Finding You: The Switched Series book one (6 page)

              “So, Callie, what do you do in Florida for a job?” Ash asks, looking over at me. How can he possibly be comfortable with this situation?

              “I’m a teacher,” I say, watching all these boys stare at him like they are ready to kill him. Is it really so bad he wants to talk to me?

              “What grade do you teach?”

              “First,” I answer.

              “So you have the entire summer off. That must be nice. Between all of these farms and driving to Nashville to work, a summer off would be nice,” he says between bites.

              “It is very nice. Do any of you have horses? I saw Ash’s this morning,” I ask, looking up at Jaxon and Collin.

              “We all have at least one. Have you met the demon dog yet?” Collin asks.

              “Demon dog, no. Very sweet black dog, yes,” I say smiling.

              “He was actually asleep at her feet when I found them. I have never seen him so calm,” Ash says, shaking his head.

              “Really, that dog hates Molly and mom. I can’t believe he likes you,” Jaxon says. What is the deal with the dog and Molly?

              “Can I ask a question and actually get an answer?” I ask, looking at Brody.

              “I told you yesterday I would answer anything,” he says, looking from me to his brothers.

              “Tell me about Molly. No one seems to want to talk about her. What is she like?” I ask looking at all of them. They all just kind of sit there and look at each other. I don’t understand this family at all. “Collin, you should know her better than anyone, what is she like?” I ask, looking at only Collin.

              “She’s a little different,” he says, looking at Brody. I don’t get it. This only girl has three big brothers and they can’t even finish a sentence about her. Something odd is definitely going on here. I’m beginning to think they have always known she wasn’t their sister.

              “Did y’all really just find out she’s not really your sister? None of you seem very close to her,” I say, looking back at Brody. He is the one that told me he would answer anything.

              “We really did just find out. Here’s the deal. She has always just been our bratty little sister. She annoyed us and we were probably a little too mean to her. No guy would go near her in high school because of us and she hated us for it. Everything bad in her entire life was always our fault. When she went to college she hardly ever came home. Honestly, I probably haven’t talked to her over twice a year since she graduated high school. She got to where she would never come home. I’m not even sure my parents talk to her very often.” Wow, I definitely was not expecting that answer.

              “Where does she live now?”

              “She moved to Nashville after college. She got her real estate license and does that now. We all work in Nashville, so you would think we would see her pretty often, but every time I call to have lunch with her or just stop by and see her she’s always busy. I’ve even tried to stay with her before so I wouldn’t have to drive back here and she always has a reason I can’t. So I guess you could say we aren’t very close to her,” Brody says, picking his fork up to go back to eating his lunch. I never expected that answer. I thought since they were so adamant about me coming here that they were very close to her too. I’m really beginning to think this was a bad idea now.

              I have just finished eating when Brody’s phone starts ringing.

              “Hello,” he answers, looking straight at me.

              “That’s great news. We are finishing up lunch now. We can be there in a couple of hours,” he says to the person on the phone, before looking at Ash.

              “Are you going to be around today?” he asks him looking back at me. Ash just nods at him and gets up to throw our food away.

              “Jaxon and Collin are with me now. It’s no problem. We will see you in a couple of hours,” he says, before ending the call and putting his phone back in his pocket. “Molly woke up. Mom and dad want us to come to the hospital,” he says to Jaxon and Collin.

              “That’s good news,” I say, not really feeling it at all. This girl doesn’t even like her own brothers. There is no way she is going to be happy about me.

              “Are you going to be okay?” Brody asks.

              “She will be fine. I promised her she could ride one of my horses today. Y’all go see Molly. I’ll take care of her,” Ash says, winking at me again. This boy is definitely going to be trouble. I don’t remember him promising to let me ride one, but I am very excited about the thought of spending the afternoon with him.

              “I don’t know if that’s a good idea. Have you ever ridden a horse?” Jaxon asks, while Brody and Collin once again look like they could kill Ash.

              “I have not, but I’m pretty sure Ash has. I will be fine,” I say, walking out the door to get back into Ash’s truck. Brody and Ash are having a quiet conversation outside the driver side door while Jaxon and Collin are getting back into Brody’s truck. Finally Ash gets into the truck and starts the engine.

              “Brody went to the grocery store for you, so we don’t have to do that now. Want to ride your first horse?” he asks, looking over at me.

              “I would love to,” I say, not being able to stop smiling.

Chapter Seven

              “As much as I love what you are wearing, you may want to go put on some jeans and boots, if you have any,” Ash says, unlocking the front door for me to go inside. “I’ll go down and start getting you a horse ready. Meet me at the barn when you’re ready.” After letting me inside, he turns around and walks back out the door.

              I go into Brody’s bedroom and grab my suitcase to see what Leighton packed for me. I’m really hoping she packed my boots. I get the suitcase that only has shoes in it and there are my brown cowboy boots. I’m really glad I let her pack for me because there is no way I would have packed boots in June. I should definitely call her and let her know what’s going on. I don’t know how long it takes to get a horse ready, but I’m thinking I should have enough time to call Leighton. I get my phone back out of my bra and dial her number.

              “What’s it like meeting a family full of hot brothers you didn’t know you had?” she answers on the first ring.

              “Very uncomfortable,” I answer back. “Lucky for me they have a very hot friend who is about to take me horseback riding.”

              “I wish I could see that. You have wanted a horse since I have known you. I’m so happy you are finally getting to ride one. Since you have the hot friend, does that mean I can have a hot brother now?”

              “Not yet, I’m still trying to get to know them. Molly woke up this morning so they are all on the way to the hospital now. I have no idea when I’m supposed to meet her or how that will go. I may come home before then.”

              “You better not come home and you better call me when you get back from riding. I need more details on this hot friend. You usually don’t give any guy a second look.”

              “I know, I think this place has done something to my brain. I met him this morning and let him take me to lunch ten minutes later. Definitely not me, of course I am staying in his house, so I better get to know him.”

              “You are staying with him,” she yells over the phone. “You don’t spend the night with anybody except me. What is going on with you?”

              “He wasn’t here last night. It was just Brody and I told him about the sleeping issue. He was really understanding about it. There’s a hotel here in town, I think I’m going to go check in there tonight. I don’t think I want to stay here while Ash is here.”

              “Who is Ash?” she asks

              “He is the hot guy that is currently waiting on me with a horse. I need to go. I promise I will call as soon as I get the chance. Talk to you soon, bye,” I say, before hanging up, changing clothes, and heading out the door.

              I walk down to the barn and find Ash getting two horses saddled. I’m really hoping he’s not expecting me to ride that thing by myself, it’s huge. As soon as he hears me, Scooby turns around and starts running toward me. He jumps up on me and starts licking me immediately. I still can’t believe everyone thinks he is a mean dog. I love this dog.

              “I still can’t believe my dog likes you,” Ash says, walking over to us. “Scooby, get down.” At the sound of his voice, Scooby jumps off of me and sits at my feet.

              “What’s not to like?” I ask, looking into those blue eyes again. A girl could definitely get lost in those eyes. I wish I knew why they seem so familiar to me.

              “They are both ready if you are,” he says, turning back to walk to the barn.

              “About that, are you sure it’s okay for me to ride one? I’ve never been around one before,” I say. He immediately stops and turns around to look at me.

              “I thought you wanted to go riding,” he says, looking very confused.

              “I really do, I just don’t know if I want to go by myself. What if it gets mad and knocks me to the ground and stomps on me?”

              “It’s a horse, not a bull,” he says, holding his laughter back. He is laughing at me. I am trying to tell him I want him to ride with me and he is standing there laughing at me. How do these guys not take hints?

“I know the difference between a horse and a bull.” I walk past him to go up to the horses. “Can I just pet one first or do they hate that?” I ask feeling a lot embarrassed and a little pissed off. Is he only doing this because Brody told him to babysit me? I’m sure he has a million other things he could be doing today.

“You can pet her, she is very calm and loves people,” he says, coming up beside me.

“I’m not laughing at you,” he says, reaching out to pet her too. “You are just nothing like I expected. If Molly is anything like your parents were, I’m sure you gave them a run for their money.”

“I don’t understand.”

“You and Molly could not be more different. Let’s just leave it at that,” he says. I am suddenly very ready to meet Molly. I can’t figure out if people love her or hate her. Either way, I think I am finally ready.

“Can I ride this one?” I ask, looking up at Ash, looking up at his eyes and especially his lips. A girl could definitely get lost in his whole face.

“Nope,” he says, shaking his head. “No one rides this one but me.” Is he serious right now? He just said she was very gentle and he’s not even going to let me ride her now.

“Are you kidding? I want to ride this one.”

“I’m sorry, but she doesn’t let anyone ride her but me. She loves me, I can’t really help that.” He is seriously not going to let me ride this horse. Wow.

“Your dog doesn’t like people either, but he loves me,” I say smiling. “Now, help me on this horse,” I say, putting my foot up in the foot thing. I don’t even know what these are called. It’s no wonder he doesn’t want me near his favorite horse. I grab the top of the saddle and try to hoist myself up not having any idea how I am supposed to get on this thing. I finally hear him huff behind me and I know I have won this one. I don’t know what it is about this man, but all I want to do is prove to him I can do what I want. He grabs me around the waist to help lift me up and tells me to throw my leg over the top. I do what he says, but I begin to realize I am holding my breath. I’m not holding my breath because I am scared, I trust this man one hundred percent. I am holding my breath because he is touching me and I don’t think I ever want him to stop touching me.

He has finally let go and I realize I am sitting on top of a horse. It’s a lot higher than I thought it would be. I think I am going to be okay until the horse starts to move and I start to scream which makes the horse move more. I am holding on tight, but I don’t think I can do this.

“I want down, I can’t do this,” I scream at Ash who has already grabbed the horse and made her stop moving.

“You can do this,” he says, putting his hand on my leg. I really need him to stop touching me. I can’t think straight when he does that and he is definitely not part of any plans I have. “Scoot up. I’m going to ride with you. I don’t want your first experience to be you screaming and jumping off.” He is seriously planning on riding behind me. I think that may require too much touching. What have I gotten myself into?

              Ash jumps on the horse behind me and grabs my hands. “Hold on to these, don’t let go.”

“I think you should hold on to them. I think you were right, she doesn’t like anybody but you.” I hear him laugh behind me.

“I know I was right,” he says, before putting his lips right by my ear and whispering, “but I’m pretty sure you can make anybody like you.” I turn my head to look at him to find his face only inches from mine. I can’t seem to stop looking at anything but his lips. “You may want to look forward,” he says.

“Okay,” I reply, turning my head back around. He puts one arm around my waist and puts his other hand next to mine.

“Are you ready?” he whispers in my ear again. I just nod my head.

We ride in complete silence for a while. This land is beautiful. I can’t believe I never thought about moving out in the country. It’s gorgeous. City life is always so busy, but out here it feels like time stands still. We ride until we reach a little creek out in the middle of nowhere.

“Are you ready for a break?” he asks, pulling so the horse will stop.

“Sure,” I answer. He gets down first then reaches up to grab my waist to help me down. “This is beautiful.”

“I love it out here. I always come out here when I want to get away from everything and be by myself. It’s always been my calming place,” he says, tying the horse up to a nearby tree. I find a big rock sitting out in the middle and go over to sit one it. Ash comes over to me and sits beside me. I guess I’m not getting any space here either. This boy is definitely going to complicate my life.

“So, tell me about Ash. You have to have a story. Where did your name come from? It’s a little unusual,” I say, looking out over the creek.

“It’s actually Ashton, everybody has just always shortened it to Ash as long as I can remember.”

“Okay, does Ashton have a middle name?”

“He does, Ashton Wyatt Clayton,” he says. “What about you? I don’t even know your last name.

“Callie Grace Scott. My middle name was my moms also. Her name was Katherine Grace, not sure where the Callie came from. What is your horse’s name that only likes you?” I ask.

“Starlight,” he says. “My little sister had a stuffed horse when she was little. She named it Starlight and it went everywhere with her. When I found this horse, she reminded me of that stuffed animal for some reason, so I named her Starlight. Brody has yet to let me live that name down. Of course he has no idea why I named her that. I guess I just didn’t want him to know about that part.” Why would he name a horse after his sister’s stuffed animal? That seems a little odd to me.

“Does she still have the horse?” I ask. He just sits there looking over the water before turning his face back to mine.

“My mom and sister were killed when she was ten. I’m not even sure what happened to that horse. I haven’t really thought about that in years.” I just smile back at him. I don’t know what else to say. I have learned one thing in the past ten years, I can’t stand when someone hears my parents are dead and the first thing they say is oh you poor thing. I’m not the one dead, they are. I was the lucky one. Pity is one thing I can’t stand.

“Do you, Brody, Jaxon and Collin all work together?” I ask trying to change the subject.

“Brody and I work mostly undercover, which I’m probably not supposed to tell you. Jaxon and Collin are amazing detectives. They are really good at figuring stuff out.”

“I wish they had figured out Molly wasn’t their sister twenty six years ago.”

“That probably would have made both of your lives a lot easier. We used to tell Molly she was adopted all the time when she was little. I mean look at her, she looks nothing like them,” he says.

“She looks just like my mom did,” I say. “What is Molly really like?” I ask, turning around to face him. Our knees are touching now and I’m trying really hard not to think about that fact.

“I honestly haven’t seen her much in the last twelve years. I moved away when I turned eighteen. I came back a couple of years later, but she was already gone to college then. I usually see her at holidays, but that’s all. She’s kind of stand offish now. She used to be in your face annoying, but not anymore. I don’t know what happened to her,” he says, putting his hand on my knee. “Are you ready to head back?” Nodding at him, I stand up at the same time he does.

We are outside with hundreds of acres around us but we are standing in about two feet of space staring at each other. I am about to move around him to get some space when his hand comes up to my face. His fingers are below my ear and his thumb is rubbing my cheek. “I’m not going to kiss you,” he says, staring down at my lips.

“Okay,” I say. I don’t know what is happening right now, but it is taking everything I have not to grab his face right now until my phone rings breaking the spell. I grab it out of my back pocket and look down at the screen, Clay. I push ignore on the phone and slide it back into my pocket. He can definitely wait.

“We should go,” he says, letting his hand fall to his side and turning around to head back to the horse. I am going to have to find a hotel when we get back to the house. This will not work.

The ride back to the barn is very quiet. He is barely touching me this time and I have no idea what I have done to make him change like this. We get back to the barn and he is on the ground as soon as we stop. “You can go back to the house and shower or whatever. I’ll put them back up,” he says, barely glancing in my direction.

“Okay, thank you for today,” I say to him and he completely ignores me. What is going on with this man? “Ash,” I yell.

“What?” he yells back at me.

“I said thank you. I don’t know what I did to ruin your day, but I’m sorry.”

“You didn’t do anything. Everything is fine. I just need to get them put up. It looks like it’s going to storm.”

“I’m going to go get everything packed up and find a hotel for tonight. I’ll be out of your way soon,” I say, walking back to the house. I hear him call my name, but completely ignore him. I should have known this was a bad idea.

I go inside and pull my phone out to call Clay back. Of course he answers on the first ring. “Hey sweetheart is everything okay?” he asks.