Pearls, Pumps, and Pigs

A solid month had passed since Bella had arrived on Rose Ranch as Amon and Colette referred to it. April showers had finally started to fade away and the weather was gradually getting warmer every day. Bella tried hard not to think about why she was currently living with her Aunt and Uncle, and so long as she managed to keep her mind distracted from Peter and life at the castle, she was able to function half way normally.

So far in the duration of her stay, Bella's phone had been left off. If she needed to call someone, she simply used the landline. It was a surprisingly pleasant feeling to disconnect herself from the outside world. She didn't have to deal with the stress of social media, drama between her friends, or the paparazzi trying to stir up trouble for her. She was even taking a break from modeling after her manager strongly encouraged her to take some time for herself to recover.

Bella had decided to spend the day outside for once, sunbathing. Colette had helped her set up a comfortable chair to lay out on, free of the shade. She had even left her with an ice cold lemonade, a book, and one of her own cover up dresses to borrow if at any point she was uncomfortable sitting outside in a bikini.

By the time Colette had gone inside to work on cleaning, Bella realized she had forgotten the most important thing for her porcelain skin--sunscreen. With a groan, Bella sat her book on top of the cover up which lay at the foot of the chair and stood up. She searched around the back patio for any bottle of sunscreen but wasn't having much luck. By the time she had decided to go inside to ask Colette for help, she heard the sound of ice cubes clamoring against the concrete. When she turned to the table to see what happened, she found one of her uncle's Great Pyrenees dogs lapping up lemonade off the ground.

"Fantastic," Bella groaned. She was terrified of big dogs, and the two Great Pyrenees that roamed Rose Ranch weren't exceptions. Her Uncle Amon normally left them in the pasture with all the goats, but of course the one day she wanted to spend some time outside, they were roaming free.

She started backing up towards the back porch door, not taking her eyes off the giant white cotton ball when the other dog ran up to the porch. Bella immediately tensed, thinking it was headed towards her, but watched as it turned towards the lounging chair. She started to relax, but as it started sniffing Colette's cover up, she realized she couldn't let the dog have it or it might get torn up.

"No, no," Bella said shakily, starting to edge toward the dog. She took very small steps, having to fight her fear to keep it from paralyzing her.

The dog's eyes glanced up at her, its mouth just inches away from the cover up as it watched her ebb forward. When she was within reach of grabbing it, the dog bit into it and took off running.

"No!" Bella yelled frantically, chasing after it. Almost immediately, the other dog rushed after her, thinking they were all playing one big game. The three of them ended up a ways away from the house, growing close and closer to the fields. Bella was teary-eyed as the tried to get the cover up, her bare feet throbbing and stinging after running over countless rocks.

Bella whirled around, thinking she heard her uncle's tractor, but the clumsier Pyrenees slammed into the backs of her legs, knocking her roughly forward onto the ground. Both the dogs took off running, tails wagging as they expected her to follow them, but Bella didn't move. She heard footsteps rushing over to her but she didn't bother looking up. Instead, she hung her head and tried to hide her tears.

"Ma'am, you alright?"

Bella lifted her head and found herself staring into a pair of beautiful green eyes, filled with concern as they looked down at her. She couldn't help but to let her eyes wander for just a moment. Standing in front of her was a perfect masterpiece. The boy before her was perfectly toned, tall, and had smooth, sun kissed skin from years of constantly working outside. He was wearing a white t-shirt that was presently soaked with sweat, making the fabric stick to his chest, showing off lines of definition. Warm brown hair peaked out from beneath the cowboy hat he wore, but the longer Bela stared, the more she kept getting locked on his emerald eyes.

"I-I think I'll be alright," she whispered, blushing as she quickly wiped away the tears on her cheeks, She was embarrassed to not only be caught crying, but to meet this boy in a bikini, while barefoot, after crashing onto the ground.

"Here," he said, extending a hand down to her. "Let's get you up."

She took his hand without complaining, letting him help pull her up to her feet. Quickly, she glanced around them both to check and see where the dogs were, but she immediately found the cover up dress just a few feet away. The boy noticed it as well and grabbed it for her, trying his best to get all the dirt and dust off before handing it over.

"Sorry for the problems those two caused. They darted out of the pasture the moment I tried to get in to feed the goats. They normally don't care so much for strangers, I'm sorry," he said with a nervous chuckle, rubbing the back of his neck and looking away as Bella slipped on the dress.

"Well, I'm not a total stranger to them," she admitted. "It's just been a few years since I've been around."

Realization spread across his face. "You're Amon's niece, Bella! I'm James--my family and I help take care of the land."

Bella looked a little surprised. He just figured out who she was? Didn't he watch the news? Read magazines? Being princess, her face was all over everything. You basically had to live in almost total isolation to not know her and her father's faces. But, then again, Rose Ranch was most certainly in a more secluded area. Maybe he really didn't know she was princess. She was curious, either way. "You've heard about me?"

"Oh yeah," he said with a sheepish grin. "Amon brags on you a bit. Talks about how you model. He told us a while ago that you were coming to stay with him and Colette, but I hadn't seen you around any."

Bella gave a small nod. "Things had been a little rough, but they're getting better."

"Well, I don't know what's been causing you trouble, but I'm glad to hear its improving," he smiled genuinely at her.

"Thank you, but I should probably head back before Colette gets worried."

James nodded, flashing her a bright, charismatic smile. "Alright, nice to meet you!"

She just smiled politely and started to head back to the house, this time watching out for rocks and other sharp objects. She hadn't made it very far before she heard him yelling something. When she turned around, she found him slightly bent over, holding both of the dogs' collars to keep them from running after Bella.

"Bella!" He shouted, grinning from ear to ear. "Tell Colette you three are invited for dinner tonight! 7 o'clock as always!"

Bella giggled and nodded, waving a thumb's up to let him know she heard him before taking off back towards Amon and Colette's home again.