Page 107 of If It's You

“No.” Her dad spoke up. “Mitchell and I are going to get the cows ready to be branded. You guys meet us there when you’re done.”

“Okay,” Maizie grumbled. She hated branding cows. Maybe if she took a long time moving the sprinklers, she could miss a good chunk of it. But sprinklers meant spending time withhim. One was much worse than the other.

Branding it was.

“Actually, Dad, I’d love to help you get started. Could Mitchell take the guys to the field?”

Her mom and dad gave her matching expressions of confusion and doubt.

“Uh, sure.” Her dad shrugged.

“Woo-hoo! Thanks, Maizie!” Mitchell jumped from his chair and bolted from the house like his feet were on fire.

Christian would be happy to know someone was still excited to see him.

* * *

Christian waitedon the porch for Maizie’s truck to appear. But it never did. Instead, Mitchell picked them up on the four-wheeler.

“Maizie swapped me.” He grinned like he’d just won the lottery.

“Sorry, man.” Jayce brushed past him and slid onto the back of the four-wheeler.

Christian wasn’t giving up that easily. He’d do his due diligence and then find her. She couldn’t evade him forever. Or could she? It was a big farm, with plenty of chores to do, and she was fairly good at avoiding him.

By the time they finished the sprinklers, Christian was the only one soaking wet. Mitchell and Jayce had given him the job of running into the spraying water to turn the sprinklers off, and they were completely dry. He tried to ask if he could stop at the farmhouse and change his clothes, but Mitchell just kept driving.

The branding station was just south of the basketball court. It didn’t look like much, which is probably why Christian had never noticed it, but it was now full of cows and smells he’d never forget.

One cow was in the chute already. Eric looked like he was trying to break it’s head off, and Mason was burning its back. Where was Maizie? They hopped the fence and joined the crew.

“Did the boys trick you?” Eric asked, eyeing Christian’s soaked attire.

“You could say that.” He failed to hide his shiver. Riding on the back of the four-wheeler in soaked clothes had penetrated the cold into his bones. Clouds were gathering on the horizon, and he had come to learn this humid weather meant a storm was on its way.

“Why don’t you head into the house? I have some clothes that might fit you. Just ask Anne,” Eric said.

“Okay.” Christian easily agreed. He trudged up the stairs in front of the house and knocked on the door.

“Hey.” Anne opened the door. “Look at you; you need something dry.”

Did she and Eric speak telepathically?

She led him to the laundry room and sorted through a pile of clothes he hoped were clean, pulling out items every now and then.

“This should work.” She handed him a pair of worn-out jeans and a t-shirt.

“Thanks,” he said.

“I’ve gotta run to town. Tell Eric if he needs anything from the feed store to call me, will you?”

“Sure,” he said as she closed the door behind her, casting a silence through the big house.

He ripped off his wet shirt on the way to the bathroom.

“Ahh!” Maizie screamed, and Christian jumped. “What are you doing here? And why are you naked?”

Where had she come from?