Chapter 1: I Would Have Moved Here A Long Time Ago If I Knew Of This Hot Guy
Moving was never easy. I've only moved away once in my life, which was when I was seven years old, but it was so difficult to say goodbye to my friends. Being seven, I didn't really have any form of communication I could use to keep in contact with my friends. I was a moody seven year old until I found out we lived close to an ice cream shop and my dad promised to take me there.
Now that we were moving for a second time, I was moody yet again. However, this time, I was a moody seventeen year old because my dad passed away. I didn't really care that we had to move back to the small town. Well, I cared slightly, but living in the city was ruined for me. Everything was connected to the memory of my dad.
At least with Ruralburgh, the memories weren't as important as the ones I made with my dad in the city. Things wouldn't be too hard for me.
Mom pulled into the driveway of the house on the farm and my six year old sister Dorothy squealed in the back seat. "I see horses!"
I looked around the farm, trying to see if there was something that could interest me. The whole Birch family was outside, each doing a specific task. While I haven't seen them in ten years, it was easy to tell who was who. The only two people I could recognize were the twins, Erica and Monica but that was only because the last time I saw them, they were six and hard to tell apart. I haven't seen them for ten years but considering they both had different clothing styles and one had pink hair, I would be able to tell them apart soon.
The twins and their mom, Beth, were working with the horses Dorothy spotted. Their dad Trey and the oldest son Vincent were working on some repairs on the porch of what I was guessing was the guest house since it was the smaller house on the plot of land.
The second oldest son, Sawyer, was who caught my attention as he unloaded some bales of hay from a truck. "And I see a hot guy," I said.
Mom gasped. "Jamie Krukowski!"
"What?" I asked innocently. "Let me appreciate the beauty he possesses. And those muscles... I guess working on the farm did him wonders."
"Stop being inappropriate," Mom scolded.
"I'm not being inappropriate," I said. "I'm just admiring Sawyer's hard-earned muscles. If I wanted to be inappropriate, I would have said something about his a--"
"Jamie!" Mom said. "Your sister is in the back seat!"
"Oh, relax," I said. "Dot is too busy looking at the horses. She probably didn't hear a word I said. Do you think my bedroom window will be facing the front yard so I can watch Sawyer do his work?"
"Jamie, I swear, if you don't stop--"
"Mom, I'm kidding," I said. "I'm just trying to rile you up. It's fun."
Mom slapped my shoulder before getting out of the car. I got out too and immediately went to the back to help Dorothy get out. She always struggled taking off her seat belt and considering she seemed really enthusiastic to get a better look at the horses, it was best to get her out of the car as soon as possible.
With the time it took to help Dorothy get out of the car, Beth walked over to greet us where she gave Mom a hug. "I'm so sorry about your loss," Beth said.
"Thank you," Mom said. "And thank you for letting us stay here until I can get back on my feet."
"You're more than welcome," Beth said. "It's very nice to see you again." She then looked at me. "And Jamie, you've grown so much. How are you?"
"I'm good," I said, giving her the basic of how I was feeling. To be honest, I haven't felt good in a while. It may seem like it on the outside but that was only because I was very good at hiding how I was feeling.
At least, I started being very good after my dad passed away.
"And you must be Dorothy," Beth said to my little sister, who was smiling widely.
"That's me!" Dorothy said happily. "Can I see the horses?"
"You sure can," Beth said. "I'll take you there in a minute. I just want to show you who everyone is." She crouched down beside Dorothy. "See the girls by the horses? They're my daughters, Monica and Erica. Erica is the one with the pink hair."
"I like her hair," Dorothy said. "I like pink."
"Me too," Beth said. "And over there..." She pointed over to the guest house. "The guy holding the board down is my oldest son, Vincent. And the one with the hammer is my husband, Trey." She then pointed to where Sawyer was working. "And that's my other son, Sawyer."
"Can I see the horses now?" Dorothy asked.
Beth chuckled. "Sure." She stood up to talk to Mom first. "The guest house still needs some renovations so in the meantime, is it fine if you all stay with us in the main house even if it might get too crowded?"
"Of course that's fine," Mom said. "We're already so grateful you're allowing us to stay. It doesn't matter where."
"Okay, since we only have one guest room in the main house, I figured you and Dorothy can have that," Beth said. "And if Jamie's okay with it, he can share with Sawyer. I already talked to Sawyer and he's fine sharing his room for now."
"I'm okay with it," I said. Definitely. One hundred percent okay with it.
"Perfect," Beth said before looking at Sawyer, who was still unloading bales of hay from the truck. "Sawyer, honey?!" He looked over. "Can you come show Jamie where your room is so he can unpack?!"
Sawyer took off the gloves he was wearing and set it on one of the bales. While he was walking over, Mom began taking the boxes and suitcases out of the car while Beth went to take Dorothy to the horses.
"Wow, you've gotten tall since I've last seen you," Sawyer said when he walked over.
"Did you really think I was going to stay the same height I was when I was seven?" I asked.
"I was just making conversation," Sawyer said.
"You could have said literally anything else," I said. "Like 'Hey, Jamie, it's good to see you'."
"What if it isn't good to see you?" Sawyer asked. "Because if I remember shortly before you moved away, you called horses stupid and you know how much I love them."
"I did not call horses stupid," I said. "I love horses too. I learned to ride one before I learned to ride a bike. I called Paint stupid because he's just a stupid, stubborn horse."
"You still mad he kicked some mud at you?"
"Actually, yes, I am."
"We still have Paint."
"I feel so sorry for you."
Sawyer rolled his eyes. "C'mon, I'll help bring your boxes to the room."
Mom had already stacked my two boxes up and placed my suitcase beside it. Since they were mine and I wanted to seem strong, when I clearly wasn't, I tried picking up the two boxes stacked together.
I was unsuccessful.
"Need some help?" Sawyer asked.
"No, I got it," I said, trying once again to pick them up.
"It helps if you bend your knees," Sawyer said.
"That sounds kinky."
Mom overheard my comment as she continued to take stuff out of the trunk and she immediately gasped. "Jamie! Stop it with the sexual comments you're constantly making! I swear, you haven't been able to stop ever since you--"
Mom cut herself off once she realized what she was about to say and I was definitely thankful for it. I mean, I already came out as bisexual a while ago and I didn't mind who knew but it was very considerate of her to still be cautious about telling people since it was my place to tell.
But I really didn't mind who knew so I continued Mom's sentence. "Came out as bisexual," I said. "It's okay, Mom. We're living with the Birches. They might as well know." I looked at Sawyer. "Is your family okay with it?"
"Yeah, definitely," Sawyer said. "They used to be iffy about supporting the community but I'm bisexual as well and once I told them, they tried their best to understand it and now they do. They understand that people should just be able to love who they want and be who they want. Which is perfect since Erica came out not too long after I did once she saw how much our parents wanted to support it and now, she has a girlfriend she's very happy with. Now are you sure you don't need help with the boxes?"
"I'm strong," I said. "I've got this."
I still failed.
"It's the boxes," I said. "Not me. They're just too heavy. I think I have... weights in there or something. For when I work out. Because I'm strong."
Sawyer bent down and picked up the boxes with no problem whatsoever. "Oh, yeah, I can feel how heavy this is," he said. "Look how much I'm struggling."
"Show off," I said.
He started walking off towards the house so I grabbed my suitcase to follow. Before I did, I looked at Mom and said in a quiet voice, "I'm in heaven with those muscles."
Mom sighed. "You're not going to stop talking about him, are you?"
I shrugged before hurrying to follow Sawyer to his house. The interior was quite spacious and bright, the walls in the main parts I was seeing having either a white or baby blue paint coat. It gave such a homely feel to it, especially with all the paintings and decorations around the house.
Sawyer led me upstairs to his bedroom, which did in fact have a view of the front of the house where Sawyer was unloading the hay earlier. I wanted to tell Mom that to see he get mad at me and tell me to stop checking Sawyer out.
She really didn't appreciate my comments.
Everything in the bedroom was simple and tidy from the carefully made bed to the clean desk to the organized trophies on the dresser. Because of how neat everything was, there was a lot of free room on the floor, even with an air mattress set up.
"I hope you don't mind using an air mattress for now," Sawyer said, setting the boxes down beside it. "If it starts getting too much, we could always alternate the air mattress and the bed every night."
"I'm sure it will be fine," I said, walking over to the dresser to get a better look at the trophies. Horse show trophies, many of them being for first place. "You compete?"
"I used to," Sawyer said. "I haven't in a while."
"Why?" I asked.
"It's... a long story," Sawyer said. "Anyway, I have to get back to work so I'll leave you to get settled. When you're done, feel free to come out to the yard. I can introduce you to Paint again."
"I am not going anywhere near that evil horse," I said.
"Awe, c'mon, he misses you," Sawyer said. "He hasn't been the same since you left."
"That doesn't change the fact that he's evil," I said.
"Sure he is," Sawyer said. "Well, it's been nice seeing you again. And... I know you're probably tired of hearing this but I am sorry. About your dad."
I shrugged. "People are going to keep saying that. It's fine. I'm fine."
Sawyer gave me a sympathetic smile before leaving the bedroom. I didn't really have to unpack anything since I was only temporarily sharing a room with Sawyer so I took the opportunity to look at Sawyer's trophies. He must have loved competing a lot if he won this many trophies.
I wondered what happened.
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i know i should have started a new book but i couldn't help it. i was always thinking about plots for this book so i was falling more in love with jamie and sawyer every day.
i just got too excited for this book sorry :(
anyway, if this is the first book of mine you're reading, hi, my name is laeti and i have way too many books in progress BUT I CAN NEVER STOP MAKING MORE. i also love food, sleeping in, and staying up until four in the morning.
even when i have school. which i do tomorrow but not until four pm so i can sleep in all i want woo. and someone tell me why i'm actually excited for my class tomorrow when it's math????? i just really love math oops.
anyway, thank you for choosing to read this book! i hope you all enjoy it as much as i will <3
-laeti