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15
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Well, there's a whole lotta high- class people out there,
That's lookin' down on me.
'Cause the country club where I belong,
Is the Honky Tonk till three in the mornin'.
Don't wear no fancy clothes,
No ties or three-piece suits.
You can find me in my camouflage hat,
My tee-shirt an' cowboy boots.
If that don't fit your social class,
You can kiss my country ass.
Kiss my Country Ass- Rhett Akins
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Sam huffed when his phone vibrated in his pocket; the stupid thing could wait. He was nearly finished with the last of his chores for the day. He ignored it, until it vibrated again. With a muttered curse, he pulled it from his back pocket only to grin when he saw Bella's face on the screen. "Hey, baby girl! I've been thinking about you."
So it was a white lie. He mused she'd still like to hear it.
He wasn't wrong from the sound of her chuckle. "You were, huh?"
"Always." He ignored the snickers coming from Paul and Jared, offering them a one finger salute instead. "Are you still at work?" He asked.
"Mmhm. I'm on a ten minute break." She huffed.
"Why do you need a ten minute break? Did something happen?" He'd been told by everyone who knew him he was too perceptive for his own good. Now had been just another one of those times when he knew something had been wrong.
Bella sighed. "Mrs. Arlene sent me to the back of the library in the office. Edward tried to manhandle me outside to get me to talk to him. He said he only wants to apologize, but I don't think he does." She said rubbing the bruise that had started forming on her arm.
Jared tried to calm him down while Paul yanked the phone away from a now livid Sam. "Hey, Bella, it's Paul. What's wrong? Sam looks ready to kill."
"Yeah, I figured he might be. I had a run in with Edward today. Mrs. Arlene sent me into the back until she could get him to leave. I thought maybe talking to Sam would help. Guess that one didn't work though." She sighed.
Paul sighed and watched Sam pacing while Jared kept him from getting too close to any of the walls. "Are you ok?"
"Yeah… I'm fine. I wish I had a spider or ten to throw at his face though. Maybe he'd take a hint and leave me the hell alone." She huffed.
"A spider or ten? Isn't that kind of excessive?" He mused.
"And what? I'm supposed to sit back and let him heckle me and annoy me to the point I don't leave my house anymore? Oh… Paul, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you."
Even though she couldn't see it, Paul rolled his eyes. "I know. Damn, woman, you act like you're the first girl to ever snap at me! That was mild compared to some I've had pissed off at me." He teased.
"I still feel bad. It wasn't warranted and I was raised better." She huffed.
He grinned when Sam walked over to them after he'd calmed himself. "Sam, you get rid of this one and I'll take her for myself." He teased before handing the phone back to him.
"Don't mind him, baby girl. He was dropped on his head as a baby." Sam huffed.
"He means well. I'm sorry if I ticked you off, Sam." She said, her voice quiet.
He sighed. "I'm not pissed at you. I'm pissed at Edward. You're my girl now. I don't like him thinkin' he can weasel his way back into your good graces."
Bella bit her lip to try and quell the whimper that wanted to escape. He sounded so sexy at the moment. Sure, he'd been acting like a possessive cave man, but in his way, he showed her he cared about her because he knew she didn't like the attention Edward had been giving her lately. It was enough to have her eyes fluttering closed as she remembered the smoldering lust she'd seen in his eyes not two days before when she'd nearly brought him to his knees- or would have if he'd been standing.
"Sam… he doesn't have a snowballs chance in hell of getting me back. I'm with you now. And I'm not leaving." She finally promised.
"Oh yeah?" He couldn't help the smug smirk that danced onto his lips. Jared and Paul each arched an eyebrow in question, causing his smirk to turn into a grin.
"Definitely." She promised.
Sam could have leapt for joy. "That's my woman."
"I hoped you'd agree. Now though, I have to go. Edward is gone and I still have some things to file before I can leave."
"Still comin' over tonight?" He wondered.
"Of course. You going to tell me where we're going?"
He chuckled. "Nope. You'll have to wait and see..."
"Ok. Bye Sam." She said with a smile in her voice.
Sam hung up and sighed. "So.. Who here wants pay back on a certain city boy we all love to hate?"
"What's goin on Sam?" Paul asked. "She wouldn't say too much."
"Edward has been messing with her off and on since I got out of the hospital." Sam sighed. "He put his hands on her today to try and get her outside to talk alone. Apparently he's sorry or some shit."
"Fucker." Jared had had enough.
Finding out Edward had been trying to get back into Bella's good graces, then man handling her had pushed him nearly to his limits. Sam and Bella had shared their theory that Edward had paid someone off to have the snakes placed near the horses. They didn't think he'd counted on Sam being bit though. Hell it could have been Bella. He was livid. For that matter… so were Jared and Paul if they could be judged on the dark frowns the two wore.
"Come on you two. Let's get this done. I gotta get cleaned up before tonight." Sam sighed. Stewing over it wouldn't do any of them any good.
"Still taking Bella out on a picnic dinner tonight?" Paul asked.
"Yeah. Mom helped me work on everything."
Jared snorted. "Thank god for that! We all know you can't cook to save your life. I've never seen someone move so slow in a kitchen." He teased.
"And yet, I can still skin a buck faster than you…" Sam mused.
"I still cook it better." Jared snapped.
Paul arched an eyebrow. "I wouldn't brag about that."
"Hey, Kim likes the fact that I can cook, and that I clean. I still have my man card." Jared huffed.
Sam only laughed and went back to mucking stalls.
Paul's shout had Jared and Sam running to him in the last stall nearly ten minutes later. He'd found something 'cool' and wanted them to see it too.
"Dude… the hell is that?!" Sam asked, his eyes wide.
Jared rolled his eyes. "It's just a spider!"
"Just a spider? Damn, bro, the thing is huge!" Paul huffed.
"You know… Bella told me Edward is afraid of spiders…" Sam said with a thoughtful look.
"Yeah, she said that on the phone earlier… well she said she wished she could throw one in his face…" Paul shrugged.
"Watch it… don't let it get out of sight, I'll be right back." Jared said running out of the barn.
Sam arched an eyebrow and Paul only shook his head. "Do I even want to know?" Paul wondered.
"Maybe not. It's Jared after all." Sam snickered. "That fucker is big though…" He added after a minute.
"I picked it up but I didn't want to get bit. Look at the fangs on the son of a bitch." Paul crowed.
Sam shook his head. "I'll pass, thanks. I don't mind spiders, but that damn thing is about as big as my index finger."
Jared came back with a mason jar and a lid with poked through holes in it. He wore a smirk on his face as he eased the spider into the jar- after spending ten minutes corralling it into a spot where he could catch it.
"Thing has to be at least 2 or 3 inches long…. Come on, Quil's grandpa knows a lot about spiders… he can tell us what it is." Jared said before hurrying out of the barn.
Sam only shook his head. "He's up to something."
"Yep… come on then. Lets go rescue him…" Paul sighed.
"Again." They chorused as the followed him. It would be one of those days after all.
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Edward sighed as he climbed into his car. Work had been hell for him. He'd had a visit from Paul and Jared today and he was beyond nervous for the first time since Sam had been released from the hospital. They got closer and closer to finding out what his part in how Sam had been bit was and he couldn't help but feel panic begin to settle in the pit of his stomach. He scrubbed his hands over his face and sighed again. He shook his head and started his car.
He never noticed the hitch hiker that had fallen onto his shoe from the steering wheel where it had been sitting. He did however notice it when Paul and Jared started laughing heartily as he drove past them on his way out of the parking lot. He only shook his head. He wondered why they had stayed in the parking lot; he'd never understand them.
He frowned when they merely waved. Dumb hicks. The lot of them.
Feather light touches caught his attention. It felt like something crawling up his shin. He stomped his foot, hoping it was just a tingle under the surface of his skin that would go away. When it happened again, he frowned. He nearly missed stopping at the stop sign due to his lack of attention while driving. He glared when the cop sitting next to him only arched an eyebrow.
What was in his pant leg?!
He intent had been on finding out what was wrong. He sighed and pulled the hem of the pant leg up to see if there had been a bug caught under the fabric; he yelled and nearly feinted. Placing the car in park, he flew out of the door and started stomping like a mad man in the middle of the road. He became oblivious to anything but getting the invading beast off of his skin. It looked like something from a nightmare.
He completely missed the howling laughter from the other end of the parking lot. Even the deputy behind him chuckled at the scene he had created. He looked like an escaped mental patient, flailing around and screaming in the middle of the road. He didn't care about anything else but getting the thing off of his leg without being bit- or peeing his pants out of fear.
When he noticed the beast of a spider that had been clinging desperately to his leg was off and gone, he shivered again. Reality came crashing back on him and he looked around, horrified at all the people who had stopped to stare at him. He only moaned.- today could not get any worse than it already had.
"Is there a problem, son?" Now the cop was involved. Could his day go any worse?
Edward sighed. "No sir. Not anymore." He said with a sullen expression on his face.
This would go straight back to his father. He never saw the camera in Jared's hands as he and Paul walked past him, still laughing.
"Can I ask what had you hopping around like a mad hatter?"
Edward sighed. "There was a spider in my pants."
"All that fussin' was over a spider? You sure you got your man card in tact son?"
Edward scowled. "If that's all, sir, I'd like to go home now." He nearly spat.
"Alright. I'll let ya get on with a warning this time. As entertaining as seeing you hopping around was… you're causing too much of a scene. Have a good day." He offered trying to keep the amusement from his voice.
Edward only scowled. Payback received alright. He'd have to think of another way to apologize. Maybe then he'd have a chance with Bella again.