21. Chapter 21
Jinx
I’m rushing around the house, picking up the place, lighting scented candles everywhere to make sure the house doesn’t smell like dog. Once I clean one thing, I see something else that needs cleaning or organizing.
The dogs have been constantly at my feet, so I have to put them outside. “Shoo! I can’t get shit done.” They bark and chase each other as I try to get them into their kennel, where it’s warmer than outside. “Too many damn animals.”
I love them all, but shit, there are a lot of them. The amount of dog shit we have to clean is insane. Shit in general, from the horses to the two new goats to the dogs… We’re drowning in it, I swear.
“Can’t we just put all the animals in diapers or something?” I huff when I come back inside and walk into the kitchen.
Julien laughs and shakes his head as he chops some onions and celery. “Bro, it’s going to be fine. You’re so nervous.”
“I’m not nervous. You’re nervous.”
He rolls his eyes. “Yeah, I’m not.”
Aleks pats my back as I look for something else to do, something that doesn’t involve cleaning up fucking poop. “It’s okay to feel that way, Jinx. It’s gonna be fun.”
My shoulders droop, and I sit on the stool; otherwise, I’ll never stop moving. “But what if you don’t like him?”
Julien raises a brow. “I didn’t think you’d care, to be honest.”
“I fucking care about a lot of shit.” I hop off the stool and start pacing. “He hasn’t had Thanksgiving in like forever. I want him to be happy. I want everyone to get along.”
Julien sets the knife down, scoops up the chopped vegetables, and tosses them into the heated skillet with butter.
It doesn’t take long for the smells of onion and celery with some sage to fill the kitchen.
“My only concern is his age, and I worry that he’s taking advantage of you, but I don’t really know him, so I want to give him the benefit of the doubt.
Besides, if you trust him and you’re happy, who the fuck am I to say? ”
I stop my pacing and make praying hands. “Just please be nice. Don’t fucking tell him that.”
“We’ll be polite, Jinx. Don’t worry,” Aleks says, grabbing some potatoes and scrubbing them.
I’m totally worried because they’re very protective, even if I don’t want or need them to be. I love them for it, but I don’t want anyone or anything to mess up what I have with Mason.
“You must really like him to be this stressed. I’m happy for you.”
Aleks isn’t wrong. I do really like him. More than I thought I would. I just want his Thanksgiving to be perfect. “Give me something to do,” I tell them. “I just need to be busy or something.”
Julien sautés the onions and celery, sprinkling in more dried sage and salt. “Relax. We won’t embarrass you, and the dinner will be great, or at least decent. We learned a lot from last year.”
A snort escapes me. “God, what a mess that was. The turkey was drier than the Sahara, and we burned three pies.”
“The mashed potatoes were good, though,” Aleks chimes in, chuckling.
“We’ll do it right this time.” Julien slides cucumbers and tomatoes my way. “Slice those up for the salad.”
As I wrap up chopping a cucumber, Foxy and Tink come walking in. “What can we do?” Foxy says.
“Are the horses fed?”
“Yep,” Tink says, plopping onto a stool next to me at the kitchen island.
“Chickens?”
“Yep.”
Julien nods his head toward the fridge. “Cool, then I could use some help with green beans. Wash your hands thoroughly, then wash the beans and snap the tops off.”
Bubble Gum, a gray-and-orange calico Manx, which looks more pink than orange, jumps on the counter, looking for treats. “Oh, no, you don’t, Bubbles,” I scold.
Before I can grab her, Aleks lifts her into his arms and nuzzles her fluffy neck before setting her down. “Go play with your friends,” he says. Since she doesn’t get any treats, she gives us a baleful glare before she walks away, her stubby tail in the air.
Good thing most of the cats live in the stables with the horses. It’s chaos with all the animals living here.
I go back to chopping, and soon we’re a well-oiled unit, moving about the kitchen getting everything done.
We work well as a team. After two and a half years, we learned to live with each other and work together, to be self-sufficient, and not to rely on anyone other than the experts who take care of the animals.
Hell, even Julien has taken up learning how to make repairs and build things around the ranch.
I love being independent. Having control over your own life is fucking freeing. None of us will ever truly forget the abuse and pain, but we learned to find our happiness in this small part of the world.
We’re always worried about Julien the most because he’d been so sure he wanted to die. Making a plan for over a year to do just that was a serious commitment. But in my eyes, he’s thriving and happy.
Julien removes the vegetables from the stove and pours the mixture into a bowl filled with dried breadcrumbs. “Oh, and I sent your payments to your bank yesterday morning. Double-check to make sure you got them,” he tells us.
“You don’t have to keep paying us.” I have more money than I know what to do with.
He gave me ten million just for being fucking Aleks’ friend and going on the trip with them from LA.
I hadn’t said no at the time, thinking I was going to move on from here, but I love it and them.
“At least for me, I have so much money.”
Foxy and Tink nod in agreement. They also got a lot of money when they arrived here, in case they wanted to start lives of their own, but they also chose to stay.
Julien just shrugs. “You’ve earned it. You all work hard around here, and you should be paid. This is your home, too. We all contribute to the business.”
“Thanks,” I mumble. God, why do I have to be so weird about being grateful?
Once I’ve finished the cucumbers, I start on the tomatoes. “So, I was thinking…” I start.
“Don’t let that hurt your brain,” snorts Aleks.
I stick out my tongue at him, making everyone laugh.
“Anyway… I was wondering if I could bring Mason to the wedding. I mean, I haven’t asked him yet.
He may dump my ass before then. No one sticks around.
But, I dunno, I just thought I’d ask first. Maybe he’ll still be here in January.
I mean, he’s Italian. He might like it. Well, he could’ve been already.
He hasn’t said, not that I asked. I should probably do that.
Or maybe he won’t want to be there. I just thought it’d be kind of cool if he could come. ”
Fuck, what the hell was that word vomit?
Everyone’s staring at me like I’ve sprouted another head. I look down and focus on the tomatoes.
“You okay?” Aleks asks.
“Yep… Can he come or not?”
“It’s fine by me,” Julien says. “He’ll have to pay his own way, though, since everything’s already been arranged.”
I nod quickly and mumble another thanks. Jesus, I really am fucked up today.
Aleks comes over and wraps an arm around me. “Hey, he’s going to adore you if he doesn’t already. I’m sure of it.”
“You don’t know that.”
When the doorbell suddenly rings, my heart leaps into my throat. Fuck, why am I so damn nervous? “I’ll get it,” I tell them and rush off.
With a deep and calming breath, I answer the door to see the hottest man alive standing there. He’s smiling, and I love his red nose from the cold.
“Hi,” I say breathily, just staring at him.
“Are you going to let me in, or are you going to make me stand out here all day?”
My face heats, and I step aside. “Right, sorry.”
Mason hands me two bottles of wine and removes his coat. I hand them back and hang up his jacket in the front closet.
Cradling the bottles, he leans down and kisses me.
I melt into him. My feelings for him are growing way too fast, faster than I’m used to.
It scares me a little. If he ever leaves me, which they all do, it’s going to sting more than it usually does.
It also pushes me to make him as happy as possible.
I’m not sure I’m ready for another rejection.
“You look handsome, Jinx,” he says, pinching my chin gently. “Did you wear blue just for me?”
“Yeah,” I say pathetically, my heart and stomach dancing uncomfortably as I smooth my hands over my sweater.
A part of me doesn’t want to share Mason with anyone. I want to keep him all to myself. The other part of me wants to shout out to the world and show him off. Still, my family deserves to know him, and he should know them.
When we step into the kitchen, I hold my breath. Julien’s the first to shake Mason’s hand. “Welcome,” he says.
“Thank you for having me.” He holds up the two bottles of wine. “I brought a bottle of red and a white from my personal reserves. This is a bottle of Borgogno Barolo 2016. And this is a 2022 Tiberio Trebbiano d’Abruzzo.”
Aleks takes the bottles and sets them on the counter. “You’re so nice. Thank you.”
Mason doesn’t even ask to help. He simply takes a knife from its sheath and helps me dice vegetables. He kisses my head, pulling a smile from me.
“I’m glad you came,” I whisper.
“I’m glad to be here, Precious.”
We’ve wrapped up eating dessert, half-eaten pie sitting on our plates as we sip more wine. Two dogs sleep under the table at our feet, tired of begging for scraps they won’t receive. Meanwhile, my stomach feels like it’s going to explode.
“So, then she storms into the restaurant, head held high, and walks right up to a couple having a romantic dinner. She takes his Pasta alla Genovese and dumps it right on his head.” Mason chuckles, swirling his wine and taking a sip.
“Turns out that was her husband, and he was cheating on her. That was probably one of the more dramatic cases I’ve seen while running a restaurant. ”
“Psh, he got what he deserved,” Tink says. “What a tool.”
I yawn and rest my head on Mason’s shoulder. He wraps an arm around me, fingers traveling across my arm.
“What did you do?” I ask.
“What could I do? I gave her three free dinners. No one’s at fault but her ex-husband, so I felt like I should give her something.”
“What an idiot,” I scoff. “Seriously, who cheats on their wife out in the open in such a small town?”
“Indeed.”
“When are you due to receive your filly?” Julien asks.
“The mare is set to give birth in January, but I’ll have to wait until the foal is weaned from its mother.”
“I can reserve a space for you if you want to try your hand at Sugar-Sweet Ranch.” Julien pours himself another glass of wine.
“We’re still really new at it, but we’ve wrapped up training for Mr. Olsen over at Pioneer Pony Ranch, if you need a reference.
He’s very happy with the results. Of course, I can’t take credit.
Jim Hayes, our trainer, has been worth every dime so far. ”
“Are you training any others?”
“Mrs. Banfield, who owns Daisy Dream Ranch, will hand over her new stud come spring. Stallions are harder to train, but Jim will get him under control. You can find his resume on our website.”
Mason nods and finishes off his wine. I instantly pour him another glass. “I’ve seen your site. It’s attractive and well done. Jim seems well qualified to handle my girl.”
“Okay, enough business. It’s a holiday. Let’s chill,” I say, standing and taking our wineglasses. “Come on. Let me show you my place.”