Knotted Roots (7 page)

“Yes
ma’am.  I’ll keep the doctor on speed dial,” he smiled at her, his pearly white
teeth flashed once again.

Grandma
let out a loud guffaw, startling me.  “I meant my farm.  But yeah, keep an eye
on her as well.  Never know what will happen when the city folk come around.”

“Hey!
I’m thinking I should be seriously offended right now,” I huffed, my
indignation clear to both of them.

They
both laughed at me before Grandma walked away, my attention focused on her
retreating backside.  Once she was out of the building I returned my attention
to Chase to find him staring down at me with no hint of humor left in his
eyes.  All I found was a glimmer of pity.  I didn’t need or want his pity, or
anyone else’s for that matter.  I could handle this, no problem.

“What’s
first on that list, oh great one?” I asked.

He
handed me the pitchfork as he bent at the waist, bowing to me in what I could
only guess was supposed to be a humorous way.  I gripped the wooden handle and
raised my eyebrows at the foreign object in my hands.  He laughed heartily as
he walked away, leaving me to my job as the summer pooper scooper.  I wondered
if getting close to him was worth all of this.

* * * *

By
the time Grandma returned three hours later I was exhausted.  I cleaned horse
poo out of the stalls all day and my arms were screaming at me.  I was drenched
in sweat and the smell that clung to my body was even more repulsive than that
of the animals.  She laughed when she saw me, not bothering to ask how I was
doing, she simply walked back into her office and closed the door. 

I
glanced at the clock on the wall above her office and noticed that it was only
10 o’clock.  I had already been up for six hours, working for most of that
time, and I was already worn out.  I had no idea how Chase and his brother were
able to handle this kind of work.  In fact, I hadn’t seen Brian all day, which
made me wonder if he had come to work with Chase today or not. 

I
finished up the last stall, removing the soiled straw from the ground and
replacing it with a fresh, clean covering.  As I put my tools up I noticed
Chase standing at Grandma’s office door, his hand raised to knock.  He glanced
at me, smiled, and returned his attention to his task.  He rapped lightly on
the door and waited for her to open it.  Instead, she called out for him to
enter and he disappeared inside, closing the door behind him. 

I
walked by, briefly glancing into the office, before heading outside.  The fresh
air was incredible.  It was as if I could finally breathe again.  The air was
fresh and inviting, urging me to leave the confines of the barn to explore the
world around me.  I was dirty, sweaty, and smelled like I had spent the day
wallowing in horse manure, but I felt something else as well.  Satisfaction.

CHAPTER EIGHT

I
crawled into bed that night after a long hot bath, barely able to keep my eyes
open.  Grandma let me off the hook for the rest of the day; thank goodness,
because I seriously doubted that I would have been able to make it up the
stairs if she hadn’t.  She was right though.  I had never worked that hard in
my life.  My days had always consisted of shopping with Amber, going to movies,
and partying in the Hamptons.  We even had a maid, so I never had to do any
housework either.  I could officially say that I had been a pampered princess,
and up until now, I had thought there was no better way to live.

I
had never felt this level of satisfaction after a long day of shopping.  Sure,
I would come home with my arms loaded down with shopping bags, goodies
overflowing their tops, but I had never truly known what it felt like to earn
anything.  Today I earned my sore muscles, and tomorrow I would do it again. 
Well, that was, if my body allowed me to. 

As I
closed my eyes I heard my phone vibrate on my nightstand.  The noise shattered
my peaceful moment of reflection and jarred me out of my sleepy stupor.  I
reached for the phone and was shocked to find Amber’s picture displayed on the
screen.  I couldn’t imagine what she had to say after the last time we talked,
but a part of me was still missing her, so I answered it.

“What?”
I snapped.

“Well
hello to you too,” she sounded nervous.  Good, she should be after the way she
treated me.  “How are you doing Rox?”

“Peachy. 
What do you want Amber?” I sat up in bed, my grip tightening around my phone as
I tried to keep my voice from crumbling.

“Look,
I’m sorry about the other day.  I am a rotten human being, and I don’t deserve
your forgiveness, but I’m hoping that you can find it in your heart to forgive
me,” she rushed the words out, barely breathing between each syllable.

I
felt conflicted.  I couldn’t tell if she was being sincere, or if she was
simply trying to appease me.  With Amber, you could never tell one way or the
other.  I had always known that she was a superficial girl, but I believed that
she actually cared about me as a friend.  I mean, how can you know someone for
your entire life and not care about them? 

“I
don’t know...” I started but as soon as I heard her sigh I knew that she wasn’t
sincere.  “Scratch that.  I don’t forgive you.  You ditched me for a bunch of
people that you barely know, and hardly tolerate.  I have never treated you
like that...”

I
heard the click of the call disconnecting and knew that she had hung up on me. 
I stared at the phone in my hands, unsure of what just happened.  Why would she
call me just to act like a brat again?  Did she really think that I could just
forget everything, acting like it was alright and just accept her apology?  She
had treated me like I didn’t matter enough to blow off a stupid party.  I
couldn’t be expected to just ignore that, could I?

Tomorrow
was approaching at a rapid pace, and I knew I should get to sleep, but my mind
refused to switch off and allow me to relax, not after that phone call.  I
tossed and turned the entire night.  My body ached, my muscles screaming for
relief, but it seemed that once again my head won out.  I had lost so much
since leaving New York, and yet I had gained so much more in the process.  I
just hoped that it would be enough.

* * * *

I
was up early again the next morning, my body screaming even more than it had
the night before.  I had never felt this kind of pain before.  I gave serious
consideration to staying home today, but I knew that if I did then Grandma
would have something to hold over my head for the rest of summer.  No, I had to
prove to her, and to myself, that I could handle the job.  Hell, I had a
feeling that Chase thought the same thing as well, and no way could I let him
think I’m pampered on top of being a ridiculous nit wit. 

I
slowly climbed out of bed, gingerly placing my feet on the hardwood floor, and
rubbed my hands up and down my arms.  I got dressed as quickly as my sore body
would allow me to and grabbed a pair of socks from my dresser before heading
out of my room.  The house was eerily quiet, which was unexpected since Grandma
should have been up and moving by now.  I walked down the hall to her door and
knocked gently.  There was no answer so I quietly turned the knob and pushed
the door open.

Her
room was as pristine as the rest of the house.  Her bed was already made, the
throw pillows expertly arranged at the top of her bed.  Her bedside table was
clear and dust free, no sign of clutter to be found.  I remembered seeing my
mom’s back home and all of the little trinkets she kept beside her bed.  She
was a true clutter bug, but her room was the only place that Dad would allow
her free reign.  I glanced at the bathroom door that connected her room to the
master bath, but it was open, the lights off. 

I
shook my head and backed out of her room again.  I closed the door and moved
down the hall to the stairs once again.  When I made it downstairs I was once
again shocked to find all of the lights off, no sound reverberated through the
house.  I walked to the front door and peered outside; I looked for her truck,
but it was gone.  The old bat had left me here!  I couldn’t believe that she
left me here, especially after I told her last night that I would definitely be
going back with her today.  A few sore muscles weren’t going to stop me from
proving myself.

I
grabbed my hoodie off of the coat rack by the door, slipped Grandma’s work
boots on my feet, and stomped out the front door.  I slammed the door behind
me, unable to control my anger.  I had a general idea of where I was headed,
but since I had only been there one time, I would have to be careful to follow
the dirt road the way we drove the day before.  Sure, it would be taking the longer
route to where I was going, but I had no idea how to make it to the barn any
other way.

The
walk took me twenty minutes, and by the time I arrived I was drained. 
Yesterday’s workout still lingered in my body, causing my strength to crumble
quite easily.  Once the barn came into view I immediately perked up.  All of
the anger and indignation had brewed during my walk over and I was ready to
explode.  I angrily stomped into the barn and glanced into the glass office,
but Grandma was not there this time.  I looked through the rest of the barn but
she was not there either. 

As I
walked out of the barn I finally found the object of my rage.  There she was,
walking towards the two trucks parked out front, while Chase and Brian walked
on either side of her.  I stomped towards them, meeting them halfway.  The
smiles on their faces gradually dissolved when they saw the fire burning in my
eyes.

“What
the hell? Why did you leave me at home Grandma?” I yelled at her.  I couldn’t
control the spew of venom, and at this point, there wasn’t any point trying
to.  “I
told
you last night that I would come with you today!”

“Whoa,
calm down Roxie.  There’s no-” Chase began but I immediately cut him off.

“Stay
out of this.  This is family business, and you’re not family,” I growled at
him.  I turned my attention away from him, but not before I saw the hurt flash
in his eyes.

“You
listen here, young lady!  Chase and Brian are
both
part of
my
family, so if you wish to be included in that category, I would watch that
haughty tone of yours
now
.” I could practically see the anger as it
boiled off of her, becoming nearly tangible in the early morning light of the
day. 

“So
that’s how it is?  You are quick to stick up for them, to protect them, but to
hell with me?  I’m your flesh and blood! Your one and only grandchild, but I
guess that doesn’t mean much when you have these two,” I pointed my fingers
between Chase and Brian, “here instead.  Fine, I don’t want any part of this.”

I
quickly whirled around and started to run away from them, refusing to let them
see the tears that began to fall from my eyes.  I angrily wiped them away as I
jogged back to the dirt road that would lead me back to the house.  I hadn’t
made it very far when I heard footsteps approaching from behind.  I spun back
around, my eyes full of tears and malice, and came face to face with Chase.  I
was far too angry to be in awe of his appearance this time.

“Don’t.
You. Dare.” I pointed my finger at him, vigorously shaking my head back and
forth.  “You have no right to follow me.  Just leave me alone.”

“I
just wanted to make sure you were okay.  Betty can get a lil bit over
protective of us sometimes,” he said as he carefully approached me, his hands
raised in front of him as if to calm down a raging animal.  I guess I did
resemble one at that moment.  “She loves you.  I mean, really loves you.  The
whole week before you arrived she could do nothing else but talk about you and
how wonderful it would be to have you here.”

“Could
have fooled me, that’s for sure,” I said.  I knew I was acting like a child,
possibly even trying to pull some complimentary information from him, but at
that moment I couldn’t have cared less.

He
shook his head as he lowered his hands, shoving them deep into the pockets of
his faded blue jeans.  “You have no idea how lucky you are Roxie.  Betty is
incredible.  I would give anything to truly be a part of her family, not just
an honorary member.”

I
stared at him, unsure what to say.  Sure, everyone knew how great Grandma was,
especially me, but did he have to remind me?  In comparison to her, I was
nothing.  There was no way that I could ever live up to her legacy, or her
expectations.  Taking my silence as the end of the conversation, he turned to
walk away.  I had a moment’s panic as I realized he was about to leave.  A part
of me wanted him to stay, to have him attempt to calm me more, but another part
wanted to throttle him for being so damn sweet and caring.  I had never met
anyone like him before.  Maybe that’s why Grandma had tried to warn me away
from him.

“Wait,”
I started to reach for him, but when he turned and faced me I let my hand
drop.  “I don’t exactly know how to ask this...but why does Grandma treat you
like you’re breakable?”

A
brief flicker of sadness crossed his face so fast that I wasn’t sure I just
imagined it.  He ran a calloused hand through his hair as he raised his eyes to
meet mine. “I’m not sure what you mean.  She treats me like she does everyone
else.”

How
could I tell him what Grandma had told me the first day without revealing that
I had been searching for a way to get closer to him?  “I mean, she um, she told
me to stay away from you.” Like a Band-Aid, I figured it would be better to
just make it quick and hopefully painless. 

“She
told you to stay away from me?  Why?  Were you planning on kicking me or
something?” he asked, only half joking.