Knotted Roots (6 page)

I’m
not saying that I wanted to become a full-time laborer for her on the farm, but
maybe I could at least go there and help a little bit.  Nothing too strenuous
though considering there wasn’t a nail salon anywhere near here.  I had spent
too much money on these beautiful nails to let them be ruined by hard labor.  I
closed my eyes and dunked my head underwater, my mind wandering as I relaxed. 
Later.  I would deal with all of this later.

CHAPTER SIX

I
heard when Grandma got home later, the front door rattling as she slammed it. 
Her heavy footsteps immediately pounded up the stairs and moments later there
was a loud knock at the door.  Before I had a chance to say anything she was
already opening the door, a bag of food in hand.  She walked over and set it on
the desk and then turned to leave.  She looked really angry which I didn’t
think was possible. 

“Hey,
what’s wrong?” I called out to her as she stood in the doorway.

“Nothing
you need to worry about,” she replied and walked out.  I heard her door slam
moments later.  I had no idea what could have made her so mad, and no idea how
to approach her.  Would she even want to talk to me?  What if I was the reason
she was so upset?

I
got up and went to her room. My hands shook as I raised my fist to knock.  The
door was snatched open and there stood Grandma, her eyes swollen and red.  I
took a step back, unsure what to say. 

“Umm...are
you...I mean-” I tried to find the words, but she raised her hand for me to
stop.

“I’m
fine,” she said.  “Nothing you need to worry about.”  She started to close the
door but I quickly stepped forward to stop her.

“What’s
going on?” I asked.

She
let out a loud sigh as her shoulders slumped.  “Kate quit today.  She got an
early admission to USC. And that would be the University of South Carolina,
just in case you were wondering.”

“And
that’s bad, why?” I asked, utterly confused.

“She
was a volunteer, Roxie.  And a vital part of the team.  I can’t afford to hire
anyone else right now. Not to mention that there aren’t many teens out there
willing to give up their summer to help out an old woman.”  She leaned against
her bedroom door, her head dropping back with a thud.

“So...you
need help?  But instead of asking your
granddaughter
, you cry yourself
into oblivion?” I asked, getting more and more upset.  Did she really think I
wasn’t capable of helping? 

“You
have made it perfectly clear that you want nothing to do with the farm.  Or me,
for that matter.  Why would I ask you?” she replied.

She
had a valid point, which made me feel even worse.  Sure, she and I had our
issues, and I still harbored quite a bit of resentment, but she hadn’t even
bothered to ask me.  She couldn’t possibly know that I would say no.  I shook
my head and backed away.  I walked back to my room and shut the door.  I walked
over to the window and stared out, my eyes searching the clear sky above.  I
deserved to feel this way, I knew that, so why did it hurt so much?  I had
never liked letting people down before, but it seemed inevitable when it came
to Grandma. 

I
couldn’t compare to her, or my mother, especially when they both know where
their roots could be found.  Grandma had known what she wanted from the time
she was a child.  She hadn’t fought to figure out what she would do for the
rest of her life.  Mom...well, she’d known from a young age that her future
wasn’t here.  She left the first chance she got.  But me? I didn’t feel like I
was at home here, but when I thought about going back to New York, I couldn’t
picture life there either. 

I
envied Grandma for being so certain about what she wanted.  Hell, I envied Mom
too, but she was just as screwed up as I was, so that seemed ridiculous.  Maybe
everyone was right.  Maybe I needed to let everything go for a while and just
enjoy what was here.  I wasn’t used to hard labor, but that didn’t mean that I
couldn’t help Grandma, right?  It was worth a shot, especially if it gave me an
excuse to get out of the house.  And of course a chance to ogle Chase, but
that’s neither here nor there.

CHAPTER SEVEN

I
ambushed Grandma in the kitchen the next morning as she prepared to leave the
house to head to the farm.  The shock on her face was worth waking up at four
in the morning.  Without coffee.  I was sitting at the kitchen table munching
on some toast and eggs that I had fixed as I had waited for her to make her way
downstairs.

“Roxie,
what in the world are you doing up?” she asked after she swung through the
western doors that separated her beautiful kitchen from the front of the
house.  She grabbed a piece of toast off of my plate and popped it into her
mouth, smiling as she chewed.

“I’m
going with you to the farm,” I said as I casually picked at the food on my
plate. 

“I
didn’t tell you all of that last night just so you would help,” she said as she
sat down across from me, a sigh escaping as she studied my face.

“Good,
cause that’s not why I’m helping,” I replied as I stood and placed my still
full plate in the kitchen sink.  I turned to look at her and there was a look
of disbelief there, along with a hint of uncertainty.

“Huh...well,
okay,” she stood and stared down at me.  “If you’re coming to work then you
better go change your clothes.  Wouldn’t want you messin’ up those nice
clothes.” She nodded down at my expertly ripped jeans, lace covered pink tank
top, and sparkly pink ballet flats. 

I
flashed my biggest smile and raced out of the kitchen.  I hit the stairs
running and found myself standing in front of my closet in no time.  I rummaged
through my clothes, hoping to find something suitable to “work” in, but came up
empty.  All of my clothes carried expensive labels, proving Grandma’s point
that I hadn’t done a hard day’s work my entire life.  I settled on a pair of
black yoga pants from Abercrombie and a white tank top from Saks.  Sure, they
were expensive, but they were the most casual clothes I owned.  Looking through
my shoes I felt at a loss.

“Are
you almost ready?” I jumped when I heard Grandma’s voice at the door.  I
clutched my chest as I spun around to face her.

“You
scared the sh...Crap out of me!” I tried to calm my breathing.  After a short
moment I was finally able to speak again.  “I don’t have any shoes to wear.  I
don’t own tennis shoes or boots.”

“You’re
about a size 8, right?” I nodded in response. “Come on, you can borrow a pair
of my work boots.  They’re not nearly as cute as those little flaps of material
you had on earlier, but they will protect your feet.”

She
left the room in a hurry, so I followed quickly, grabbing a pair of socks from
my drawer on the way out of the room.  I hurried down the stairs, trailing her
as she moved gracefully out of my line of vision.  For an old lady she sure
moved fast.  I found her in the “mud room,” as she called it.  Evidently it was
a room built for the sole purpose of removing your muddy shoes so you didn’t
track dirt through the house.  Go figure.  Another interesting factoid to take
home with me at the end of the summer.

“Here,
try these.  And hurry.  We’re already running late,” she said as she handed me
a pair of light brown boots, laces running up the front, and mud covering the
bottom half of the shoe.  I made a concerted effort not to turn my nose up at
them as I took them from her.  This day was just getting better and better.

* * * *

Turns
out that the farm wasn’t far from the main house after all, but Grandma
insisted on driving her truck over, confident we would need the vehicle later
on to haul materials around the land.  A short, five minute drive brought us to
yet another open expanse of land.  A large red barn stood off to the side, its
doors flung wide open in greeting.  I scanned the surrounding land, and noticed
large areas of fenced in land with a wide variety of animals grazing lazily. 
Cows, pigs, and goats took up most of my line of vision, with what I assumed
was a rather large hen house off to the side, also fenced in. 

We
parked beside another truck that sat only a few feet from the barn.  I followed
her lead; jumping out of the truck with what I hoped was an air of confidence. 
I took a deep breath and instantly regretted doing that.  The smell surrounding
us was awful.  It smelled of wild animals and manure, (go figure) a mix of
scents that made the contents of my stomach churn, threatening to revolt.  A
slight gagging noise escaped and Grandma looked over at me, laughter filling
the air around us.

“Lovely
smell isn’t it?” she asked with a wide grin.  She didn’t bother to wait for my
response, instead headed in the direction of the open barn.  She disappeared
within its walls as I stood there, staring blankly at where she once was,
trying to breathe through my mouth.  What had I signed up for?  This was
nothing like I thought it would be.  Sure, I knew there were animals on a farm,
but did they have to smell so bad?  I thought that there was someone whose job
it was to keep the area clean, keeping the smell of animal to a minimum?  Maybe
I had been wrong about that as well.

I
followed Grandma’s lead, walking through the wide mouth of the barn, where the
smell became stronger as I made my way into the dirty barn.  I was brought up
short by what I saw.  The entire barn was filled with stalls, each housing a
different horse.  Off to the right was a small office, enclosed in glass, which
looked completely out of place within the wooden structure.  I spotted Grandma
sitting behind her desk, chatting with someone off to the side.  I couldn’t
make out who it was from this angle, so I stayed where I was, taking in the
sights and smells around me.  The smell wasn’t pleasant, at all, but the longer
I stood there, the easier it became to bear.

My
curiosity finally got the best of me and I decided to do some looking around. 
I strolled down the center of the building, glancing in each stall as I
passed.  There were horses of every shade and size, all of them staring at me
as if I was an alien to them.  I guess I was, to be honest.  I had never seen a
horse in person before, well, unless you counted the mounted police that
trolled Central Park back home.  They would never let anyone close to them
though; obviously worried that even the slightest touch from a civilian would
cause the horse to go into panic mode. 

I
made it to the last stall on the right and stopped, unable to look away.  The
horse was beautiful; its body was a silky black color, its hair braided with
the most beautiful red ribbon I had ever seen.  Its eyes stared back at me,
almost as if they were searching my soul for the answer as to who I was.  I
would have kept on staring if it hadn’t been for the sound of someone clearing
their throat behind me.  I whirled around and found who had intruded on our
intimate moment.

Startling
blue eyes peered down at me, combined with a beautiful set of straight, white
teeth, smiling wide.  He was even more gorgeous than I remembered.  I could
feel my brain shut down as I scanned him from head to toe, taking in his dirty
tank top and even filthier jeans.  As I considered the state of his clothes, I
couldn’t believe that I still felt an immense attraction to him. 

“Her
name’s Lulu.  She’s a real beauty, isn’t she?” he asked as he continued to
smile down at me.  I continued to gaze at him, unable to form words.  I nodded
instead.  “You’re not much of a talker, are ya?”

“Y-y-yes,”
I stammered.  “I mean...what?”

“Betty
told me that you volunteered to help muck out the stalls today.  Are ya ready
to get to work?” he asked.

“What?”
I had no idea what he was talking about, but from the glint in his eye and the
little smile on his face, I knew it couldn’t be good.  “I have no idea what
that is.”

“It
means clean out the stalls that the horses are housed in,” he replied, his
smile growing wider as he stared at me.  “You’re new to all this, aren’t ya?”

“What
gave you a clue?” I couldn’t hide the sarcastic tone in my voice.  Great, the
first time I was finally able to form a coherent thought and I acted like a
total witch.  Great impression I’ve made on him so far.

“It’s
not that bad, I promise.  Kate used to handle this, but with her early
admission to USC...well, we’re glad to have your help,” he said as he handed me
a large, dirty pitch fork.  I held it away from me, unable to hide the disgust
that I felt.

“I
don’t think so.  I didn’t sign up to be the resident pooper scooper,” I
replied, putting my hand on my hip, dropping the disgusting tool on the ground
as I looked up at him. 

He
laughed.  The sound was like music to my ears.  I never knew that the sound of
laughter could make me feel so full of light.  When he laughed it was as if the
angels sang directly in my head.  I was stunned into silence; all bravado
disappeared in the presence of his happiness.  I knew that my mouth had gone
slack again, but this time I couldn’t stop myself.  I’m sure he believed I was
a complete idiot after yet another disastrous meeting.

“Roxanne! 
Where are ya girl?” I heard Grandma as she called me from the other end of the
barn.  I looked behind Chase to see her walk over to us, a stern look on her
face as she quickly made her way to where we stood.  As she came to stand
before me I shook off my stupor and smiled at her.

“Hi
Grandma.  Everything okay?” I asked, an innocent look plastered on my face.

“I’ve
got to head into town for a while.  Chase here will give you a list of duties
for today and explain how to handle them.  I want you to listen to everything
he says ‘cause he’s in charge until I get back,” she said as she turned to face
the blue-eyed angel standing between us.  “Make sure she doesn’t break
anything, will ya?”