ISTU
Since we started the ranch project, I believe this is the first time I've finished work early. It's only four in the afternoon and that means I have a good two hours available before my brothers come home. I could start dinner, but after Rowtag's disastrous cooking skills, I follow in lack thereof. Kitchi is the best cook of us four, but we rather have him rest when he comes home.
Maybe I should go to the farm and check how things are going. I haven't had a chance in a while to ride Clark. He will probably ignore me when he sees me. I wink at the front desk girl who gets all flustered, a pretty sight. She caught my 'literal' eye since she started working for us. Maybe I should ask her out one day. Huritt told me one of the dancer girls finds me hot, so I have options.
Daylight... something I've come to appreciate as I spend so long indoors. People pass me by with sunburnt skin, wet hair, and wrapped in towels, probably going back to their lodges after spending the day on the pool deck. The two guys from the sports team host an animated hoop shooting competition on a field nearby. It makes me happy to hear our guests' laughter as they fail to get the ball in the basket. Bart and Miguel show them effortlessly how to do it.
When I reach the stables, I find Chris hard at work on the front. Seems he's making the area ready for planting. I've helped Grandma enough times to know that. Chris stretches his back and winces, and that's when I see a big mark of dirt on the side of his shirt.
"Hey Chris, how's it going?" I greet him.
"Going well. Weeding this area out to expand the patch. Nasty work, but it has to be done," Chris points at the bucket filled with the plucked plants.
"Where's Kit?" I peek at the stables but don't see movement.
"Trail ride. Should be back soon," Chris looks at his watch.
"Bad luck for me then. He probably took Clark with him."
"Yeah, only Bette and Audrey are in the paddock. Bette didn't take it kindly she had to stay," he points at his dirty shirt.
"She kicked you?" I ask surprised.
"Nah, more like a push. It was hard enough to make me fall on my side a few feet away. If it was a proper kick, I don't think I would be here talking to you."
"Maybe you should go to the first aid post to get checked. You might have a cracked rib."
"I feel fine and the bruise isn't that big. Thanks for the concern though."
"Anytime. And do you like it here?"
"I do. Kit is a fun guy and knows a lot about animals and plants. I thought it was difficult for him to learn new things."
"It is. The things he knows he has learned throughout the years. With enough repetition, he can retain new information. The problem is his short-term memory and visual-verbal associations."
"Is it also part of it that he spaces out so much?"
"You've also noticed that. No, that started a few months ago, and it's getting worse with each day."
Chris and I continue our chat and I realize how much I've missed interacting with a guy who isn't one of my brothers. We joke around and I even help him pluck some plants. Our conversation is interrupted by the arrival of Kitchi and our guests. My brother leads the group while riding Clark, wild look on his face and hair loose under a leather hat. We follow the group inside and help the women to dismount.
"Good afternoon, ladies. Did you enjoy yourselves?" I ask our smiling guests.
"It was so beautiful. I have been on so many tours, but Keith made this one special," a woman who could be our mother, looks with dreamy eyes at my little brother.
I have to control myself from laughing at the remark and Chris smirks. Kitchi is a good-looking guy, but misses Huritt's sex appeal or Rowtag's elegance.
"It was my pleasure," Kitchi says.
After saying goodbye to the guests, Kit and Chris head to unsaddle the horses. Since my plan of riding my horse is ruined, I will head home and see what I can do to entertain myself.
"Hey, Isaac!"
I look to my left and find Josh, the guy who helped me the other night, dressed in sweatpants and a t-shirt covered in sweat marks. His phone is attached with a band to his arm, and he wears earbuds.
"Hello!" I greet him.
He stops in front of me and takes his earbuds off. "How are you doing?" He smiles brightly. "Haven't seen you around since the night we met."
"I'm doing well. It's been busy after the opening. You have been out for a run."
"This place is perfect with all the long winding paths. Did you plan it like this?" Josh asks as we walk towards one of the picnic tables scattered around.
"Nature planned it for us. We loved the grounds as they were and built around them. Nothing here looks symmetrical, and I think it's nice," I gaze around and loathe the memories of the plain hotel and boarding rooms I lived in growing up.
"This place is just great. My parents are having the time of their lives, and I've even decided to extend my stay. How is Hunter doing?"
"Doing well and probably napping on his sunny spot on the deck. He drove us crazy last night, barking at something in the forest. My brothers went to check, and it was just a deer."
"I didn't hear him and I'm a light sleeper. Lucky dog, I would love to chase rabbits for a living and have no worries," Josh grins.
"What do you do for a living? If you don't mind me asking," I feel curious.
"I own three micro-breweries. My dad is brewer by trade so it runs in my blood. Dad retired recently and now I face the difficult decision of joining the management board in the family business or continue with my own."
"It's a tough decision. We also had the choice to work for the family, but decided for our own project. It has been a bumpy path, but I don't regret it."
Josh looks at me with an intense gaze and a warm smile. I can't say I feel uncomfortable, just a bit odd. In daylight, I see that his eyes are a light blue. We chat about many topics and his intelligence fascinates me. He has a wicked humor too and has me laughing aloud.
"You have scars on your face. I didn't see them on the night of the storm, only now when you were laughing. Are they from the accident that left you partially blind?"
My hand touches my face automatically. Memories of the day of the accident and the pain associated with it come immediately to mind.
"They are. I sat on the back seat of a golf cart with my youngest brother. The brakes were faulty, and we crashed. I fell face first into a bougainvillea bush, and the branches and thorns punctured my eyes and the side of my mouth."
Josh grimaces. "I'm sorry. You told me you were eight years old then, right? That is so young. It must have been difficult for you."
"It was surreal. I woke up after surgery, eyes covered with bandages. Noises and unknown voices were scary and if people touched me without telling me they were in the room, I would feel terrified. Initially, I was completely blind. Years later, I got a cornea transplant in the less damaged eye and could see again with the help of glasses."
"Did your brother also get injured?"
"Yeah, and my two oldest brothers who were in the front got hurt as well. Rowtag drove the cart against his will and to this day blames himself for what happened. It wasn't his fault."
Josh holds my hand, and I remove it slowly from his.
"Are you okay?" Josh whispers.
"The memories are still painful. We all played a part on what happened on that day." I gaze around the grounds and then back at our hands. "This- This is strange for me."
"I know how it feels," he says, making me look back at his face. "Since the day I met you, I've been struggling with what I felt."
"Felt? Josh, I'm not sure you understand. I'm into women."
"Me too. Or so I thought until a few years ago when I met Mark, my first business partner. He made me question all I knew about myself or felt about the same sex."
I feel my face flush with embarrassment and remove my hand from his. "I should go home," I mumble. "You probably want to continue your run."
"I was done already. I will see you around," he says while standing up.
I stay sitting at the picnic table feelingconfused about his words, about my feelings.