Bad Daddy’s Forgotten Little by Mary Potter
CHAPTER TWO
Jack
“Where the hell is Ryan?” I snapped as I looked around the living room at the other workers. “He was supposed to have moved the cattle over an hour ago so that they were ready to move to the new field when we got back.” Martin shrugged as he sat down on the couch.
“You can never tell with Ryan anymore,” he grumbled as he watched the TV. “He’s probably out with Jessie again.” I raised my eyebrow at him as I watched him grab the remote and start flipping through the channels.
Ever since we discovered that Ryan and Jessie were sneaking around, making it look like she was out with Martin instead, Martin had been even more cold towards our brother and his new Little than I had ever seen him. In fact, I was certain that, if the prosecution’s office hadn’t turned him down for the new job, he would have left us all and run away with his new Little, Alexis. However, Alexis had convinced him to stay, and he had agreed under one condition: he chose when he spoke to Ryan and what about rather than being forced to get along.
“He had better hurry his ass up,” Martin said as he finally settled on a channel. “If we want to make use of those new fields we just bought, we need those cattle loaded up today and moved over. If we don’t soon, the winter rains might clean away all grass from half those fields.” I nodded in agreement.
“I’ll go check the barn and see if their horses are here,” I told Martin as I grabbed my hat off the hat rack. “Wait here in case they beat me back inside.” Martin nodded and continued looking at the TV.
“While you’re at it, will you see if Alexis is still collecting the eggs?” Martin asked. “I asked her to have it done by the time we got back so that we could spend the rest of the day together like we planned.” I nodded as I opened the screen door.
“You got it,” I told him. “I’ll be back soon enough.” He nodded, and I walked out into the warm, dusty afternoon sun.
Martin was more happy with Alexis than he had ever been with Jessie, but he was still pretty mad at Ryan for what he had done to him. In all honesty, even I hated Ryan for stealing Jessie away from Martin the way he did. Jessie had spoken to Auntie Gracie long before everything went down, and she said that she wanted to break things off with Martin long before everything happened, and Auntie Gracie actually believed her story when Jessie said that Ryan told her to keep it a secret. That was one of the only reasons why the two of them hadn’t been thrown out of the farmhouse when everything happened.
“Hello?” I called out as I entered the barn. “Ryan? Jessie? Is anyone there?” Across the barn, I heard a soft sniffle, which like it came from a Little.
“I’m here,” called Jessie’s voice from the far stall. I made my way down the barn and stopped at the stall she was grooming Snowy. I frowed as I looked around the barn.
“Where’s Ryan?” I asked as I looked around the barn. She kept her eyes on Snowy as she brushed his fur.
“He said he was heading out to the fields to bring the cattle in like you wanted,” she informed me as she brushed her mare down. I frowned as I turned to look at her.
“Are you okay?” I asked as I looked at her. Her head was bowed in order to keep her face concealed by her long, blonde hair, and she trembled slightly as she brushed the mare.
“I’m fine,” she lied as she sniffed. “It’s just really dusty here is all.” I raised an eyebrow at her as I stared her down.
One of the main rules about Little’s Farmhouse was to keep relationships private and not get involved with any other Little but your own. However, the other rule that cancelled the first rule was abuse of any kind was not allowed, and, if abuse was suspected, it was to be reported to Auntie Gracie immediately so that she could direct us on how to handle the situation without anyone getting hurt. I wasn’t fully sure what was going on with Jessie and Ryan, but my first instinct when I saw the way she was crying was to go kick my brother’s ass for hurting his Little. I swallowed my pride and nodded.
“Okay, well, if you need to talk, I’m always here,” I told her. “Otherwise, you can always go to Auntie Gracie.” She stopped and turned to look at me, and I saw just how bad it was.
Her eyes were red and puffy from her tears, and snot dripped from her nose. She didn’t have any bruises or any marks on her face, which was a plus, but I could tell she was deeply upset. I took a deep breath and pulled out a package of tissues. As I offered them to her, she sniffed and smiled at me.
“Thanks,” she said as she pulled a tissue out and blew her nose. “Sorry I’m such a mess.” I shook my head.
“You’re fine,” I told her as I smiled reassuringly at her. “Auntie Gracie made fresh cookies and lemonade for everybody. You should go get some. I’ll finish Snowy for you.” She frowned as she looked at Snowy then back at me.
“Are you sure?” she asked, and I nodded. “Thank you, Jack.” I smiled and nodded at her.
“You’re welcome, Jessie,” I told her. “Also, Martin’s in a pretty bad mood, so I’d recommend staying in the kitchen.” She nodded in agreement.
“Thank you,” she said as she took off towards the farmhouse. “If you want, I’ll bring you some lemonade!” I smiled as I looked at her.
“I’d like that,” I agreed, and, just like that, she disappeared out of the barn, and I looked back at Snowy, who was happily munching his oats. “Alright, you… Let’s get you cleaned up.”
