7. Little mouse. [Part 1]
1590 Words
7. Little mouse.
Becket.
I never thought I would knowingly seek the wrath of a woman.
Much less that this woman would be my brother’s wife.
I touch my cheek, where she struck me minutes ago. It doesn’t hurt, impossible that those hands could hurt, but that I myself sought, longed for, that reaction from her, confuses me like hell.
I didn’t want to provoke her, I didn’t want to cause a fight… I just felt like she needed to explode.
Fuck, that woman is driving me crazy.
I start filling the horses’ waterers while thinking about which of my workers could have turned the whole town against Lia. This is a pretty tight-knit community and gossip travels fast, so I don’t know why I’m surprised something like this happened.
Unable to stop myself, or prevent myself from doing it, I set aside the task with the horses and head home. In the kitchen, I look for a basket and start putting things inside. It’s when I’m finishing filling everything with food that Rose and Cass come in.
“What are you doing?” Cass sits on the edge of the counter, her hair messy and her cheeks a bit flushed, so she must have been riding Canela.
“I’m bringing some groceries to Lia,” I say, going back to what I was doing.
“Oh,” she gets excited, “should I help you?”
My first reaction is to say no. I’ve noticed Cass enjoys Lia’s company and I don’t want her to get attached, not when sooner or later Lia will leave here.
But…
I can ask Cass to come with me, since I doubt Lia will show her claws if I bring the girl with me. I almost laugh that I, an adult man, find myself needing to use a twelve-year-old girl as a shield to avoid the wrath of a delicate woman.
“Get some fruit from over there,” I tell Cass.
“What does she like?”
How the hell am I supposed to know?
“Doesn’t matter, just grab a bit of everything, sweetheart.”
“They seem really willing to help her,” Rose comments, starting to chop vegetables for what I assume is lunch.
“Mmm,” I murmur.
“I thought you hated her.”
“Why would I hate her?” I ask distractedly. “I want her to leave, but I don’t hate her. After all, she’s my brother’s wife. Also…” I grab a few chocolates I brought Cass from the city, “some funny person turned the town against her and no one has wanted to sell her groceries when she went to buy more earlier.”
“Oh,” Rose murmurs, “so she hasn’t eaten all day, then?”
Well, I hadn’t thought about that.
I keep putting more things away, this time more hurriedly. Cass doesn’t object to sharing the groceries I buy for her, which honestly makes my heart tighten in a way that’s almost painful.
How can she be so selfless with a mother like Loretta?
I look up into Rose’s eyes as she hands me a couple of sandwiches. “Here.”
“What’s that?”
“For the girl.”
What?
“I thought you didn’t like her,” I say.
“Oh,” the older woman blushes, looking a bit flustered, “I’m not saying I like her, but no one deserves to be left without food.”
I look at her fixedly, remembering and reminding her of that day when Rose herself was going to make Lia wait for lunch. Of course, that happened just before that damned woman dragged a mattress all around the ranch, earning the respect and fear of all my workers. Even, apparently, Rose’s.
I chuckle quietly, take the basket full of things, and, making a gesture with my head to Cass, indicate that she come with me.
She almost jumps for joy.
“Do you think she’ll leave soon, Uncle Beck?”
“Lia?” I ask as we walk toward her cabin.
“Yes, Dad says he sees a determination in her eyes that reminds him of Lucas.”
I sigh.
So I’m not the only one who notices it.
“I don’t know, sweetheart, but as long as she’s here, let’s make sure she eats well, okay?”
She nods, happy with the idea, but then her brow furrows with concern.
“I think it was Mom.”
“What?”
“Mom,” she whispers, looking at me ashamed. “I think she’s the one who turned everyone against Lia.”
“Why do you say that?”
As far as I know, Loretta doesn’t even know Lia. Since I banned her from entering the house, it’s impossible they have seen each other.
“I heard my father reproach her last night, but although she denied it, he didn’t seem very convinced.”
Damn hell.
How long is Loretta going to keep causing me problems?
“Don’t worry about that, let the adults take care of adult matters.”
“I’m almost an adult already, I even had my first period.”
“Jesus, Cass…”
“Dad and you can’t keep protecting me from what Mom is…” she rolls her eyes in an annoyed gesture, “I know she’s not a good person.”
Well, f**k.
Cass and Loretta have never had a good relationship, but I didn’t think Cass had such a firm and formed opinion of her mother… an opinion so close to the truth.
“Look, Loretta is still your mother and it’s not right for you to talk about her like that.”
Cassidy lets out a somewhat amused chuckle, as if it amuses her that I’m defending her.
“But you hate her.”
“Mmm,” I stall, because there’s no way I can deny it. Cassidy is too clever; she would know I’m lying. “You know very well that your mother and I don’t have a good relationship, but that has nothing to do with you.”
“Are you sure?”
I feel myself tense up at her words.
“Cassidy,” I warn her, because we’re getting into very dangerous territory.
“I’m just saying that…”
“It’s time to bring this to Lia,” I say, fortunately stopping in front of her rundown cabin.
She sighs irritably but obeys.
I make a nod with my head for her to go first, which Cass does.
“Your turn,” I ask.
“Are you afraid of her?” she asks, amused.
I roll my eyes, but the truth is that my shirt is still wet from how much water I soaked up because of her. On the ranch it’s normal to get wet from time to time, sometimes it’s more than just water when we get home, sometimes it’s mud or even cow s**t. But although I’m used to a bit of chaos, it’s still weird that in most of my encounters with Lia I end up bitten, wet, or hit.
“Go ahead,” I order Cass.
She obeys and seconds later the beast comes out, her face scrunched up as if ready to fight, but as soon as she sees Cass, her fighting stance calms.
I smile, feeling a little triumphant.
Lia looks from Cass to me, without saying a word. She has her blonde hair tied up in a messy bun on top of her head, held by what looks like a pencil. And she’s wearing glasses that make her nose look smaller, giving her a bit of a bookish mouse appearance.
Ha, I want to laugh.
Her image is so deceiving, no one would believe she carried a mattress by herself and threw me money as payment.
“We brought you food,” Cass says and, with no shame at all, pulls one side of the basket and slips past Lia to get inside. Since I’m the only one holding the other side of the basket, I come in with her. “Were you working?”
Lia nods as Cass urges me to put the groceries on the small kitchen counter.
Working?
Seeing my confusion, Cass almost sings, “Lia’s like a video game goddess, didn’t you know?”
What?
I’m so confused.
Lia blushes at Cass’s words, as if embarrassed by the compliment. And she puts her hands in the back pockets of her jeans, avoiding my gaze at all costs.
I run a hand over my neck, uncomfortable remembering the emotional outburst from moments before.
Cassidy looks from one to the other, curious.
“Uhhh…” the girl looks around, trying to find something to say, until her eyes land on the mattress on the floor, “that looks uncomfortable.”
“It’s not that bad,” Lia murmurs.
I move around, test the kitchen sink faucet and check if there’s still natural gas. Fortunately, everything seems fine. Cass starts chattering with Lia about girl stuff, then sets up study dates asking for help with homework, and meanwhile I inspect the whole place. I look at the wood on the walls and ceiling. It’s not rainy season, but the weather has been so crazy lately that I wouldn’t be surprised if it rained. I bet there’s a leak right above her mattress. Besides that, more repairs need to be done, like cleaning the chimney.
I make a mental note of everything needed to make this place livable.
[1/2]
- Writer
