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forced to drive in their old beat up one that barely ran enough to get back and forth for hauling. She turned and fixed Jake with a cool stare.
    "Remember when I was talking about leagues? This is what I meant." She walked into the house, nearly tearing the screen door off its hinges before it slammed shut with a loud bang. Which was so stupid because if the damn thing broke, there'd be just one more thing they'd have to fix.
    She stormed into the kitchen and grabbed the plate with the sandwich and chips along with the sweaty glass of iced tea, planning on heading out to the back porch to eat before getting to work. Jake's expected appearance in the kitchen stopped her before she could escape.
    "Do you want to tell me what that was all about?" His voice was quiet and controlled as he leaned in the doorway, his hazel eyes watching her coolly. She put the plate back on the counter and drained the tea before looking at him.
    "Nothing. It was about nothing."
    "Really?" Jake crossed his arms and stared at her long enough that she looked away, embarrassed and angry at the same time. "What's gotten into you, Kayli?"
    "Nothing has gotten into me, okay? I just...I don't like feeling like people are laughing at me, that's all."
    "Whoa, back up. What? Who said anything about anyone laughing at you?"
    Kayli took a deep breath and blew it out between clenched teeth, knowing she was overreacting and not even knowing why. "Nothing. Nobody. It's just...he shows up here with his fancy clothes and flashy cars and he's probably laughing the entire time. And just...never mind." And she just needed to shut up because she should not be yelling like she was.
    "What the hell are you talking about, Kayli? Who's laughing? Because I haven't seen it."
    "Just...leave me alone, Jake, okay? I don't want to talk about it." She tried to push past him but he grabbed her arm and stopped her. The look in his eyes was all disappointment, which only angered her more.
    "No, I'm not going to leave you alone. What has gotten into you?"
    "Nothing. I'm just...tired. And I hate being reminded of how little we have, when I work so damn hard."
    "Kayli--"
    "No! Don't say anything. You're not here, you don't know how hard it is to keep everything going with you gone. You don't know what it's like, fighting off the damn sharks who're always showing up, trying to buy this place so they can turn it into a housing development. You don't know what it's like, wondering if I'm going to have use the property for collateral again, wondering if the next time will be the time the bank says no. That falls to me! And I'm tired of being the only one who has to deal with it every single day!" She pulled her arm from his grasp and pushed past him, not caring that her unfair words hurt him more than they hurt her.
    She stumbled into the hallway and came to a halt when she saw Ian standing there, watching her. Their eyes met for a brief second before she turned again and headed toward the back door, pushing through it as she wiped her hand across her eyes. Lori and the twins came running toward her but she ignored them, heading straight for the four-wheeler and escape.
    Someone was calling her name--it sounded like Jake--but she ignored him as she jumped on the ATV and fired it to life, then roared across the back lawn toward the upper fields, wanting nothing more than to disappear for a little while.

Chapter Five
    Kayli wiped her hands over her face one last time and took a deep breath, savoring the rich smells of hay and dirt and hard work. Her escape had lasted for close to an hour--much longer than she thought Jake would have given her. From the sound of footsteps coming into the barn, she figured he was done giving her time to feel sorry for herself, and was ready to give her a reality check. But first she needed to apologize, because she had been so out of line with the things she had said.
    "Jake, I'm sorry. I didn't mean the things I said and--" She turned to face him just as the