The Ranch Hand, Chapter One, Part Two
Title: The Ranch Hand 1.2 of 12
Pairing: Drag!Blake/Leighton
Rating: G (Subject to change as chapter’s progress.)
Summary: The Lively Brothers’ offer their ranch hand services to Clyde Meester. Blake has to fight her attraction to the boss’s daughter, Leighton and she’s not making it easy for Blake.
A/N: Takes place in Oklahoma, early 1960’s. Which I know nothing about so anachronisms ahoy! This story is based on an anonymous kink meme prompt. Leighton rides her stud Pony! Take in any context you want to take it in.
“Where are you boys from?” Cynthia asks, placing a large ceramic serving bowl, filled with steaming mash potatoes and topped with a thick square of butter onto the dining room table.
“Tulsa.” Eric replies.
Clyde picks up the bowl, mixing the butter into the mash potatoes, and placing a large spoonful onto his plate. “You going to play twenty questions all night.” he says, tone of voice turning his question into a cutting remark. He hands the bowl to Charlie.
Leighton stares at Blake, hoping he’ll look at her. He doesn’t though. Leighton kicks the toe of Blake’s cowboy boot. He looks at her.
“Here,” Charlie says, trying to pass the bowl of mash potatoes to his older sister.
Leighton was prepared to have a moment with Blake. She bit into her bottom lip, gave him a wide eyed innocent look, but Blake looked away from her.
“Leight,” Charlie says, elbowing her.
“I don’t want any, Charlie.” Leighton replies frustrated.
Cynthia reaches out and takes the serving bowl from Charlie. “Blake, would you like some mash potatoes?”
“Thank you ma’am,” she replies, softly, taking the bowl and scooping a couple of small spoonfuls onto her plate. Blake passes the bowl to Eric. She knew Leighton was staring at her and it made an otherwise great meal hard to enjoy. It’s not that she didn’t like the attention, she did a lot, but she knew nothing could happen between the two of them and it was incredibly frustrating.
Leighton wants to lean across the table and push the unruly hair back from Blake’s forehead and look into his eyes. She can’t do that though. All she can do is continue staring at him sitting across from her at the dining room table ignoring her.
“Can I be excused?” Leighton asks.
“You’ve hardly touched your food.” Cynthia says.
“I’m not hungry. I don’t feel good.” Leighton replies, standing.
“You haven’t been excused.” Clyde says, sternly, staring at his daughter.
“May I be excused?” she asks, sarcastically, still standing.
“Yes.” Clyde replies.
Leighton grabs her plate and heads for the kitchen.
“So, you boys have quite the day ahead of you tomorrow.” Cynthia says, wanting to take the focus off of her rude daughter.
(----)
Leighton covers her plate with plastic wrap and places it in the fridge. She stands in the middle of the kitchen, feeling humiliated. Blake’s lack of interest couldn’t be any clearer. She opens the kitchen door and steps outside.
(----)
Leighton watches Blake from the hayloft. He was walking towards the small storage shed that Leighton’s brother had converted into a small apartment of his own. The project took him two years to complete and he was gone before he could fully enjoy the work he’d put into it.
Leighton wasn’t entirely sure why she wanted Blake. Did it really come down to her wanting something she couldn’t have? He’d only been on the ranch for a day. She felt so pathetic.
(----)
The sun was high in the sky. It was a hot day, with seemingly no relief in sight. Blake thought she might sweat to death from her layers of clothing. She had rolled up the sleeves of her button down plaid flannel shirt but that made no difference.
She looked enviously down at her shirtless brother, as he pulled the rope through the pulley, lifting the last bale of hay up to the loft.
“You tired?” she asks, teasingly.
“Shut up.” Eric replies, good-naturedly.
Blake laughs, reaching out for the bale of hay when it reaches her.
Leighton watches from the kitchen screen door. She was hoping that Blake would take off his shirt but all she had gotten was forearm action.
Blake walks out of the barn, taking off her cowboy hat, and running the back of her hand against her sweaty forehead. “Where’s Clyde?” she asks, putting her hat back on.
“He had to make a run into town for supplies.”
“Just as the work becomes more demanding.” Blake replies, sarcastically.
“I was thinking the exact same thing.” Eric replies, adding, “I don’t know about this job, little brother.” he says, putting on his T-shirt.
Blake feels a small rise of panic in the pit of her stomach. She didn’t want to move on. She’d rather stay here and be tortured by a girl she couldn’t have, how twisted was that?
“Maybe, we should cut our losses.” Eric suggests.
“It’s not that bad.” Blake replies, adding, “We’ve been in worse situations, right?”
“Yeah,” Eric replies, before laughing.
“What?”
“Us staying on wouldn’t have anything to do with Leighton, would it?” Eric asks.
Blake shakes her head. “I’m going to shower and change.” she replies, walking away.
Eric jogs after Blake, putting his arm around her shoulder.
She pushes Eric off of her.
“You got to have a sense of humor about this or you’ll go crazy.” he says, laughing.
“I’m already there.” she replies.
(----)
“Alright,” Eric says, taking one last look at his self in the bathroom mirror. “Let’s go.” he says, walking into the living room.
“I don’t feel like it.” Blake replies, grumpily, from the couch.
“It’s Saturday night, Blake. After all the work we’ve done this week I need this.” Eric says.
“Go without me.”
Eric sighs. “Look just because you can’t have her doesn’t mean you can have some girl out in town.”
“Have fun.” Blake replies.
Eric shrugs. “I tried.”
(----)
Leighton had become somewhat obsessed. She’d stayed close to the house all week and had actually stayed in on Friday and Saturday. She’d rather be out, instead of spending the night in, but she was waiting for the opportunity to get Blake alone and confront him.
Saturday night seemed to be the night.
Her mother was visiting a friend. Her brother Charlie was off somewhere. Her father was in a bar getting drunk. She started to panic when she heard the sound of Eric and Blake’s truck drive up the dirt path away from the ranch. She jumped up and ran through the kitchen and opened the back door. The lights in the converted storage shed were on. Someone was there. She just hoped it was Blake.
(----)
Blake answers the door, surprised to see Leighton standing across from her. Before she can invite Leighton in she brushes by her and walks inside of the small apartment.
“What’s your problem?” Leighton asks.
Blake shuts the door and turns around to face Leighton.
Leighton continues, pacing the small living room. “You act like I don’t exist. Which is really rude and besides look at me! Anyone would be lucky to have me. Not you though! This isn’t me! This isn’t how I act but you’ve got me acting not like myself. Why don’t you want me?” She asks, and stops pacing but she doesn’t look at Blake.
Blake doesn’t know what to say.
“I feel like such an idiot.” Leighton says, embarrassedly, pushing by Blake once again and heading for the door.
Blake grabs Leighton’s arm, and turns Leighton around to face her. “I do want you.” she says, looking into Leighton’s eyes.
“Here I am,” Leighton replies, softly.
End Chapter One, Part Two