Titus: Book Two of the Cantrell Brothers Series

Chapter Thirty-One

She turned, surprised at the dark, angry set to his face. His bare chest was drenched in sweat and dirt, his hands coated with what looked like mud but was probably manure as he ran one through his matted hair.

“I'm milking,” she finally replied. “Just got these last four left, and then I'll go finish up with the rest of the list.”

“Thanks,” he said, his voice sounding dry, the gratitude false.

“Did I do something wrong?”

He looked away, replying in a clipped voice, “No.”

The milking machines from behind her popped off the cows' utters, and she almost jumped at the sound before placing them back on the rack and pressing the button that opened the gates for the cows to exit through. Her arm still ached more than she had originally thought, but she ignored it and turned back to Titus, trying not to show the slight irritation that he had just evoked within her.

“I was thinking that I could maybe go around and check the fences. Maybe start up the four-wheeler and-”

“That's alright.”

Irritation spiked at his clipped words, but she tried again anyway. “Is there anything else that I could help wi-”

“Nope. Got it all covered.”

“Oh.”

Anna stood there in front of him, not knowing what to say. For a second, she thought of maybe just walking back to the house and doing exactly what Titus would like her to have done, but she knew that wouldn't be helping anybody. They still had to go to her parents for their Thanksgiving dinner, which only gave her and Titus about two more hours of working.

She tried again. “I'm pretty good at feeding the horses. Maybe I could do that?”

The question hung in the air for sometime, making Anna's skin start to crawl. This wasn't like Titus at all. Sure, she had been expecting a little bit of the cold shoulder after his attitude earlier this morning, but not this. Not the vein standing out underneath the dirty skin of his forehead or the red flush that started at the center of his chest and was slowly conquering parts of his neck.

“Nope,” her own temper said before he did. “Nevermind. I'm just gonna be the good lil' wife I am and go inside.”

She walked past him and was about to start up the metal stairs when a strong grip snagged her sore arm right where it hurt the most and pulled her to a complete halt. Anna didn't turn to look at him and just tried to control her temper.

“Just...could ya just take it easy from here on out?” he said from behind her.

She nodded and gently took her sore arm out of his grasp. “I was just trying to help.”

“I know, but I'd feel better if you'd just stay in and relax. It's not safe for you to be out here.”

Turning towards him, she stifled her eye roll and met his gaze head on. What she found there was exactly what she had been expecting ever since this morning. Frustration, a little bit of pleading, and something else that she couldn't identify were in those blue eyes that had gone dull from the dimmed lights above.

She knew he was just trying to make sure she didn't get hurt, but it still irked her that he never allowed her to be independent and do things by herself. “Okay.”

He looked away again and dropped his hands by his sides again. “I'll be done in a little while.”

“Yup.” Anna nodded and then walked away and back into the house.