A Slow Burning Fire Page 6

  “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.”

  Hesitantly, he threw his fistful into the water and laughed as he watched the fish rush over to the new splay of food. “Those are some big fish. I'd say they're about twenty or thirty pounds in size at least. What do your parents do with them?”

  “Beats me.” She shrugge
d. “They've been here ever since I can remember. A few of the neighbors used to fish out of the pond, but everyone knows my mom has a certain softness for them. If too many of them went missing, she'd be awfully sad. She's always had a thing for water life. I think they're her favorite of all the animals.”

  He tossed more food into the pond. “Speaking of sad, you're not looking too happy at the moment.”

  “Half tired and half worried. I was a little worried you wouldn't like it here and that it wouldn't live up to your expectations,” she said honestly. “When most people think of farms, they imagine large flowing fields and huge barns full of animals. That used to be home for me. Growing up, we had a lot more animals and more buildings. There was a chicken coop and everything. The memories are kind of vague, but I can tell my family was happier when there was more to take care of.”

  “What happened?” he asked.

  Arial sat down on the grass and watched him continue to feed the fish. Hugging her knees to her chest, she rested her head on them with a heavy sigh. “I got offered a part on the short-lived sitcom Like That. There were open auditions being held in Columbus, and I really wanted to give them a try. I performed in some school plays and thought I was good enough to get a part.”

  “Cocky for being a little tyke,” he teased.

  “I was nine. That's not a little tyke.” She scowled. Would he always think of her as nothing more than a child? She shook her head. “I actually didn't get the part. Not at first. The original girl they'd chosen backed out, and so had the one after that. I was about four girls down on their list. Finances were hard, and this was a huge opportunity for me. At the same time, I don't think my parents ever expected me to get a call back. You know what I mean? Like, they wanted to support my career, but never thought it would ever seriously take off. At least, not so young.” She picked up a nearby stick and tossed it into the pond. “It more or less created an overhaul for our lives. Mom came with me to L.A., my dad stayed home to take care of the land. We got an agent and all that good stuff.”

  He nodded. “And the rest is history, right?”

  “Basically,” she mumbled.

  “And because your parents had to divide time to be with you, the farm started going under?”

  “I think so.”

  “Didn't your parents have anyone else to help? A staff? That kind of thing?”

  She sighed and hid deeper in her knees. “At first they did. We were never a big successful operation. There were only a handful of other guys who helped out. Daddy has always been more interested in pursuing other avenues of business.”

  “But he also loves the farm, right?”

  “Right, and it's hard to let go of. This place represents a dream he once had that shattered long before I was born, but Daddy made an investment and loves it all the same. There is something relaxing and peaceful about having a cow in your backyard.” She cracked a small smile. This was the most she'd ever shared about her family life with anyone. The media had the bare bones story of her upbringing, and most of her friends back in California didn't have much interest in discussing the past. Everyone had something they wanted to leave behind. It was a respected unspoken rule.

  Arial wasn't in California anymore, though. As long as Bryce was interested enough to ask, she would go out of her comfort zone to answer him. Talking about her past brought out a piece of her life she'd buried a long time ago. Guilt had plagued her for so long. A guilt that always resurfaced every time she visited the farm.

  ****

  Bryce looked out across the pond at the two cows feeding on the long grass. When he glanced down at Arial, he noticed how sad she was. Setting the bucket of fish food aside, he sat down next to her and put an arm around her shoulders. “There is something nice about the cows, I agree. Something nice about this whole place. It would be hard for me to let go of it, too. So what does your family do to make ends meet?”

  “Daddy works as a mechanic on farm equipment. He uses the big shed down that way to work on the machines.” She paused to point behind them. Sure enough, off in the distance he could see a large structure that he wouldn't have thought of as a shed. Maybe an airplane hangar or tractor barn.

  “That's pretty cool. I like to work on cars,” he confessed.

  “A plow is a lot different from a car. It’s more complicated. He does house calls too, since towing can be a pain in the butt. Even then, that business is starting to die off. More people are selling off their land as the city starts to expand. A lot of ours was purchased by rich families wanting to build fancy mansions as investment properties. The more people who build, the higher the value of the land starts to go and the town can grow. Which is a good thing.”

  He glanced at her with a raised eyebrow. “I sense a ’but‘ coming.”

  She exhaled slowly. “It's that whole death of rural America thing. I'm not sure how to feel about it. Daddy complains about it a lot. How the next town over is getting big box franchise stores. Yet as much as he gripes about the whole thing, he shops there anyway because it's convenient and cheap. It's only a matter of time before more of those kinds of things come here, too.”

  “And eventually, the small town flair will disappear.” Bryce could connect the dots. It startled him how passionately Arial talked about the whole thing — and how much sadness she expressed as well. “Don't tell me you blame yourself for all of this.”

  Arial laughed, though it sounded rather sour to him. “I'm not that arrogant to think I've destroyed an entire town. Granted, my getting famous did get the world to realize it even existed. The occasional media attention it receives must do something for it. Expansion is a good thing as well, because while the small town flair is cute and charming, Gloriana could stand to catch up to civilization a little bit.”

  “I meant your parents’ place,” he said in a smooth, calm tone. “Do you think if you had stayed, he wouldn't have had to sell so much of his land to the developers? That he'd have been able to realize his dream of being a successful farm owner?”

  “Having to pay for my manager and agent did not help the financial situation. The money I was offered for my projects compensated a lot for all of that and then helped put the food on the table back home. My path has also kept my parents away from their own plans for a long time. You can't tell me that was fair of me to do.”

  “They support you because they love you,” he said. “There was once a time when I wondered the same thing — if I was being more of a hindrance to my family than a help. After all, we had thousands of dollars’ worth of medical bills to pay on top of getting me set up. I may have not hit it big, and all that would have done is plunge my family deeper into debt.”

  She gazed up at him, and her eyes were filled with tears. How was it possible for someone to have such a big heart? Even though he had a tragic tale on his journey to fame, not many had been moved to the point of tears by his stories.

  Taking in a deep breath to shake away his own emotions, he continued. “The point I'm trying to make is that life is unpredictable. We never know what will happen. It's part of what makes life interesting, don't you think? Your family knows this, and they also know that just because their dreams didn't pan out like they expected, that doesn't mean yours can't. So even if it may have put them under at first, made things hard, it's got to be worth it to them. Otherwise I don't think they would have put so much effort into helping you succeed.”

  “I know. Even if it doesn't always feel like enough,” she said. His arm was still around her.

  Bryce gazed into her eyes. “Do you know?”

  “Yes,” she said firmly. “I do know they did it because they love and support me. That doesn't mean there are no consequences.”

  “I'm not sure I get what you're saying.”

  “Did the fish get all of the food? If they're shorted, they'll get a little grumpy.”

  Bryce sighed and pulled away from her. Slowly, he picked himself up off the grass and brushed off the dirt from his blue jeans. Dis
appointment filled him, resulting in an almost painful tightness in his chest. Why did she keep pulling away from him? Every time he took one step forward into diving deeper with her, she refused to keep moving. He'd wait as long as it took for her to get the courage to press onward with him. Hopefully by then he'd have an idea what to do with his feelings for her. The only thing he was sure about was that he wanted to know everything he could.

  Picking up the ice cream bucket, he hurled the remaining pellets into the water. “All done. But this conversation isn't. I'm not going to push you, but I do want to understand.”

  “Remind me later if it's really important for you to know,” she said, standing as well.

  He spun the bucket in his hands, his gaze never leaving her. On his face was a wide, childish grin. “I'm not going to forget if that's what you're hoping for.”

  She pressed her lips closed and walked around the pond to introduce him to the two cows her family kept. Arial ducked under the fence to get closer to the beautiful, black-and-white-spotted Holsteins. “This is Jojo and Pieces. Every year my parents get new cows to take care of. They arrive in the fall and leave at the end of the next summer.”

  “Where do they go?” he asked. He followed her under the fence and reached his hand out to stroke the side of Jojo.

  Arial petted the cow on the bridge of its snout. “The butcher. My parents pick one or two cows to take care of to help the neighbors out. In exchange they get a portion of the meat along with the money from selling the animals.”

  “So you keep the cows, care and love them for a year, and then eat them?” He winced.

  “Now you understand why I'm a sort of vegetarian. I can't stand the idea of consuming something that used to have feelings. Maybe cows aren't exactly sentient beings, but they're sweet. The fish, on the other hand, I'm not quite as emotionally attached to.” She gave the cow a soft pat on the side and giggled when it mooed. “My sister Caroline feels the same way as me. The others don't get quite as attached, and Daddy accepts it as part of the circle of life. I guess I'm just too soft.”

  He shrugged and continued to stroke the soft fur. “There's nothing wrong with being soft. It's better than being too hard. I don't think anyone is offended by your not wanting to eat beef.”