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Click hereLeanne looked confused. "But I don't work 24/7, Mr. McConnel. I get time off every night."
"It's Joe." He knew he sounded impatient, but he really hated her calling him Mr. McConnel. As if our night together never happened. "And you work from sunup till sundown every single day, twelve hours straight. More, now that Summer had arrived. That's pretty damn close to 24/7."
He had expected her to simply say 'okay' and promise to take her breaks as per her contract. Obviously, he was wrong. Leanne stood taller, squaring her shoulders and sticking her chin out, as if getting ready to tell him off.
"No it's not, Mr. - Joe. In fact, it's the easiest time I'd had in years. You wanna know 24/7? Well, being a live-in au-pair to a baby and her twin toddler brothers; that's 24/7. Or taking up college when Sofia and the boys grew up a bit, attending classes in the morning while they were in school, and then taking care of them until they went to sleep, then starting on my home assignments until one or two in the morning - only to get up at six AM the next day and start all over again. That's 24/7."
Joe just stared at her. All he could think was, Wow. and I thought farm life was hard?
"And I was happy to do it, too, because I knew it was the only way I could afford my education. This -" Leanne gestured around her, shaking her head. "This is easy. I get to eat three meals a day that I don't need to make, nor clean up after. I get most of my laundry done for me, and don't need to do anyone else's. I work with animals every day, all day, which is everything I'd ever dreamed of. And when the sun sets, I go back to my room and still have hours of free time before getting a full, solid, uninterrupted night sleep."
She held his gaze. "This is the easiest I've had since..." She stopped abruptly, her eyes darkening, and then shook her head. "Well, since forever, it seems. I don't need, nor want, any more time off. I want to make the most out of my job here."
Joe had to admit it, at least to himself - he was seriously impressed. Her attitude was refreshing, especially compared with most newbie seasonals. And yet...
"I'm glad you like it here. Still, you not taking any time off isn't right. It kind of makes me feel like a slave driver." He said it with a smile, though, and was rewarded with a tiny answering grin.
"So you're saying I should take some time off for you?"
Now there's an idea, he thought, and then shook his head to clear it. "I'm saying you shouldn't settle for less than you deserve, even if it's better than what you had before, or what you expected to get."
His eyes locked with her, and he saw her blink twice, as if in a mental double-take. He decided to push further.
"What other things would you have liked to do, if I made you take the time off you deserved? How would you spend a half-day off? Or a whole weekend?"
Leanne paused, seemingly lost when confronted with this foreign concept, but then her eyes turned distant, and he knew she was imagining it in her mind.
"Well, I - I've always loved hiking. My mom and I used to do it a lot before - " she swallowed. "I guess, if I had the time - I'd love to hike around here."
Joe smiled. "These hills are beautiful, aren't they?"
And then, acting on complete, crazy impulse, he said - "and you're going to see them for yourself, tomorrow. Nine AM, after morning chores and breakfast, I'm taking you hiking."
At first, her eyes lit up in excitement. A moment later, they clouded. "Um..." She fidgeted uneasily.
"What?"
Leanne shuffled her legs, but finally pulled her eyes up to meet his squarely.
"Are you telling me, as my boss, that I have to go hiking with you? Or are you asking me?"
Her question hit him like a kick in the gut. Damn. He didn't think this through.
All he wanted was to make her take some time off and enjoy herself. Okay, if he were honest with himself, there was also something about her that made him want to take care of her, to lighten her burdens. And although any kind of intimate involvement was strictly off-limits, he really, really wanted to spend more time in her company.
But he never considered it may come across as inappropriate. Even borderline harassment. Cursing to himself, Joe back peddled, fast.
"I apologize. That came out wrong. Let me rephrase: I am telling you, as your boss, that you're taking tomorrow off. I am asking you, as Joe, the guy you met a few weeks ago in Santa Rosa, if you'd like to go hiking with me tomorrow. I'd love to show you the prettiest trail on these hills."
"Um..."
Leanne seemed torn; her brow was wrinkled, thoughtful, but he could see the glint of excitement had returned to her eyes. Finally she gave him a tentative half-smile.
"Just a hike?"
A surge of excitement made his heart thud harder, and at the same time his belly dropped. Just a hike... yeah, right. Like it was 'just a kiss' that night? But he ignored that knowing voice in his head, and instead answered her solemnly, with just a hint of a lopsided grin.
"Just a hike."
Finally, she nodded.
"Okay."
*****
Author's note: Did you like this chapter? Tell me! VOTE, FAVORITE and COMMENT. Thank you!
- COMMENTS
Privates1stClass7 months agoJoe and Leanne seem to be made for each other, but neither of them has dwelled on it just yet. I'm enjoying the ride.
TheOldRomanticover 7 years agoExactly, it is still a great story, although I have the advantage of having read the final (independent story, which I recommend reading after this complete series). But this is like a thriller in which you know who the killer is, but you do not know what the murder was like. I know this may not seem to correspond to a romance story, but I already know things that happened, but I still do not know how they happened ...
5 * for you, even if it is late.
I apologize for my English (yet, and ever), is not my native language.
winterreisserover 8 years agoNow you've really got me intrigued, just where is the story going?
On tenterhooks until I find the time for the nex chapter.
M
swrdover 8 years agoI much prefer a strong personality, I dislike it when people feel sorry for themselves too long.
I love the pace, strongly agree that the sugar levels are managed correctly which makes the pace right and keeps me interested and intrigued.
I also agree that the length of the chapters in good.
STG, "no editing" you say.... very impressive!
5 starts from me
JasonRTaylorover 8 years agoI'm enjoying the pace just fine, not every chapter on Lit has to be about rutting and grunting ;)
While the first transition was easily predicted, you've kept my interest with your slow reveal of Leanne's past. That said, there seems to be a conflict between her exuberance over the slightest of genuinely nice treatment and her obviously good relationship with her former employers.
Her 'wounds' must come from someplace, but I'm struggling to understand how they could be so ingrained with the apparently long term since the only obvious 'trauma', losing her mom.
All in all I'm still intrigued, and happily moving on to Ch 3!
J
Anonymousover 8 years agoI love slowly unfolding stories, even if the scenery is familiar...
Maximguyover 8 years agoMainly because I go into sugar shock at most of the them. Not the case here! I'm digging that she's not needing "saving" necessarily like so many of these romance stories. Yeah she's in a tough spot, but she has values and beliefs and is smart and works hard. I like her!
And the typos and such are minimal. Keep up the good work!
karalineover 8 years agoI love that you're showing us the back story so slowly, there clearly is one but its unfolding gradually. you got skills. It was great to be able to read the two chapters back. Now I have to wait for the next one *sob* still I'm sure it'll be along shortly at the rate you're going!
Esther
Floribundaover 8 years agoI need to congratulate you for your novel quest! Good luck to you for this writing completion!
I really do like everything you've written so far..
My only hesitation is that Leanne and Joe have met each other already, are already in serious like with each other, and still have something like 40k words to go!
xx
Anonymousover 8 years agoI like the characters and the interactions. I also like the intrigue about the backstories. I get tired of the comments that always put pressure on authors to write longer and submit more often. If you are so impatient wait until stories are finished before reading them. I don't find the chapters too short, quite a lot happens in the first two. Thanks, keep up the great job. MarcD
Anonymousover 8 years agoThis good than quick. Very good start in the first two chapters. Thank you.
The author does the work, we get the goodies.
Anonymousover 8 years agoCome on and post more often!!
50,000 words was it?
Time's a wasting.
Like the story by the way; just don't like 'hanging'.;-)
small_town_girlover 8 years agoAuthor@gravyrug - i hear you. a sizable chunk of background is upcoming in ch. 03 (which was submitted this morning, so you can expect it to post around Thursday, i believe).
@ResidentWeavil - thank you! and yes, see my response to @gravyrug above :)
@Masterfuljim - your vote of confidence warms my heart xoxo and i am greatly honored to have lured you into the clear, warm waters of the Romance category. hope you enjoy vanilla from time to time :)
@Anon 'so far...' - glad to hear i'm on par for now. will do my best to keep it that way! :)
@DhaliaWitch - you know, i find i'm enjoying the deadline, too. seeing that i'm mostly unemployed at the moment, this challenge gives me structure and a sense of being productive which i sorely miss when out of a job. (i do hope to get a new gig soon because i can't afford to be a full-time writer just yet... but as a short change of pace, it's awesome!)
@kjohns2001 - thank you so very much! that you enjoy it so much when it's barely even started is a good sign. the next chapter is gonna kick it up a notch. or three.
@Anon 'story' - thanks! and i am. writing more, that is. stay tuned. in the meantime, if you're curious as to other stories i've written, and are open to other genres (BDSM and Group Sex) - head over to my profile. there's another story that's already finished published here on Lit, as well as links to my works elsewhere. check it out :)
@Feonorx - yeah, these chapters are kinda on the short side, agree. i usually aim for roughly 10K words on every Lit chapter, which roughly translates into 3 Lit pages. thing is, i'm writing this for the #NaNo challenge, and am posting as i go. so some chunks are bound to be smaller than others... on the up side, you are pretty much guaranteed to get another chapter every 3-4 days, so you can always wait and read them both together :) chapter three, by the way, is in fact 10K and is very satisfying IMHO (yes, that pun was totally intended.)
@MysteryMan196 - thank you! i do my best. in fact, chapter 2 was re-done in the last moment to close such a gap that i hadn't realized was there until the very last read-through before posting. that is indeed the risk of posting 'live', basically. this work is not edited at all, yet, and you guys are my beta readers :) so yeah, there's always a risk that some gaps in story or logic will slip in... if anything major comes up, i'll fix it and upload an edited version (have done it in the past with other stories here on Lit).
...and to everyone who had favorited me and/or this story so far - thank you guys, too!
if you wanna chat about this story (or in general...) you can always PM me as well, just remember to include your return email address in the message so that i can reply directly :)
xoxo
Annie
(small_town_girl / Anne A. Lois)
mysteryman196over 8 years agoLooks like your character development is going at a good pace. Not like the jumps and gaps in logic and assumptions one has to do with a lot of stories on this site. I like the questions coming up about the Leanne, and even Joe. I do have to say that I am enthusiastically awaiting, (albeit impatiently) your next chapter. Keep it up! I love it so far.
