Hidden Falls

This is a work of fiction.
Names, characters, places, and events are either the product of the author’s
imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living
or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2013 Ruthi
Kight

All rights reserved. No
part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any
form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or
mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author, except
in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other
noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, e-mail
[email protected]
.

Dedication

Dedicated to Olivia, Ava,
and Amilya, the best little girls in the world.

Chapter One

Katy

I rolled out of bed this
morning with one thought: I’d rather be asleep.  Yep.  People who normally get up
at this time of the day must have a screw loose somewhere ‘cause there was nothing
enjoyable about hearing a bunch of damn crickets first thing in the morning. 
It’s so early that the birds weren’t even chirping yet.  That right there was a
sure sign that I should have crawled back into the bed. 

But I didn’t.  Don’t get
it twisted.  I have a not-so-secret love affair with my bed, but today I was supposed
to be at the farm.  When Roxie and Chase came to see me last week, they practically
begged, so I couldn’t tell them no.  I could tell they were both stressed out,
so what was I supposed to do? 

“
Please
!  Don’t
make me get on my knees! You know I’ll do it,” Roxie said.

I put my hands on my hips
and stared at her.  Behind her stood the guy who had once held my heart.  He
had been at the front of my mind since I was a little girl, but now I had to
push those thoughts aside.  He and Roxie were together now. Sigh.

“You do realize you’re
asking me to
run your farm
, right?  Me? The girl who has a serious
aversion to animal crap?” I replied to her not so subtle begging.

“You won’t be there alone,
promise.  Brian will be-” Roxie began.

“
What
? No, no no
no.  N-O.” I shook my head and looked away from her.  I could not spend that
much time with Brian. 

“It’s only for a few
weeks, Katy.  Please? It would really help us out.” Chase pleaded with me, his
blue eyes sparkling in the afternoon sun.  I wanted to punch him.  He knew I
couldn’t say no to him...

“You both owe me. Big
time.” I huffed out after a moment.

“Thank you so much! You
have no idea how much we owe you!” Roxie practically tackled me to the ground, and
I couldn’t help but laugh.  She had no idea how true those words were.  And I
was going to cash in on them when the time was right.

“I’ll make sure my brother
is on his best behavior.  No worries,” Chase said with a cheeky smile.

I let out a loud laugh,
the vibrations running through my body.  “Yeah, that’ll be the day.  Brian?
Behave?”

The chirping of my alarm
brought me back to the moment and I stood up from the bed.  I stretched,
feeling my relaxed muscles pull and twist.  I heard my back crack, a seriously
loud sound in the quiet of my bedroom.  I looked over at the clock and groaned
again.  With a quick search for my shorts and t-shirt, I fled to the bathroom
to get ready for the day.  Nothing to it but to do it.

*****

“Remind me again why I’m
doing this?” I asked, turning to look at my mother.  She was cooking breakfast
for me at this inhumane hour of the morning while I chugged my cup of mocha
flavored coffee.

“Because Roxie’s your best
friend,” she replied.  “How do you want your eggs, sweetie?”

“Scrambled, please. I
can’t stand that sunny side up crap.” I took another sip of my coffee, slower
this time, trying to savor its healing properties.

“Don’t talk like that
young lady.  You were raised better than that.” She continued cooking, not
bothering to turn and look my way when scolding me.  Typical of my mother.

“Sorry,” I mumbled.  I
looked at the clock again.  Five in the morning.  Or Satan’s hour, as I liked
to call it.  Nothing good has ever come from being up so damn early.  Mom set a
plate in front of me filled with scrambled eggs and cheese grits, my favorite
foods.  She always knew the way to my heart: through my Southern stomach.

Watching her stand at the
stove, humming along with the tune in her head, reminded me of when I was
younger.  Back when she was actually a “mom,” instead of the shell of a woman
she had become.  Sure, mornings hadn’t changed much over the years, but
evenings sure weren’t what they used to be.  I felt nostalgic as I watched her
and a small part of me felt the urge to run up behind her and hug her, never
letting go.  These moments were too few and far between for me to let go
easily.

I devoured every last
scrap of goodness from my plate.  I had a feeling that I would need all the
energy I could get to handle the day ahead of me.  I stood and walked to the
counter, placing my plate gently in the bottom of the cracked and worn sink.  I
could still remember the glass that had been thrown in there when I was a
child, causing the initial crack.  Over the years more items were thrown in,
but that first glass had felt like the beginning of the end.  And not just for
the sink.

“Bye Mom.  I’ll be back
this evenin’!” I yelled as I quickly left our small yellow and white country
kitchen.  I could hear her calling after me, but at that point I was in a rush to
get out of there.  I promised Roxie that I would be there by six, and not a minute
later.  With her parents in town, she was having a hard time keeping up with
the heavy work load.  Evidently, they were high maintenance as well.

I had only met them briefly,
the day of Betty’s funeral and at graduation, but it was enough to convince me
that I would never be placing them on any favorite’s list.  Chase, as sweet and
kind as he was, couldn’t seem to bring himself to like them either.  That
simple fact made me feel a little bit better about my indifference to them. 
The ringing of my phone pulled me from my thoughts.  I pulled the phone out and
found Brian’s face smiling back at me. 

“Y’ello,” I answered.

“Are you on your way yet?
I’ve been waiting ten minutes already.”  There was no hint of his normal
chipper tone.  Maybe he wasn’t a morning person either.

“I’m on my way, calm
down!  I have to walk, remember?” I replied, my breath huffing out as I picked
up speed.  I looked out, taking in the stretch of road in front of me.  With
the sultry heat, I knew I would be a complete mess by the time I got there.

“Walk? Why didn’t you say
something Kitty?  I’ll be right there,” he replied.

“Don’t call me-” The click
of the phone in my ear set me off.  He knew how much I hated that nickname.  He
had been calling me Kitty Kat since we were in first grade and yet, he still
couldn’t get it through his thick skull that I hated it.

I growled as I put my
phone back in my pocket.  Wasn’t it bad enough that I had to get up at the butt
crack of dawn?  Why did that torture
have
to involve Brian as well?  The
boy was infuriating, even at his best.  I had begged Roxie, repeatedly, to find
someone else to help out.  But no one else was available to help, or at least
that’s what she told me. 

If he was insisting on
picking me up, then I wasn’t walking any further.  It was too damn hot to keep
going, especially if he wanted to play my knight in rusted armor.  I sat down
on the still damp grass, the dew seeping through my shorts.  While most days I
would have felt gross having my bottom wet, today I was going to make an
exception.  The sun wasn’t even out and it was already hot enough to fry an egg
on the damn asphalt. 

The birds were now up and
chirping their happy-go-lucky tunes.  I had the sudden urge to run back inside
and get my brother’s old slingshot.  It was like everyone and everything around
me was basking in my grumpy mood.  The sun wasn’t even up yet, but I was
expected to be all smiles and shit?  Not likely, especially today.

A few minutes later I
heard the rumble of Brian’s truck, which was my sign to stand up again.  His
old beater had a distinctive sound that was hard to ignore.  It always reminded
me of the roar of an angry lion,  a female lion with her monthly gift.  I
watched as the truck sped down the road, rocketing towards me at a speed that I
didn’t think was possible for it to reach.  The thing was old as dirt, so I
always wondered how on earth it moved as fast as it did. 

The truck slowed as it
came within twenty yards of where I was standing.  I made no move to come
closer, sure that he would pretend to run me over again.  Last time it wasn’t
pretend.  My broken toe was proof of that.  That was yet another reason that I
kept my distance from Brian.  He was one of those guys who was always up to
something, always looking for his next adrenaline fix or practical joke.

“You gonna stare all day?
Or are ya gonna get in?” he called out to me.  I looked up and found the truck
in front of me, when only moments ago I was watching his approach. 

“Depends.  You gonna run
me over again?” I remarked.  I gave him my best sassy face, but he only
chuckled.  I would have to work on that.

“Get your ass in here
Kitty.  We’re already late.”  He leaned over and swung the passenger door open
for me.  He straightened up and gave me one of his trademark goofy smiles.          “God
help me, what have I gotten myself into?” I mumbled to myself as I climbed into
the truck and shut the rusty door.  I looked over at him and found him grinning
from ear to ear.  “Don’t call me Kitty.”

“Whatever you
say...Kitty,” he replied with a smile, turning the truck around.  I leaned back
in my seat and closed my eyes.  Day one had just begun and already I was
wishing the two weeks were over.

Chapter Two

Brian

“We’re here Kitty.  Let’s
get to work.” I pulled up in front of the barn and threw the gearshift into
park.  I looked over at Katy, her head rested on the back of the seat, and
couldn’t help but stare at her.  The early morning sun that poured through the
window was shined a spotlight on her beautiful face.  Her mouth, the one that I
had fantasized about for years, was slightly parted.  I wanted nothing more, in
that moment, than to feel them.  Would they be as soft and welcoming as they
appeared?

She lifted her head and
looked at me, her mouth falling into a frown.  I shook my head and focused my
attention on the barn in front of us.  “You ready for some fun?” I wiggled my
eyebrows at her suggestively.

“Sure, let me know when it
gets here,” she replied, unbuckling her seat belt and opening the door.  She
got out of the truck and slammed the door shut, the sound reverberating in the
quiet of the morning.  She would be a hard nut to crack, but I was determined
that this summer would be the one.  Chase was finally off the market, so her
attention would no longer be focused on the crush she had held onto since we
were kids. 

I got out of the truck,
trying not to slam my door, if only to prove a point to her.  But she didn’t
seem to notice.  She walked straight to the barn doors and unlocked them.  I
followed behind her, my eyes practically glued to her ass in those faded jean
shorts.  I couldn’t help but wonder if she knew what she was doing to me when
she showed up dressed like that.  Who dresses like that to shovel horse shit
all day?

“You’re a real peach
today,” I muttered as I passed her.  Out of the corner of my eye I could see
her back straighten and her arms close across her chest.  She was shutting down
already and the day had barely started.
Good job, Dick. What are you gonna
do next? Tell her she looks fat in those shorts?