another lap…for the tractor, so it can cool down before I turn it off. That’s logical. No. I need to get my ass across the road before I do something stupid like flirt with a minor. I don’t have any time in my life for stupid crap. Just go across the road, Cash.
I pull up beside the little country house to tell the Jacksons I’m done and I’ll be over to do it again. So I can catch a peek of their granddaughter again. Damn it, Cash! What is wrong with you? I hop off the tractor and onto the porch, and Mrs. Jackson’s eyes light up. “Cash, we can’t thank you enough for helping us out.”
“It wasn’t any problem, Mrs. Jackson. Let me know if you guys need anything else done over here. I’m pretty handy.”
“I want you to meet my granddaughter, Bailey, if I can ever get her to look this way.” She gives me a smile.
“There’s always next time, I’ll be across the road from here on out.” I’m about to leave, but I notice the girl is at the edge of the flowerbed now, and I can’t seem to make myself leave. I need to get laid worse than I thought if I’m lusting over an underage chick with big boobs. Maybe she’s seventeen? Would that make ogling her any better? Hell, she’d still be jailbait. I need to get my ass out of here.
As I come out of the shed, I mentally checklist all my tools. I’ve got my gloves and all the pruning tools I’ll need for the rose bushes. The flowerbed mostly requires a good weeding.
Walking over to the flowerbed, I see why Granny loves her roses. They are beautiful and poetic from the tiniest bud to the fullest bloom. I remember being a little girl and following right behind Granny while she worked in her roses. The thorns never bothered her. I asked her once if they hurt her. She said, “Roses teach us to love with our whole heart, Bailey.”
She snipped off the smallest white bud and handed it to me to smell. I loved smelling her roses. I would come out and give each one their own sniff while she laughed at me. I didn’t understand why roses taught us to love at all. That was just silly to me, and must have been written on my young face. “Roses teach you that nothing is perfect in this world. To love someone, you love the whole person. The beautiful part of that person and the parts that have the thorns.”
I looked at her all serious as I hung on her every word. “Granny, do I have thorns?”
She smiled at me, and scooped me into this big hug. She kissed my nose and shook her head. “Bailey, I believe you are the closest thing to perfect I’ve ever seen.”
I beamed at her. I loved my granny. She always made me feel special, like all grandmothers do, I guess. We made matching bonnets to wear while we worked on the roses, but she helped me with mine. She gave me my own little plastic tools that I made a mess with while she worked.
I look toward the porch to make sure Papa is still in his rocking chair and see someone talking to Papa and Granny. He must be the neighbor’s son. I’m a hot mess this morning so I’m going to introduce myself some other time when I’m cleaned up and presentable.
I weed the edge of the flowerbed and hope I’m not noticed. I can’t see his face well enough to discern his features, but hot damn, that body! He lifts his shirt to wipe his forehead and I catch a glimpse of a chiseled torso. Bodies like his only exist in the books I read. Good Lord! Who moved across the street, Channing Tatum?
A thought dawns on me. I have the baby monitor so I turn it on.
“The yard looks so nice. You even edged everything and did the weed-eating. I would like to give you something for mowing the yard. Are you sure you won’t take any money? Bailey does a good job, but she does so much for us already.”
By the way Granny is talking, I think she’s in love.
“Would you like some tea or water? Why don’t you sit down here a minute and cool off?”
I bet she was a big flirt back in her day.
“Mrs. Jackson, I would love to stay and
I pull up beside the little country house to tell the Jacksons I’m done and I’ll be over to do it again. So I can catch a peek of their granddaughter again. Damn it, Cash! What is wrong with you? I hop off the tractor and onto the porch, and Mrs. Jackson’s eyes light up. “Cash, we can’t thank you enough for helping us out.”
“It wasn’t any problem, Mrs. Jackson. Let me know if you guys need anything else done over here. I’m pretty handy.”
“I want you to meet my granddaughter, Bailey, if I can ever get her to look this way.” She gives me a smile.
“There’s always next time, I’ll be across the road from here on out.” I’m about to leave, but I notice the girl is at the edge of the flowerbed now, and I can’t seem to make myself leave. I need to get laid worse than I thought if I’m lusting over an underage chick with big boobs. Maybe she’s seventeen? Would that make ogling her any better? Hell, she’d still be jailbait. I need to get my ass out of here.
As I come out of the shed, I mentally checklist all my tools. I’ve got my gloves and all the pruning tools I’ll need for the rose bushes. The flowerbed mostly requires a good weeding.
Walking over to the flowerbed, I see why Granny loves her roses. They are beautiful and poetic from the tiniest bud to the fullest bloom. I remember being a little girl and following right behind Granny while she worked in her roses. The thorns never bothered her. I asked her once if they hurt her. She said, “Roses teach us to love with our whole heart, Bailey.”
She snipped off the smallest white bud and handed it to me to smell. I loved smelling her roses. I would come out and give each one their own sniff while she laughed at me. I didn’t understand why roses taught us to love at all. That was just silly to me, and must have been written on my young face. “Roses teach you that nothing is perfect in this world. To love someone, you love the whole person. The beautiful part of that person and the parts that have the thorns.”
I looked at her all serious as I hung on her every word. “Granny, do I have thorns?”
She smiled at me, and scooped me into this big hug. She kissed my nose and shook her head. “Bailey, I believe you are the closest thing to perfect I’ve ever seen.”
I beamed at her. I loved my granny. She always made me feel special, like all grandmothers do, I guess. We made matching bonnets to wear while we worked on the roses, but she helped me with mine. She gave me my own little plastic tools that I made a mess with while she worked.
I look toward the porch to make sure Papa is still in his rocking chair and see someone talking to Papa and Granny. He must be the neighbor’s son. I’m a hot mess this morning so I’m going to introduce myself some other time when I’m cleaned up and presentable.
I weed the edge of the flowerbed and hope I’m not noticed. I can’t see his face well enough to discern his features, but hot damn, that body! He lifts his shirt to wipe his forehead and I catch a glimpse of a chiseled torso. Bodies like his only exist in the books I read. Good Lord! Who moved across the street, Channing Tatum?
A thought dawns on me. I have the baby monitor so I turn it on.
“The yard looks so nice. You even edged everything and did the weed-eating. I would like to give you something for mowing the yard. Are you sure you won’t take any money? Bailey does a good job, but she does so much for us already.”
By the way Granny is talking, I think she’s in love.
“Would you like some tea or water? Why don’t you sit down here a minute and cool off?”
I bet she was a big flirt back in her day.
“Mrs. Jackson, I would love to stay and
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