Cowgirls Don't Cry

Ch 14

"Authors Note"

Hey this is just the edited chapter. Sorry for the long wait for an update. Ive adopted a newborn kitten who is demanding all my time haha. The next Chapter is about half way done. Hopefully ill post it soon. Thank you for reading.

Lynn

Kip has been gone all day. One of his friends needed help with their cattle so he drove two towns over to lend a hand. I didn't care. There wasn't much to do on the property this year since Pa didn't plant anything in the south field. I took over all of Kips jobs today, waking up early to see him off then I fed the cows, moved them to the north pasture, exercised the horses, cleaned the stalls, brushed them all, fixed several loose shoes, fed the horses, checked the fence line, exercised Snow, and fed the cows again before calling it a day. I was exhausted, I wasn't use to manual labor anymore. I'm sitting in the kitchen watching Netflix and drinking my third glass of wine. It's almost nine and I'm feeling a bit of a buzz when Kip gets home. He's covered in mud and his white tee shirt is molded to his skin from the sweat of the day making it so you can see his toned chest.

"Hey, princess." He says, opening the fridge and drinking half a bottle of water in one gulp.

"You smell," I say, my eyes still starring at his chest.

"And your drunk," he notes the almost empty bottle on the table.

"Buzzed, yes," I finish my glass, "drunk? Not even close."

I go to pour myself the last glass but Kip grabs the bottle from my hand, lifts it to his lips and takes a big gulp, grimacing slightly. "This is pure sugar"

"It's moscato," I retort, taking the bottle back from him only to see it empty. I glare at Kip and he laughs and kisses the top of my head like a child, "I need to shower. Can you get Bear from the barn and feed him?"

I nod putting my wine glass in the sink and going to the mud room to pull on my boots. Kip gave me strict orders to keep Bear in the barn all day and not to baby him, saying something about him being a hunting dog and not some little thing you put in your purse. I respected his request, mostly. I did pet him every time I had to go in the barn, sneaking him treats every once in a while.

I walk into the barn and whistle for him when he doesn't immediately run to me.

"Here boy!" I call, looking around. When I don't see him I head up to the loft, figuring he's asleep up there. I'm careful to hold onto the railing as I walk up the stairs, the wine is making my balance a little questionable. The loft smells like Kip, and by that I mean it smells like Irish Spring soap, sweat, and just a lingering hint of the cologne he sometimes wears. I see in sitting on his dresser. It's a brown bottle with no label. Without thinking I lift it to my nose, taking small sniff. It smells like wood, and mint. I put the bottle down and sit on the end of the bed. I laugh when I remember the last time I was drunk in Kips bed.

~~~~Summer before Lynn Left for college~~~

"Shhhhh!" I say, holding my finger up to Alice who is sitting in the back seat of some guy's car.

"I didn't say nothin!" She giggles holding her hand over her mouth. I try and close the door but my heel slips in the mud and I catch myself in the hood of the car to keep from falling over. I burst out laughing and so does everyone in the car.

"Ly," Alice says hiccuping, "you-you should com-ome with me."

"Th-that's stupid I'm already home," I say finally managing to close the door.

I try and take a step but my heel once again slips in the mud so I kick them off, digging my toes in the thick cold mud. I hear the car pull off and I stumble my way down the drive, shoes in hand. I start crying halfway down the drive. I was gonna sleep with Dom tonight, and then he kissed that skank Barbra. What kind of name is Barbra. It sounds like an old lady. Who wants to kiss an old lady? I'm sobbing when I reach the house, and my legs are covered in mud. Not wanting daddy to catch me like this I ditch my heels on the back porch and go to the barn. It's a challenge trying to get the door open without falling on my face, it lets out this loud creek when I finally manage to get it open, the noise hurts my head hurts my head. I leave the door open, the cool air feeling nice. The horses get excited when they see me, whinnying and tossing their heads.