Looking for Wildflowers

Chapter 4

Riley got the blanket and placed it in an excellent spot in the field where wildflowers would surround them. The ground was mostly small pebbles, so there wasn't much mud to worry about. He wasn’t really the romantic type and not having money, this was the best he could do. After all, he had never been in a relationship, to begin with.

Taylor worked hard in the kitchen but ended up with just a few sandwiches and some fruit. She used some old glass bottles and filled them with fresh water.

“So, tell me about yourself. How you grew up, how you ended up here, what you do, that kind of stuff.” Taylor started a conversation as they ate.

“Well,” Riley sighed. “My family never really liked me much, but they kept me fed and clothed. I was the youngest of all my siblings, so they all picked on me constantly.” he rolled his eyes. “Anyway, this girl at school needed help with her math homework. She needed to get a good grade or she wouldn’t pass. So, since I’m decent at math, I did the homework for her to be nice. I didn’t even know she had a boyfriend, but he got distraught and we ended up fighting at school. Naturally, I won.” Riley smiled to himself.

“But then one day I see this car ride up and four guys jump out, one of which is that girl’s boyfriend. I knew they were coming for me, so I ran. I could take on one, maybe two. But not four. They chased me for a good bit until I fell down that hill and ended up at your place. But before I had to run away, I just worked on my dad’s farm. What about you?” He looked up at Taylor, a slight breeze messing up the neatly placed bun that she always wore.

“I grew up in a strict, religious household. My dad had power over everyone in the house, and he made sure everyone knew it. I’d often catch my mom crying herself to sleep at night while he sat up reading. They argued a lot, but he always made it clear who would win. One day, she divorced him. Not having anywhere to go, we all, meaning me, my mom, and my younger sister, all went to her mom’s and stayed for a few days. My grandma had this place, and I was starting to get older, so she handed it down to me, intending to give her house to my mom.”

“What about your little sister? Did she stay with your mom?”

There was a sudden silence. “After we moved into my grandma’s, my sister and I walked to a*****e that was only a couple miles down the road. I was 16, she was 14. She ran ahead oftentimes, and this time, there was a curve. Except, when I expected to catch up to her, I found no trace she had ever been there. I saw a car drive off in the distance and my heart dropped, I knew what had happened. Normally, that sort of thing doesn’t happen here, so I wasn’t worried about it. I guess I should have because we haven’t seen her since.” Taylor’s voice got a tone quieter toward the end.

“I’m sorry to hear that.” was all Riley could come up with. How was he supposed to respond to that?

“Let’s not make this sad.” Taylor said, sitting up a little straighter. “I guess, in a way, the universe brought us together for some reason.”

“Do you really believe that universe and fate s**t?” Riley asked, half-joking and actually wondering.

“Kind of. I mean, what are the odds I inherit an old cottage in the middle of the woods, and what are the odds that you fall off a hill and end up on my doorstep? I don’t know, I’m not saying it’s true love or anything.” she made clear. “Just that maybe we were supposed to meet for some reason.”

“I guess you have a point.” Riley agreed. “I’m going to try and get your shutters done today. The roof comes tomorrow if the weather permits.”

“Alright. I planned on making potato soup for dinner since the weather is getting colder. Is that okay?”

“That sounds perfect, don’t worry about me. I’ll eat pretty much anything.” Riley laughed.

“Good.” Taylor gave a small smile as she looked around. Riley was right, some shutters were missing entirely, and the rest were all cracked. She could see the pile of wood that he already had cut to replace them. Taylor was impressed with how fast Riley worked, but it’s not like he had many windows to work on.

There were only, at most, seven windows. Since he already had the wood, she had no doubt that he’d have them done by evening. Taylor worked hard inside, trying to scrub all the dirt she could off the windows and door, sweeping the porch, and cleaning the cabinets.

Taylor had cleaned when she first moved in, but it was hard to keep a good schedule, and the place was just too old to clean thoroughly. Now that she had company, she had more incentive and tried to make the place sparkle.

She listened as his hammer banged against the boards. Riley managed to finish just as the sun was setting, taking a step back to look at what he had done. He noticed the house needed a new coat of paint and new gutters. The front old door looks sturdy but like it could be replaced. Riley figured he could build one after he finishes everything else.

“I got the shutters fixed. Tomorrow I plan on working on the roof and cleaning out that fireplace. By the weekend, you shouldn’t have to worry about any leaky roofs.” he smiled at Taylor who gave him a warm, thankful smile.

They continued their hard work, and by Sunday, the house had new shutters, the fireplace cleaned out, a new roof, a fresh coat of paint on the outside, and all vines had been removed from anywhere near the house.

“I say we rest tomorrow,” Riley suggested Saturday night. “Just lay back and relax a bit. I got the fireplace cleaned up, we could always spend the night by the fire.”

“That sounds really nice.” Taylor came walking out of the bathroom, steam following her. “I ran you a bath, so if you want to relax a bit while I finish dinner...” she motioned toward the steamy tub.

“You didn’t have to do that.” Riley was surprised but thankful. His whole body was aching. As he walked into the bathroom he smelled lavender. He smiled to himself while he stripped down and stepped in, the water almost burning him. Once he got adjusted to the water, it felt heavenly.

He leaned back, closing his eyes, and let the hot water relax him.

“Riley! Dinner!” he heard Taylor call out about half an hour later. Opening his eyes, sat up in the tub and drained it, hoping to return the gesture after they ate. As he stood up, he noticed there were no towels.

“Hey, where’s your towels?” he called out.

“Oh, shit.” he heard Taylor mumble to herself.

“Are there any in the closet?” she called from outside the door.

Riley opened the closet and found one towel at the very back.

“Found one!” he quickly dried himself off and slipped his old clothes on again. Taylor mentioned making him some clothes but he didn’t want her going to all that work.

When he walked out of the bathroom, he was greeted by a happy Taylor who had made chicken, green beans, potatoes, and of course, gravy.

“I’m going to go sweep the porch before bed.” Taylor announced once they were finished. Riley didn’t argue as he slipped into the bathroom and started running a bath for Taylor. He found the source of the lavender smell in the closet and added a few drops of the oil. He managed to quickly find a few candles, which he placed around in the bathroom and lit, turning the light off to a nice romantic scene.

As soon as Taylor returned, he took her to her surprise and left her to it. About an hour later, she returned back into the living room with her hair wrapped up. All she wore was a small nightgown that came about mid-thigh. The fabric was almost sheer, but not quite. Riley swallowed and reminded himself to be respectful.

“How was the bath?” he couldn’t hide the blush that covered his face, though, causing one to form on Taylor’s as she realized what she was wearing. She had thought nothing of it at the time, but now realized how suggestive it was.

“Good, I just came to get a glass of water...” she laughed as she quickly made her way into the kitchen, shakingly drawing a glass of water she wasn’t going to drink. When she turned around, Riley was standing there in the doorway, using his forearm to lean against the doorway. “Yeah?” her voice squeaked.

“Oh, nothing. I, um, just wanted to make sure you got back to bed okay.” his newfound confidence may have left him, but he kept a steady eye and could see on Taylor’s face it had made an impression.

“Well, Riley, um, you know, I don’t know why I still have you sleeping on the couch anyway, when you sleeping in my bed worked fine.” Taylor swallowed. She had changed her mind and put him back on the couch after that one night, calling herself crazy for allowing it to happen in the first place.

“Yeah, it’s strange.” Riley was fighting for his life.

“So, why don’t you join me from now on? We’ll just share the bedroom.” she somehow maintained eye contact the entire time, despite her heart racing.

“That sounds good.” he couldn’t help but look her up and down one quick time before rushing to the bedroom and getting under the blankets, hoping for the best and expecting the worst. He was just glad he didn’t have to sleep on that couch. The lumps had started to feel like rocks.

“Riley,” Taylor’s sweet and light voice called from the other side of the bed.

“Yeah?” he asked, cutting his eyes up at her and noticing her looking down directly at him.

“I want to stay up a bit longer.” she said softly, crawling under the sheets and facing directly at him.