Chapter 2 – Mabel
Chapter Two
MABEL
Do you know how annoying it is to be anxious and horny at the same time?
If you’ve never experienced it, let me tell you, it’s the WORST .
I could feel a panic attack brewing under my skin and had planned to stop by my workshop to get some alone time but the bane of my existence decided to prowl by while I was trying to center myself with some deep breaths.
Backwards ball cap with dark blond hair poking out the ends, dark blue t-shirt pulled tight across the widest chest I’d ever seen, ass that filled out their jeans so good it should be illegal.
Jude Daniels was a wet dream personified and enemy number one.
He’d fucked over my little brother somehow a few years ago and should be considered dead to me. No, he was dead to me but seeing as he’s my sister’s right hand man it was hard to keep him buried under familial righteousness and contempt.
It had been easy to ignore him when I was getting it on the regular but Kayce, my ex, broke up with me about fifteen months ago. Now my needy pussy had decided it wanted to hop on the Jude Daniels express train and ride it off the rails.
Which would never happen.
Never ever.
I just wish my lady bits would get the damn memo.
I’d tried a few times to provide her with more suitable offerings but she wasn’t interested in anyone but him and it was annoying as hell. I’d given up on anything except my silicone boyfriends at this point in my life.
It was fine. It gave me more time to focus on helping out my family.
My partner-in-crime and baby brother, Paul, had decided to take a step back from our love ‘em and leave ‘em lifestyle once he found out he was going to be a father, combined with my previous semi-serious relationship, kept us from going out on the prowl together.
Which was advantageous because it meant I could keep my disinterest in anyone except enemy number one classified.
I don’t lie to my family but I could never let Paul know about my between the legs feelings for Jude.
In our adult life, I’d only seen Paul cry three times. When Anika, ex-best friend and baby mama had cut off their friendship, when their son Henry was born and when Lola announced she was promoting Jude to help her run our family farm.
He still refuses to tell me why he had such an intense reaction but I don’t care.
Seeing Paul like that shook me to my core.
After I had gotten him to sleep that night, I drew myself a bath and soaked until the water turned cold.
Hugging my knees and letting the feeling of helplessness wash over me wave after wave.
I hadn’t felt that helpless in years. The last, and only other, time was when I had gotten into such a big fight with my father and moved off the Farm, refusing to speak with him for years.
Obviously, I moved home but our relationship was never the same.
My muscles were stiff from the cold as I dragged my body into my bed, my mind plagued with thoughts of the past, I piled every blanket I could reach onto my bed.
Sleep was fitful and Paul was gone by the time I woke up.
Mabel,
I’m okay. Going to hug Henry.
Thank you for being there for me. You are the best person I know
-PJ
I couldn’t be the best person Paul knew when I felt the attraction I had towards the man who broke my brother like that.
Someone who I barely knew existed until that day. I was barely aware of Jude before that meeting but only as a person who worked on the farm and came back year after year. Someone who I tracked down the next week, ready to tear him a new one and get to the bottom of what he did to my brother.
Instead, I found him and was stunned stupid and more turned on than I had any right to be. Arousal had hit me so hard, I turn on my heels and run to my workshop to freak out and hate myself for a few hours.
Walking into my workshop now, my heart is racing and my panties are wet. Heat curls in between my legs and guilt twists in my chest. The combination leaves me light-headed. I hate myself for not being able to control my reaction to this man.
Needing something to focus on, I gather up the supplies to make some of our best sellers for the markets next weekend.
The monotony of making honey sticks eventually calms me down enough that I can focus on my original pending panic attack. My little sister and owner of our family farm had sent me a message asking me to head over to her office for a meeting.
Lola didn’t request meetings. Lola sent you a quick text asking if you had a few minutes then popped over if you were free.
Never in my thirty years of living has Lola ever requested a meeting. My mind has been spiraling ever since I got the message.
I’ve chewed my lip raw and keep talking myself in and out of visiting Elle to see if she has any idea what Lola wants to discuss. As our resident paperwork princess, Elle usually has a good idea of what’s going on within the Farm’s operations.
Visiting Elle would mean going to the Education Center where her new office was located, which could possibly lead to running into Jude. He and Patrick had grown close since Patrick started working here.
Typically, there was a good likelihood that Patrick would be leading a tour around the farm but with school having ended last week, things have slowed down for a bit.
And if Patrick’s not on a tour, there is a good chance he’s in Elle’s office teasing her.
I really don’t need to be traumatized by those lovebirds today.