Straddling the Fence (4 page)

He rounded the corner of the porch and caught a flash of her
through one of the windows. The music was so loud now he could decipher words
and the voice—classic Dolly—and Bellamy was singing along at the top of her lungs.
He smiled and eased closer to the back door. Best he could tell, she was in the
kitchen.

When he reached the door, he could see her standing at the
stove cooking, framed in side profile between a parted set of white curtains.
Her hair was twisted into a messy knot at the back of her head, exposing the
long line of her throat. If he kissed that soft expanse, she would shiver for
him and her nipples would tighten to hard peaks.

She wore a pair of striped green pajama bottoms that hung
low on her waist, seemingly held in place only by the bow tied beneath her
bellybutton. The soft fabric draped over the rounded cheeks of her ass, and
even from where he stood watching like a pervert, he could tell she wasn’t
wearing underwear beneath them. Her top was a plain white undershirt that
looked like it belonged on a ten-year-old boy, not a woman with perfect breasts
like Bellamy. Thin cotton molded to every curve and the flat plane of her
abdomen. There was a wide strip of skin showing between the two garments just
above the jut of her hipbones, another region of her body he longed to revisit.

Her hips swayed with the rhythm of the song, making him
recall the warm feeling of her pressed against him as they’d slow danced that
night in Perry. The soft sigh that slipped from her throat when their bodies
met for the first time. The troubled look in her pretty green eyes when he said
he’d lost her again to her thoughts.

It mattered, Bellamy.

She turned from the stove, a pancake balanced on the end of
a spatula, saw him standing there and screamed. The pancake hit the floor. When
she bent double at the waist, hands braced on her knees, Eli didn’t wait for a
formal invitation.

“Sorry,” he said as he pushed through the door, closing it
behind him. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

He ripped a paper towel from a roll on the counter, scooped
up the ruined pancake, and tossed it into a trashcan he found next to the
fridge. By the time he turned around, she’d recovered from the shock he’d given
her, turned off the radio and was leaning back against the sink, her arms
crossed over her chest, spatula still clutched in one hand. It would serve him
right if she whacked him on the head with it.

Her eyes narrowed. “Eli, what are you doing here?”

He fished the folded money from his shirt pocket and held it
up. “I brought your payment for last night.” Then he tucked it beneath a Mason
jar filled with fresh wildflowers. The farm table they sat on occupied the
center of the big kitchen. “Nice table.”

The thing stretched for a mile, its surface scratched and
marred from years of use and aged to a fine dark patina. The legs were simple
squares that narrowed as they reached the floor. He’d bet if the table could
talk, it would have some interesting stories to tell of both hard times and
good times.

She ignored the furniture compliment. “I didn’t even send
you a bill yet.”

Eli shrugged. “I guessed at it. If it’s too much, consider
the extra a tip for the late service call.”

She pushed away from the sink to stir her pancake batter. A
small plate of cooked link sausages sat on the counter next to the stove. He’d
interrupted her breakfast.

“The charge for an after-hours service call is factored into
the amount of the bill. Vets don’t get tips. How did you find me?”

He propped a hip against the counter. “Fritz is engaged to
Kai Donnelly. When he got home last night after pullin’ the calf, she asked if
you were the vet who helped us out. She mentioned you were living here.”

She shot him a quick glance, but said nothing more than,
“Ah.”

“Are you related somehow to the McCoy family?”

He watched her pour a scoop of batter into the hot pan. “The
McCoys were my maternal grandparents. My mother is the youngest of five
girls—one of those deals where they kept trying for a boy, but one never came,
so they finally gave up.”

Eli nodded once, waiting for her to continue the story.

“My grandpa died fifteen years ago, but my grandma continued
to live here alone until she grew too feeble to take care of herself, so my mom
and my aunts moved her to an assisted-living facility in Americus. She died a
year ago. Once she passed, my cousins swooped in like a bunch of buzzards and
picked the place clean, even though they hadn’t been to visit her in years.
That table is the sole item they left, and I suspect the only reason why is because
it’s too big to fit anywhere else.”

He heard the bitterness in her voice at the mention of her
cousins’ greed, the disappointment.

“But why are
you
here, Bellamy?”

She carefully flipped the pancake then her somber gaze met
his. “Because it’s mine.”

Eli’s lips parted but words got hung in his throat. This
timeworn, empty farmhouse belonged to Bellamy Haile?

The corners of her mouth curved at his stunned silence
before she turned her attention back to the pan. “I spent every summer here as
a kid, long weekends, holidays, right up until I started vet school. My grandma
taught me how to make biscuits, piecrusts, dumplings, all from scratch at that
nice big table. They used to have peach trees out back. Something killed
them—blight, root rot, neglect—who knows,” she added absently. “Anyway, to this
day I’ve never tasted a better peach pie than the ones my nana used to make.”

“So she left the place to you?”

“Like I said, I was the only grandchild who spent any time
with her. I guess you could say I was her favorite, and the feeling was
certainly mutual. She left the others a little money as an appeasement, I
suppose. Still didn’t stop them from looting the place. And her daughters were
married with their own homes to maintain. None of them would’ve wanted the
house anyway, so she made it clear before she died that it was to go to me.”
She averted her face for a minute, cleared her throat. “Technically, it’s in my
name
and
my mother’s until I decide what to do with it.”

What did she mean—decide what to do with it? She made it
sound as though she might not want it. That her stay in Serenity might not be a
permanent one.

“But you didn’t grow up here,” he said matter-of-factly. He
would’ve known if she had. Serenity was too small and she was close enough in
age for him to have remembered someone from school named Bellamy.

“Columbus. My mom and dad met at a high school football game
between Serenity and Americus, his hometown. After graduation, they got married
and he enlisted in the Army. They didn’t have me until he was stationed back at
Fort Benning toward the end of his career. Dad refused to put a child through
the constant relocations military life demanded. He’s since retired from the
service, but they stayed in Columbus and now he works on base as a part-time
civilian instructor. When he’s not working, they travel a lot.”

“You’re an only child?”

“Yep. Since they waited so long to have kids and my mom was
thirty-seven when she had me, they stopped at one.” She transferred the perfect
pancake onto a cooked stack then looked up at him, her eyes softening. “Have
you eaten breakfast?”

Wouldn’t matter if thirty minutes ago he’d eaten enough to
choke a horse. He would’ve still said, “No, I haven’t.” Which wasn’t a lie in
this case.

She pointed over his shoulder. “Plates are in the cabinet,
forks are in the far right drawer. If you look in the cupboard next to the
fridge, I have sorghum syrup, molasses and honey.”

“All from Kai’s place, I see.” Since he didn’t know what she
preferred, he took all three out and set them on the table next to their
plates, then folded napkins and tucked them under the forks.

“I love Homegrown. Everything I’ve tried from there so far
has been amazing. Such a fantastic concept too, showcasing local growers,
artisan cooks and craftspeople. She seems to be doing well with it.” Bellamy
placed the platters of sausage and pancakes on the table

“It’s been a huge success. At first it seemed like a risk,
but Kai is smart and focused. Web savvy too. My mom is an active partner. She
was crucial in helping Kai get set up with all the local folks.”

Bellamy paused in the open door of the refrigerator,
realization dawning on her face. “Oh my goodness, Ruby’s your mom?”

Eli smiled. “That’s her.”

“I met her the last time I was in the store. She’s so sweet
and helpful. She and Kai really made me feel welcome here.” She withdrew a
gallon of milk and a carton of orange juice, holding them up. “I don’t drink
coffee. Will one of these be okay?”

“I’ll just have water, thanks. I’ve met my quota of coffee
for the day.” Once he left the barn, he’d dicked around in town to kill time
before he drove out to her place. Not everyone rose before the roosters like
him and his brothers.

She poured herself a glass of milk and him a glass of water,
setting them beside their plates. “Sit down,” she said.

Eli waited for her to fix her plate before he stabbed a
couple of pancakes and two links of sausage. He drizzled sorghum syrup over
everything and dug in. “Damn, that’s good,” he said after he chewed a mouthful
and swallowed.

“I know, right?” she said, her eyes gleaming, hand in front
of her mouth while she talked around a bite.

She was so damn cute Eli wanted to lean across the table and
kiss her syrup-glazed lips. Spread her out on that long farm table, coat every
inch of her naked body with something sticky then lick her clean. Behind his
fly, his dick gave a pulse of agreement. Given the history of the table though,
Bellamy would probably see the act as sacrilegious. And he really wished she’d
pulled on a bra this morning because it took a lot of effort not to ogle her
small, pert nipples pressing against her t-shirt.

He laughed when she rolled her sausage up in a pancake like
a hotdog and dredged it through the puddle of syrup on her plate, then shoved another
huge bite into her mouth.

“I meant the food too,” he said.

“Another thing I learned from my nana.”

Eli sipped his water, thinking. “How is that your last name
is the same as Doc Haile’s if it was your mother’s side of the family that
lived in Serenity?”

“Easy. My mom and one of her sisters married brothers.” She
wiped her mouth with a napkin. “The
former
Doc Haile is my uncle. He and
my aunt Margaret decided to move here instead of staying around Americus.
Currently they’re ensconced inside an RV somewhere near a Florida beach. Come
summertime, they’re heading to Alaska.”

“I see. So he just turned everything over to you, lock,
stock and barrel?”

Her eyes clouded over with some unnamed emotion like they’d
done that night outside her hotel room, before she blinked it away. “Pretty
much. Said he’d seen enough animal asses for one lifetime and he was done.
Which reminds me, how are baby Clover and Momma doing this morning?”

He couldn’t help but grin at the reminder of when they’d
met. “Fine. The calf nursed, mom ate and…” He didn’t want to talk about nasty
stuff while they were eating. He waved his fork in a circle. “You know. Did
what she needed to do.”

Bellamy’s bright, open smile made his skin warm, as if he’d
been dipped in pure sunshine. “Good. Any more births yet?”

“No, but soon I imagine.”

She pushed her plate aside and propped her arms on the
table, giving him her full attention. “What made you decide to calve in the
fall versus the spring?”

“Different things. The southern climate is milder and not as
wet in the fall. Calves have a better survivability rate. Come spring, they’re
old enough to graze. Grasses are healthier that time of year, so they tend to
have heavier weaning weights. When we sell them in late summer, they’ll bring
higher prices at market. There’s also less to do this time of year
farming-wise, nothing to plant or harvest, which leaves us with more free time
to spend on the new venture.”

Bellamy stood and took their empty plates to the sink. The
action prompted Eli to get off his ass and help with the cleanup. “Sounds like
you did your homework ahead of time.”

Eli pulled a wry face. “As you saw last night, reading about
stuff pales in comparison to the real thing. It’s a learning process, same as
anything else. We bought the entire lot at auction and turned them out in a
pasture on a hope and a prayer. My brothers and I are natural-born farmers, not
cattlemen. I wish I knew someone local who’s been in the cow business for a
while and would be willing to share some practical knowledge with me. Around
Serenity, everyone farms or raises smaller animals, some cows too, obviously,
with the dairy just down the road, but not for beef production.”

“I’ll keep my eyes and ears open for you when I’m out on
calls.” She stopped him when he started to toss the last pancake in the trash.
“There’s a fox living in the woods behind the house. I toss it a treat
occasionally as a thank you for rodent patrol, even though as a vet I should
know better.”

Every minute he spent with her, Eli found something else to
like. Already the list was long and varied, from the smell of her skin to the
fact that she took care of animals for a living. He suspected there was only
more to come.

While Bellamy washed the dishes, Eli dried, stacking them on
the counter next to the sink. Their banter was easy, comfortable, once she’d
thawed over him showing up unannounced.

They could be friends probably, but Eli didn’t want to be
just her friend. He wanted more than casual, more than sex. Definitely more
than casual sex. He had a feeling he was done with that aspect of his life for
good, no matter what the outcome of this attraction he had for Bellamy.

Not a one-time thing.

Eli had never courted a girl before. Never wanted to. Never
had
to, really. In the past, a “date” with him consisted of meeting a woman (or
two) in a bar or someplace else, maybe grabbing a quick bite for sustenance,
then fucking off the calories they’d consumed. Occasionally he shared a girl
with Sage or their friend Tucker, and once he’d joined Kai and Fritz for a
threesome—an event that would forevermore remain a secret—but that was the
extent of his social interactions with the opposite sex. And Bellamy damn sure
wasn’t someone he wanted to share, ever, unless she were to outright ask for
the experience.

The woman standing beside him made him restless with a
feeling he couldn’t name, an odd ache in the pit of his stomach that started
three weeks ago when he came back to an empty motel room. It had yet to go
away, or even ease up for that matter. He wanted to get closer to Bellamy
Haile, learn everything there was to know about her, but how did he go about
doing that when he had no experience with the premise?

When he’d dried the last piece of silverware, he handed her
the towel to dry her hands. She folded it in half, draped it over the sink, and
turned to face him. “Thanks for your help with the dishes.”

“Thanks for breakfast,” he said, not wanting to end their
visit just yet. “What’s on your agenda for today?”

“Vaccinating a herd of goats for the Millers.”

“They can’t do it themselves?”

“Mr. Miller said they used to handle everything, but he’d
rather pay me to do it now.” She shrugged. “It happens. People get older, lose
their patience with the task. Eyesight and mobility gets worse, things like
that, but they’re not ready to part with the animals yet.”

“You like goats?”

She laughed. “I like all animals, some more than others, but
goats are pretty easy to deal with. You just have to watch them closely because
they like to nibble on
everything
.”

Right then Eli wanted to nibble on her full lower lip and
things farther south.

“Can I see the rest of the house before I go?”

She hesitated, swallowed so slowly he watched her throat
work. “There’s not much to see.”

“It’s yours,” he said simply.

Her gaze drifted to his mouth, down his neck, to the open
collar of his shirt. He forced himself to stay put, not crowd her against the
sink and kiss her lips sore.

“Follow me.”

She led him out of the kitchen and into a large open room spanning
the centermost part of the house, with heart pine floors, scuffed and scarred
but clean, and more than likely original. The moldings around the windows,
doors and ceiling were thick and square, painted stark white like the bare
walls. Long casement windows allowed lots of natural light into the big space,
and with them open, there was a nice occasional cross-breeze.

He smelled a hint of wood smoke clinging to the room. A
brown brick fireplace took up a good portion of one wall, fresh ashes in the bottom
of the grate, and a few small logs stacked on the wide hearth. On the floor
across from it sat a lone mattress—no frame—with rumpled flannel sheets and
pillows atop it, a folded blue blanket on one corner. There was a short lamp
near the head of the bed, a few books stacked beside it. Several cardboard
boxes sat in another corner, with a two-drawer filing cabinet nearby.

It appeared as though she lived in this one room, except it
was more like camping out with a better tent and hot running water.

“There are two bedrooms and one bath down the hall there,
with three more bedrooms upstairs, along with another bathroom.”

“No TV?”

She shook her head. “I sold what wouldn’t fit in my car
before I left Athens, bought the necessities once I got here and gained access
to a truck. In the evenings, I sit outside on the porch and read if the
weather’s nice, maybe listen to the radio, or I do paperwork at the kitchen
table. To be honest, I haven’t missed television all that much.”

“What about your parents? They couldn’t help you move?”

“They caught the same bug as my aunt and uncle. Took a
four-week RV trip out west,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest. “My
mom and dad have never been the…
overly involved
type of parents. They
love me and helped me get through school as best they could, but they’ve always
stressed independence and finding my own way.”

Eli tried hard not to frown at that notion too. How did a
parent shove their kid out of the nest without teaching them how to fly first?
Without being there to help if they faltered or fell? Must be a difficult
thing, not having the built-in support system of a close-knit family, with only
yourself to rely on. It sounded sort of lonely and frustrating. He supposed he
was lucky in that respect, maybe even spoiled. And he was certain he took it
for granted as well.

That uncomfortable feeling was back, digging craters into
his chest wall. The scene before him looked sparse and temporary, but in what
way? Until she could buy furniture and settle into rooms? Or until she decided
Serenity held no future for her and she fled to greener pastures?