“No, of course not,” he said as he pointed behind her. “Is that it?”
Without looking behind her, Tayler jumped and ran behind Rollin, and then glanced at the ground. She didn’t see anything.
The roar of laughter caught her attention and she looked up at everyone in the truck bed having a good laugh at her expense.
Rollin chuckled and held his hands up, palms out. “I’m sorry, that was mean. I shouldn’t have done it.”
Barbara called out, trying not to laugh, “Tayler, we’re sorry, but it was only a small garden snake. It won’t hurt you.”
With her arms crossed, Tayler glared at Barbara and the crew. “It was a snake, that’s all I know, and I don’t do snakes.”
“Occasionally, a little snake crawls under the bushes looking for a nice warm bed. Come show me where you saw it.” Rollin touched Tayler’s elbow, edging her back down the path.
Arms crossed, she stood rooted to her spot. “I’m not going back down there. I told you, I don’t do snakes.”
Kevin walked up. “Is she okay?” he asked Rollin.
“Yeah, she’ll be fine.”
“It was probably a garden snake, like Mrs. Barbara said,” Kevin offered. “They’re virtually harmless, and they do their best to avoid people. I don’t see too many of them out here.”
Kevin and Rollin walked down the path in the direction of the snake. They poked around under bushes, but it didn’t look as if either spotted the snake. Rollin picked up her basket of blackberries. She wondered what she was going to eat every day, since she wasn’t about to come back out here to pick anything.
Back at the truck, Tayler sat on the edge of the bed, trying to get her hands to stop shaking. A snake! A damned snake! If anyone had told her they had snakes here, she would have stayed in Chicago.
Rollin and Kevin made their way back to the truck, laughing with each other. No doubt she was the topic of conversation.
“Glad I could make your day, fellas,” she said.
Rollin looked from Kevin back to her. “I’m sorry, we weren’t talking about you. Here’s your blackberries.” He set the basket next to her.
“Thank you.”
“I’m sorry your first morning turned out to be such a dramatic one. Guests usually don’t encounter snakes this soon.”
“So it usually takes a few days before snakes show up?” she asked sarcastically.
“Oh, they’re out here every day. You startled that one, that’s all. Next time, make some noise and it’ll slither away.”
“Next time! Oh, I don’t plan on coming back out here. I’ll eat all my meals in town if I have to.”
Rollin nodded. “That’ll get pretty expensive.”
“I can afford it.”
“Maybe you can.” He stretched his arms over his head. “Guess I was right when I said you might not last a month. I can spot a quitter from miles away.”
He touched a nerve and she straightened up. “I’m not a quitter. I just don’t play with snakes.”
He shrugged. “Just stay out of the blackberry bushes, then everything will be okay. What do you say?”
She looked at his outstretched hand, waiting for her to accept it, then looked away. She wasn’t making any promises.
“What do you have to lose? You’ll eat some good food and might even make a new friend.”
She raised a brow at him. “You want to be my new friend?”
“I wasn’t thinking about me, but Rita. She’ll be disappointed if she can’t cook for you. After these guys leave she won’t have guest to cook for.”
He still hadn’t persuaded her.
“Say yes, and I’ll do my best to keep the snakes away.”
He smiled and those big dimples mesmerized her. It took a few seconds to turn from his gaze and pull herself together.
“Okay, but no more blackberries.” She accepted his hand.
The next morning, no one rode to the fields because, luckily, they’d picked enough food the day before.
Tayler took advantage of the free time and ventured out to the porch after breakfast with her laptop. Minutes later, Forrest joined her.
“This feels wonderful, doesn’t it?”
Tayler turned to Forrest, who sat in one of the big white rocking chairs across the porch from her.
“Yes, it does. We have a nice breeze.” She smiled and turned back to her laptop.
“You don’t get this in the city.” He took a deep breath. “Just smell that air. No car exhaust or garbage. Just clean country air, the way God intended it to be.”
Tayler cut her eyes at Forrest. What’s so damned special about the air?
“What’s that you’re working on? I thought you said you were on vacation.”
“I am, but I’m still trying to keep up with work—you know how it is. It’s hard to take a vacation when you have so many responsibilities.”
He crossed his legs in her direction. “So what do you do?”
She took a deep breath and thought of a way to explain what she did so he’d understand. “I oversee a team that installs data communications lines all around the world.”
Forrest whistled. “Sounds like a lot of work. Too bad they can’t manage without you.”
“Oh, they can. I just like to keep tabs on everything.”
“So you’re somewhat of a micromanager?”
“No, not really.” She hated that phrase. “I just like to be available if I’m needed.”
“We used to have backups for vacations and such.”
“I have a backup.”
“Incompetent, though, huh?”
“He doesn’t handle things the way I do, but he’s very competent.”
Forrest laughed.
She smiled but didn’t get the joke. “What’s so funny?”
The front door opened as Forrest stood up and pointed at her laptop. “You need to look up ‘micromanager,’” he said as he walked over to hold the door for his wife.
Tayler crossed her arms and gave him a knowing smile. She understood.
Barbara walked over to Tayler. “Well, Tayler, it was nice meeting you, but we’re gonna have to get on the road.” Tayler moved her laptop aside and stood up to hug the older woman goodbye. Within minutes, everyone else came out to say goodbye. Rita and Tayler stood on the porch waving as both cars pulled off. The moment reminded Tayler of a scene from an old movie.
“Well, young lady, what have you got planned for today?” Rita asked.
Tayler sat back down and picked up her laptop. “I was going to get some work done, but I’ve changed my mind. I think I’ll just enjoy the breeze.”
“That sounds nice. You enjoy yourself, now. I’m gonna go up and start cleaning those rooms. Lunch is at noon.”
“Okay, I’ll see you then.”
Tayler