Ch.10 - Another O'Shea
She told herself it was only one day, most of which she had been sleeping because of the all-nighter she’d pulled…staying up watching the sun rise with Jared. But there was no point denying the fact that she’d missed him since the moment he left, and even more so when she’d slept half the day away and he still was gone when she woke up.
The silence felt so…wrong. There was no pounding on the roof outside her window, no sound of water being gulped straight from the sink in the kitchen; there were no hands holding the bike steady as she tried to train her mind and body the skill of riding it. Melanie hadn’t even known Jared for a full week and already she missed him for the barely five hours left in the day, the same amount she’d be without him on any normal day of the week.
Curse off days. What right did Uncle Jeb have to give Jared the day off on Sunday? It was switched to Saturday this week, wasn’t it? It would be unreasonable for him to give Jared two days off.
Right?
-
The next day was Monday. Melanie woke up pleasantly early at 8:30 a.m., hoping for the returning sounds of hammer on nail, murmurs in the kitchen, or even the arrival of Jared’s truck coming up the gravel drive.
But there was nothing.
She crawled out of bed and tossed on a light jacket. Strangely the open window brought in a slightly chilly breeze. Maybe it’s always this way before eleven, she conceded.
She flew down the stairs, only to find out not just the kitchen but the whole first floor, and presumably the house, was vacant. The burners on the stove in the kitchen were turned off but when she lifted the lids on the pans, she found hashbrowns, bacon and eggs. Fruit was on a covered plate by the sink, beside which was a note informing her there was orange juice in the fridge and her beloved relatives were out working in the fields.
Still down about the fact that Jared had yet to arrive when he usually was there promptly by eight, never one to miss breakfast the moment it was ready to be served, Melanie reluctantly filled up a plate of food, a glass of juice and went to sit on the front porch in wait for Jared’s arrival.
It wasn’t until after ten o’clock that Jared’s truck came to a halt in front of the house. Melanie jumped up immediately, genuinely enthusiastic, despite the lecture she had prepared in her head for why he had taken so long – and any concern or sudden regret if he had a legitimate reason. She couldn’t wait to see him again. Her heart beat faster, all the memories from Saturday and early Sunday flooding through her.
She told herself to calm down. She would smile, maybe give in to a side hug if he initiated, but she would not, under any circumstances, jump into his arms. She wouldn’t spend any length of time staring at his lips either, no matter how badly she wanted to coerce them into kissing hers since that almost kiss in the park. And she would try very hard not to drown in his eyes or become so enthralled by the sound of his voice or that perfect smile that created the cutest dimples, as to be obvious beyond question that she was helplessly infatuated with him.
But it would be difficult.
Fortunately – or unfortunately – for her, she needn’t have worried about how to conceal her feelings bursting at the seams. When the door of Jared’s truck finally opened, it wasn’t Jared’s head that came out from behind it. This man’s hair was several shades lighter, not sandy in color but true blonde like Kyle’s. It wasn’t Kyle though. This guy looked younger and he had bangs to draped across his forehead in a smooth wave.
When the newcomer stepped around the door and shut it behind him, she realized he was wearing a formal button down shirt, dress pants and shoes to match. She saw a blackberry phone in his hand and momentarily her confusion and disappointment faded away to be replaced by amusement and an intense feeling of empathy.
“That won’t work around here,” she announced from her place on the porch.
Previously unaware of any other presence in the vicinity, he looked up at her suddenly, startled.
“Who are you?” he asked, baffled.
She raised her eyebrows, further amused.
“Do you always ask that of people coming out of their own home?”
His jaw dropped, but he managed to shut it and slip his phone into his pants’ pocket simultaneously. Impressive, she thought. He took a few steps toward her.
“Sorry. I’m looking for the Stryder Farm. I thought this was it.” He paused and looked over his shoulder, as if he could see the faded print on the rusty mailbox at the end of the drive. “It does say that on the mailbox…” he squinted.
“Amazing you can see that far,” she observed, smirking. He turned around to look at her. “You must have fantastic vision.” She went down the steps of the porch and stopped.
He sighed, resigned to the inevitable.
“This isn’t the Stryder Farm, is it?” he said neutrally.
She laughed and walked towards him till they were at a comfortable speaking distance.
“No, it is. You’re just fun to tease.” She paused. “And I can relate.”
The shift from chagrin to confusion on his face almost made her laugh again, so she extended her hand for him to shake instead.
“Melanie Stryder, grandniece to Jeb and Maggie Stryder. They’re also known as Jebediah and Magnolia Stryder, depending on how well you know them. I’m guessing that’s who you came to talk to.”
He nodded in acknowledgement and shook her hand.
“I’m Ian O’Shea. Where are—”
Her jaw dropped.
“O’Shea?”
His look of resignation returned.
“You know my brother.” It wasn’t a question.
“And your sister.” She crossed her arms across her chest. “But neither of them told me about you.”
He laughed and rolled his eyes.
“I’m not surprised.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Why?” Then the amusement returned. “Are you the black sheep in the family?” she teased.
“No,” he said, not caving to her playful tone this time. “I’m the white one.”
She blinked and then frowned, confusion clear on her face.
“In case you haven’t noticed…” he gestured down at his ensemble, “I’m not from around here.”
She took instant offense, which surprised even her.
“What are you implying? That Lakeland Valley is where all the black sheep go when they can’t make it in the big city?” she demanded.
“No, that’s not what I—” He shook his head. “Nevermind. Let’s just say after what happened, things have been tense between the rest of the family, myself included, and my siblings.”
“What happened?” Her anger relapsed back into confusion.
“Yeah, you know, three years ago…” He left the sentence hanging, as if he expected her to mentally fill in the blanks.
“What happened three years ago?” she finally asked when for the life of her nothing else came to mind.
She knew the moment the level of her confusion registered to him because he opened his mouth to respond and then closed it. The next time his lips parted there was a new look in his eyes. Whatever rift had been caused in the O’Shea family, Ian O’Shea still held a fierce sense of loyalty towards his siblings. Discretion.
“How long, exactly, have you known Kyle and Summer?” he asked carefully.
She knew what he was doing, saying their names to see if her face sunk into further confusion. Fortunately for her, that didn’t happen. If it had, it was entirely possible he’d dismiss everything she’d said all together.
“A week…” she began, but he wasn’t stupid. He stared her down until she complied. “…is how long I’ve been here.” When his stare didn’t relent, she sighed and gave the rest. “Two days. I’ve hung out with them – Sunny really,” she emphasized the nickname, so he wouldn’t think the short period was insignificant, “—twice.”
“You don’t live here, do you?”
Her eyes narrowed.
“I didn’t lie to you about my identity,” she said defensively.
“I didn’t ask you about it.”
She hesitated, but then caved as before. This had to be the longest, most invasive first conversation she’d ever had, but for some reason she couldn’t make herself cut it short. Ian O’Shea intrigued her.
“I’m here for the summer,” she told him. “I used to come here a lot when I was a kid, but life in the city got busy and—”
“Life in the city?” he asked, and she saw the returned intrigue and was that relief in his eyes?
She nodded. “The reason I left and why I needed a breather. So, I came back.” She continued before he could ask. “New York all my life, and England to study abroad this last year.”
“Oxford?”
He looked shocked, and despite herself a smug smile appeared on her face.
“Yep.”
“I’m impressed.”
“I know.”
He laughed, and all the heavy unexpected tension over the last few minutes evaporated as if it had never been there.
“Look, I’m just in town for a few days. I came to check in on Kyle and Summer, make sure they’re still alive; so I can report back to my mother that all is well, even if the chances of them returning are very much unlikely, as I assume they will be.”
She had questions to say the least, but she addressed the most logically important one first.
“So what are you doing on my uncle’s farm? I don’t think either of your siblings has even ever been out here. It’s Jar—”
“Jared,” he beat her to the punch, “is why I’m here. Apparently he’s not feeling well, and since, as you pointed out, cell reception is pretty much non-existent out here, I took it upon myself to inform his employer he wasn’t coming in.”
A million questions raced through her head now and she was sure her face had paled because her heart had sunk deeper into her chest.
“I’m surprised he didn’t mention you. You’re quite the firecracker. He couldn’t have not noticed…”
She barely heard him speaking. She was still drowning in the fact that she wouldn’t be seeing Jared for another day. It wasn’t going to be just five hours this time. It’d be almost twenty-four. And okay, now there was the fact that Jared hadn’t even mentioned her when he’d apparently sent Kyle’s brother on the mission to call in sick.
“…then again,” he was still saying, “he could have said it and Kyle just didn’t relay the information. He was just on the phone with Jared at the time and refusing to talk to me about anything else. I didn’t see Summer around, which concerns me a little, but I’m sure it’s nothing serious.” He looked confident as he talked, but there was a lilt to his voice that gave away the slight worry that simmered beneath the surface.
Melanie forced herself to come out of her own thoughts.
“What do you owe Jared? Or Kyle even?”
He shrugged. “I don’t owe Jared anything. He hates my guts, though I don’t have the faintest idea why.”
She considered his apparel and figured she knew. Maybe it was the tension between his siblings too though. Jared and Kyle were close.
“Then…?”
“Kyle needed space. And hey, maybe he’ll have cooled off by the time I get back since I did this for him. And, you know…time,” he said, as if that fixed everything.
“Well, I can deliver your message for you the rest of the way. I’m sure you don’t want to go trudging through dirty fields in your pretty outfit.” She wondered why she suddenly sounded so sassy.
He smirked, not offended in the least. She hoped she hadn’t come across as flirty.
“Thanks.” He looked around the premises and then back at her. “What do you do around here by the way? I’m guessing you don’t spend all day working in the fields.”
She decided not to tell him she didn’t work in them at all. Or that she’d fallen out of a tree. Or that she didn’t know how to ride a bike or drive a car and Jared was showing her how. It looked like he was from the city and he obviously knew how to drive, though why he’d driven Jared’s truck and not a rental was another question floating in her mind that she decided not to ask. He would likely be further intrigued by her interest in that direction.
“Not much,” she said. “Hung out with your sister a couple times,” she reminded him. “If it wasn’t such a long drive I’d probably come in to town every day.”
He studied her, obviously coming to conclusions he didn’t plan on telling her.
“I tell you what, if Jared hasn’t gotten over his illness by Wednesday, I’ll come out here again and bring you into town. Summer is always attached to Kyle’s side unless she’s distracted. You can be her distraction while I get my last words in to my big brother on my way out.”
“How will I get home?” slipped out before she could stop it. The twinkle in his eye almost made her flush and she hated that.
“I don’t mind dropping you off.”
She swallowed and nodded. “Thanks. I’d like that.” But she was avoiding eye contact now and she knew it. Her emotions were raging and she just needed him to leave so she could deal with them in peace.
“Alright, well, maybe I’ll see you then. Good to meet you, Melanie, and thanks for passing on the message.”
“Sure,” she said but it was so quiet he likely hadn’t heard her. Without another word, he climbed back into Jared’s truck, put it in reverse and then drove back down the road into town.
Several minutes later she was still standing there when her Uncle Jeb approached and fixed his eyes on the empty space she was blankly looking at.
“Who was that?” he asked.
“Jared’s not coming in today,” she said, then turned around and went back into the house.
Jeb watched her leave, staring at the closed front door long after she’d disappeared and then looking up at the roof when he heard the sound of a window being shut. Her window likely. He looked back at the road.
Hmm.
The silence felt so…wrong. There was no pounding on the roof outside her window, no sound of water being gulped straight from the sink in the kitchen; there were no hands holding the bike steady as she tried to train her mind and body the skill of riding it. Melanie hadn’t even known Jared for a full week and already she missed him for the barely five hours left in the day, the same amount she’d be without him on any normal day of the week.
Curse off days. What right did Uncle Jeb have to give Jared the day off on Sunday? It was switched to Saturday this week, wasn’t it? It would be unreasonable for him to give Jared two days off.
Right?
-
The next day was Monday. Melanie woke up pleasantly early at 8:30 a.m., hoping for the returning sounds of hammer on nail, murmurs in the kitchen, or even the arrival of Jared’s truck coming up the gravel drive.
But there was nothing.
She crawled out of bed and tossed on a light jacket. Strangely the open window brought in a slightly chilly breeze. Maybe it’s always this way before eleven, she conceded.
She flew down the stairs, only to find out not just the kitchen but the whole first floor, and presumably the house, was vacant. The burners on the stove in the kitchen were turned off but when she lifted the lids on the pans, she found hashbrowns, bacon and eggs. Fruit was on a covered plate by the sink, beside which was a note informing her there was orange juice in the fridge and her beloved relatives were out working in the fields.
Still down about the fact that Jared had yet to arrive when he usually was there promptly by eight, never one to miss breakfast the moment it was ready to be served, Melanie reluctantly filled up a plate of food, a glass of juice and went to sit on the front porch in wait for Jared’s arrival.
It wasn’t until after ten o’clock that Jared’s truck came to a halt in front of the house. Melanie jumped up immediately, genuinely enthusiastic, despite the lecture she had prepared in her head for why he had taken so long – and any concern or sudden regret if he had a legitimate reason. She couldn’t wait to see him again. Her heart beat faster, all the memories from Saturday and early Sunday flooding through her.
She told herself to calm down. She would smile, maybe give in to a side hug if he initiated, but she would not, under any circumstances, jump into his arms. She wouldn’t spend any length of time staring at his lips either, no matter how badly she wanted to coerce them into kissing hers since that almost kiss in the park. And she would try very hard not to drown in his eyes or become so enthralled by the sound of his voice or that perfect smile that created the cutest dimples, as to be obvious beyond question that she was helplessly infatuated with him.
But it would be difficult.
Fortunately – or unfortunately – for her, she needn’t have worried about how to conceal her feelings bursting at the seams. When the door of Jared’s truck finally opened, it wasn’t Jared’s head that came out from behind it. This man’s hair was several shades lighter, not sandy in color but true blonde like Kyle’s. It wasn’t Kyle though. This guy looked younger and he had bangs to draped across his forehead in a smooth wave.
When the newcomer stepped around the door and shut it behind him, she realized he was wearing a formal button down shirt, dress pants and shoes to match. She saw a blackberry phone in his hand and momentarily her confusion and disappointment faded away to be replaced by amusement and an intense feeling of empathy.
“That won’t work around here,” she announced from her place on the porch.
Previously unaware of any other presence in the vicinity, he looked up at her suddenly, startled.
“Who are you?” he asked, baffled.
She raised her eyebrows, further amused.
“Do you always ask that of people coming out of their own home?”
His jaw dropped, but he managed to shut it and slip his phone into his pants’ pocket simultaneously. Impressive, she thought. He took a few steps toward her.
“Sorry. I’m looking for the Stryder Farm. I thought this was it.” He paused and looked over his shoulder, as if he could see the faded print on the rusty mailbox at the end of the drive. “It does say that on the mailbox…” he squinted.
“Amazing you can see that far,” she observed, smirking. He turned around to look at her. “You must have fantastic vision.” She went down the steps of the porch and stopped.
He sighed, resigned to the inevitable.
“This isn’t the Stryder Farm, is it?” he said neutrally.
She laughed and walked towards him till they were at a comfortable speaking distance.
“No, it is. You’re just fun to tease.” She paused. “And I can relate.”
The shift from chagrin to confusion on his face almost made her laugh again, so she extended her hand for him to shake instead.
“Melanie Stryder, grandniece to Jeb and Maggie Stryder. They’re also known as Jebediah and Magnolia Stryder, depending on how well you know them. I’m guessing that’s who you came to talk to.”
He nodded in acknowledgement and shook her hand.
“I’m Ian O’Shea. Where are—”
Her jaw dropped.
“O’Shea?”
His look of resignation returned.
“You know my brother.” It wasn’t a question.
“And your sister.” She crossed her arms across her chest. “But neither of them told me about you.”
He laughed and rolled his eyes.
“I’m not surprised.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Why?” Then the amusement returned. “Are you the black sheep in the family?” she teased.
“No,” he said, not caving to her playful tone this time. “I’m the white one.”
She blinked and then frowned, confusion clear on her face.
“In case you haven’t noticed…” he gestured down at his ensemble, “I’m not from around here.”
She took instant offense, which surprised even her.
“What are you implying? That Lakeland Valley is where all the black sheep go when they can’t make it in the big city?” she demanded.
“No, that’s not what I—” He shook his head. “Nevermind. Let’s just say after what happened, things have been tense between the rest of the family, myself included, and my siblings.”
“What happened?” Her anger relapsed back into confusion.
“Yeah, you know, three years ago…” He left the sentence hanging, as if he expected her to mentally fill in the blanks.
“What happened three years ago?” she finally asked when for the life of her nothing else came to mind.
She knew the moment the level of her confusion registered to him because he opened his mouth to respond and then closed it. The next time his lips parted there was a new look in his eyes. Whatever rift had been caused in the O’Shea family, Ian O’Shea still held a fierce sense of loyalty towards his siblings. Discretion.
“How long, exactly, have you known Kyle and Summer?” he asked carefully.
She knew what he was doing, saying their names to see if her face sunk into further confusion. Fortunately for her, that didn’t happen. If it had, it was entirely possible he’d dismiss everything she’d said all together.
“A week…” she began, but he wasn’t stupid. He stared her down until she complied. “…is how long I’ve been here.” When his stare didn’t relent, she sighed and gave the rest. “Two days. I’ve hung out with them – Sunny really,” she emphasized the nickname, so he wouldn’t think the short period was insignificant, “—twice.”
“You don’t live here, do you?”
Her eyes narrowed.
“I didn’t lie to you about my identity,” she said defensively.
“I didn’t ask you about it.”
She hesitated, but then caved as before. This had to be the longest, most invasive first conversation she’d ever had, but for some reason she couldn’t make herself cut it short. Ian O’Shea intrigued her.
“I’m here for the summer,” she told him. “I used to come here a lot when I was a kid, but life in the city got busy and—”
“Life in the city?” he asked, and she saw the returned intrigue and was that relief in his eyes?
She nodded. “The reason I left and why I needed a breather. So, I came back.” She continued before he could ask. “New York all my life, and England to study abroad this last year.”
“Oxford?”
He looked shocked, and despite herself a smug smile appeared on her face.
“Yep.”
“I’m impressed.”
“I know.”
He laughed, and all the heavy unexpected tension over the last few minutes evaporated as if it had never been there.
“Look, I’m just in town for a few days. I came to check in on Kyle and Summer, make sure they’re still alive; so I can report back to my mother that all is well, even if the chances of them returning are very much unlikely, as I assume they will be.”
She had questions to say the least, but she addressed the most logically important one first.
“So what are you doing on my uncle’s farm? I don’t think either of your siblings has even ever been out here. It’s Jar—”
“Jared,” he beat her to the punch, “is why I’m here. Apparently he’s not feeling well, and since, as you pointed out, cell reception is pretty much non-existent out here, I took it upon myself to inform his employer he wasn’t coming in.”
A million questions raced through her head now and she was sure her face had paled because her heart had sunk deeper into her chest.
“I’m surprised he didn’t mention you. You’re quite the firecracker. He couldn’t have not noticed…”
She barely heard him speaking. She was still drowning in the fact that she wouldn’t be seeing Jared for another day. It wasn’t going to be just five hours this time. It’d be almost twenty-four. And okay, now there was the fact that Jared hadn’t even mentioned her when he’d apparently sent Kyle’s brother on the mission to call in sick.
“…then again,” he was still saying, “he could have said it and Kyle just didn’t relay the information. He was just on the phone with Jared at the time and refusing to talk to me about anything else. I didn’t see Summer around, which concerns me a little, but I’m sure it’s nothing serious.” He looked confident as he talked, but there was a lilt to his voice that gave away the slight worry that simmered beneath the surface.
Melanie forced herself to come out of her own thoughts.
“What do you owe Jared? Or Kyle even?”
He shrugged. “I don’t owe Jared anything. He hates my guts, though I don’t have the faintest idea why.”
She considered his apparel and figured she knew. Maybe it was the tension between his siblings too though. Jared and Kyle were close.
“Then…?”
“Kyle needed space. And hey, maybe he’ll have cooled off by the time I get back since I did this for him. And, you know…time,” he said, as if that fixed everything.
“Well, I can deliver your message for you the rest of the way. I’m sure you don’t want to go trudging through dirty fields in your pretty outfit.” She wondered why she suddenly sounded so sassy.
He smirked, not offended in the least. She hoped she hadn’t come across as flirty.
“Thanks.” He looked around the premises and then back at her. “What do you do around here by the way? I’m guessing you don’t spend all day working in the fields.”
She decided not to tell him she didn’t work in them at all. Or that she’d fallen out of a tree. Or that she didn’t know how to ride a bike or drive a car and Jared was showing her how. It looked like he was from the city and he obviously knew how to drive, though why he’d driven Jared’s truck and not a rental was another question floating in her mind that she decided not to ask. He would likely be further intrigued by her interest in that direction.
“Not much,” she said. “Hung out with your sister a couple times,” she reminded him. “If it wasn’t such a long drive I’d probably come in to town every day.”
He studied her, obviously coming to conclusions he didn’t plan on telling her.
“I tell you what, if Jared hasn’t gotten over his illness by Wednesday, I’ll come out here again and bring you into town. Summer is always attached to Kyle’s side unless she’s distracted. You can be her distraction while I get my last words in to my big brother on my way out.”
“How will I get home?” slipped out before she could stop it. The twinkle in his eye almost made her flush and she hated that.
“I don’t mind dropping you off.”
She swallowed and nodded. “Thanks. I’d like that.” But she was avoiding eye contact now and she knew it. Her emotions were raging and she just needed him to leave so she could deal with them in peace.
“Alright, well, maybe I’ll see you then. Good to meet you, Melanie, and thanks for passing on the message.”
“Sure,” she said but it was so quiet he likely hadn’t heard her. Without another word, he climbed back into Jared’s truck, put it in reverse and then drove back down the road into town.
Several minutes later she was still standing there when her Uncle Jeb approached and fixed his eyes on the empty space she was blankly looking at.
“Who was that?” he asked.
“Jared’s not coming in today,” she said, then turned around and went back into the house.
Jeb watched her leave, staring at the closed front door long after she’d disappeared and then looking up at the roof when he heard the sound of a window being shut. Her window likely. He looked back at the road.
Hmm.
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