Broken Hero

Had it been a pity fuck? I already knew she had a desire to heal and take care of people, to make them feel better. It was a noble impulse-I had admired her for it, damn it. Had I been one of her projects? Make the lonely, screwed up ranch owner feel better for a little while before she would head back to the city and to her boyfriend.

Kyle. What kind of name was that, anyway? It was the name of someone who ate paste in elementary school.

I walk past a half-inflated bouncy castle, stepping on discarded flyers. Everyone has long since left the fair. My truck is the only one left in the dark parking lot.

The engine makes a satisfying roar as I speed along the country road back up the ranch. Whatever satisfaction I’d felt an hour ago is long gone. There’s a reason I don’t date. It’s not for me, and if anything, Lucy Rhodes has helped me remember that.

Sarah’s voice cuts like glass.

“I think it was bigger this year.”

“Mhm.”

“Don’t you agree? There were at least three or four stands I’d never seen before, and the flower vendors came all the way from Acton. I bought this huge hydrangea before we left-you should have seen John’s face!”

“I’m sure.”

“But he can think whatever he wants. You can never have too many flowers.”

I take a sip of my coffee and say nothing. I seldom need to, with my sister.

“Nora and Sophia were so happy you came. They talked about you the whole car ride home.”

“You should bring them to the staff barbecue,” I say. “They love it up here.”

“You’re right, of course I will.” She puts a freshly cut flower into one of thirty little identical vases-small enough to only fit one flower. They’re wildly impractical, but even I have to admit that the dining room looks better with one on each table.

Her voice turns innocent. “Did you show Lucy around the fair?”

“Yes.””Did she like it?”

“Yes.” I shove my coffee cup away.

“Descriptions, brother, please.” Sarah rolls her eyes, looking for a moment exactly like she did at age twelve. “I have a good imagination, but I do need some details.”

“We stopped at the dunking booth.”

“Where you dunked Woodworth.” Her grin turns savage. “I heard about that.”

No doubt added to my roster. “I’m sure you did. That one’s crooked.”

She rights one of the small pink flowers with a tsk. “Don’t change the subject, Ollie.”

“From dunking?”

“So there’s nothing between you and Lucy, then? I thought I saw chemistry between you too.”

“She’s an employee, Sarah,” I say. My hypocrisy only adds to my self-loathing.

She puts her hands on her hips. “What kind of business do you think you’re running here, exactly? Please tell me where our HR department sits. No? We don’t have one. She’s a massage consultant, she’s the niece of our bread suppliers, and she’s a lovely person. If you think you can’t date your ’employees,’ you’re either delusional or skirting the real issue.”

Oh, for fuck’s sake.

“Drop it, Sarah.”

“And that clearly didn’t stop you from fooling around with the receptionist before our last, Felicia.”

Yes, which had lasted for exactly two weeks before the entire situation became untenable. But I couldn’t tell my sister that.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea for Lucy and me to get involved.”

“Fine, fine.” Sarah shakes her head and opens another bouquet of pink, long-stemmed flowers. “I’ll drop it. I saw that you booked a massive wedding for August.”

“Yes. Nearly a hundred-and-fifty people, and with about fifty overnight guests. We’ll be fully-booked.”

“We’ll need to get out-of-town staff again.”

“Yes. Tim’s brother might want to come in.”

“Did you tell them about the spa section? Lucy can do massage treatments on the bride and her bridesmaids on the night before the wedding. It’ll be the perfect set-up. Oh! I could get those silk gowns for them to lounge in, with the print on the back? You know, where it says Bride and Bridesmaid. Oh, and champagne. We have to have champagne for them. Lucy will love it, I’m sure.”

I head to the sink to wash my cup. “If she stays that long.”

“What? Why wouldn’t she?”Text © 2024 NôvelDrama.Org.

“Her life is in Dallas, Sarah.”

“Did she tell you that? I figured she needed a fresh start.”

“Maybe she just wanted a break.”

Sarah shrugs and grabs a handful of the finished vases. “Well, we’ll just have to see, I guess. My money is on her being here for the wedding.”

“You’re willing to bet?” I open the door for her to the dining room. Lucy Rhodes must have gone to her head, just as surely as she had to mine.

“Yes. Don’t look so displeased, Oliver. You can’t blame me for wanting to see you happy.”

I let the door fall shut behind her and head back to my office. The world had gone insane. I needed to stay far away from Lucy. She’d been just as sweet as I’d imagined, until the sweetness turned sour in my mouth. It didn’t matter that I’d made her come twice or that I still felt her warmth in my hands.

I didn’t have much, but I had my pride, and I’d be damned before I became a woman’s second-best option or her charity project.

Austin sank down in a floppy heap next to my desk and gave a massive sigh.

“You and me both,” I told him.

I pulled up the schedule to the spa and saved a copy of it to the desktop. I wouldn’t hide and skulk around my own damn farm, but I knew it like the back of my hand. And if some of the roof tiles on the cottages along the eastern edge needed changing? Well, that was as good a use of my time as any.

It worked like a charm-I didn’t see her at all in the coming days.