They all deserve a fair chance, I thought as I clenched my jaw slightly.
"Discipline is something you have to learn before you go throwing your money around. You have to understand that everything has a set value, and exactly what that value is."
"Is this going to take a long time, Troy?" she asked with a heavy sigh. "I was just looking for some basic pointers. I didn't realize I'd have to go rolling hay bales or whatever it is you do here."
I sucked my teeth.
I took another deep breath.
I told myself yet again that she's new to this, and she has to be taught with the spoken word instead of the back of my hand.
"Everything in due time, Daisy," I finally said. "You wanted someone strong, right? That's what you told me. Well, I want to see how strong you are, and that will help me teach you what kind of livestock to bid on."
Daisy shrugged.
I took it as a sign that what I told her made sense even if it didn't to me, but this wasn't about me.
It had been about finding the perfect flower to replace my Posy and considering I hadn't been to the corral in three years, I just had a feeling this little wildflower would be the one that would stay with me forever.
"Follow me," I instructed her as I stepped off the porch and made my way down the steps. I wouldn't take her to the barn just yet. That housed one too many secrets for someone to learn without first gaining my trust.
It would instill too much fear and then she’d be worthless. I’d have to break her right away instead of being able to see what she was capable of withstanding and that would be a waste of time.
No, we'd stay away from that and the bunker with the stark white walls. We'd walk all of the acreages that I owned, I'd point out the animals that stayed on the land, and I'd show her some of the unkept areas that she'd be working on for the day.
And when night fell, when the day's work was finally over, we would go inside and have a nice, well-deserved meal before everything would start over again in the morning.
Chapter Seven
"Fuck! Troy?"
I pulled the cap off my head and wiped the sweat off my brow with the back of my arm as I glanced toward the sound of Daisy's aggravated tone.
"What now?" I asked in a clipped tone.
She had spent a better part of the morning bitching and moaning about the work that needed to be done after our little tour, and it was making me regret my decision to bring her to my home.
I glanced up at the late morning sky as I placed the cap on my head again and turned off the engine to my tractor. I didn't have time to hold her fucking hand today, nor would I even if I did, but the constant stop-go and the incessant whining was slowing the day's work more than it needed to be.
"Are you sure you don't have an extra pair of gloves?" she asked as she held up her dirt-covered hands.
Discipline wasn't something to be learned through acts of kindness, and in my home, it had to be proven to the utmost before it would be rewarded. Bitching and complaining about broken nails and dirty hands wasn't something that was going to earn her any favors, but it also didn't seem to stop her.
However, I knew I had to control the small fire that was being stoked inside of me. I wanted to get this one right—I needed to for my sanity.
I leaned against the steering wheel and did my best not to glare at her. "Didn't I tell you that I'd get you some gloves after you've shown me that you're a hard worker? Come on, Daisy, we both know that you're better than complaining about the little things in life."
She scowled as I turned the engine back out, drowning out her bitching. I hadn't even rolled over half the property yet, and that meant that I was going to be out here a hell of a lot longer than I wanted or needed to be.
"Well, how much longer do you need me out here doing this?"
I grit my teeth and put the tractor in park before I hopped down and walked over to her. I had her following behind me because it was easier to get the weeds that I may have missed before I could start planting for the upcoming harvest months.
"You've got a solid pair of lungs," I told her as softly as I could. I was above screaming, I always had been, and since the tractor wasn't moving at the time, I knew that she would be able to hear me if she just listened close enough.
"Yeah, my Momma said that I was born hollering so loud she'd swear that the cosmos could hear me," she replied with an unapologetic shrug. "But really, Troy, how much longer?"
"You're not used to chores, are you?" I asked as I narrowed my eyes at her and crossed my arms over my chest. Daisy shook her head as she placed her dirty hands on her hips, and if I didn't know any better, I felt like we were having a bit of a standoff.
I blew out my breath as I shook my head, my eyes wandering toward the outskirts. I startled for a moment because I could have almost sworn that I had just caught a glimpse of Posy running, but when the blur stopped moving briefly, I felt deflated.
It was a buck and nothing more.
"Take mine," I told Daisy softly as I pulled off my gloves and handed them to her. Without another word or acknowledgment of her thanks, I climbed back up onto the tractor and kept moving forward.
Chapter Eight
High noon had come and gone by the time I was almost done. I had to move the tractor faster to keep up with the schedule that she fucked up. We were behind and I was angry about it. And in turn, Daisy had to run to keep up with me.
I knew she had to be exhausted by then, probably dying for a drink of water, and maybe even a little rest. But this was the bed she made for both of us, and we would have to lie in it together before we could take a break.
Three hours later, I glanced over my shoulder and chuckled. Daisy had fallen somewhere in the field behind me, and I hadn't even noticed until now.
Hard work is something that I've always valued, and she'll learn to appreciate it too on her own terms. Maybe hitting the ground would help her figure it out, maybe it wouldn't.
Either way, there was still work that needed to be done. And I discovered that I had to be a little less stringent about it.
I turned off the tractor and hopped down, reached behind my seat, and grabbed a bottle of water. It was hot and tasted a bit sour, but it was still worth drinking since the Oklahoma days could always be unforgiving under the blaring sun.
After I drank half the bottle down, I walked toward Daisy's exhausted form. She was laying in an odd position—one arm stretched over her head, the other limply across her chest. Her legs were splayed out in front of her, and when I finally stopped next to her, I couldn't help but smile.
Little girls that like to play the dangerous games of grown men never seem to learn their lessons, and this is one of the many things that can happen when they play with closed eyes.
Crouching down, I gave her a nudge. Daisy opened her eyes slowly and turned her face toward mine. I dangled the bottle of water in front of her, and she sat up so quickly that it made me wonder if the eager little bidder had been playing possum the entire time.
"When did you fall down?" I asked, resting a hand on her back and placing the bottle to her lips. Her body shook as I held her up, and it made me wonder if it was from exhaustion or because I was so close to her.