2. Hard to Love
Chapter 2
Hard to Love
Asher
I t’s seven a.m., and I’m out at the barn tacking my horse, Dom. He’s a sorrel gelding with blue eyes and the best horse I could ask for. He was my first big purchase when I moved out here to start working on the Firman ranch. Other horses out here work just fine, but I wanted one of my own. I adopted Bruno shortly after. I went to the animal shelter one day and saw this sad dog sitting in the pen. He was just staring in the corner and looked like he had given up. I went in, and the volunteer explained that he had previously been locked up and had never experienced true human interaction. I sat down in his pen and waited for something, for what I wasn’t sure, but I waited. Eventually, the dog looked at me, walked over, and sat in my lap. He was mine at that exact moment, and he just so happens to be the best ranchy pitbull you ever saw. He’s my sidekick now, if I’m on the ranch, you can typically find him not too far away.
I was hired to work here because the elderly couple who own the land wanted someone to take care of the animals and basically run the place for them, and I was more than happy to take the job. They seem fairly well off, but they’re getting up there in age. I’ve always been good with my hands, and they needed someone to help them do the heavy lifting. I also like to create, using odd pieces from all over to get what I need and do the best with what I have. I prefer sweat and hard work over an office job, no matter the weather. Once I got to thirty, I gave up on the thought of having anyone permanent in my life. I searched for a job that would place me in the middle of nowhere, far enough that I couldn’t bring a lady back home and have it be convenient. This job provides housing, a place to keep my horse, allows my dog to be here, and for me to have plenty of alone time. I prefer to hang out in my trailer than talk to a bunch of random people. When I get desperate, I’ll head into town to hang out at the local bar. That’s enough social interaction for me to last another few months. I like to sit in the corner booth with my beer and people-watch. The shit people do when no one is looking is insane.
Once I get my horse tacked for the morning, I swing a leg over and head out to check cattle. I’ll be out here a good part of the morning. I check to make sure everyone is okay, that there’s plenty of water in the pond, and to ensure there are no holes in the fencing. This time of year is my favorite. The calves are getting bigger, and there’s not as much of a risk of losing one. In early May, the mornings are cool, and it’s not blistering come afternoon. Once June hits, it’s like the devil himself sticks his pitchfork into the ground. It becomes miserable to be outside, and I have to check everything at the ass-crack of dawn or take an ATV to do it.
I lean forward and pat Dom’s neck as we move forward, getting deeper onto the property. Once he’s warmed up a little, I push him into a trot and then into a lope. The wind whips through my hair, and I inhale deeply. Nothing can beat this day.
* * *
It’s about one when I make my way to the chicken coop. It’s falling apart, the paint is peeling, and it definitely needs to be reinforced. It just hasn’t been a top priority, another thing to fix on this old farm. I’m collecting the last of the eggs when Peter comes hobbling out onto his back porch. I put the eggs in my apron and make my way to the porch to put them up and meet him.
“How ya doin’, Peter?”
“Oh, I’m okay, just kickin’ another day. How are you?”
“I’m good. What’s goin’ on?”
“You remember me talking about my granddaughter, Esme, right?”
“Oh yeah, the one who lives in LA and loves to get manicures.”
He chuckles. “Yes, that’s her. See she’s graduating college, and her dad wants her to gain some, uh, life skills.”
I continue to look at him while I wait for him to spit out whatever he’s trying really hard to not say.
“Well she’s going to come out here, and I want her to shadow you.”
“Wait wait wait,” I say and hold up my hands. “No offense, sir, but that’s not my job. You hired me to take care of the animals, not take care of your spoiled granddaughter.”
“You’re not wrong,” Peter says with a chuckle, “but you’re the man for the job. We trust you, and want her to get the best experience possible while she’s here. We’re old now, we can’t do the same things you can. Please, Asher. Help us with this.”
“Yes sir.” I say as I nod my head and back off the back porch. I walk straight to my trailer where I wrench the door open and slam it closed. I plop my ass down on the couch and take some deep breaths. The whole point of getting this job was for me to not be around other people every day. Especially not around a young woman.
A woman was my breaking point, the reason I had to come out here and live a whole new life in the first place. My girlfriend at the time kept saying I wasn’t making enough and that I needed to work longer hours and then have the energy to go to random house parties with her. She liked to party, and even if I did have the energy, I just didn’t like them. They say opposites attract, but all we did was repel.
There was nothing but noise in my life, and I needed quiet. I didn’t necessarily think that I would have gotten this much quiet, but I don’t mind. It also doesn’t help that I have certain tastes in the bedroom that don’t match everyone. That’s fine, everyone has their thing, but for me, there’s something about a girl who gives in and submits to me that gets my dick hard.
I look down and realize I’m still wearing my egg apron and that my thickening dick is currently pushing the eggs. This apron is one of the best things ever invented, and I don’t care what anyone has to say about it. Before I was gifted it, I was placing eggs in my pockets and would end up busting half of ’em. One day, Phillis walked out with this apron that she made, and it makes a world of a difference transporting them and bringing them inside the house. Well, I guess they’re mine today.