I struggled to explain to Damon how it only appeared from his angle that we were kissing, but we actually weren't doing so! However, he looked unconvinced as he sipped his coffee, his feet crossed, and hummed a non-committal "Mm" each time I said something.
"I told you, we really weren't doing...anything...anything intimate..." My lips trembled, drifting my mind to the sensation of his lips pulling mine tenderly. I hesitated, "We weren't..."
Damon hummed in response, the words 'You think you can fool me?' ingrained in his face.
Damon's blue eyes, concealed behind the dark shades, were intensely fixated on Abel who had barely said a word and was acting as though the entire situation had nothing to do with him.
Damon seemed ready to pounce and wring Abel's neck.
I gave up.
My flaming-red cheeks betrayed me. We had been kissing! In fact, I freaking liked it! A lot! And he...he wanted it too!
My foot tapped the floor restlessly from where I was seated, glaring daggers at the carpet. I felt like I was going mad. No, I think I was already off my rocker from the moment this walking explosive drifted into my house.
Damon was now watching me quietly. I didn't know what he was thinking or planning. Knowing him, he probably had the shittiest of ideas being fabricated in his head.
My best friend broke the silence, his mouth curled upwards knowingly, "So, I came to check up on you since I was worried. But it looks like you're doing great! Even better than I expected, I see." He feigned an amused chuckle, but the smile on his face didn't reach his cerulean eyes. He didn't seem very happy with Abel's presence in the room because his gaze regularly drifted to Abel and there would be a certain gloom to Damon's aura.
Abel just returned the stare with ten times the malice and a pinch of scrutiny as though he was observing some ugly artifact. An artifact that he wanted to crush like a bug.
Or maybe I was just imagining the tension between them.
But no. Clearly not. I could almost touch the tension from where I was seated. It had overtaken the room.
I said with a crooked smile, "Um...so, Damon, this is..."
"Abel Ignatius Blade Donovan is my name. It is...nice...to meet you, Miss Long's friend," Abel interjected, and there was a special way in which he pronounced 'friend' that made it sound like he was saying 'foolish pest'.
Damon followed with a stiff smile on his handsome face. "Yeah, I know who you are, head of the royal bureau of investigation. Maddie and I are always in contact, so she told me."
I shot him a questioning look because he had lied between his teeth. I had never told him anything about Abel moving in with me, except the two sketches which I knew were not enough to betray that much information.
Damon ignored me. He was too embroiled in the staring contest that had ensued between him and Abel to care about my questioning looks.
Now, it had simply gone from bad to worse. And I was getting intensely aggravated with these two. They all thought they could barge into someone's house and be welcomed by the warmest smile on the planet! Well, it was time to let them know whose house it was! So, I stood up and the air around me changed.
I glared at both men. "Since neither of you gentlemen has anything to do, how about helping me push the manure out of the cowshed in the back of the house?" Indeed, my parents owned a few cows. After their demise, I had not sold them. Instead, I moved in after quitting my job and took care of them. Honestly, it was comforting to have some company in the empty courtyard.
I had eventually come to enjoy spending time with the cows, refilling their water troughs, and using the manure to fertilize the vegetables I was planting in the garden. Not only did it feel like I was connecting with nature but it also reminded me of my childhood.
So, technically, it was a very fun activity but, judging from the two men's distorted expressions as I gave them spades to work with, they were not very exhilarated.
I gave them an old but durable pair of gumboots each and gloves as well as navy-blue working gear. They stood behind me as I strode into the shed that was pungent beyond belief. The shed was made of wood and it was simple and compact due to the few cows inside. I stepped inside and found five cows. One of them was chewing the cud with a bored expression. Her fur was mostly white with black spots. I smirked and rubbed her head affectionately.
"Good morning, Toddy," I said to the cow. Toddy momentarily glanced at me with displeasure flickering in her eye before continuing to chew her cud.
Ah, Toddy was always a sassy cow, wasn't she?
The other four cows were splayed lazily on the ground. I could see one of them, the youngest, was famished as the adorable calf gave me a glittery-eyed look. The troughs were almost empty but with the extra hands I had, it would be plenty easy to have them full again.
I looked smugly at the two men outside the shed who were still pondering whether to face the pungent area. They seemed to be making an important life decision. Damon's face was green. He seemed ready to puke, but I didn't care. Who told him to come and disturb me?
"What are you two boys waiting for? Get your feet in here and fill the troughs! I better find my cows full of water by the time I come back," I ordered as I headed out of the compound, towards the small town at the mountain's foot. A farmer I knew there would usually help me with some of the weeds he cut from his farm. Hopefully, he would have some today as well.
Before I left the courtyard, I glanced back and saw Damon and Abel working together, albeit whenever they made eye contact, there would still be that inexplicable tension. Damon seemed to have thrown up his breakfast.
They both held a blue hosepipe as they refilled the black troughs. I stifled a laugh when Toddy pushed Abel aside to get a drink. Abel could only glare darkly at the haughty cow. Surprisingly, he gave the cow a gentle pat on the head. Toddy mooed but otherwise continued drinking greedily, silently acknowledging the human's presence.
I smiled and trudged towards the foot of the mountain.
The terrain was steep, but I soon found the damp tarmac that had been laid a few years ago. From there, it was an easy journey to the town.
***
Mr. Wickliffe lived in a small villa with a picture-perfect lawn with captivating rose bushes. When he wasn't diligently tending to his large farm with his tractor, he would be pruning the roses or clearing the weeds from them.
The sun was shining gently on my head as I took the last corner and finally laid my gaze on the farmer's villa. I strode briskly to the small blue gate and knocked three times consecutively. "Mr. Wickliffe! Mr. Wickliffe!" I called out loudly, knowing that the man had been having hearing problems.
I heard a muffled noise and then the sound of footfalls as someone, I assumed, walked up to the gate. There was the fumbling of a key before the gate was opened.
A grey-haired man with distinct wrinkles beneath his eyes and kind, coppery eyes stood before me with a startled expression. He was dressed casually in a neat off-white shirt and beige chinos.
"Good morning, Mr. Wickliffe," I greeted him smilingly, "I hope I'm not disturbing you but I was wondering if you had some weeds recently cut as well as some hay please."
The surprised expression etched on the man's face dissipated as he returned my smile gently. "Ah, Maddie, of course I do! They are right in my store. I didn't burn them, hoping you would come and put some better use to them." As he said this, he turned on his heel and the transaction afterward was quite smooth. I got a little more than I was expecting but that was also fine since I could use the excess as mulch.
As I exited the small, tranquil lawn of Mr. Wickliffe and the grizzled man saw me off, I noticed a large, white mansion across the street. I went to that street quite frequently so I was amazed to see a new place.
The lights on the upper floor of the snow-white mansion were brilliantly lit. I think I could see a few shadows wandering about behind the silky curtains on the upper floor.
I looked at Mr. Wickliffe whose gaze was also curiously fixated on the white mansion. "Is that a new neighbor? I remember that place being vacant for a while," I said simply.
Mr. Wickliffe hummed and nodded. "They moved in just two days ago. I think the master of the house is some billionaire out in the city, or so the rumor mill goes," he shrugged and a smile returned to his face, "However, the young lady of the house is quite a darling. She shared some of her baked pastries with the neighbors and they were finger-licking good."
I nodded and continued on my way back to my house. But then I heard an exclamation from behind me. I turned around and saw that the sound came from across the street. A familiar girl was racing towards me. Her arm was flailing in the air as she waved frantically at me. Her familiar radiant smile remained ever-dazzling.
I frowned. An idea had already emerged in my mind as I noticed the direction from which she had come. The white mansion.
You've already guessed it. The girl now racing quickly towards me is the same girl I 'rescued' earlier that morning.
My face soured. I felt a nasty headache coming on.