Hitchhiker
By Princess Alexandria
Chapter 9 of 10
"The doc hasn't cleared me yet." Jake's voice spoke from over the phone and Brooke grimaced at the words. She'd been really counting on him healing faster. "He said in a month I may be able to do light work, but not the stuff I normally do. Not for another two months."
Brooke sighed. "Well we can't have you hurting yourself more." She spoke gently, knowing the older man would feel bad about this. "I can find some smaller things for you to do around here when you can come. There are a lot of small jobs that just don't ever get done." She wasn't about to reward loyalty with a kick in the ass on the way out the door, but dammit she was screwed now. She couldn't in good conscience pay him less, and now she needed a temporary ranch hand for two, maybe three months. She couldn't just toss Jake back into it all without help or he could end up laid up again.
As she hung up she turned to see Jimmy watching her. "You need me to stay?" He asked softly.
"No, you go back to school. I'll figure something out." Brooke gave him a small smile. Her brother was her saving grace. He came and helped every summer, and in the past week since Mystique left he'd politely asked no questions. "I'll see if Mr. Bradshaw has any connections. I'm sure I can find someone for a couple months while you study."
"You and the blueberry gonna be okay?" He asked and Brooke's eyes fell to his packed bags near the door.
Her smile was a little weak and she knew it. She always missed him after he left. "We'll be fine. You need a lift?"
"Just to Bradshaw's. Tommy said he'd take me to town. Him and the boys are probably planning to give me a hard time." Jimmy told her and Brooke nodded.
With Mercy in the back of the truck they drove to Mr. Bradshaw's, and Brooke could see Tommy's truck waiting in the parking lot, along with a few other vehicles. She dropped her brother off with a brief hug and then took Mercy inside the store.
She knew there would be a crying fit once Mercy realized Uncle Jimmy was gone again, she'd done that last time. Brooke was hoping that Jimmy and the boys got out of the parking lot so they didn't have the screaming and begging as well.
Brooke could hardly blame her little girl for it, if she weren't an adult she might consider trying that as well. Sadly she was so she had to smile like it was okay that the only adult she had to talk to left. Jake wasn't as talkative and now he wasn't even there.
"Hey Mr. Bradshaw." Brooke said with a small smile as she noticed the old man sitting at a table. With her hand firmly holding Mercy's she walked further in and took the seat he was pointing to. "Jake's doc didn't release him for work yet."
"Oh." Mr. Bradshaw went quiet, fully understanding the dilemma.
"I need some temporary hands. I was hoping you'd heard of someone." Brooke hadn't had to hire before. Jake came with her granddaddy's place. So did a few other people, some gone now, and some still around during the busier times, but they couldn't do this with fewer people.
"I don't know how safe it is for you to be hiring some man you don't know. It's just you girls out there." Mr. Bradshaw said slowly.
"Well how many women you think do this job?" Brooke sighed. "Not like I have a whole lot of choice do I?"
"I'll start checking around for you." He told her, looking serious.
"Thanks." Looking around meant he hadn't heard of anyone, and it meant Brooke was going to have a tough time of it for a while until they could hunt down some stranger to help out.
When they left they were just getting Mercy strapped in when it happened, the little girl noticed someone was missing. Brooke winced at the level her little voice got to as she explained that Jimmy went to school and he'd be back for Christmas.
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"You know I love you right." Brooke smiled at her grandma as she dropped Mercy off again. The older woman normally babysat some, but lately Mercy spent more time at her place than at home.
Grandma nodded just a little and once Mercy walked into the house, heading for the toys in the corner she spoke quietly. "Your Granddaddy at least had someone else, me."
"Well that was when the west was young and love was real." Brooke muttered, surprised by the old conversation.
"I could just spank your mother for what she did to you. It had to be her because I know my boy at least knows better than to teach his little girl to not waste time on love." Grandma muttered a little angrily. Brooke felt defensive and a little bitter at the insinuation. "Love is not an illusion. You love Jimmy and you love Mercy. Why is it so hard to imagine loving some else?"
"Kind of a moot point now grandma. I'm working at least eighty hours a week and barely have time for Mercy. Not really ready to find myself a woman." Brooke sighed heavily. She wouldn't even know where to start with that.
"I just hate seeing you give up before you even start." Grandma shook her head. "You're so young, too young for this."
"I gotta go. The horses don't like it when I'm late with breakfast." Brooke turned to leave. Older people could take the time to believe in romantic love, but she knew it was a passing phase, one that left before her generation.
Brooke had Mercy and it was enough, she thought as she tossed her hat into the cab of the truck and slipped inside.
The sun was much less scalding in mid October. Brooke still wore her hat to prevent sunburns, but working through the day was now possible. She wasn't sure that was a good thing, because now she only was able to take a small lunch break to see her little girl. She worked early and stayed at work late and Mercy was tired or sleeping when Brooke was home with her.
The hunt for ranch hands wasn't going well, but Brooke wasn't sure how long she could keep up this pace. Her back ached all the time and she was always tired. She didn't complain, she never was a complainer, but it was hard work. No man would be able to keep up her pace, she thought, even knowing that a single admission that she was having trouble in town would result in the men claiming it was because she was a woman.
Brooke finished her work on the fence before she took her truck to Mr. Bradshaw's for more hay. She stopped her truck at his place and just sat there for a moment, taking a breath, before she knew she'd have to load hay. Maybe she'd go in and see about some nice pain killers first, Brooke thought as she got out of the truck and started for the store instead of the barn with the hay.
As she picked up the pills she also grabbed some caffeine pills. She didn't want to sleep through all her time with her daughter, so she wasn't sleeping enough.
"I thought I had someone, but he didn't work out." Mr. Bradshaw said quietly as he started to ring her up. The bell on the door went off, but Brooke was busy pulling her wallet out. "I'm sorry it's taking so long."
"It's okay. I'm glad you're helping me. I just don't even have time to look for help." Brooke said as she pulled out a twenty dollar bill and looked up.
"If they don't have trouble working for a woman, well, I just don't trust them around Mercy." Mr. Bradshaw spoke quietly. "Traveling hired hands are a rough bunch."
"You mean you can't be sure they are bigots." Brooke sighed as the real world finally started to hit her in the face. "that they wouldn't look at my little girl and say horrible things." Brooke shook her head as he took the money. "I'd rather work my hands down to the bone than risk hiring someone that would hurt her. Don't feel bad about being selective Mr. Bradshaw, because if I have to do this another two months while Jake heals up I'll do it. I'll need a hell of a lot stronger pills than you carry, but I'll do it."
"You've been going through pain pills mighty fast Brooke." He said as he bagged up her purchase.
"I've been hurting." She muttered, hating to admit it. "Some of the stuff I do I didn't even let Jake do alone."
"Oh Girl." He shook his head, but then he looked up over her shoulder. "I'll just take care of this customer and close up shop to help you load. Maybe I can call Tommy down to help so you can rest up. I'm not as young as I used to be, but he's mighty strong."
Brooke didn't bother to complain, her pride wasn't so strong that she'd turn down help. She moved off to the side and pulled out the pain pills he'd bagged up to take a couple while he started to talk with the stranger that came in.
"What are you two needing to load?" The man spoke softly, and Brooke looked over at him. He looked sympathetic. "Maybe I can help." He offered. Brooke looked at him, taking in strong looking arms.
"I need a bunch of hay for my horses." She told him.
"I have time." He spoke and Brooke noticed the way he studied her. It made her feel a little awkward, but it wasn't creepy. "And it sounds like you really should take it easy."
Brooke gave a small smile. "Sure sounds nice, but that's not in my cards." She took a drink of the water she purchased to push the pain pills further down her throat. "Look, if you want to help I'd appreciate it." She finally said it. Maybe she could feel him out about working for a woman with a blue child. She was desperate, but not so desperate to not check on people first.
It felt strange to just sit on a bale of hay as the two men loaded her truck for her, but she did notice the stranger was keeping up fine. "My regular ranch hand had an accident and I'm short handed." She spoke as she watched him hand another bale to Mr. Bradshaw.
"I overheard that." He looked at her and Brooke once again felt like he was debating about saying or doing something. "I can't say I'm reliable, I tend to get called off to do things, but I could help you out for a while."
"You don't even know me." She wasn't sure about how easy this was.
"You're a pretty lady who is apparently popping pills to keep in motion because you don't have help. That isn't right." He told her, sounding rather gentlemanly. "I was just planning to visit someone around here, but maybe I could stick around until you have better help." He said and Brooke stared at him silently, debating about this.
"My little girl is a mutant." She had to say that, because it was important, and she watched him carefully for any hateful signs. "Blink at her and you're out the door."
"I think I can manage to not blink." He smirked. Mr. Bradshaw was looking at the man critically, evaluating him.
"I run the place, not a husband or a father, me." She spoke firmly. "You can work for a woman?"
"No better boss than a woman." He smiled at her, seeming slightly amused.
Her voice was steel. "I don't date my ranch hands." She didn't bother with the gay comment, because it was unlikely to be apparent. She'd need a lover to be obvious, and she didn't have one. Her mind drifted to Mystique, but that woman left town and it was a good chance she might not return. There was even better chance that if Mystique did come back it wouldn't be soon.
"Just business, I got it." He nodded, and Brooke nibbled on her lower lip a moment.
"I'll take you on, jobs maybe two months." She felt a little nervous doing this. "But I don't have room for a man to live on site." No way was she stupid enough to house a stranger.
"Well, I don't really have anywhere else to stay." He paused and Brooke stared into his face. Her eyes widened as his eyes flashed yellow for a moment. "Maybe you could take on my sister?" He smirked at her.
Brooke reluctantly tore her eyes away from Mystique, because it had to be her, to look at the old man. Mr. Bradshaw looked doubtful. "Tell your sister she has a job." Brooke knew this looked odd and she could see Mr. Bradshaw's expression. "I can give her a room at the house."
"That's good." Mystique smirked at her and Brooke just sighed as she sat back down. The 'men' continued to load her truck. The few looks Mr. Bradshaw sent her made it clear the man would be asking questions later.
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As Brooke drove she noticed the truck following her and she smiled just a little at the unexpected perfect help. If Mystique didn't know what she was doing, that was fine, she'd still be strong enough to do what Brooke told her to.
Brooke shook her head as she remembered the talk with Mr. Bradshaw. He thought it was strange of her to hire someone sight unseen, but Brooke said she was just gonna give the sister a chance and send her packing if it didn't work. She said another woman would be the best choice.
He saw it as giving up strength for safety, but he eventually thought it was worth trying too. Brooke didn't even have to admit that it was Mercy's daddy that was moving in to help out. She also didn't say that she knew that woman was strong enough for the job.
Mercy was going to be happy, Brooke thought with a small smile, but it faded when she thought of her grandma meeting Mystique and putting it together. Well, with Mystique being a woman maybe grandma wouldn't figure it out.
Brooke opened the gate and then left it opened as she drove her truck onto her property. As she backed her truck up to the barn she watched as a redheaded blue woman got out of the other truck and closed the gate.
The barn door was slid opened as the second truck came to a stop besides Brooke's. "I really appreciate you helping." Brooke stood beside the bed of her truck and spoke as soon as Mystique's door opened and the woman stepped out. "I wasn't even sure you were going to come back."
Mystique closed her door and took a few steps closer. "I wanted to talk to you about that night, and I have people that would like to meet Mercy. One is blue." She grinned at Brooke. "He's a doctor. I'm trying to figure out how I managed something like Mercy."
Brooke was behind with her work, but then she was consistently behind now. She lowered the gate on her truck and sat on it. "I guess that might be something you'd want to know." Brooke sighed softly. "In all honesty I thought you could do it, you said you were fully functioning."
"I didn't mean that fully." Mystique glanced toward the house. "I think maybe the power of suggestion did the trick, because my tests aren't showing sperm." Brooke grimaced a little at the idea of testing that.
"Suggestion?" Brooke asked.
"Sure, you were rather vocal that first time, wanting to be filled up. Hell you even said I should plant my seed. I thought it was role playing." Mystique shook her head. "I still don't get how I did it."
"Drunk, I made sure you were drunk first." Brooke offered with a painful blush on her face. "I wanted you to relax and go with it."
"Well, maybe we'll make you take a sample." Mystique teased. "You clearly know how." Brooke coughed a little and looked away, embarrassed.
After a little silence Brooke changed the topic. "Mercy's at her grandma's." Brooke spoke softly. "She'll want you to be in your true form, but grandma is going to be curious."
"So how are we playing this?" Mystique asked while leaning against the truck, looking at Brooke.
"I think having other blue women around would be good for Mercy. I'll deal with the fall out with Grandma if I have to." Brooke decided.
"How much pain are you in?" Mystique asked gently, and Brooke blushed.
"I keep messing up my back." She admitted.
Mystique looked at her a little longer and a small wicked smile crossed her lips. "Maybe I can give you a massage later." Brooke stared into Mystique's eyes and wondered about doing that in her own home, but she didn't say no.
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