Going Au Naturale at Hallow’s Cove (Hallow’s Cove)

4. Sydney

Chapter four

Sydney

I brought out my tablet and checked my to-do list, making sure I knew what I was doing. Since this was my first time in the field, I couldn’t mess it up. This could be what propelled me to the next step in my career. I needed to collect samples for the lab, but decided I would do that later, since it would require much more concentration, and my mind really was not on the job.

My eyes wandered to my current fixation—again. Brooks was bent over toward the fence, assessing the damage, in another pair of skintight jeans and a Henley, which did nothing to hide the muscles about to burst from the material.

I shook my head, forcing myself to glance away. Checking out the client was highly unprofessional, not to mention creepy.

I began to snap photos, starting with the cows in the barn. It was large and red, with white beams running across the top; basically like any photo of a barn I’d come across.

What the pictures didn't show was the smell. It was for sure not pleasant, and I resisted the urge to cover my nose. Despite that hiccup, everything looked clean: the stalls were all well-kept, and the cows seemed to have plenty of space.

Most of them were outside, having been let out just moments ago. It looked like the scene of a movie. There were rolling hills and cows grazing lazily, it was scenic in a way I’d never experienced.

When I turned to the side, I almost swallowed my tongue. Over there was Brooks, now shirtless, lifting some heavy-looking wood and moving it out to where the fence was broken. He had a slight tan that I only assumed got darker in the summer, when he’d be out in the sun all day. His biceps flexed with the strain, showing off his toned body and large shoulders even more. He had a bit of hair on his chest, certainly more than most humans, and his jeans covered where I assumed the hair on his legs started.

Gods, I’d never see a body like that in the city .

Realizing how long I'd been gawking, I whipped around, focusing back on my work. If he had noticed I would have been mortified.

I quickly scribbled down some notes, then took photos of the cows in the field. Once I was done, and despite my best judgment, I looked back at Brooks, who was busy hammering wood together and looking too hot for his own good.

I decided not to bother him and went out further into the field, toward the cows. I'd never seen one up close before, and they seemed to be used to people, letting me get pretty close.

I walked right up to one that was just grazing. When it lifted its head, I smiled. It had a cute face, with a big nose and a black spot over its eye that looked almost like a heart. I didn't realize before how large cows really were, coming right up to my face.

I held my hand out, and it rubbed its head against me. It was softer than I thought it would be. I was moving it down toward its nose when it opened its mouth and a long tongue stuck out and licked my hand.

"Ah!" I pulled back, shocked at the touch.

"Cows lick people they like," Brooks’s voice said from behind me, and I jumped, not expecting him to be there.

He laughed, and I noticed he’d pulled his flannel on, but unbuttoned, with his chest peeking through. He was slightly sweaty, but for all the work he'd done, he looked fairly relaxed.

"I didn't know that," I admitted. It was nice to think the cow liked me, though. "Are you done?"

"Not quite. I need one of the guys to hold up the pieces while I screw them in, so I'll need to wait until someone’s free." "I could help," I offered.

He gave me a skeptical look.

I crossed my arms, irritation filling me. "What's that look for?” He held up his hands in feigned innocence. "I didn't say anything." "But your face did." "I just... don't want to make you do work you don't have to."

"Well, I'm perfectly capable," I said, rolling my blazer sleeves up. "Let's go." I started walking over to the hole in the fence, determined to help him. How hard could holding a board in place be? Did he think I was that incompetent? Just because I was from the city didn’t mean I didn't understand hard work.

Brooks came up beside me. "I already put the pieces together," he explained. "I can hold them up since they're heavy while you screw the sides in." He held out the electric drill, and I took it. When I pressed the trigger, it started to whirl; the sound surprised me, and it had a kickback that I didn’t expect. It was now I realized I’d never even held one. I hadn't even hung the heavier frames I bought for some of my photos because I didn't want to screw them into the wall.

I didn't want to prove Brooks right, though, so I grabbed one of the screws and tried to line it up with the premade hole as he waited patiently, not reacting at all to my pace.

However, the stupid screw kept tilting, never wanting to remain straight. When I finally got it where I wanted, I pulled the trigger, but it began spinning way faster than I thought and fell to the ground.

I groaned but picked it up and tried again. By my third attempt, I was getting frustrated.

On my fourth, I couldn't help it. "Fuck! Why won't it just stay?" I said aloud, losing my temper.

I only briefly considered throwing the machine into the cows’ water when Brooks set the wood down.

"Can I show you how it works?" he asked. There was no irritation or I told you so in his voice, though there should have been.

"I guess," I snapped. I shouldn't be rude to him considering how kind he was being even though I wasn't actually helping him, but the tone just fell off my tongue.

"Here." He picked up one of the boards that was hanging there, attached only on one single side. He held it with one hand, then grabbed a screw. "The drill bit is magnetic. You want to line it up and put pressure behind it in a straight line. You might need to put your hand on the back to add enough force." When he did it, it went through the wood seamlessly.

"Now you try." He handed it over to me. The one he’d just screwed in was holding it nicely, so I lined up another, making sure to follow his instructions. It wiggled once again and fell to the grass.

"Try again," Brooks encouraged.

I blew my bangs out of my face and tried even harder. It started to wiggle, but before it could fall, I felt his body behind me and his warm hands came over mine, pushing harder and sending the screw forward and straight through the wood like butter.

"You did it," he said, sounding genuinely impressed.

"With your help," I added.

"And next time you'll do it on your own.” His hand was still over mine, his body still close. Neither of us moved away for a while. It was like he radiated heat, and everywhere we almost touched felt warmer than it should have.

A truck coming from the west finally made Brooks jump back, clearing his throat. I almost dropped the drill but managed to hold onto it before setting it down gently.

A silver truck rounded the bend. It stopped near us, and Blake, one of Brooks's brothers, and another farmhand I hadn't met jumped out.

"Hey, y’all," he said with a wave. "Heard you needed help." "Yeah, the fence is still busted," Brooks replied as they approached. "I put the pieces together, but they need to be slotted into the posts." "We got this," Blake assured him. "Why don't you guys continue with the tour?" "Are you sure?" Brooks asked. "Yeah, it’s no problem. I'm sure you're not interested in this part of things." Blake said to me, and I just nodded.

"Fine, thanks," Brooks responded, his voice a bit clipped. I was surprised at his tone but didn't question it too much.

His brother also looked confused for a moment but shrugged it off with a, "See ya later." Brooks led me away from the barn and back in the direction we'd come from.

"Sorry about Blake,” he finally said.

I shrugged. "I guess he's not wrong. I'm here just to observe." Though something about the way he’d said it had annoyed me. “We can head over to the chicken coop and you can do some more observing there." The walk there wasn't long, though my feet were already starting to hurt. I wasn't used to walking on this kind of uneven ground. Though I was wearing flats instead of heels, they still weren't made for this.

I could already tell this was going to be a long day.

Especially if Brooks kept that shirt unbuttoned.