Second Chances Ch. 03

Aidan looked at her with utter amazement. "Unless you plan to buy milk and eggs all winter, you'll have to, don't you think?"

Naomi blushed and crossed her arms. "Don't look at me like that," she cried. "This is all new to me, that's all. I'm sure I would have figured that out on my own eventually."

"Do you mean to say that you don't know anything about how to run a farm?"

Faced with his disbelief, Naomi felt foolish. "No, I'm a city girl, born and bred. But that doesn't mean I'm stupid."

Aidan faced her with hands low on his hips and raised one brow. "You're not stupid, but ignorant, certainly! This is not the city, Naomi. You can't just purchase anything you need. You have to plan in advance to make sure you have the necessities to live. You can't just pretend to be a farmer." He took a deep breath and released it on a sigh, trying to calm his rising temper. "I'll be back tomorrow with a cow and some chickens. Then I'll have a good look around and see what needs to be done to get you ready for the coming winter."

His patronizing tone made Naomi bristle with indignation. Memories flooded her consciousness of all the times other people had thought they knew what she needed better than she did, of all the times she had felt like an utter failure. She had come here to escape from all that, and she felt the beginning of tears prickling the backs of her eyes as she glared at Aidan.

"Well, I might not be able to buy everything I need, but I could go into town myself to buy those animals. You don't have to be bothered with that. I'm not helpless, you know."

Aidan growled with frustration and crossed his arms. "I'm not going into town to buy them, Naomi. We raise the best livestock in the area right on our farm. I'll pick out some prime animals and bring them to you."

Naomi was not inclined to be impressed at that moment. She gave him a crisp, businesslike nod of approval. "In that case, I would be happy to purchase a cow and some chickens from you. How much will it cost, and I'll give you the money now."

"The cost of a few farm animals should be the least of your worries. We'll figure it out tomorrow," Aidan said with an impatient sigh.

"We'll figure it out now, or you can just forget it. I'm not accepting any more charity from you."

She would have whirled away from him, but Aidan caught her arm and pulled her around to face him. He scowled at her as a muscle twitched in his cheek. He was furious that she had come to a farm all alone when she knew absolutely nothing about how to take care of herself. If he hadn't happened along, she would be in real trouble, facing a bitter winter without adequate food stores or fuel. She probably had no idea that in a few months, snow would be piled several feet deep around her cabin. And now, when he was offering to help, she got all snippity!

"In case you've forgotten, we agreed that the earlier gifts weren't charity. I promised you that I would make use of them too, so you can consider my purchase of those items as self-interest." He glanced briefly at her heaving bosom before meeting her gaze and raising one mocking brow. "I think we can both attest to the fact that I got more than my money's worth for that mattress."

Naomi gasped with indignation. First he ridiculed her for not knowing about farming, and now he was taunting her about giving herself to him. She slapped him hard across the face, leaving a bright red imprint of her hand on his cheek.

"How dare you! I am not some harlot who trades herself for a mattress! I don't need your gifts. As far as I'm concerned, you can take them all with you and good riddance! I'll buy my own cow and my own chickens, and you can just go to hell!"

She stomped into the cabin and slammed the door with a bang. Aidan stood, trembling with rage until the urge to follow her and paddle her backside had passed. Then, he climbed onto his wagon and urged the horses into a fast trot.

As soon as Naomi heard him leave, she sank onto the bed and wept bitter tears of hurt and anger. She replayed their conversation over and over in her mind. They had both lost their tempers and said hurtful things, and after a long time, she realized that Aidan had only been trying to help her. That realization made her sob even harder. She had been hoping for a reason to see him again, and now, she had pushed him away for good.

***********

It seemed the weather matched Aidan's mood. By the time he reached home, a storm was brewing. He was lucky to reach the barn before it unleashed its fury. Sheets of icy rain poured from the heavens, and thunder and lightning punctuated the growing darkness. Aidan unhitched the horses and put them in their stalls for the night as he thought about Naomi.

He hoped she had enough firewood to last through the night. It promised to be a cold one. He wondered whether she was afraid of thunderstorms. He considered the mercurial nature of her moods and wondered about what had set her off. One minute, she had been grateful for his help, and the next minute, she was slapping his face.

"Women!" he muttered with a disgusted snort.

He stood in the barn doorway, staring out into the growing gloom, and let the occasional gusts of icy rain that hit him cool his temper. Their argument hadn't been all her fault, he reluctantly mused. He had been rather condescending and judgmental. And that comment he had made about getting his money's worth had been purposefully hurtful. What had possessed him to make such a remark?

He gave a short, self-deprecating laugh. He had wanted to hurt her feelings because she had hurt his. When she had so casually dismissed his help, he had wanted to shake her. He needed her at some basic, primitive level. He couldn't imagine living the rest of his life without her. Meanwhile, she seemed content to thank him for his efforts and send him on his way. Now, thanks to his big mouth, she probably wouldn't ever want to see him again. How the hell was he going to fix things?