Animal Heart(4)

Mia walked towards him ready to begin work at his side. Her face was still set in that hurt look that she so often wore of late.

“Shall I start to clear them out?” she asked sulkily.

“No, I'll do that for a change. You can feed them today if you like, then we'll take them out for a quick run,” he replied in a reconciliatory tone.

“That'll be nice. I'll get on with it then.”

She began loading the hay and oats in their fodder trays and changing their water as Aden followed behind quickly, sweeping out their straw bedding and replacing it with fresh. That done, they strung the horses together in two lines of six, saddled up the leading two, and set out for an exercise ride. It was warm and the rain had stopped. It looked to be a fairly pleasant day ahead, as they took the short circular well trodden trek around the ranch perimeter, and finally back inside the stable yard.

“So, what are you doing now?” She asked when the horses were all back inside their stalls.

“Going to town for supplies a little later with Shane and Sammy. Might have a beer at the bar while I'm there. See who's around, find out the local news from Miss Boyle, and what the old Mayor's been up to again.”

“But right now... anything planned?” she pushed.

“Look Mia, we've been down this road so many times I've lost count. You are not my mate. I don't have to tell you what I'm doing every minute of my day. Go hang out with your girlfriends or Lucas. He's always up for some female attention,” he replied testily.

“But I don't want to be with him, Aden. You know it's you I want,” she wheedled.

“And you know I don't feel the same way, as I've explained time and time again. I've always been honest about that,” he answered in as level a manner as he could manage, considering he was sick of repeating himself.

“But why not? You take me to bed often enough, you must like me a lot.”

“I do like you. Of course I do. You're pretty and very pleasant company, but I like the other women here equally as much,” he added in a softer, kinder tone.

“Why can't you choose one of us, like me for instance?” She suddenly hugged him to her tightly, looking up at him with soft appealing brown eyes. He detached himself from her gently and pushed her to arms length.

“Please Mia, stop all this pointless whining and go and get on with your day. If you don't like what goes on here, then you can damn well leave. No one is stopping you.” He was now fast losing his patience with her refusal to take no for an answer.

“Why are you so cold towards me? I've only ever been nice to you. You know I love you, don't you?” Tears were forming in her eyes. He sighed deeply. It always came to this teary showdown at the end of their discussions.

“I'm not cold. I'm pleasant and nice to you in return, as I am to everyone.”

“No you're not. Cold hearted, that's what you are.” And she turned and rushed away across the yard towards the ranch house. He sighed sadly as he watched her retreating, sobbing back and stood a while, scratching his head and thinking what the hell to do about her. At a loss for any inspiration, he shrugged and returned to his chores.

Once he'd finished the few remaining things at the stable, he went inside the ranch house to clean up. The smell of bacon and eggs was filling the air. Rebel and Fire, his two black and white Canadian Eskimo dogs, raised themselves from their snooze and came to greet him as he entered the main reception room, licking his hand and sitting at his feet as he petted them enthusiastically.

After his loving canine greeting, he moved off towards the kitchen. “Save some of that for me,” he said as he stuck his head inside the hot room. Ben and Jamie were eating at the table, and Jack was waiting patiently for his share while Samantha was clearing up the mess that Shane always created while he cooked. “I'll be back in ten.”

“Sure will,” Shane answered, looking up from the grill with his usual hot pink chef's face.

He entered his room, closely followed by the dogs and undressed, walking into his large shower. The warm water pelted down hard on his head, and he scrubbed himself all over thoroughly. He scoured roughly at his nails with a hard brush. He had a thing about cleanliness. Almost an obsession. His nails had to be spotless. Finally satisfied they were, he finished his shower, dried off, and dressed in clean jeans and a black t-shirt. He dropped his dirty clothes in the washing basket on the way into the kitchen, his dogs close to heel. He bade them to sit outside the kitchen, and they sat obediently, watching him through the doorway with drooling mouths.

“That smells so good. Gimme lots and lots.” He stood by Shane's side, with a watering mouth, and smiled at Samantha as she gave the table a quick wipe over in preparation for his feast.