Romantic - Enemies to Lovers - Forbidden Love
•✦───✧✦✧───✦•
In the peacetime following World War II, Jean Ward loses everything and is sent to live with her best friend, Clyde Mayberry, and his brood of brothers on his family's cattle ranch.
For a...
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•✦─Summer, 1956─✦• Jean, age 18
The Den was where the ranch hands lived next to the cattle barn on Mayberry Ranch, and was rarely visited by Jean. This was partly because Mr. Mayberry didn't like it, but mainly because the testosterone there was rampant.
She only saved her visits for when she couldn't find a Mayberry boy. This time, she was looking for Clyde.
He'd been the last one to drive Mr. Mayberry's truck, and Jean needed the keys to get her favorite shade of lipstick out of the glove compartment.
She also wanted to show off her outfit—a satin, white dress that bore her shoulders and held her like a tight embrace—because she knew the boys played cards on Friday nights, and Jory was always in attendance.
Even though she was set to go on a date with Vincent, she had truly dressed up for Jory. She'd been doing so since she and Vincent had been going steady the last few weeks, always dolling herself up and flaunting about the ranch to irritate Jory.
As Jean neared the Den, she could hear the roaring laughter of the rowdy men even before she opened the door, the sound bouncing off the trees and into the still, silent night.
The source of the laughter was a drinking game, a group of men sitting around a circular table with whiskey and playing cards before them.
All eyes turned toward her when she opened the door, and the laughter stopped.
Naturally, Jean searched for Jory's eyes first, failing to find him. She found Paulie's instead. He was sitting directly across from me with a fan of cards in his hand, staring at her like he knew exactly what she was doing there. The other Mayberrys sat around the table with him, even the eldest two whom she rarely saw.
Simon lived on the other side of town with his Australian wife, and Hank lived in the Den with the workers. The ranch hands filled any gaps between the brothers, all frozen as they stared at Jean.
She smiled, feeling powerful with so many eyes on her. "Well," she drawled, setting her hands on her hips as she sauntered up to the table, "don't halt the fun on my account."
"Want us to deal you in?" a man to her left said.
"Yeah, you can take my spot," another man told her, standing up from his seat.
"Sorry, fellas, but I'm meant to be somewhere in thirty minutes," Jean said with a slight pout.
"Aw, come on, Miss Jean, one game won't hurt," the card dealer said.
"Yeah, it'll be quick," another voice spoke up.
Jean laughed, looking around the room. "Anyone seen Clyde? He has my keys."
