54. Udder Delight

            There was one cow in front of them. Krislynn was kneeled down on the left side beside Chase, who was already milking the cow like a pro. She was surprised he knew what he was doing and after watching him for a while, she copied the movements. There was a clean bucket below the cow’s udder for the milk so she squeezed the pink flesh daringly, closing her eyes and letting out a shriek as she did.

            The squirt of milk immediately hit her in the face and the cow shuffled in discomfort. “Krislynn!” Chase barked. “Be gentle dammit!”

            “S- Sorry,” she murmured. She tried again after Chase turned away and squeezed again, this time gentler like he had told her to, but her aim was still equally as bad, and the milk got all over Chase’s pants, earning her a low growl from him.

            “He. He.” She giggled, looking at him through her eyelashes playfully as she wiped a bit of milk off her own face.

            Angry, and ever the vengeful one, Chase smirked and returned the favour, squirting milk at her pants until she screamed at him and jumped out of the way. “What I did was an accident,” she cried. “You’re doing that on purpose!”

            “So?” He laughed. Grabbing the bucket of milk, he started chasing her around the barn, threatening to splash it at her.

            “Stop it!” She cried. “Stop it Chase!”

            “Ha ha ha ha ha!”

            “No! No! Stop it right now!”

            “No way! Ha ha ha ha ha!”

            “What the hell are you guys… ”

            At the sound of the disapproving voice, Chase and Krislynn both stopped in their tracks and gawked toward the entrance of the barn. Adam stood there with a small wheelbarrow of what looked to be feed, shaking his head at the both of them.

            “Uh… I was just... ” Chase looked at himself and then glanced over at Krislynn, who was now red with embarrassment. “How long have you been watching?”

            “S- Sorry,” Krislynn murmured.

            “It’s fine,” Adam sighed, and then smiled at the both of them. “Why don’t we switch instead, huh? I’ll milk the cows and you can go over and feed the pigs. It’s quick and easy.”

            Chase jumped at the chance. It wasn’t just because milking the cows was more tedious than feeding the pigs, but also the fact that he just loved pigs in general. He couldn’t explain it. Normally people liked dogs and cats, fishes and horses; Chase enjoyed looking at pigs. It must be the way they looked with their big noses and wobbly ears – whatever it was, Chase adored them, especially the little ones.

            “Deal,” he shouted right away. He placed the bucket of milk on the ground and brushed his hands on his jeans before making a grab for Krislynn’s hand. “Let’s go do it. You’ll finally get to go meet your own kind,” he teased. Krislynn growled at him, but deciding she didn’t mind the change of scenery, waved goodbye to Adam before letting Chase sweep her away.

            Chase knew his way around the place vividly, not by memory he said, but by something like instinct. He pushed the wheelbarrow of pigs’ feed to a wooden hut that must have been the size of a small cabin house. Connected to it was a spacious, fenced area where Krislynn assumed was meant for a little exercise outside.

            Inside, there were four separately fenced sections. Krislynn had no idea what they were separating, but one section for sure, was to contain the tiny piglets from the adults. Letting Chase do all of the work since he’d rather do it himself than explain the process to her, she crouched down outside the area for the piglets and reached her arm through the metal bars to pet them. “Aww… come here piggy, piggy, piggy.” Krislynn clucked her tongue at a white one with black spots that seemed so peculiar to her among the pen of mostly rosy pink ones. Another was a rich chocolate brown color, and one more with such a light mink coat that it reminded Krislynn of a vanilla latte with extra cream.

            Chase was done in a matter of moments, pouring the necessary amount of feed into each pen’s food holder before taking his work gloves off. He placed them on the side and then made his way over to Krislynn before squatting down beside her. “Are you making friends?” He asked her as she glowered at him. “They’re adorable, aren’t they?”

            “Yeah! I didn’t know they could be so cute,” she admitted. “Or that they could be different colors. I like that polka dotted one the most.”

            “The white one with the black spots?”

            She nodded with enthusiasm. “Yup! Which one is your favourite?”

            Chase watched her gaze adoringly at the piglets and then smirked at her. “I’m not telling you,” he said.

            Laughing, she turned to him playfully. “Why?” She asked. “Is it a secret?” And then, with an evil smirk, “Is it me?”

            “Yeah right!” He huffed. “As if you’re anything as cute as a pig. You’re just the nom-nom-nom stuff your face kind.”

            “Fine,” she cried. “Go sleep with a pig tonight then!"

            “I already slept with one last night,” he retorted.

            Fuming at him, Krislynn crossed her arms and stood up. “You’re such a jerk Chase,” she muttered. “You can’t ever say, like, one good thing about me.”

            Chase patted his palms on his knees and stood up, sighing as Krislynn turned her back to him and started walking out. “That’s not true,” he grumbled. “I say lots of good things about you.”

            “No, you don’t.”

            “Yes, I do. You just have really bad memory.”

            “Okay. Fine.” She spun around quickly to face him, her eyebrows furrowed as if she was pouring all of her concentration on this one thing. “Say one thing really good about me then. Like right now. It can be anything. And you can’t grumble it so I can’t hear you clearly.”

            “Fine.”

            “And! And! It can’t be perverted.”

            “Okay! I get it.” Taking a deep breath, Chase thought of something nice to say. “Okay,” he said with a smirk. “I got it. I think you’re– ”  

            “What are you guys doing over there?”

            Instantly, Chase squeezed his eyes and fists closed, swearing under his breath. God dammit Jace, he thought. Why was his timing always so bad?

            “Oh my gosh J– J– Jace!” Krislynn stuttered. She spun around and turned her back to Chase, but he didn’t even have to see her face to know she was probably blushing her face off at his friend.

            Jace took one look at her before his own face burst into flames. “Uh… Mo– Morning.”

            “What are you doing here?” Chase interrupted. “We’re feeding the pigs.”

            Jace smiled, finding it much more comfortable to focus his attention on Chase than Krislynn. Maybe it was some sort of weird effect Krislynn gave off, but whenever Krislynn blushed, Jace couldn’t help but blush, and whenever she stuttered, Jace inevitably did as well. Often, the effects could go the opposite as well. “Isla told me to feed the chickens and the ducks,” he said. “I’m also supposed to collect some eggs I think.”

            “Are there going to be little chicks and ducklings?” Krislynn asked.

            Jace chuckled and then nervously scratched the back of his head. “Um… maybe. Probably. Yes. Affirmative or uh… yes.”

            Biting her lips, Krislynn turned to Chase with the biggest smile he had seen on her that whole morning. “Can I go with him? I want to see the ducklings.”

            What had been just a tiny tinge – okay, a huge tinge – of annoyance was now something else. Chase could feel his throat growing dry and his chest being tightened. He turned away from her, clenching his fists tightly to his side. “We still have to let the pigs out for their exercise when they’re done eating,” he muttered. “Plus I have to bring the rest of the feed back to the storage and– ”

            “I know, but you were going to do that anyway right? Please Chase? I want to go see the ducklings. You can come get me after.”

            Krislynn grabbed the sleeve of his shirt and shook it, hoping he’d turn around to look at her, but Chase refused to. “They’re just ducks Krislynn,” he mumbled. “It’s not that interesting.”

            “But I like them! And I want to see the baby chicks too!”

            “Whatever,” he said, and when he said it, he still couldn’t seem to bring himself to look at her or Jace without the feeling of wanting to vomit. “Do what you want to do. You’re an adult, aren’t you? It’s not like you need me to allow you to do anything.”

            “Yes!” She screamed. “I’m totally going! See you later Chase!” With a loud cheer, she said goodbye to him and hurried over to Jace, not once turning around or paying enough attention to realize Chase hadn’t meant a single word he said. I wanted you to stay, he thought, but could only watch her skip happily next to Jace as they started off toward the chicken barn.

            Chase scrutinized Krislynn intently as her figure became smaller due to the distance. She had her fingers twirled girlishly behind her back and when she spoke to Jace, she lowered and tilted her head to speak to him – feminine charm she never seemed to have when she was with Chase. He watched Jace mutter something to her and then the both of them chuckled at something Chase was too far away to hear.

            It didn’t make his blood boil like before. Instead he just felt… down.

            Getting back to his conversation with Krislynn before Jace appeared, Chase took in a deep breath as he stared after her back. “I think you’re… I think you’re… ” He narrowed his eyes at her when he saw her laugh. “I think you’re a bitch.”

            During breakfast, it was noticeable to everyone at the table – perhaps besides the youngest of the children – that Krislynn was trying to make it up to Chase for something that she did. She offered him her bacon and her orange juice and poked him playfully to get some kind of reaction, but he was determined not to forgive her for ditching him.

            The worst part was that Krislynn didn’t seem that desperate to make him forgive her. It was more teasing on her part – the fact that she had done something to make him so grumpy seemed to entertain her quite a bit. Chase on the other hand, failed his determination quite quickly, but still kept the visible anger on his face for the only reason that he enjoyed her babying him.

            After breakfast, Lenora and Amy swept Krislynn away for some girl bonding time over baking up a storm in the kitchen, and Chase left to hang out with the guys over a game of football. It was Chase, Jace and Glen on one team, Adam, Isaac, and Ronnie on the other while Isla and Katie played cheerleader on the sidelines. Jace of course, being the kind of frail book-nerd he had always been, was useless, and Glen was about the biggest traitor there was on the team.

            Eventually, after getting tackled repeatedly by the kids and his brother, Chase’s dad dragged him out of the game and invited him out to town. “There’s a couple of packages that just arrived at the post for me, and I’ve got to pick up a couple of other things too, so how about it son? How’s going for a drive with your old man?”

            Chase let out a groan immediately. “Isn’t it like an hour and a half drive to the nearest town and there’s absolutely nothing there? I don’t want to go.”

            “Oh come on,” Ben grumbled, rubbing the pads of his fingertips against the stubble on his chin. “It isn’t like when you were here for the summer when you were a teen. It’s bigger now. It’s got more things.”

            “Oh really?”

            “Yeah!” His dad shouted. “It’s got three general stores now instead of one.”

            “Oh god.”

            “And a fish lure place!”

            “Dad!” Chase sighed before releasing another groan. He would much rather play another couple rounds of football with the guys or even peek in to see how Krislynn was doing, but his dad looked so expectantly at him. This grin of magnificent proportion dominated his face, so much that wrinkles appeared at the corner of both his eyes. It was a look that was hard to say no to, especially after he hadn’t spent time alone with his dad for a while. “Fine. Okay, let’s go.”

            “Really?!”

            “Yeah dad. Come on. Before I change my mind.”

            Having made their way to the dirt road where his dad had parked his truck, Chase stood and gawked at it with apprehension. It was one of the most broken up pieces of junk he had ever seen and he needn’t even compare it to his sports cars back in L.A. Hesitantly, he got in the passenger side after his dad climbed in the truck and turned to closed his door, but no matter how hard he seemed to slam it, the door would leisurely swing back open.

            “You have to lift it up a little and then close it,” his dad suggested. “Pull it… yes, yes, like that. Okay now… no Chase. Like… Okay, I’ll just do it.”

            Chase shook his head as they started off on the main road. There was a loud rumbling sound coming from the engine and every once it a while, the truck would stutter, but his dad paid it no mind. “Don’t I send you guys a bunch of money every couple of months?” He asked, wondering what in the world his parents could have done with it if not to buy a very necessary new vehicle. 

            “Oh I think your mother puts that in the bank,” Ben replied. “We used a bit of it last year when the farm was having a bit of trouble, but we don’t touch it otherwise.”

            “Well, you should use all of it,” Chase grumbled. “It’s sorta sad for my parents to be living like this when I’m living like– ”

            His dad laughed. “Chase, happiness doesn’t always come from having a lot of money. So what if the truck is a bit broken and I’m in dire need of a new tractor? It just gives life an extra kick, you know? Instead of sending money and presents all the time, why don’t you just come back to visit more often. Your mom and I would love that.”

            Pressing his lips together, Chase turned away to stare out his side of the window. For the rest of the drive, his dad would sometimes make small talk, but most times he would just hum softly to the radio, which had extremely bad reception and would frizz in and out whenever it felt like it. Still, Chase enjoyed helping his dad carry the heavier things into the truck as a filial act, and had a surprisingly pleasant time in town despite his initial reluctance.

            It was during their last errand of the day that Chase noticed how dark the sky had gotten. “How long have we been out here?” He muttered to his dad. “It hasn’t been that long, has it?”

            They were at the fish lure place, and Ben was picking up a couple of last minute things before they headed back. “It’s almost three,” Ben said, after a quick glance at his wristwatch.

            “Looks like there’s gonna to be some thunderstorm tonight,” the owner of All Ya Fish Bait muttered. “A big one the lady says.” He pointed at the little cube of a T.V he had sitting on the corner of his counter before bringing a bottle of beer to his lips.

            Chase immediately let out a groan. His heart panicked at his thoughts, and with beast-like strength, he quickly latched onto his dad’s arm. “Dad, we have to go. C’mon, quick.”

            “Okay, okay,” Ben muttered. He quickly paid for his things, grabbed the bag, but didn’t even have enough time to get his change before Chase dragged him outside the store. “Calm down Chase! What’s the hurry? You’re not scared of a little thunder are you?”

            His dad chuckled as they made their way back to the truck, but Chase wasn’t laughing. “I’m not,” he mumbled, but somebody else was, and she wasn’t just scared of thunder. She was petrified of it. His chest tightened at the thought of Krislynn scared silly and covering her ears in a corner, and once more, he pestered his father to hurry. “Come on dad. Let’s go. I want to get back before the storm hits.”

            “Alright. I get it. Let me just put a cover over all of the stuff in the back so it doesn’t get wet.”

            The car ride back seemed to be the slowest moving thing in the history of the planet to Chase, but every time he anxiously glanced over at the speedometer, his dad wasn’t driving slowly at all. In fact, he was a tiny bit above the speed limit sensing his son’s uneasiness to hurry back. Still, it was hardly the speed Chase would drive if he was the one with the truck so when soft beads of rain started to splash down, Chase begged his dad to let him take the wheel.

            It took them a few seconds to switch places, and then, for almost the next hour, Chase was zipping down the freeway like Ben had never seen. The rumbling of the truck engine only got louder the longer Chase was in control of the wheel, and at one point, Ben warned him that the truck wasn’t meant to be driven at those speeds – something that obviously went in one ear and out the next.

            When the thunder started, it was hardly an audible sound from where they were. It happened once, followed by a quick flash of light that lit up the sky and then the heavy rain started. With such ferocity did the rain smash and whip everything that it touched, and in response, the sky shook with anger; the thunder thrashing so loud that the sky appeared to be having its own version of an earthquake.    

            Chase could only clinch the steering wheel in his hands. He clenched his teeth. He grinded them. He was so close. Just another fifteen minutes was all it took. Stay strong, he thought, hoping Krislynn would somehow get the message until he got there.

            Five minutes. They must have driven for another five minutes. Or maybe eight. They were several blocks away and Chase had slowed down reasonably since they’ve turned down the dirt road back. That was when the truck stopped. The rumbling of the engine, which they had forgotten under the brutality of the thunder, finally just gave up. Smoke seeped out from under the cover and then, that was it.

            Chase immediately swore. He tried the truck again, but it was useless, and when he felt his dad’s hand on his shoulder, he jumped. “I don’t know why it’s not working,” he shouted.

            “I told you this baby wasn’t meant to be driven that way.” Offering him a reassuring smile, his dad squeezed his arm. “Is there something you must do when you get back?”

            Chase nodded.

            “Then go. Run for it. You’ll get a bit wet, but it’s about a couple of blocks worth. You can run that distance fine.”

            “Are you coming too?”

            “Can’t leave this baby here without looking at it.”

            “I can’t just leave you dad.”

            “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. Just make sure you tell Adam to come get me later.”

            With a nod, Chase pushed open the car door and felt a sting of the rain hit his face. “Thanks dad,” he mumbled. Adrenaline rushing, his feet pounded into the ground as he ran back to the house. The puddles he stepped on splashed against his jeans, but it made no difference to him under the current of rain that slapped against him, hard and malicious. His back stung from it, and water dripped down from his hair making his eyes squeeze close at the contact. His shirt stuck to his skin and he heaved heavy pants into the air.

            Finally, after however long, he made it back. His footsteps felt thick as he trudged up the front pouch and his throat dry as he swung the door open. He walked down the hallway, leaving a trail of rain and dirt behind him and looked around at the quiet house with the rolling thunder in the background. His hair was drenched and no matter how many times he wiped the water from his eyes, more would trickle down his face. His body was boiling and he was about to shout for her when he saw Adam walking down the stairs.

            “What the hell Chase? Why are you like that?”

            “Where is everybody?” He huffed. “Have you seen Krislynn?”

            His brother shook his head. “Mom forgot about the laundry so Amy and her– ”

            “Dad’s truck broke down a whiles back,” he interrupted. “You need to go get him.”

            “Are you serious? Okay.” Adam flew past him, and after grabbing a coat on his way out, shouted, “I think she might be in the dining room.”

            Nodding, Chase ran toward the dining room. His heart hammered as loud as the weather outside, and when he saw her, when he finally saw Krislynn, his breath hit a stop at his throat and his chest ached. It was exactly how he’d imagined it. Krislynn was like a frightened animal in total distress. Her eyes were squeezed shut, her teeth digging into her lower lip, her hands covering her ears, and her entire body was shaking.

            The thunder prevailed, and at the roar of the sky, Krislynn shrieked and whimpered. She shook her head. She pressed her hands harder on her ears. She curled herself up tighter and brought her head closer to her knees. Chase wanted – he wanted so badly – to walk up and wrap her in his arms. He wanted so badly to comfort her, to kiss her, but his body just stopped. He tried to will his feet to move closer to the archway that joined the living room where he was standing to the dining room where she was, but he couldn’t. Instead, he just clenched his teeth and watched helplessly.

            Why did he have to do that?

            All that worrying, all that hurrying, all that running, why did he have to do any of that? Why did he have to storm off and pretend to be some sort of hero when he obviously wasn’t?

            “It’s okay Krislynn. It’s okay. You don’t have to be frightened. I’m right here for you.”

            Right. So why did Chase bother?

            Paralyzed, Chase stood in the distance and watched them: Krislynn curled up in a ball, shivering as she sat on Jace’s lap. They were both on the floor, but it didn’t even matter. She was so frightened, and Jace had his head resting against hers. He was gentle, and he rocked her side to side, side to side. “It’s going to be okay,” he told her again, and then stroked her long, auburn hair with one hand before bringing his arms around her. “You don’t need to be scared Krislynn. I'm right here.”

            Chase stood there and watched them for a long time. Then he laughed at himself before turning around. How stupid. He thought she would be all alone, crying or something. He thought she would have wanted him so he rushed back for her, but in the end, she was totally fine. Anyone would do and she didn't really need him. Not one bit.