A Slow Burning Fire (7 page)

She nodded, relaxing under her mother's touch. When she was younger, her mother braided her hair every night before bed. Those were the kinds of small things she missed about living at home. She'd give up being a grown woman for a few minutes to enjoy the moment.

“It may seem convenient, but they've been apart for two weeks. He didn't bother to tell anyone, not even me!” Arial frowned. “And I know why.”

“So if you're only friends, why did he cook you breakfast last weekend? Hmm?”

Heat filled Arial's cheeks. “It's nothing like it seems. He'd had too many drinks at the party.”

“I read about that.”

“And I'm sure you also read about the supposed models he spent the night with, yes?” Arial couldn't help but roll her eyes. Her mother should honestly have known better than to believe a tabloid.

“Mm-hmm, I did read that. Instead he really spent it with
you
?”

She let out an exasperated sigh. “Mama, please, let me finish.” She took in a deep breath. “I helped him get home again to make sure he was protected from those models. And it wasn't plural, just one actually, but she was trying to take advantage of him all the same. Poor guy was too shaken up by everything to look out for himself. I only did what a good
friend
would do. Yes, I stayed the night. On his couch. Alone.” She made sure to drive the point home, in case there was any more doubt. “I was worried he might try to drink more or get sick. He cooked breakfast to thank me. Nothing more.”

Her mother began to braid her hair, and for a long time she was quiet. It unsettled Arial any time her mother didn't speak for long. If she wasn't talking, she was thinking about something awfully important. After a few more seconds passed, Patty said what was on her mind.

“It's good you both came back here, then. I do notice how you look at him, and it's not simply in a 'gosh, he sure is cute' kind of way. You have feelings for one another, and I can't say I blame you. After all, he is one fine-lookin' boy.”

“Mama!”

“And very nice. He's always been good to us. But you need to be careful.”

Arial groaned, exaggerating it even to make sure her mother knew just how annoyed she was. “I know. I am careful. Always.”

Patty laughed. “Honey, I mean in more ways than simply saving yourself for the right man. It's dangerous to fall for a man who's mourning the loss of his first love.” She kissed her daughter's forehead. “Someday you'll understand how tricky love can be.”

Too late
, Arial thought with a weak smile.

Chapter Five

By the time Arial rolled out of bed for breakfast, lunch was being served at the kitchen table. She gasped when she saw Bryce sitting down eating some potato chips. Her mother was cooking grilled cheese on the stove.

“Rise and shine!” Bryce greeted her cheerfully.

She groaned and sat down across from him. “Why didn't someone wake me up?”

“I figured you needed the sleep, honey,” Patty said. “Tomorrow I'll make sure you get up in time to help with the chores. Enjoy your free pass this time. One day for jetlag, but no more than that. The time difference isn't that bad.”

Arial rubbed her eyes. “Been here long, Bryce?”

“About an hour and a half,” he said. “Long enough to shoot some hoops with your brother.”

“Where is Kieran?” she asked. She missed her siblings. They were noisy but fun.

“He already ate.”

Patty brought the sandwiches to the table. “I was thinkin' after lunch you could show Bryce around the farm and explain some of the things he'll be doing.”

With a slight nod, Arial yawned. “Of course, Mama.” She picked up a sandwich and saw they were not only grilled cheese, but they had tomato in them as well — her all-time favorite comfort food. A small moan of happiness escaped her lips as she took a bite.

Bryce also took a bite. “This is good. My…” He swallowed. “My mom used to make something like this, too. Only she added spinach as well.”

“I'll have to try it that way sometime,” Patty said. “Eat up because the fish do need to be fed soon. You can start there.”

“You have fish?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Arial nodded. “Yes, and they're huge. I'm not sure why you keep them, Ma. It's not like you use them for anything. Soon they're going to be too big for the pond.”

Her mother scoffed. “They're fine just as they are. Hurry up and eat because I know you're going to want to change out of those pajamas of yours.”

She looked down at herself. Her cheeks flushed at the realization she'd completely forgotten about the loose pants and tank top she had on. Nothing scandalous by any means. Bryce had certainly seen her in less on the set a number of occasions, but he hadn’t stared at her the way he was now. He licked his lips before averting his gaze to the table.

“Probably can't do a lot of stuff in that outfit,” he said, giving her one more look before taking a large bite of his sandwich.

Patty glanced between the two of them curiously. Arial shook her head, warning her mother to not even think about whatever crazy idea was going on in her mind. She ate her sandwich quickly, kissed her mother on the cheek, and then left to go change up in her bedroom.

“I'll be back soon!” she called out.

****

Bryce watched Arial go, his hands still gripping his sandwich. For as long as he'd known her, he could count on one hand the number of times he'd seen her so unpolished. Even when she was natural and in her own element, she hardly ever appeared to be so disheveled. In fact, she was more together the morning after the party, which was saying a lot. It was a different and more tender side of Arial. Vulnerable even, and only a select few were allowed to see her in such a state.

He personally liked it when she was so relaxed she didn't notice if her hair was a little messy. It didn't matter if she wore any make-up now anyway. Who would care? Not him, and there were no photographers around to snap pictures of her either. He hated having to wear the stuff at work. Who in their right mind would put it on regularly? Arial was just as beautiful without it.

“Get comfortable. It'll probably be at least twenty minutes,” her mother said.

He chuckled. “Then I'll take another sandwich if that's all right.”

“Of course. I made extra, knowing you're a young man with quite the appetite.” Patty looked him over. “Who also doesn't eat enough. Honey, you are too skinny. Who feeds you?”

“I cook for myself,” he said. He'd never been called too skinny before by anyone. Then again, where he lived it was perfectly normal to have one-percent body fat or be a size zero. Self-image was just as important for men as it was for women. If he slipped too far out of shape, work might be harder for him to come by. Indulging a little might not hurt.
I am on vacation,
he thought with a smile.

Patty eyed him, nodding slowly. “I can fatten you up a little. A leading man should always have meat on his bones. Same with a gal, but I know my opinion isn't all too common.”

“More than you think,” he said. He ate his second sandwich and then brought his dirty plate to the sink. “Do you want some help washing up? I don't mind at all.”

“Aren't you sweet, but you're a guest. I can handle it just fine.”

“Please, consider it fair trade for feeding me. I have a feeling I'll be here a lot over the summer, so you might start rethinking me being a guest.”

She smirked. “If you insist. It would be rude of me to fight you. Givin' you a meal after working is the least I can do. Unless you plan on callin' on our company more than that?”

Bryce flashed his million-dollar smile. “With the promise of great food, you're going to have a hard time getting rid of me.”

“Great food and a great gal luring you here must be hard to resist.”

He started the faucet, letting the water run hot before rinsing off the dirtied plates. “I'm here just as much for her, yes.”

“She told me you came to escape, not for her.”

“A little bit of both, then.” He shrugged. Why would he come all the way to Arial's hometown but not spend time with her? That would have not only been rude, but wrong on so many other levels. He wanted to be with her for as long as possible. Being near her had him feeling whole. Everything that had been missing when he was with Katie was present in Arial. Why on earth would he want to be away from that?

Patty took the dishes from him once they were rinsed and put them in the dishwasher. “Just curious is all.”

He eyed her curiously, wondering if he should press further. She had to be up to something. “What exactly did she tell you, anyway?”

“That you were havin' a bit of a down time and needed to lift up your spirits again. As well as privacy, of course. I saw all of the drama from the past week. It's all over the Internet.”

“Don't believe everything you read!”

“That's exactly what Arial said, too, but sometimes it's all I have to connect myself to you both while you're so far away.” She gave him a sad smile. “Arial doesn't call as much as she should.”

He returned the smile with a slow shake of his head. “I'll have to remind her, then. My mom was the same way. She liked to read the Internet stories. No matter how many times I told her to stay away from them, she wouldn't listen. One time I walked in on her engaged in a comment war on a website forum. It was sweet but frustrating, too. Just don't take it as gospel.”

“Wouldn't dream of it, honey.” She winked. “So if I saw a story about you and my girl having an interest in one another, I should count it as bunk?”

Bryce was about to answer her when Arial returned. Perfect timing because he wasn't quite sure what to say. He paused in his dishwashing to admire the sight of her in her jeans, which hung perfectly on her hips, and a classic red button-down T-shirt. On her it didn't look quite so ordinary. Her hair was pulled back into a long braid. She was country, giving him a whole new side of her to look at. Back in Los Angeles, she maintained a fairly trendy wardrobe without going overboard. Everyday wear never consisted of the top designer labels Katie had liked to prance around in, but he wouldn't have thought Arial lived on a farm growing up, if she hadn't told him about it.

****

Arial walked over to the back door to put on her sneakers. “Ma, you're not scaring him, are you?”

“Of course not,” Patty said with a wink. She exchanged a small smile with Bryce, and Arial was curious as to what she missed exactly. Knowing her mother, it would embarrass her.

Shaking her head, Arial focused on tying her shoelaces. Every so often she glanced up at Bryce as he finished helping her mother with the dishes. After he dried his hands off, he leaned in to give her a hug before joining Arial at the back door.

“Ready?” she asked.

“You bet,” he said with a beaming grin.

She grabbed his hand and pulled him out the door with her. Hot, sticky air hit her, surrounding her like a blanket. Arial had almost forgotten how humid the summers could be. Thankfully, her hair was pulled back, so it didn't get frizzy. The natural curls in her hair often tightened as well when in moister climates. She hated it and was glad she remembered to pull her hair back into a long, thick braid that would be easier to work in.

Bryce matched her step-by-step as they made their way along the sidewalk winding around Arial's house. She opened the garage door with ease and couldn't help but smirk at the surprised gasp that escaped his lips. It was time for Bryce to see a whole other Arial. Inside the garage was a large barrel full of small brown pellets. Humming quietly, she found an old ice cream bucket to put them in.

She handed the bucket to Bryce. “Get ready to be amazed.”

“What's this stuff for?” he asked.

“We're going to feed the most pesky eaters on the farm.”

He swallowed. “Oh, boy.”

Covering her mouth to suppress a giggle, she led him out to the backyard. Together, they stepped onto the grass and she paused a moment to take in the sight before her. The view of all the open space always took her breath away when she saw it for the first time all over again. Green grass went on as far as the eye could see. Off in the distance was a small barn where the few animals that were there slept. One of the cows was grazing near a small pond. Serenity, that was the only way she could describe it. She glanced at Bryce to see what he thought and smiled when she saw his slack jaw. Most city dwellers probably wouldn't think much of such a small farm.

“I can honestly say I've never seen anything like this,” he said, breathless.

This she had a hard time believing. “Never? Please, don't tell me this is your first time out in the countryside.”

He shook his head. “It's not, but it's also been a long time. But the farmland isn't what I'm talking about anyway.”

“What do you mean then?”

Bryce took in a deep breath and exhaled slowly. His eyes closed, almost as if he were savoring the fresh air around them. “It's so quiet. There's not another person around us. I can't think of a time I've ever felt so secluded but so free all at once. And there are cows here.”

“You've seen a cow before.” She gave him a sideways glance.

“I have. Stop teasing me.” He winked and ran ahead of her. Arial watched with a smile on her face. When was the last time he'd been so carefree in her presence? At the fair, and that had been almost a year ago. Bryce was a happy-go-lucky kind of guy, but this was taking happy to a whole new level.

She walked over to the pond and waved for him to come join her. “We're going to serve the residents of the pond.”

“Oh,” he said, carrying the bucket of food pellets over with him.

“Go ahead and pick up a handful,” she instructed. Arial grabbed as many pellets as could fit in her fist and then tossed them into the pond, making sure the food spread evenly over the water. Within seconds, monster-sized catfish flopped to the surface in a frenzy. Each greedily gobbled whatever they managed to grab.

Bryce stepped back, nearly dropping the bucket. “Are those things real?”

Arial nodded and reached for more pellets. “They're just fish. They can't hurt you. Go ahead and give it a try.”