Chapter 25
CHAPTER 25
KAREN
T he air felt warmer this morning, almost like spring was trying to push winter aside. It was a nice break from the frost-covered days I’d been enduring since arriving at the ranch. I yawned as I trudged toward the chicken coop, bucket of feed in hand.
I was finally getting into a rhythm after a couple of days of filling in for Ginny. I wasn’t as good as she was, and I didn’t even want to try for her job. I was incredibly sore, and I had blisters on my blisters, but I did feel like I knew what I was doing.
Mostly.
As I got closer to the coop, the cacophony of clucks greeted me. I was used to their high-pitched demands for food. They seriously ate all day, presumably so they could keep building up their shit piles. If they saw me walk by, they made a fuss. I had taken to calling them the “mean girls” of Rocking Horse Ranch.
They were absolute terrors. They gave off serious Regina George vibes—minus the burn book.
“Good morning, ladies,” I called out, stopping in front of the coop. I peered through the chicken wire. Their beady little eyes blinked up at me. I could’ve sworn they were sizing me up. “I brought breakfast. If you’re not total bitches, I’ll give it to you.”
One particularly smug-looking hen cocked her head and stared me down. I knew what she was thinking. You think you’re in charge?
I narrowed my eyes at her. “Don’t act like I don’t know what you’re plotting. You’re not fooling anyone. I feed you and I clean your shit. I don’t take grief from you.”
She blinked and started cackling. I sighed, shaking my head. These birds were impossible. I had taken to talking to them. I was really becoming the crazy chicken lady.
I threw the feed into the coop, tossing it away from the door. I let myself in and was almost immediately ambushed. A few of them fluttered around, clucking like they hadn’t eaten in days. “Calm down. It’s not like I’m starving you.” I shot a glare at the smug hen again. “You’re lucky I’m the one feeding you. If it weren’t for me, you’d be sleeping on and drinking your own poop because you’re too dumb to figure out basic hygiene. Who shits in their own bed?”
They continued their relentless staring, like they were judging me, scrutinizing my soul, and for some reason, that bothered me more than it should have.
“Bimbo birds,” I grumbled. I tossed out the rest of my bucket. While they were distracted, I quickly collected the eggs from the early risers that preferred to lay first thing in the morning.
I walked out and latched the door on the chicken run. I started back to the lodge to take Bodie the eggs. But before I could get more than a few steps, I heard a car engine. The sound was so foreign out here at the ranch, it got my attention. I spotted a sleek, shiny black Mercedes pulling up the drive. It was the kind of car that didn’t belong on a ranch, too polished and out of place. I assumed someone was lost or maybe it was a guest hoping to stay at the lodge.
I walked out to see if I could offer them help. The tinted window rolled down, and a familiar face greeted me with a smile that made my stomach flip—but not in a good way.
Earl Hoyt.
He leaned out of the window, his eyes taking their time sweeping over me in a way that made my skin crawl. “Well, well,” he drawled, smirking. “Not many women can make chicken shit look good, but you’ve got it figured out, haven’t you, darling?”
I stared at him, my fingers tightening around the handle of the feed bucket. Knowing what I knew about Earl, I was debating whether to run or throw the bucket at him.
“I’ve got to get to the barn,” I said, hoping my voice didn’t give away how uncomfortable I felt. The barn was closer than the house. I just wanted to put some distance between us.
Earl wasn’t one to give up so easily. He rolled alongside me in his car, keeping pace with my steps. “Oh, come on now, don’t be like that. Just making conversation. Where’s Cassidy?”
A flicker of protectiveness sparked inside me at the mention of Cassidy. The thought of Earl talking to him put me on edge. I knew Cassidy would love nothing more than to get his hands on Earl and that would just be bad all the way around.
“Why are you looking for him?” I asked.
Earl chuckled. “That’s man-to-man business, sweetheart.”
I shrugged. “Then go ask a man.”
“Just tell me where he is.”
“Just tell me what it’s about.”
“It’s personal,” Earl said, his tone growing more impatient. “I need to talk to him. Where is he?”
I stopped walking and turned to face him, planting my hands on my hips. “I don’t know where Cassidy is. The property’s big, and I’m new here. How am I supposed to know where he is at all times?”
There was a flash annoyance in his eyes. “Fair enough,” he said.
I started toward the barn once again. Earl parked his car and got out, dusting off his jeans like he was ready to help. “I’ll give you a hand,” he said. “No sense letting a pretty girl do all this work alone.”
My heartrate kicked up a notch, but I forced myself to stay calm. The barn wasn’t far. If I just played it cool, Earl would leave. I refused to let him see any fear. “I can handle it,” I said quickly, but he followed me anyway, stepping in beside me as I entered the barn.
It was impossible to shake the unease that settled over me. Earl wasn’t outright threatening, but there was something in the way he moved, the way he watched me, that set off alarm bells. I walked to the barrel with the feed in it. He grabbed one of the empty buckets like he was doing me a favor. The chickens certainly didn’t need to be fed again, but they weren’t going to turn down a second breakfast. If Earl thought he was helping, maybe he would leave after we fed the chickens. Again.
“You know,” he said casually as we walked back toward the coop. “Cassidy always did like the smell of shit in the morning.”
I glanced sideways at him, unsure what to say. The way Earl talked about Cassidy rubbed me the wrong way, like he was mocking him.
“I prefer the smell of a new car,” Earl continued, his eyes sliding over to me, taking their time as they moved down my body and back up again. “And other things.”
The man was gross.
I swallowed hard, a wave of nausea rolling through me. And it wasn’t because of the chicken poop. Earl was too close, too invasive. Fear and anger bubbled up inside me. Who did this guy think he was?
I hurried inside to scatter the feed for the chickens. They probably thought I lost my mind by feeding them again. I wanted to keep as much distance between me and Earl as possible. But he followed me in, still watching me with that infuriating smirk.
As I tossed the feed, I couldn’t help but feel like a caged animal, trapped in here with him. This might not have been my best plan. I didn’t want to turn my back on him, but I also didn’t want to provoke him.
Then, out of nowhere, the chickens went wild.
Feathers flew everywhere as the hens started squawking and flapping. They worked themselves up into a frenzy. I had seen it many times before. Earl jerked back, startled as one particularly aggressive hen lunged at him, pecking at his boots.
“What the hell?” Earl stumbled, trying to swat the birds away, but the chickens weren’t having it. Another one took a dive at him, wings beating furiously. Earl’s face turned from cocky to panicked in an instant.
I couldn’t help it. I started laughing as I watched the “mean girls” gang up on him. Earl was flailing, cursing under his breath as he bolted for the door, nearly tripping over his feet. Two hens chased him out of the coop, pecking at his heels as he scrambled into his Mercedes.
The engine revved to life, and a second later, he was speeding off, dust kicking up behind his car as he fled the ranch.
I was left standing in the middle of the coop, doubled over with laughter. The chickens—those dumb, clucking, judgmental bitches—had just chased off Earl like he was nothing.
“Maybe you’re not so bad after all,” I said, wiping tears from my eyes. I could’ve sworn one of them puffed out her chest like she was proud of herself. “Alright, guys. Get back in here.”
I tapped the feed bucket, which worked like a charm. The chickens that escaped came running back. I closed the door and latched it, happy to be done with the chickens for the day. Although they had certainly earned their second round of food.
I walked back to the barn and picked up the bucket of eggs, then looked out across the property toward the lodge. I hadn’t seen Cassidy all day, and suddenly, I wanted to. I needed to tell him what had just happened with Earl. He was not going to be happy when he found out Earl had come out to the ranch. I was glad he wasn’t around.
That was not the kind of drama he needed.