As I’m admiring some of the speckled eggs, I catch movement at the door and look up to see Lucy’s red face peek through. His beady eyes see me, and he wastes no time before charging at me. I let out a scream that I’m sure everyone hears back at the house. As I rush outside, I try my best to avoid his sharp beak.
But I don’t get too far before I hit something hard, stunning me for a moment. “Ouch!” I grunt and reach up to rub the throbbing pain on my forehead. I look up to see just what I ran into, and suddenly, I forget all about the pain as it is replaced with butterflies in my stomach.
Standing in front of me is a boy I've never met before. He must be the person I noticed sitting in Cliff’s truck. What’s he doing out here? I look over at the farmhouse and catch Mamaw laughing and giving me two thumbs up.
She planned this. Maybe not the part of me running into him, but as I see her watching us joyfully, she knew what she was doing.Thanks, Mamaw,I think as I roll my eyes.
My eyes scan him, taking in the way his seem more green than brown, his hair is a golden-brown color and is parted in the middle and swooping on either side of his head, and he is covered in egg yolk.
“Oh my gosh, I am so sorry!” I squeal, my hand smacking against my mouth and eyes growing wide with embarrassment.
He stares at me for a moment before shaking his head slightly and looking down at his navy-blue hoodie. He goes to wipe away the yolk, but my hand has a mind of its own, because I grab his wrist to stop him. I don’t miss the way my fingers buzz at the touch of his skin.
“I, uh…” My voice cracks, and I try to cough away my nerves and drop my hold on his wrist. “There’s a towel in the barn. Follow me, and we’ll clean you up. I mean, you—you can clean yourself up.”
I would smack myself in the forehead if I knew it wouldn’t cause the throbbing that’s already there to grow.What is wrong with me? Do I not know how to talk to a boy?A very hot boy, mightI add.
The boy grins slightly, and I forget what I am doing. He waits patiently for me, as if that grin didn’t do something to my heart.What was I doing? Oh yeah, the barn!
I motion for him to follow me, needing desperately to turnaway from his gorgeous face and what that dimple is doing to me. Once we reach the barn, I push open the door and walk to the tote of towels we had ready for this morning’s birth adventure. I turn to hand him a towel and feel my mouth drop as he takes off his hoodie.
My eyes travel down his torso, catching the sliver of skin that is revealed as his shirt lifts up just a bit, and it takes everything in me to avert my attention somewhere else. He straightens the dark-gray shirt he’s wearing underneath, tossing his inside-out hoodie over his shoulder, and gives me a wide smile that reveals a set of metal braces over his teeth. This boy even makes braces look attractive.
“Don’t worry, it can be washed,” he says, his voice surprisingly deeper than I expected it to be, and my knees suddenly feel weak. Stupid teenage hormones.Get a grip, Raine!
He tosses a thumb over his shoulder. “Your grandma asked me to help you. Something about an evil rooster?”
“Uh, yeah. Lucifer—Lucy for short—is very protective over his ladies, and for some reason, he hates me.”
He chuckles and turns to look out the barn door. “Is he that tiny rooster?”
I nod my head as he looks back at me, the heat rising onto my ears. “Yup,” I answer, popping the P and rocking forward onto the balls of my feet.
Lucy is a bantam barnyard mix. Basically, he’s a tiny wannabe rooster. It might be why he is so hateful and trying to show his dominance. My grandparents have him and a few bantam hens in our flock to breed and sell them. Surprisingly, they’re a popular breed, even though their eggs are the size of a quail egg, which in my opinion is a waste of food. It takes three of their eggs to make one regular egg.
Lucy lets out a miniature crow, and the boy chuckles, returning his attention back to me. “He soundssofearsome. I can see why you’re terrified.”
I roll my eyes and bite my lip to keep fromgrinning. “He tries to prove that he isn’t a waste of poultry. I only pretend to be scared to help him win the hens over, and in return, it helps the farm out.”
“You’re such a good Samaritan,” he adds and looks outside for a second time to watch Lucy chase off Daisy, who runs away quickly, whining loudly.Coward.He laughs, and it’s the most amazing sound I’ve ever heard.
I look down at my muddy rain boots because looking at him is making my stomach feel like it’s flopping around inside of me. I peer down at what I’m wearing and realize how much of a mess I must look right now. I wipe away the dirt that has collected on my jeans, straighten my light-pink tank top, and run my fingers down my long braid.
Once I dare to look back at him, he is staring at me. His grin is gone now, replaced with parted full lips and widened eyes. If I felt self-conscious before, it only grows with remembering how close we’re standing to one another.
“I, uh—” I cough away the thick feeling in my throat. “I’m a mess. I’ve been working all morning.” I motion to my body, biting my lip, feeling uncomfortable in a good sort of way with how his eyes follow my movement.
“I— I’m Raine, by the way. Earl’s granddaughter,” I say fast, wanting to change the subject.
That earns another smile from him. “I’m Ryland Quinn.”
Ryland. I like that name. I will probably be doodlingMrs. Ryland Quinnon my notebooks later because I’m crushing hard on him. How could I not? My face must be beet red with my growing nerves.
“Would you like to come see a baby goat?” I ask without thinking. It’s the first thing that comes to mind. “She was born this morning.”
“Yeah, sure,” he replies and follows behind me as I lead us through the barn.
“So…how do you know Cliff?” I ask, yearning to know more about him.
