
“So, how have you been? Where are you at? I heard you got out. Got a job on some farm. How’s that going?”
“Yeah. It’s going well. I’m good. It’s a smaller town than where we grew up. It’s nice, peaceful.
“Where at? I wanna come see you.”
“I don’t think that's a good idea.”
“Why not?”
“It’s not my place. I can’t just invite some random stranger to their home.”
“I’m not a stranger. I’m your big brother.”
“I know, but to them, you're a stranger.”
“Fine, well, at least ask. I wanna see you, man. It’s been two years.”
“I know. We can figure something out.” I say, not exactly agreeing to ask.
“Okay, great. Let me know then. Hey, have you heard from Bianca?”
“No. Last I heard, she got a fancy new job, somewhere in the city.”
“Oh. Maybe we can drive to the city sometime, we can all catch up.”
“Yeah, maybe.” I say, knowing that I won’t be doing that.
“Cool. I-”
“Hey, I gotta get back to work. I’ll talk to you later.”
“Okay. That’s cool. Call me anytime. This is my number. Talk to you later, Cody.”
“Bye, Adrian.” I say before hanging up the phone, and taking a deep breath. I continue walking into the barn with the wheelbarrow and shovel. I start with Buck’s stall. Buck is Lucus’s horse. He’s a buckskin. As I continued mucking out the stalls, I couldn’t help but think about my conversation with my brother. Which then led to me thinking about my sister and parents. My sister, Bianca, left when she turned 19. My brother, Adrian, went to prison for two and a half years when he was 18 for car theft. My dad’s an abusive alcoholic, and Mom’s a drug addict. She started taking drugs to cope with dad’s abuse, she was kinda out of it most of my life. Dad was abusive, he’d get blackout drunk, then come home and beat anyone in sight. Mom was his main victim, and my brother and sister weren’t home much, so I had gotten beaten a lot growing up. My siblings were usually running the streets, getting into trouble. Dad would beat them for getting caught, Me and my sibling all got jobs as soon as we were old enough, and before then we did odd jobs around town to get paid. After Adrian went to prison for car theft, I’d gotten put into the system, was in and out of foster care until I aged out. After a few months of being 18 and on my own, I decided I needed to get as far away from my home as possible. This job on this farm, working for this family, has been the best thing to happen to me, and I will forever be grateful for them. I don’t want to screw this up, and I definitely don’t want my fucked up family to screw it up for me.
I’m mucking out Bella’s, Mrs. Thompson’s palomino's stall when Rose comes up to me, disrupting my thoughts, and says, “Hey.”
I looked up at me for a second before returning to what I was doing, “Hey.”
“Want some help?”
“I’m good, you don’t have to help.”
“I ain’t got nothing to do, so why not.” I say with a shrug.
“Okay, I’m almost done, though.”
“That’s okay. What can I do?”
“Raven’s stall is the only one I haven’t done yet.”
She walks away and goes to muck out the stall. Leaving me with my thoughts again. I feel bad for distancing myself from her, but I don’t want my past to ruin everything. If she finds out the truth about me and my family history, will she still look at me the same? If her mom finds out, will they still welcome me into their home? It’s better they don’t know. But how much longer can I keep it hidden? How long until my brother finds me and shows up? How much longer until dad finds out where I am and drags me back? He was pissed that I left. How much longer can I continue to live in this peaceful oasis and escape my family?
I finish mucking out the stall before she does, and start to replace the food and water in each stall. When she finishes, she walks over to me. “Okay, I’m done. I’m gonna go now and leave you to it,” she says before turning around and walking out of the barn. I watch her as she walks away, her hips swaying with every step. The thought of last night replayed in my mind. Her lips on mine, her hands in my hair, mine on both sides of her neck. She cuddled into my side, while talking about nothing until we both fell asleep. It was peaceful and had been on my mind until my brother called. Now I'm back to thinking about him and the rest of my family.
Slightly distracted, I continued about my daily work. After finishing what I had to do for the day, I decided to go for a ride. I packed lunch before I saddled Bandit. I rode the trail leading to the meadow. It was peaceful except for the constant thoughts running through my head.
When I reached the meadow, I dismounted and settled on the ground in a slightly shaded spot, but still out in the open, in the meadow. I relaxed, ate lunch, spent time thinking about my family and this job with the Thompson family, specifically Rose.
After a while, I decided to head back. When I reached the barn, I dismounted and started unsaddling Bandit. After putting up the tack, I walked out of the tack room to see Rose standing outside Raven’s, the horse that was her dad's stall. She’s talking to the horse like it’ll give her the answer she wants. I stand back in the doorway to the tack room, not wanting to interrupt, but also not wanting to eavesdrop on something seemingly personal and private. Not knowing what to do I decide to hang back in the tack room and busy myself until she’s done.
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Author's note:
Another chapter done! Cody's backstory getting revealed. What's gonna happen with his brother and family? How's Rose gonna react when she finds out about his past?
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Every Country Girl Needs A Country Boy
RomanceIt's about a girl named Roseanne "Rose" Thompson and a boy named Cody Miller. She's a farmer's daughter and he's a ranch hand. He works for her family's ranch. They have a two year age gap. She's 16 and he's 18. She fell first, he fell harder. Small...
