Alpha of the Ranch

The Pull

Victoria spent the rest of the day moving as if she was in a haze. Her body felt a little more sluggish than usual and she couldn’t get her thoughts straight. Her mind kept wandering back to Oliver and the warm feeling when they shook hands. Which, of course, caused her to feel guilt. It was an exhausting roller coaster.

And she could have managed it better if her helpers weren’t also off their game. She wasn’t sure what happened, but Joe, Neil, and Chris were all acting strangely too. They seemed nervous and jumpy. Usually Joe was able to catch any mistakes, but today he was full of them himself. The two younger men weren’t any better.

“That’s it. I’m calling it.” Victoria finally announced after they were on their third attempt at fixing one of the chicken coops. The men turned to look at her in confusion. “We can’t keep doing this ya’ll. We’ve been off all day. Let’s give it up for the day and try to make it up tomorrow.” She heaved another sigh before beginning to put away the tools. The other men looked relieved. The strange static could be felt by them all, but they wouldn’t just not work. They were devoted to Vicky and the farm. An uneasy feeling wouldn’t just make them stop, but they were very thankful that she had given in. It was hard work and frustrating when they had to do it again and again due to mistakes.

The day had started off so well. Victoria woke up feeling really refreshed and completely ready to tackle the chores. They had gotten so much done before her meeting with Mr. Hemming. Oliver. She mentally rolled the name around in her head. It felt good to just think it and Victoria had no idea why. She’d never felt any kind of pull towards the name Oliver, but now? Now the name alone gave her tingly feelings in her frontal lobe. And when she thought of the man behind the name? The feeling spread from her hair follicles down to her toes. She felt ridiculous just thinking about it. But she felt so good in front of him. Shaking his hand evoked literal tingles over her and she felt…happy? Overjoyed more like it.

Victoria let out a huff and flopped onto her bed. But now, she felt uneasy and restless. It was like she was being watched, but also like something was missing. She didn’t like this feeling and didn’t know what to do now that she wasn’t trying to push past it with work. She never took days off and honestly wasn’t sure what it even meant when your livelihood and business were one in the same. She rolled over onto her back. Maybe she should go into town? Check out the stores. She smiled a little. She could use a new outfit. Maybe even a new book? She began to perk up. Yeah. A trip to town would help her fully shake this weird feeling. She stood and grabbed her things before heading out the door.

She gave a yell as she stepped outside. After a few moments, Joe came around the bend, looking a little down as well. Victoria couldn’t remember ever seeing the cheerful man without a smile and it pulled her heart to see him that way today. “Hey Joe!” She greeted him, trying to put as much feeling into it as she could. Joe looked up at her and gave a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “How’s it going Mrs. Monroe?”

Victoria felt at a loss so she moved closer to Joe. She enveloped him in a hug, putting as much feeling into it as she could. “I’m going into town to try and recoup myself. You and the guys just need to rest today. We’re all feeling off. Maybe do something to cheer yourself up. You could come with me, but I don’t know if a shopping trip would help much.”

Victoria felt the older man sigh in her embrace, fully taking in the hug. “You're right Mrs. Monroe. The boys and I will raise our spirits while you're out and about. But don’t stay out too long. It’ll be getting dark soon.”

Victoria pulled back and gave Joe a warm smile that she was fully feeling. “Thanks for always looking out for me Joe.” She then climbed into her truck and made her way into town.

Victoria loved going into town even though she didn’t do it much. Maybe that’s part of why she loved it so much. She’d grown up in a big city with miles and miles of concrete, and stores packed in on every inch of space. Each one was bigger and more flashy than the last, with so much ostentatious stuff it would make your head spin. But Aurora was different. While developed enough to have a pizza shop and more than one stop light, it was still small enough that the stores were pretty much all small businesses. It felt so warming to know that the things you were buying were supporting local families. And it made it even more special to get to talk to the people who were creating the item.

Victoria took a deep breath of the fresh air as she walked down the road peeking into the windows of various shops. Every once in a while she would stop in a shop to peruse a few things. After an hour, and the purchase of two books and even a new top, Victoria was feeling a bit better. She still had the feeling that she was missing something just outside her range, but she was less restless and uneasy. As she stood on a corner trying to decide which direction to go next, her skin began to prickle. It felt like there was electricity in the air, like lightning was about to strike. Victoria closed her eyes to the feeling, trying to decipher what it meant. When she opened them again, her breath caught in her throat.

Across the street, standing right in front of her, was Oliver. Victoria wasn’t sure how he suddenly appeared in front of her (had she closed her eyes that long?) but she didn’t feel surprised at all by it. Or worried either. Instead, she realized with a frown that she actually felt excited about seeing him. Her business partner, she reminded herself. Victoria mentally shook herself and realized that Oliver was making his way across the street to her, an easy smile on his face.

“Hello Mrs. Monroe. How lovely to see you here this evening.” Oliver still had that smile on his face and Victoria was very glad to see it. Her first impression of the man wasn’t terrible, but she was glad to see him in a more natural state than before. When his words registered she frowned.

“Please call me, Victoria. Or Vicky.” She said.

Oliver’s mouth quirked up on one side. “Victoria then. Maybe we can work towards calling you Vicky in the future.”

That didn’t make too much sense to Victoria, but before she could process it, Oliver continued talking. “Are you just out for a walk or were you shopping for something in particular?” He tipped his head towards her bags.

Victoria smiled back at him. “I was just out for a walk around town. These just happened to find their way into my possession, though I’m not against it at all. I was actually about to decide if I wanted to continue my journey or head back home. I’m feeling better.”

Oliver frowned at her. “Were you not feeling well?”

Victoria gave a shrug of indifference. “It’s no big deal. I’m feeling better and the night air has really perked me up. I didn’t even realize how long I’d been out. I can see the moon peeking from behind the clouds.” She turned her eyes upward to punctuate the statement.

Oliver glanced up as well and saw the moon looking down on them. It made the moment feel special, like the Moon Goddess was giving Oliver reassurance. At least that’s what he wanted to believe.

“Would you like to get some ice cream with me?”

Oliver blinked at Victoria in surprise. Honestly, Victoria was surprised at herself. She wasn’t sure where that came from at all, but she couldn’t take it back now.

“Sure”, Oliver stuttered out. He then followed Victoria through the streets to the local ice cream shop. They made small talk as they walked the short distance, mostly about what Victoria did on the ranch. Oliver seemed genuinely interested in hearing it and asked Victoria follow-up questions.

Once they had their ice cream- a smores concoction in a cup for Victoria and a strawberry cone with chocolate chips mixed in for Oliver- they settled in at a table.

“What about you Oliver?” Victoria asked, spooning some chocolate and marshmallow into her mouth, “What do you do? I know you own businesses. What’s that like?”

Oliver thought as he allowed the sweet cream to melt on his tongue. “The business side of life isn’t that hard, I guess. Like I said, these were already established, so the foundation is already there. I just had to keep it going. Make sure everyone gets paid and stays happy. So far so good.” He smiled at her as he took another lick of his cone. Victoria cast her eyes downward so she didn’t get caught watching his tongue move.

“The work is fine. It’s the connections and people that's more difficult. Everyone has something they need or want and you have to figure it out. Find a way to make it work. It’s exhausting sometimes. My dad was so good at it. He’s been uhh..retired for a few years now and people still mention how things were under him. It’s hard to make it my way.”

Victoria gave a nod. She understood the feeling. After Micah died, a lot of people gave her their unwanted opinion on how she should do things. She didn’t listen to most of them, but the pressure was intense. She had to keep reminding herself that she was capable.

Victoria reached across the table to place her hand over Oliver's. Once again, she wasn’t sure what overcame her. It was like she had this pull. Oliver looked surprised again, but it was brief.

“I’m sure you’re doing a fantastic job, Oliver. I hope the people around you figure that out soon.” She smiled at him and gave his hand a gentle squeeze. Then she slowly removed her hand. Oliver smiled back, full of teeth and obvious joy. He gave a nod to Victoria, then they both focused on their ice cream, enjoying an easy conversation as they finished the sweet treat.

Once done, they stood outside the ice cream shop. The sky had darkened even further and it was clearly late in the evening. Oliver glanced over at Victoria and was the first to speak. “Thank you Victoria, for having dessert with me. It was an unexpected, but very enjoyable treat.”

Victoria grinned at Oliver. “It was unexpected, but I agree. Very enjoyable.” She gave him a small wave. “I should head back home now though. Thanks for the nice end to my day.”

She turned and made her way back to her truck. She no longer felt uneasy or restless, she noticed, but she didn’t realize how at ease she felt. Like she had finally found the thing she was missing.