Chapter 4
Makenzie awoke early the next morning. She put on her robe and slippers and ran down to the kitchen. Maria had baked blueberry muffins for breakfast. Makenzie bid Maria a good morning, poured a cup of coffee, grabbed a muffin and ran back to her room. She opened her French doors and went out onto her balcony. Her eyes roamed the backyard until they fell upon Caleb. Makenzie had barely slept last night because she was thinking about her dinner with Caleb, what Anna had said about Caleb, and about seeing Caleb at the stables this afternoon. She pulled off little bits of muffin and gently placed them into her mouth as she leaned over the balcony railing and watched him work. There was just something about him. Makenzie couldn’t get him off of her mind.
The rest of Makenzie’s morning seemed to drag on. She talked with Anna for a while, whom informed her that her date last night was a disaster and sadly reported that the guy only seemed after one thing and Anna was not about to give it to him. After talking with Anna and playing with Mia for a bit, Makenzie did a quick work out with Tony, and then went back up to her room to take a shower. It’s not a date or anything. Why do I feel so nervous?
Makenzie scanned her closet for something to wear. After much pondering, she finally decided on a long, white, ruffled sundress. She loved the romantic look to it. She paced back and forth in her room waiting until it was time to meet Caleb at the stables.
Finally, the time had arrived. Makenzie took off walking toward the stables. She hoped Caleb hadn’t forgotten. As she rounded the corner, she saw Caleb emerging from the stables with her horse. The sight of him took her breath away. He was wearing light colored jeans and an off white cotton shirt that was unbuttoned half way down in the front, exposing his chest. A few strands of his hair were hanging down by his eye. He looked like he just walked off the cover of a romance novel. Makenzie slowly walked toward him. There’s that intense stare again, she thought as he looked at her. “Ahhh you remembered.” She said, as she got closer.
Caleb helped her onto her horse and stared up at her, handing her the reins. She noticed that the white stallion was also saddled up and ready to ride. She motioned toward the stallion with her hand. “Is someone else going riding as well?” she asked.
“I decided that I should like to go with you, seeing as how you don’t know the trails.”
“Okay but you have to keep up.” She said, grinning wickedly. At that she took off on her horse. Caleb stared after her with a grin hovering about his lips as he watched her pale ringlets bouncing behind her. He mounted the other horse and took off after her. Makenzie turned her head back and giggled playfully as she saw Caleb coming up behind her.
Caleb caught up quickly and they both slowed their horses to ride alongside one another. The weather was sweet and warm, the grass a lush, deep green, and the sky almost completely clear.
“Follow me.” Caleb said as he got a few feet ahead. Makenzie did as he requested. He led her off the main trail onto a smaller trail that was almost completely hidden behind the trees. She would not have noticed it if he hadn’t been there. The trail was narrow, so Makenzie had no choice but to follow Caleb. Soon she saw a clearing up ahead. Caleb slowed his horse to a near halt as they approached it.
They came across a small pond with a wooden bridge over it and Caleb stopped his horse. Makenzie stopped alongside him. Caleb jumped off his horse and helped her down. He tied both horses to a wooden post near the pond so that they could drink. She looked around. It was a small grass clearing among dozens of fruit trees. There was a large area full of red, blue, and purple wildflowers. Makenzie took a deep breath and breathed in the sweet smell of the air. Just in front of the pond she saw a blanket with a picnic basket. She looked over at Caleb and met his irresistible eyes. She couldn’t help but smile when she realized that he must have planned this out in advance.
“What is all of this?” she asked.
Caleb blushed bashfully. “I thought maybe we could have lunch together.”
Makenzie smiled at him. He seemed to relax a bit. “Well let’s get to it then!” she said between smiles. She walked toward the blanket and sat down. She patted the blanket next to her. Caleb walked over and sat next to her. He opened the picnic basket and took out two cans of soda, handing one of them to her. Then he took out two sandwiches and did the same.
“It’s ham and turkey on wheat.” He said as she took the sandwich from him. “I hope that’s okay.”
“It’s fine. Thank you.” Makenzie replied as she bit off a small piece of her sandwich.
They sat in silence for a while, with the only noise being from the soft breeze flitting through the leaves and the sounds of hummingbirds in the nearby fruit trees. Makenzie finished her sandwich and broke the silence.
“I didn’t realize we had so many fruit trees. Come Caleb, let us go have a look,” She said as she stood and offered him a dainty hand. Caleb accepted her hand and held it as they walked toward a group of trees. Makenzie lightly ran her hand over a cluster of peaches in one of the trees. Caleb pulled off two peaches, wiped them with his shirt, and handed one to Makenzie. They sat down under the tree.
“Oh its like heaven out here.” Makenzie said as she looked over at Caleb. Caleb shook his head in agreement and took another bite out of his peach. “Do you ever dream, Caleb?” He looked at her but remained silent. “I dream all the time.” She continued.
“What do you dream of?” Caleb asked, looking interested.
Makenzie rested her head against the tree trunk and looked up. “Love mostly. Have you ever been in love, Caleb?” He looked at her and sighed. He didn’t know how to answer her at the moment. I’ve only been in love with you since the moment I saw your face, he thought to himself. It rather confused him, the startling love he felt for her upon seeing her face the first time. His overwhelming feelings connected him fearfully to her.
“Well I love everything.” Makenzie said as she started to get up. “I love the flowers, I love the trees, I love the sunshine…. and I love the wind,” she exclaimed as she started to twirl about in the gentle breeze.
Caleb stood smiling at her, watching the soft winds blow her blonde locks behind her as she danced about childlike. He envied her spirit. He heard a crack of thunder and looked up. “Do you also love the rain?” Caleb smirked as he looked up at the sky.
Makenzie stopped dancing and looked up. Just then a few drops of rain started to fall. Makenzie laughed, put her arms out and her palms up as she started spinning around. She laughed harder when she saw Caleb quickly start to pull the back of his shirt up to protect his head. She ran to him and grabbed his hand. “Yes I love the rain!” she exclaimed. “Dance with me!”
Caleb shrugged his head back into his shirt and pulled back. “I can’t dance.” He said shyly.
“Sure you can. Everyone can dance.” She said as she continued to spin around in the quickening rain. He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the tree as he watched her in amazement, his eyes wide. He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and quickly snapped a picture of her.
Makenzie walked over to Caleb and bravely kissed his cheek. She looked up at him. He stood there, his eyes holding her gaze, but he said and did nothing. Finally she turned away and let out a loud sigh before mounting her horse.
“I’ll race you back to the house.” She called out as she trotted off. Caleb quickly mounted the stallion and took off after her. She kept looking back at him, smiling and giggling as she did earlier. Caleb smiled as he thought about her kissing him and he cursed himself for not having the courage to say or do anything.
In this moment he had all but forgotten that he was a mere servant for this girl’s family. He couldn’t remember the last time he felt this free and had so much fun. There was something about Makenzie that made him feel more alive. She awakened a softer side to him, one that he had forgotten he had with all the bitterness and
hatred he had grown accustomed to in his daily life of working for the wealthy.
By the time they got back to the stables, the rain had stopped and it was bright and sunny again. Caleb got off of his horse and helped Makenzie off of hers. He led the horses back to the barn and put them back in their stalls. Makenzie followed him into the barn and watched him. He closed the stall door, and turned toward Makenzie as he leaned against the stall door.
“Well I should get back to work.” He said in a low voice. He couldn’t help but notice that Makenzie looked disappointment at his remark.
“Well thank you for lunch. I had a great time.” Makenzie said. She flashed him a sweet smile and turned to leave. Before he lost his nerve, Caleb quietly walked up behind her and touched her arm. She turned around to face him. He reached out and gently touched a locket of her hair. Then he leaned in and kissed her softly on the mouth, his lips barely touching hers. She stared up at him breathless and in shock, her heart rate rising. He looked down, cursed under his breath, and quickly walked away.
Makenzie sang as she skipped back to the house. She walked into the kitchen where her mother was sitting, having a cup of coffee. “Hello, mother!” Makenzie said with enthusiasm as she threw her arms around her mother’s neck and kissed her cheek.
“Well, what’s gotten into you? Why are you suddenly so chipper?” Natasha asked.
“Oh nothing. I’m just really starting to love Texas.” Makenzie’s face displayed an all-knowing grin, which quickly faded when Makenzie realized she couldn’t dare tell her mother of her lunch and play with Caleb. Her mother would be horrified to no end at the thought of her daughter behaving in such a way with a servant. “Well I’m off to my room now.” Makenzie said as she decided to seek out Anna.
“How’d your dress get dirty?” Natasha asked.
Makenzie looked down at the dried mud at the bottom of her pretty white sundress and shrugged. “Well I was about in the fields with my horse earlier when it started to rain. I supposed that’s how it happened.”
“Well you best go change and give the dress to Adriana quickly before the stains set.”
“Yes, mother. Right away.”
Makenzie figured it best to obey her mother so as not to cause further argument. She ran up to her room and took off the offending sundress and replaced it with a pair of cutoff jean shorts and a white t-shirt, which she tied up to expose her midriff. On her way back down the stairs to give Adriana the dress, she heard Anna and Mia in the playroom. Makenzie peeked her head in the doorway. “I need to talk to you.” She whispered to Anna. “Meet me in my room. I’ll be right back.”
Anna nodded. Makenzie ran the dress down to Adriana and went back upstairs to her room, where Anna and Mia were waiting.
“What’s wrong?” Anna asked.
“Nothing and everything!” Makenzie exclaimed.
“How did the horseback riding go with Caleb?”
“Oh it was wonderful, quite beautiful actually, with all the trees and the flowers, and hummingbirds, and…. wait a minute, you knew he was going with me?” Makenzie asked, looking accusingly at Anna.
Anna smiled and shrugged her shoulders. “Well he talked to me about it last night.”
“What did he say?”
“Not much. Just wanted to know if I thought turkey and ham would be okay for you. And he described the spot he found and wanted to know what I thought of it.”
“Is that all?”
“That’s all I’m going to tell you.” She giggled.
“No, please. You must tell me if there’s more.”
“Makenzie, I can’t. I don’t want to embarrass him.”
“Come on, Anna, please? I swear I won’t tell.”
Anna reluctantly agreed. “Well he was asking me how to talk to a girl he likes. Makenzie, I get the feeling he doesn’t usually do this sort of thing.”
“Anna, I kissed him.” Makenzie blurted out as she looked at Anna and began to giggle.
“Yeah?” Anna’s eyes lit up.
“Yeah and he stood there and did nothing.”
“You probably scared the daylights out of him.” Anna teased.
Makenzie laughed. “Well at first I felt really stupid for doing it. I thought maybe he didn’t like me when he didn’t respond at all. But then when we got back to the stables he kissed me. Then it was me that stood there like an idiot. It rather caught me off guard after his earlier behavior. I just wasn’t expecting it. I hope I didn’t hurt his feelings.” She grabbed Anna’s hand. “Oh you must make sure he knows that I truly do like him. Will you please, Anna?”
“Of course I will. You know that. That’s what friends are for.”
“Thank you, Anna.”
“Well I’m going to take Mia back to the playroom. I promised we would have a Barbie fashion show.” Anna laughed. “Why don’t you meet me by the pool tonight after dinner and we’ll talk some more.”
“Okay. Thanks, Anna.”
Anna gave Makenzie one last hug and left with Mia. Makenzie decided to lie down for a nap and quickly drifted off.
Makenzie awoke a few hours later. She walked out onto her balcony and scanned the area for Caleb. Not seeing him, she went back inside. She ran into Teddy in the hall who informed her that he would be hanging out with her and Anna at the pool that night and had picked up some wine coolers.
Makenzie sat with her family and Anna for dinner. Maria had made lasagna with fresh garden salads. Makenzie barely paid any attention to the talk that went on during dinner. She had Caleb on her mind and was trying to figure out how to deal with her feelings for him. She went back and forth in her head on whether or not she should just tell him how she feels.
After dinner, she made an attempt at clearing the table when her father, whom reminded her that they had people to do that for them, abruptly stopped her. Makenzie walked away disgusted. She ran upstairs to her room to grab a light jacket because it was expected to get a little cool outside in the evening. Then she headed out by the pool. Teddy was already out there sitting at the large table with a big red cooler. As she approached, she saw him open the cooler and take out a wine cooler. She walked up to the cooler and grabbed one for herself and took a seat next to him.
“What’s up, Makenzie?” Teddy asked.
“Oh same ole, same ole. How about with you?”
“Oh not much. Just chillin out for a while. Where’s Anna? I thought she was coming with you.”
“She is. She’s just inside getting Mia cleaned up and waiting for my mother to take her.”
“Oh.” Teddy laughed.
Makenzie sank back in her chair, put her feet up on the table and took a long swig from her drink.
“Your mom would kill you if she saw your feet up there.” Teddy teased.
“Who cares.” Makenzie replied bitterly.
Anna came walking up. Teddy passed her a wine cooler. She took it and sat on the other side of him. “I didn’t think I’d ever get that sauce out of my hair.”
“Kiddo got ya good, huh?” Teddy laughed.
“Contributing to the delinquency of minors now are we, Teddy?” Makenzie laughed. “You know Anna here isn’t quite twenty-one yet.”
Anna put her drink down on the table.
“Neither are you.” Teddy barked back.
“Teddy, I’ll be twenty-two next month you moron. And I was just teasing.” Makenzie said as she downed the rest of her wine cooler and reached for another one.
“Makenzie, I think you should slow down.” Teddy urged.
“And, Teddy, I think you should mind your own business.” Makenzie barked back.
“What’s gotten into you? You’re so unpleasant this evening.”
Makenzie wrinkled up her nose and stuck her tongue out at Teddy.
“Oh look, there he is. Hey, Caleb, over here!” Anna yelled. She turned to Teddy. “Do you mind if he joins us?”
“That
dunce?” Teddy laughed. Makenzie kicked him hard and he shut up. She sat up straight in her chair, suddenly embarrassed by her previous behavior and feeling a little lightheaded from downing the wine cooler so quickly.
“What do you need?” Caleb asked.
“Nothing. We just wanted to know if you would like to join us for a little drink.” Anna replied.
Makenzie smiled up at him. Teddy grabbed another wine cooler and held it out. Caleb took it and sat down in the empty chair next to Makenzie. The four of them talked for a bit. Makenzie got the idea that Teddy and Anna liked each other. Caleb was mostly silent, as usual. Makenzie hoped the alcohol would help loosen him up a bit. When he finished his wine cooler, she quickly offered him another one. He took it and sipped it slowly. Makenzie stood up and grabbed the remains of her second wine cooler, which she had hardly touched. “Caleb, would you kindly accompany me for a walk? I would like to go back by the fields and don’t wish to do so alone, seeing as how it will be dark soon.”
Caleb got up and walked away with Makenzie. Anna and Teddy were deep in conversation and didn’t seem to notice their departure. Caleb and Makenzie continued walking in silence, sipping on their wine coolers, until they reached the wildflower fields.
“Oh it’s so beautiful out tonight.” Makenzie said. She smiled and looked over at him. He was already looking at her.
“You’re so much more than beautiful.” He said quietly as he quickly kissed her on the lips and resumed walking.
Makenzie grabbed his arm and they both stopped. She kissed him back softly on the lips and looked up at him. Her eyes were wild with passion, as were his. He touched one of her long, blonde ringlets with his fingertips and leaned in to kiss her again, softly at first, with his lips just barely touching hers. He put his hand on her lower back, and moved in closer. She put her arms around his neck and her fingers in his hair, then he opened his mouth and kissed her longer and deeper. When the kiss was finally over, Makenzie sighed and opened her eyes. He was staring at her intensely again. She smiled and pulled back.
“Race you to that tree,” she giggled as she took off in a slow sprint. Caleb took off after her and caught up quick, bringing them both down to the ground with her on top of him. She gave him a quick kiss and rolled off.
“You only caught me cuz its hard to run in these shoes.” Makenzie teased. Caleb looked down at her brown leather cowboy boots and laughed. They lay there in the grass, surrounded by wildflowers, gazing up at the stars that had begun to come into view. “Oh it is so beautiful, is it not? I’ve always wanted to sleep under the stars. Never have though.” Makenzie confessed.
Caleb turned on his side to look at her. Her face looked so beautiful in the moonlight, he thought. He thought about how nice it would be to sleep under the stars with Makenzie in his arms. Makenzie felt him looking at her and turned on her side to face him. Their eyes locked. They both lay there staring at each other in admiration. They barely noticed how dark it had gotten.
Makenzie wished she had grabbed her jacket off the table as she started to shiver. Caleb scooted his body closer to Makenzie and took off his jacket. He put his arm around her waist and pulled her closer. Then he put his jacket over her and kissed her again. They both lay back, gazing up at the sky, making wishes on the stars.
“We should get back to the house.” Caleb said. Makenzie agreed. Caleb got up first and offered Makenzie his hand, which she readily took. They slowly found their way back to the house hand in hand, stopping for a quick kiss every now and then.
As they approached the pool and the staff quarters, Makenzie could see Teddy and Anna kissing. Oh my God! That’s so cool. Makenzie thought. Seeing as how Teddy and Anna obviously like each other, I shouldn’t have to hide Caleb from Teddy. He’ll understand. This new realization made Makenzie very happy.
“Well I should get to bed.” Caleb said, breaking her out of her thoughts. Makenzie walked with Caleb to his door. He leaned in for another long kiss, this one just as passionate as before. Makenzie could feel her heart beating rapidly. Her knees felt shaky as she said goodnight and walked away. She decided not to intrude upon Teddy and Anna and instead quietly walked past them and up to the house. Once inside, she stopped in the kitchen and made herself a cup of tea.
Makenzie went upstairs to her room and looked at the clock. It was a few minutes after 11:00. She peeled off her clothes and started her bath water. She lay back in the tub drinking her tea for some time, all the while going over her encounters with Caleb earlier.
When she finished in the tub, she still felt restless, so she decided to go out onto her balcony. She looked out and saw the light still on in Caleb’s room. Maybe he’s having trouble sleeping too. Next door, she saw Teddy hugging Anna at her door. She watched as Anna retreated to her room and Teddy walked toward the house.
Makenzie listened for Teddy’s footsteps on the stairs, and then she waited in her doorway for him. “Aha!” she exclaimed when she saw him.
“What?” was all Teddy could say as he grinned at her.
“Come sit on my balcony with me. I want to talk to you.”
Teddy followed Makenzie onto her balcony and they had a long talk about Anna and Caleb.
“You and Caleb!” Teddy exclaimed. “What’s that like?” He laughed.
Makenzie glared at him.
“Well I just meant. Well. Does he talk to you? He just seems so quiet.” Teddy responded.
“Yes of course you idiot! He’s very sweet.”
“Okay. Okay. I’m sorry. I just never really see him talk.”
“He’s just a bit on the shy side, that’s all.” Makenzie replied. “Oh, Teddy, I really like him.” She admitted as she smiled ear to ear.
Teddy looked her over. “Yeah I can see that.” He laughed. “Well I really like Anna too.”
The two sat in silence for a bit, each lost in their own private thoughts. “Well it’s getting pretty late. It’s after midnight already. We should turn in.” Makenzie said as she walked Teddy to her bedroom door and said goodnight.