My Life Is a Cliché

I woke up in Thaddeus’s arms. I glanced at the clock by his bed to see it was almost midnight. I yawned and rolled over. He was still asleep and I smiled at his sleeping face. He looked so peaceful.

I snuggled more into his body and closed my eyes again, enjoying the feeling of his chest pressed to mine.

He woke up not much longer and yawned.

“How long have you been up?” he asked after giving me a peck on the forehead.

“Just about thirty minutes,” I answered.

“What time is it?” he asked and I told him. “Do you want me to drive you home?”

I shook my head. “No. I’ll stay here for the night and make breakfast for you three.”

He chuckled. “I’m sure my parents will be very appreciative.”

Around eight, I got dressed and went downstairs. Thaddeus had fallen asleep again. The kitchen was empty and I looked through their fridge until I found the makings for bacon and eggs. I hummed as I worked and didn’t hear the footsteps behind me.

“You’re here early.”

I turned around and smiled at Isabelle. “I thought I’d make you breakfast,” I said and she smiled back, going to the coffee maker.

“That’s very kind of you,” she said and yawned while she made coffee.

“Are you okay?” I whispered.

“I will be,” she answered and handed me a cup of coffee.

I flipped the bacon. “Hatch told me Valiant was the horse he learned how to ride on.”

She giggled. “It was so much fun watching him learn,” she said nostalgically. “He was more terrified than you were.”

“How old was he?”

“Probably around 8; as soon as Valiant was able to be ridden Thaddeus was the first one on him. In fact, Thaddeus is the one who named him that.”

I smiled and nodded at the table. “You want to call down the boys?”

“Of course.”

She went upstairs and I set the table. The men came down the stairs both yawning and rubbing their eyes. We sat around the table with coffee and breakfast and ate in semi silence. I still had work and Thaddeus offered to drive me there.

“Is Hector still coming to work?” I asked and he nodded, frowning. “What’s wrong?”

“Frank walked out on us,” he said bitterly, opening the car door for me to get in. “That’s when he threw that tantrum.”

I rolled my eyes. “Some people never grow up.”

We got to the office and he kissed me. “Have a good day, my love.”

I smiled. “You, too.”

-Thaddeus’s POV-

I made sure she got into the office safely before pulling out and heading back to the ranch. Hector was already waiting for me, looking nervous and excited at the same time.

“I have a question before we begin,” he said and I nodded, grabbing a shovel. “So, I know I still have a month before I work off the money, but do you think you’d be willing to hire me?”

I blinked. “Like, full time?” He nodded, biting his lip. I hadn’t expected that. “Yeah. Yeah, that would be awesome.”

Hector broke into a grin. “Great!”

“I got a phone call yesterday,” I told him as we headed to the stables. Without Frank, I had to join in with shoveling the stables again. “It was from the man you got into the fight with. He’s not going to press charges. Apparently it was a scare tactic from his parents.”

He frowned. “Why would they do that?”

“To see if you were serious about everything,” I answered and he nodded thoughtfully.

“Have you heard from Frank?”

“Nope and I don’t care if I never do. What about you?”

“He came by my house to see if he could borrow money from me,” Hector snorted. “I sent him away. I’m moving out of my parents’ house when I get the chance, by the way.”

I grinned, wiping sweat off my face. “That’s wonderful, man. I’m proud of you.”

He grinned back and we went to shoveling again. The day was long. Summer was approaching which meant we had to take a lot of water breaks and we were both shirtless by the end of the day. We were about to turn in for the day when I saw Morana’s car pull in. I grinned.

Morana and Katie got out, both talking and froze when they saw us.

“Shirtless again?” she asked, hands on her hips.

I chuckled and put my arms around her waist. “Welcome back, Katie,” I said, looking over.

She was too busy staring at Hector, though. I tried not to laugh when I saw Hector was just as distracted.

“Let’s go for a walk,” Morana said, dragging me out into the field. When we were far enough away, we both started laughing. “It’s nice to see that.”

“What? Her ogling my friend or him ogling her?”

She giggled. “Both.”

I held her hand and she laced her fingers through mine.

-Morana’s POV-

“Hector’s coming to work for me,” he said as we strolled through the grass.

It came up to our calves and I leaned into him, enjoying the feel of his muscles as he wrapped his arm around my waist.

“That’s wonderful!” I said.

He nodded. “I’m very proud of him.”

“I’m very proud of you,” I said and he frowned.

“Why?”

I stopped walking and wrapped my arms around his waist. He did the same, linking his hands behind me and pulling me close.

“He wouldn’t be like this if it weren’t for you,” I explained.

He kissed me and I sighed through my nose, smiling into his lips, and thinking about all that had happened since the benefit dinner.

“What are you thinking about?” he asked me.

“How cliché you and I are,” I said and he laughed, tucking hair behind my ear and running his finger from my temple to my chin.

“How do you mean?”

“Well, when we first met, I didn’t like you at all,” I laughed and he grinned. “Then you were stalking me and we went out on a few dates, and so on and so forth.”

He smiled and caressed my cheek. “Is that a bad thing?”

I tilted my head and looked closely at him. The sun was hot and the sweat glistening on his muscles was making me feel dizzy with attraction. I thought about how he had encouraged me to be myself, how I had done the same for him. I thought about how much we took care of each other. As the wind swept around us, bringing the smell of wildflowers and horses, I realized I really didn’t mind.

“I like clichés,” I said finally and he grinned, kissing me deeply.