Chapter Thirteen

After an hour or so, Jake got her to dismount and brush Bullet down as he did more work in the stables. 

"What do you do around here for fun?" Molly asked as they worked, the radio playing softly in the background. 

"Well... I like to go ridin' myself, but there's the cinema complex, bowlin' alley, sometimes people go to San Antonio... or there's the odd barn dance," he answered, hesitating a little about telling her the last one, not sure if he should. 

"They still do those?" she asked surprised. Jennifer had told her about one or two she'd gone to before they'd moved away. They'd sounded quite quaint, so she hadn't thought they would still exist, that teenagers would've found other things to do in this day and age. 

"Uh huh." 

"Is there one any time soon?" she asked curiously, seeing him pause for a second. 

"I think there's one next week'nd," Jake answered honestly. He noticed the interested look on her face, not sure if it had to do with the possibility of the new experience or whether she was hoping he'd ask her to go. "If yer not doin' anythin', I suppose I could... I mean, would... would ye like... to go... with me?" he eventually asked, surprising her that he seemed a little shy or inexperienced himself. He'd have no problems getting dates back in Phoenix, so she doubted he'd have many here either.

"Yeah... I'd like to," Molly nodded with a smile, getting an almost relieved smile back despite her teasingly mimicking his accent. "Not to sound too much like a city girl, but what do I wear to a barn dance?" she asked, making him laugh. 

"Yer boots 'n a dress I suppose," he answered. 

"Maybe I should ask Beth," she decided was the better course of action, getting another laugh in response. "And you?" she asked curiously, wondering what else he had to wear as she fought back a blush at the thought. 

"A cleaner version of this," Jake answered honestly, gesturing to his jeans and shirt. "Maybe I should ask Bethy too," he said when he saw her holding back a laugh. 

"Good idea," she agreed with a smile, though she liked how he looked. He smiled back, holding her gaze for a minute. "Eh... I made lemonade, if you wanted... It's my mama's recipe," Molly offered a little nervously, not sure if she should mention that Jennifer wouldn't be in all day and it would just be them in the house. She saw him hesitate for a minute, before giving a nod. 

"Sure. Guess we earnt a break," Jake agreed, putting away the brush and closing the bay door behind him. He gestured for her to come out of Bullet's bay and closed that door behind her too. "Ladies first," he gestured now for her to lead the way out.

They jumped the fence by the stables onto the Matthews property, to avoid Beth and Duncan on their way over. Walking through the grass helped clean their boots a bit for when they reached her house. She led the way into the house via the back door near her bedroom, which she was getting used to leaving unlocked when she left the house. It was at the back, so most people wouldn't know it was there. 

"It's bin a while since I bin in here. Who got the master bedroom?" Jake asked as he closed the door behind him, taking a peek into the half-open door of her room. 

"That's my room now," Molly said, quick to keep walking further into the house so he wouldn't get a chance to get a proper look. She wasn't necessarily untidy, but she didn't feel she knew him well enough yet for him to see her room. He took the hint and focused on the living room and dining area as she led him towards the kitchen. He noticed that they'd kept most of the pictures and paintings on the wall that had hung there for as long as he could remember. Apart from the sofas, most of the furniture was the same as well. 

"I like what y'all have done with the place," Jake told her as he leaned against the kitchen island as she moved around to get the glasses out. 

"Thanks. Do you remember much of how it used to be?" Molly asked curiously. He was a year older than she was, but she only remembered bits and pieces. 

"Kinda. But I helped may pa keep the place looked after though," he reminded her. She simply nodded at that and concentrated on serving the lemonade. He watched her in silence, intrigued. They didn't say anything until they both had a glass of lemonade and had made themselves comfortable on the back porch. "I always liked this here bit. I remember yer daddy sittin' out here 'n readin' to ye," Jake said eventually. 

She was about to ask how he knew that that was what they always did until she remembered that he'd sat in a couple of times with her and her father. "Yeah me too," Molly nodded now. 

"So what's Jennifer like? Did she never get married?" he asked, curious as to their living arrangement. If Molly was 20, that made her sister 32, which is why it surprised him a little. He remembered her to be very similar to how Molly was now, which made it harder to believe that she wouldn't have had enough interest from guys over the years. 

"Nah. I only remember one or two boyfriends, unless she had more once she moved out and didn't tell me. But when mama… Well, Jen came back to help me, as I was only 16 at the time," she answered. "Speaking of Jennifer… When I told her we'd met, she told me I wasn't allowed to hang out with you. Any ideas why? She refused to tell me anything," she continued now, wanting to get to the bottom of this. If he was surprised at her saying this, he didn't show it. 

"Given I was only 7 when y'all moved away, I doubt it was somethin' I did," Jake started to answer. "But I do remember her hangin' out with my cousin Blake a lot before y'all moved away." 

"Blake?" Molly asked confused, she didn't remember any cousin. 

"Uh huh, he lived with us for a bit. Maybe he done her wrong," he guessed, though he couldn't remember if that was true or not. "So… am I not supposed to be here?" he asked, now picking up on what she'd actually said. 

"Only if we listen to her, which I've decided I'm not," she told him with a cheeky smile, getting one in return. "Plus, you look like you belong there," she said, taking him in as he lounged against the porch post, sat on the top stair. She thought he liked mighty fine like that.

"So do ya," he returned the compliment. She was curled up more than he was, against the wall of the house. And she looked like she'd never lived anywhere else but here. He gave her a smile before he looked back out over the land. It took him a few minutes but then he realized she had her eyes on him. "Whatchya lookin' at?" he asked without looking back at her, making her blush a little embarrassed. 

"Sorry, I didn't mean to stare. Just the way you're sat there, you remind me a little of one of the country singers I bought yesterday, Granger Smith," she answered truthfully. He had a similar countenance, the way he was sat, and they both had brown hair and brown eyes. It might be a bit of a stretch, but there was something that they seemed to have in common. 

"Not sure I know enough about him," he also said honestly. He thought he knew some of his songs but couldn't remember if he'd ever seen any pictures of him or any of his videos. 

"Wait here," she said as she jumped up and went into her room to get the CD. Jake did as she said and stayed put, much too comfortable to do anything else if he had to be honest. Besides, he quite liked the lemonade she'd made, thinking he may have had it before, but not sure how. 

"Here," she handed him the CD and sat down on the stair next to him, watching him open the booklet to have a better look at the pictures. 

"Suppose so," he shrugged, thinking Granger looked better. He probably had all the girls drooling over him. "Any good?" he asked holding up the CD now, not wanting to overthink the fact that she thought he looked like him. 

"I think so. Shall I put it on?" she asked, taking it back from him now. She could put one of the speakers closer to her bedroom window and leave that open, so they'd be able to hear it well enough from where they were sat. 

"Sure," he nodded.