“What’s goin’ on with you and Savvy?” Owen asks as he tosses me another bale of straw.

I was busy clearing out a stable intended for a new arrival, and Owen was ‘supervising’ me. At least, that was his official line. I know him better than that and knew he was here to fish for information.

“What do you mean?” I say absentmindedly as I scatter the straw on the stable floor. “There’s nothing goin’ on with me and Savannah.”

The barn goes quiet, and I notice that some of the other stable hands are tuned in to our conversation. Everyone that works on the Estate knows how I feel about Savannah, and my bitching about her has become something of a daily ritual here. It amused people to hear what I thought about Savannah, but at the same time, I knew that not everyone shared my opinion. I’d lost count of the times that Sherman Younes and I had gone head-to-head over Savannah. Sherman had worked for the Mayfield’s since way before Savannah was born and he was overly protective of her, which is why he and I didn’t get along.

“You sure about that, kid?” Owen laughs as he hands me another bale. “She sure knows how to get you riled up, anyway. It reminds me of the saying that my Momma used to say.”

“Yeah, and what was that?” I mumble as I pat down the final layer of the bedding.

“It’s a thin line between love and hate,” Owen laughs. Sherman joins in too. I shoot them both a death glare. Owen walked into the stall and pats me on my shoulder patronizingly. “Look, Caleb, Savvy isn’t as bad as you think she is. You’ve just got off on the wrong foot.”

I shrug out of his touch and take the spare bedding back to the storage room. “Owen,” I try to keep my tone calm, but we both know that I’m losing my rag. “I am not attracted to Savannah. Why would I be? She’s spoilt and entitled and she grates on my last nerves. There is no way I could ever, ever be attracted to-”

The sound of metal on metal crashing cuts me off, followed by the noise of of Sherman screaming Savannah’s name. Owen and I share a terrified look and rush outside to see what the commotion was all about. Savannah was clambering out of my truck, her face pale as she brought up her hands to cover her mouth when she realized just what she’d done.

She crashed my truck. Savannah Mayfield crashed my damn truck.

Her eyes found me pretty quickly and she started to back away timidly, with her hands held out at full length in front of her.

“Oh, fuck,” she gasped, then covered her mouth as the sound of that dirty word. With wide eyes she started to plead with me. “Caleb, I am so sorry. I didn’t mean to… I was just… I was going to… then I heard… so I got angry and I took your keys… and… Caleb, I am so sorry.”

Owen managed to get between me and Savannah even though I wasn’t going to do anything. I was still too shocked after hearing prim and proper Savannah Mayfield cursing. Before I had time to process what I was doing, I burst out laughing, doubling over as I hunch down. I shook my head and looked up at the state of the truck. It wasn’t so bad- all she really did was back it into a gate, and it looked like the gate came off worse than the truck.

“Savannah Mayfield,” I laugh out her name. It wasn’t even a spiteful laugh… no it was worse than that. It was an honest-to-God laugh that even took me by surprise. “Damn it, girl. That,” I point to the mangled gate, “is why you drive a tiny car.”

Sherman nodded in agreement, which was a first. “Miss Savvy,” he whistled out his unique nickname for her. “You always were an impatient girl. Why didn’t you wait for Caleb to move it for you?”

Savannah crossed her arms over her chest and gave me a pointed look. “Because Caleb was on a roll with his character assassination and I didn’t want to disturb.”

Everyone stops laughing. Including me.

“Ah, crap,” I grumble. I get to my feet, wipe the dirt from my jeans and rub my days old stubble as I search for an apology. “Savannah, I didn’t-”

“Yes, you did,” she cuts me off with a pointed look. It wasn’t a hateful look, but one that showed just how fed up she was. I guessed from her eyes that she’s heard it all before, and that made my stomach cave. “You shouldn’t apologize for something that you’re not sorry for, Caleb. But I am sorry that I crashed your truck, and I’m apologizing. I’m sorry.”

Yep… my stomach caved that little bit more. Here I was, being a jerk to Savannah, and there she was, being nice to me. Could I have felt like a bigger asshole right now? Actually, from the disappointed glare Owen shot me, I was starting to feel like one.

Sherman ushered the other stable hands back into the barn with Owen on their tail. Savannah was still stood on the other side of the truck, keeping a safe distance from me and she looked ready to cry. Her bottom lip was gripped between her teeth and her eyes watered. I hated it when girls cried, but for some reason, seeing Savannah like this made me feel like I’d been kicked in the gut.

I rounded the front of the truck and awkwardly stood before her. She dropped her head to the floor and let her hair cover her face. I cleared my throat to get her attention but she never looked up. I sighed impatiently, grabbed her shoulders and shook her until she finally lifted her eyes to meet mine.

“Are you hurt?” I ask her. She didn’t look it, but people go into shock after a car accident. Granted, this wasn’t like a four car collision on the interstate, but we are talking about Savannah Mayfield here. She looked confused by my question, which only made me roll my eyes at her. “Are you ok? Do you need to sit down or something?”

She shook her head and her curls bounced against her shoulders. “No, I’m fine.”

“Sure?” I double checked.

She nods. “I’m fine, Caleb.”

She didn’t sound fine. And since when did ‘fine’ ever mean ‘fine?’ I thought, in girl speak, it meant the opposite of ‘fine.’ So, was she fine, or wasn’t she fine? And how many times have I just said the word ‘fine?’

Caleb. Focus.

“Why did you need to move my truck?” I finally ask, trying not to mention the fact that she backed it into a gate.

“I, um…” Savannah blushed, and her pale cheeks flushed a shade of hot pink. “You parked too close to my car and I couldn’t get out.”

I frown. I’m pretty sure I left enough space between her car and the truck… at least four feet. Surely that gave her enough room to maneuver and get out. Savannah must have sensed my confusion because she started muttering something incoherent.

“What?” I ask her.

“I said,” she huffed. “That’s why I don’t drive a bigger car. I already think I’m driving a bus and my car is mini… literally, it’s a Mini. Lord, you must think I’m an idiot.”

Yes. “No,” I say, blocking out the real answer. “I just think you’re not the world’s best driver, that’s all.”

She smiles, and it’s one of her genuine ones that she doesn’t dish out often. In fact, it’s the one she only reserves for me. The left side of her mouth quirks up, revealing a dimple in her cheek, and her eye squints comically, but even then, Savannah Mayfield still manages to look beautiful.

Whoa! What?

I drop my arms from her shoulders and look around the deserted yard for a distraction. So, there was the truck to move, the gate to take down and replace, the stables to clear and the horses to be fed and watered.

“Why were you tryin’ to get out anyway?” My mouth asks independently of my brain.

“I have that date tonight,” Savannah answers, dropping the smile. “I’m meeting Tanner down at Maggie’s in,” she looks at her wrist watch, “well, I’m supposed to meet him now, but I’m running late.”

“Why?” My mouth runs away from me again.

“Because I crashed you truck,” Savannah points at the vehicle as if the answer wasn’t clear enough.

“No,” I shake my head and laugh casually. “I meant, why are you driving to meet him? Why isn’t he comin’ to pick you up?”

Another blush ravages her cheeks. “Oh… well, I guess it’s because I live ten miles out of town. It’s a little far to come pick me up.”

“Savannah,” I whisper her name in an unpracticed way. “For you, Tanner should drive to the moon and back, not just ten miles.”

If it was possible, Savannah’s face got redder. What was stranger still, though, was the fact that I had just paid her a compliment. Yeah, Caleb Townsend can be nice sometimes… even to Savannah Mayfield.

“What I meant was-”

“Caleb, don’t,” Savannah held her hand up to silence me. “I don’t need pity or your flattery. You hate me, remember?”

Savannah rounds me and storms to her car. She opens the door, hunkers down in the driver’s seat, starts the engine, backs out without hitting anything or anyone, and then speeds down the driveway, leaving a cloud of dust in her wake.

Holy shit. Savannah just got pissed.

I replayed the conversation around in my mind a thousand times as I went about my work. It was like I was on auto-pilot as I did the tasks Owen set me, and he knew it. Which was how I ended up doing all the stuff I hated doing. I was too distracted to say no. I was finishing mucking out the last stall when Owen came up to relieve me.

The barn that I worked in had forty stalls, but only about half of those were occupied at a single given time. The barn had cost a small fortune to build and had everything Owen could have wished for. There was an expansive tack room in one corner of the barn and a large feed room where all the oats and mash were kept, along with mints and nuggets. There was a large hay and straw barn at the rear of the stables, as well as a vets room for when we needed a professional to come take a look at the horses. Near the front, where the stable entrance was, Owen’s office was nestled into the corner next door to the staff room.

The staff room was quiet, with most of the other staff having headed off home. It was almost eleven in the evening and all the work had been completed. After Owen had moved my truck, he and Sherman had replaced the gate of the paddock and had stowed the tangled one in one of the out buildings so that Mr. Mayfield wouldn’t know about the accident. The truck, once Owen had taken a look, didn’t look so bad. In fact, there wasn’t a scratch on it. Nothing. The whole incident had been swept up under the carpet and no one was to mention it again.

Sherman had joked that he’d have a word with Savannah about driving cars that were slightly out of her comfort size, but from the look on his face, I guessed it wasn’t so much of a joke.

“I thought I told you that you could go home,” Owen said as he entered the staff room and sat on the couch next to me. “Why are you still here?”

I shrug. “I don’t know.”

“Is Savvy back yet?” He wonders, giving me a sly look from the corner of his eye.

“No, she isn’t,” I answer anyway, despite the ramifications.

“Keepin’ an eye out for her, huh?” He jokes.

I ignore him.

“Well, I’m goin’ home,” Owen announces when he realizes that I wasn’t about to fall for his teasing. “Where shall I tell Morgan you are?”

Mom had an annoying habit of worrying about me. “Tell her I’m out with Hale,” I instruct my uncle. “It’s not a school night so she should be cool with it. I won’t be out for long, anyway.”

“Uh huh,” Owen laughs. “Just as soon as Savvy get in, right?”

“Right,” I say without thinking. When I hear the words aloud, I turn to face my uncle and try to backtrack. “That was a joke. Obviously.”

“Obviously,” he winks at me. “See you in the morning kiddo.”

It was another hour before Savannah came home. When I heard her car pull up, I rushed to the window and watched as she wearily got out of her car. She was shaking but I wasn’t sure if it was from the cold or something else… until I heard her sniffling and a sob escaping her lips. That’s all it took before I bolted for the door.

“Savannah?” I whisper-shouted her name, making her jump from fright. She didn’t turn to face me, but she didn’t rush away either. She just stood there like a statue and waited until I caught up to her. I rounded her with ease and tried to look at her face. She refused to look up at me, so instead, I examined the rest of her. Her hair was down, covering her features as usual, and her dress was still belted at her waist. Her boots reached her knees and her cardigan was… “What happened?”

No response.

“Savannah, what the hell happened?” I growl. “Why is your cardigan torn? Look at me, damn it.”

This time Savannah looked up. Her make-up was smudged and the mascara run, creating a black river snaking down her cheek. She looked like crap, and she looked tired. And she didn’t look like she wanted to get into a fight with me.

“Jesus, Savannah,” I pull her into a hug and bury her face in my chest. I hold her tightly and kiss the crown of her head as she sobs. “I thought I told you to call me if anything happened.”

“I didn’t think you meant it,” she mumbled into my tear stained t-shirt. “It’s not like I’m your friend.”

I groan. “That’s not the point,” I scorn her. “If someone lays a hand on you, I wanna know about it. And then I wanna go and kill the bastard.”

She laughs. “Why?”

“Because…” Huh, I didn’t have an answer for that. Why did I want to kill the person who hurt her? “Because, you’re Savannah Mayfield. Who else will be nice to me if you’re not around?”

“You mean,” she pulls away from me and gives me a lopsided grin. “I’m Savannah Mayfield. Who else are you gonna ignore if I’m not around?”

Well, that hurts. “Yeah, there’s that too, I guess.”

Savannah drops her smile and another tear escapes her eye. “It wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle, Caleb,” she says with a shrug of her shoulder, like this wasn’t a big thing. Like she was used to this behavior. “I just wanna sleep and forget about it. Plus, I promised Owen that I’d be up by 6 am to train with him and Phantom. A girl needs her beauty sleep.”

I nod, trying to understand, but for the life of me, I can’t… I just don’t get it. “Does this happen to you often? Guys treatin’ you like crap?”

Again, she shrugs like it’s not a big deal. “Yeah. With you around, it’s a daily occurrence.” She must have seen the horror written on my face, because she gasped. “No, Caleb… I didn’t mean that… I was just teasing you.”

I laugh bitterly. “You don’t have to explain yourself to me, Savannah. I deserved that.”

“No, you didn’t,” she whispers.

“You’re tired,” I tell her. I move out of her way and motion for her to get inside. She needed a shower and some rest. “Have a good night’s sleep. I think you’re gonna need it with what Owen’s got planned for you tomorrow.”

“Night, Caleb,” she reaches up to me, hugs me and kisses my cheek before slowly making her way to her door.

I drove home like a zombie, and I could barely stay awake but I made it home in one piece. Owen’s place was only a few minutes’ drive from the Estate just in case there was an issue during the night, and I lived there with him and my mom. It wasn’t big, but it suited us. There were three bedrooms, a generous kitchen and a living room that was big enough for Owen to hold a poker night.

The light in the living room was still on when I pulled up, and from the way the curtain twitched, I could guess who it was. Mom hated it when I stayed out at night, and the thought of a lecture from her almost made me want to stay in the truck. I sucked it up, got out and made my way inside.

Mom, dressed in her purple plaid pajamas, stood in the middle of the hallway. “Did Savannah get back ok?”

I nod. “Yeah.”

“She didn’t look upset?” Mom worked at Maggie’s diner in town and must have seen Savannah there on her date with Tanner. I gave her a quizzical look and she sighed. “I saw her with that boy and it wasn’t pretty. He was really obnoxious and rude to her. Poor girl looked miserable throughout the date. Then when they got up to leave he-”

“He, what?” I yelled. It was loud enough that Owen came running from his room, baseball bat in hand. When he saw that it was just Mom and me, he dropped the bat and went back to his room. I studied Mom for longer, then asked again. “What did he do?”

“He tried to kiss her,” she sighs. “But it looked pretty forced. Luckily Savannah knows how to take care of herself.”

I snort. “No, she doesn’t, Mom.”

“You tell that to the boy she kneed in the balls,” Mom winks at me. “Serves the jerk right.”

I stare openmouthed at my mother. No way. “She did what?”

“Kneed him in the gonads,” Mom laughs with an impressed smile on her face. “That girl can do some damage.”

Mom kissed me goodnight then and went to her room.  

I went through the nightly routine. Shower, brush my teeth, change into a pair of boxer shorts, get into bed, sleep… except, tonight I felt like I wasn’t going to sleep much. My mind kept wondering about Savannah.

Was she ok?

Was she asleep?

Why didn’t she call me?

Where did she learn to kick a guy in the balls?

Was she my friend?

Why was I thinking of her so much?

Did I like her?

No, you don’t, Caleb.

“Ah, crap,” I groan as I punch my pillow. “Savannah Mayfield, what the hell are you doing to me?”

*

This is pretty much unedited, so if there are any mistakes, I'm really sorry.

(Song on the side is Young To See by Charlie Worsham. My second favourite song by him... I'm saving my favourite for the last chapter!)

By the way, I'm not from Tennessee... or the USA for that matter... and I'm not a huge country music fan, but the songs I post with the chapters I really like!

Sarah, xx