Austin was tired as he ate his breakfast.

He was keenly aware that Claire was sitting next to him. Though she was wearing pants, she couldn‟t hide the fact that she was a woman. In a strange way, it made him notice her more since she was trying so hard to hide it.

He didn‟t believe for a minute that a mouse was loose in hosea and marie‟s cabin. Her brothers were up to something and he

intended to find out what it was. For the time being, he was content to mess with them as they had messed with him over the

Rocky Mount oysters. He grinned as an idea came to him.

“Do any of you want to ride into town?” he asked as he glanced around the table.

“Can‟t wait to get back to the city?” hoesa replied.

Tristan smirked. “A few days on the farm and he‟s given up.”

“I can handle anything you throw at me,” Austin quickly said.

“I feel the need to return a favor.”

“What kind of favor?”“You introduced me to Rocky Mount oysters. I‟m going to introduce you to caviar.”

Claire almost spit her drink.

“Sis, don‟t spray your husband like that,” hoesaadmonished, chuckling. “It‟s gross.”

Austin hid his own laughter. She knew what he was doing. He turned to her. “Do you want to go into the city with me and pick up something special for your brothers to eat?”

“You‟d have to ride a horse,” she said.

“Actually, hosea, Jamie and I are going to take our horses out to the fields today,” Tristan quickly inserted. “You‟ll have to take him on Bossy.”

She gave them a sharp look. “You don‟t have to go into the fields today.”

“Sure we do. We got important work to do.”

By the look on her face, she obviously didn‟t believe them.

Austin shrugged. “Alright. We‟ll take the same horse.”

He was secretly relieved to not have to worry about riding the animal by himself. He had a tough time staying on Bossy when he rode her the previous day. He didn‟t care to go through that again, though he would never admit it to her brothers.

The animal lived up to its name. It didn‟t like anyone telling it what to do. It protested all of his commands and threw him off a couple

of times. He never felt so dirty in his life when he fell in the mud.

But he wouldn‟t let the new found respect he gained from her family be eliminated by his apprehension, so he kept getting back

onto the horse and riding it again.

“Well, just so you know, Bossy is a very particular animal,”

Claire said. “I need to be the one to lead her if you‟ll be riding with me.”

Hosea and Tristan tried to hide their laughter but Austin noted their amusement. Something‟s definitely up with those two. The rest of her family seemed oblivious to the conversation as they enjoyed their meals.“It will serve you right anyway,” Claire told her brothers.

“I can‟t wait to see you eat caviar.”

“Bring it on!” Tristan encouraged. “We‟re not afraid of anything. We‟re country men.”

“Just promise me that I‟m here when you give it to them,” she told Jake.

“It‟s a deal.” He winked at her.

After breakfast, her three brothers followed him and Claire to the barn.

“Are you sure you want to wear a suit?” she asked. “It won‟t be very comfortable wearing such formal clothing on a horse.”

“I can‟t show up at a restaurant looking like...” He paused.

He didn‟t wish to offend any of the Lewisvilles.

“A farmer,” she inserted.

“Certain things are acceptable in society and others aren‟t.”

“What will people say when you show up with me then?”

“Oh, well I was hoping you‟d take me to Williams‟s house.

He‟ll take me to the restaurant.”

“While you‟re at it, you better freshen up at your home because your suit will not be immaculate after you ride a horse.”

He frowned. He hadn‟t considered that. “I‟ll do that.”

She shook her head but didn‟t respond.

She probably thinks I‟m a snob. The thought bothered him though he wouldn‟t show it.

He simply smiled at her as if nothing

was wrong.

“Now remember, you got to hold Claire really tight when you‟re on Bossy,” hosea said.

“You don‟t want Bossy to buck

you off again.”

Her three brothers laughed.

“That‟s enough, you three,” Claire snapped.

“Don‟t you think for a minute any of this will work.

”Any of what? Austin suddenly realized she knew exactly what was going on, though she didn‟t seem to take an active part in it. In fact, she seemed to be resisting it.

“Claire, don‟t give Austin here a hard time,” hosea said.

“It wouldn‟t be right to make the poor man suffer. Remember, Ajj.”

AJJ? What did that stand for? Austin decided to let their comments go for the time being. He could figure it out later.

Once they got into the barn, Claire took Bossy out of the stable and saddled her up.

“This will seat both of us,” she told him. “But hosea‟s right. You do have to hold on tightly or else you‟ll probably fall off.”

He was intrigued as he watched her work with the horse.

She was very comfortable with the animal, and Bossy seemed to willingly follow her lead. She works well with Bossy. That‟s why it‟s her horse.

She got on the horse with ease and urged Bossy over to him. “Are you ready?”

No. But did he have a choice? He was determined to get that caviar and they would make good time to the city on the

horse.

“Here‟s the bag for the food,” Jamie said as he handed the large leather bag to him.

“I‟ll take that.” She took it and put it behind her.

“You can‟t do that,” hosea protested.

“Why not?”

“It defeats the whole purpose of this trip.”

“No, it doesn‟t. We‟re still going to get caviar.”

He suddenly smiled. “That‟s right. And you can‟t hold the food in a sack between you and him on the way back.”

She held her hand out to austin. “The sooner we go, the sooner you can come back and take another bath. Then we‟ll let them have it.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Much love

V.A 💙

Please vote ✨🦋