Porch Swing Angel

Chapter 4

Despite everyone else's complaints, I enjoyed the work. The small menu provided me with the easiest serving job I had ever had, while the look of the clean cabins satisfied some kind of clean freak within me.

Of course, only two days into the work and I had already cleaned up two clogged toilets and a used condom.

'How do people not get embarrassed that someone has to clean this up after them?'

I was in the cabin closest to the ranch's entrance when I heard horses outside. I found myself going out to the porch, perhaps in case of catching a glimpse of those ocean-blue eyes.

'Oh I'm stupid, it's his day off.'

While leading the group of horse-mounted guests, Dylan caught sight of me.

"HEY OLE ELLIE BELLY," He shouted with a grin. "GET BACK TO WORK NOW."

The guests all laughed at his antics as I just waved and laughed right back at them.

Earlier that morning, Jon explained that we all get two regularly scheduled but unique days off a week in order to keep the place running smoothly. Since I arrived on a Wednesday, and my usual days off would be Friday and Saturday, I only got Saturday off this week.

"Perfect! I have tomorrow off too," Gabby replied to me across the lunch table after I told her. "Let's go on a hike or somethin."

I couldn't wait to explore the nature around me. So far, I had only explored the one hiking trail that led right off the ranch. But it wasn't much more than a few-minute trail each way.

"I guess ole Lewis n Clark went down to town for his day off," Dylan said as he plopped down in the chair next to me. He looked a bit sideways at me with a funny look.

'I really hope no one has caught me staring at Clark.'

"Y'all still up to go to the phone booth for the break?" he said. Gabby instantly smiled. "Oh Ellie, down by the road, the phone booth, is the only place you'll get service. Less ya wanna hike up to the mountains."

Despite her claim to Clark's attractiveness, Gabby either knew how to play the field or suddenly found Dylan a lot more interesting since our conversations the night before. It worried me for her as I thought of Kate's wrath.

He started to say something else before Kate and Autumn walked in with their plates full of the leftover ziti. He stopped abruptly and started asking us all about the cabins.

We all cleaned up our plates and headed out of the back door.

"Alright, I'll come down after y'all are down," he said in a softer voice than usual.

Kate looked at us both with a quiet sigh as we all went our separate ways back to our work.

-

The stairs up to our bunkhouse were steep, so steep you had to walk quickly up them. It made me feel like a giddy little girl running up and down them every day.

My long wavy hair flew behind me, as Gabby and I both barreled down to Dylan's car. We giggled at the sight in front of us.

"SHE'S GETTING DICKED DOWN IN DALLAS, RAILED OUT IN RALEIGH, TAGGED TEAM UP IN TENNESSEE," Dylan scream-sang out the window at us with a pink, feathery hat on his head.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU WEARING?" I screamed over the music back at me as I jumped in the backseat of the car.

"Well shit, Ellie Belly, just getting in touch with the feminine side," He said with a wiggle of his eyebrows after he turned the music down. "I didn't know we were so traditional here, huh?"