Pretty as a Peach

by Sawyer Bennett

  The band finishes a song. Before they start the next, the lead singer puts his mouth up to the microphone. “Come on, Colt. Get your butt up here and do a song with us.”

  Several people in the crowd whistle and others chant Colt’s name. The man beside me grins and shakes his head, making a dismissive wave of his hand at the band.

  “Come on, Colt,” the lead singer cajoles into the microphone. “Bet that pretty girl next to you would like to hear you sing.”

  “I really would,” I add, and Colt’s hazel eyes come to mine.

  “If that’s the case, I guess I need to go sing,” is all he says as he pushes from his chair.

  He’s going to sing because I asked him to. Thank God I’m sitting down, or I would be in danger of swooning.

  Everyone whistles louder as Colt saunters up to the makeshift stage and hops up on it. I look around at everyone clapping, and still others stopping conversations to watch Colt. It’s clear he’s beloved in this community, and I’m betting not just because of his singing voice.

  The lead singer hands over his guitar to Colt, who puts it on as if he was born to wear it. He tests a few strings and then says something to the band.

  “Wish he wouldn’t have quit that band,” Larkin says with a huff as she sits down in Colt’s abandoned chair.

  I blink in surprise. “Colt played in that band?”

  She nods with a smile. “For several years. It was nothing major. You know, they do weddings and stuff, but at least it let Colt pursue his love of music somewhat.”

  “Why did he quit?” I ask.

  “He just got busier with the farm. Didn’t have time to practice and soon after, he didn’t have time to do events.”

  I look back up at Colt, who looks so natural standing up there—as well as sexy as all get out—and it makes me sad all the things he’s sacrificed for his farm and his family. It’s just another reason why I like him so much.

  To my surprise, the music starts as a slow ballad, which is a startling contrast to the upbeat rock music that’s been playing. I recognize it immediately as an old George Strait song, I Cross My Heart.

  And oh, wow… can he sing some country music. He sounds even better doing the classics. His eyes sweep out over the crowd, many stepping onto the dance floor to take advantage of a beautiful love song. Jason and Della take the center, and everyone watches them for a few moments before they start dancing themselves.

  Occasionally, Colt’s eyes come to me and he smiles as he sings. I feel the heat in my face and the mad thump of my heart. It would be beyond romantic to be dancing to this song with Colt, but just listening to him croon about dreams and promises is almost too much to bear.

  As we look into the future.

  It’s as far as we can see.

  Our eyes lock, and he doesn’t look away for the rest of the song. My skin prickles as I realize he’s making a very public proclamation that he’s interested in me. I would guess by the way I’m staring back at him, I’m doing the same.

  The song winds down… ends with Colt belting out the last deep note so it practically vibrates in my bones. Everyone goes crazy, cheering, whistling, and stamping their feet. Colt gives a dismissive wave of his hand, and says into the microphone, “Thank you.”

  After he removes the guitar, he hands it back to the lead singer, who says they’re going to take a fifteen-minute break. He hops off the stage and walks with a natural swagger that’s not put on, but every bit earned by his charisma and confidence.

  “That was unbelievable,” I tell him as he approaches. I stand just as he reaches me, and it would be the perfect moment to kiss.

  You know, if the entire Mancinkus clan weren’t sitting at the table watching and my seven-year-old daughter wasn’t playing with the other kids fifteen feet away.

  “Glad you liked it,” he says as he chucks me under the chin with his fingers.

  “Okay, I’ve got an announcement to make everyone,” Mely says from the opposite side of the table. Colt, Larkin, and I both turn that way. The rest of the family is all present with empty plates of food and drink glasses in front of them.

  Mely stands up and places her fingertips on the edge of the table. Lowe reaches a hand up from where he sits beside her to give her butt a little pat of encouragement. She grins at him.

  When she looks back, she gives a little cough to clear her throat and says without any fanfare, “You’re looking at the proud new owner of Millie’s B&B.”

  Lowe gives a coughing sound. “Ahem.”

  Mely laughs and adds, “I mean owners. As in plural. Lowe and I bought it, and we’re going to be opening it next month.”

  For a brutally painful moment, there’s utter silence around the table. My heart hurts for Mely and Lowe that they’re not getting family support, but then a dull roar rises as everyone starts exclaiming in excited surprise at once.

  “Oh, my God,” Larkin says as she runs around the table to practically tackle Mely in a hug. “I’m so thrilled.”

  After that, the family members—original and newly added—all swarm around Mely and Lowe for hugs and back claps of congratulations. I move my way around the table to do the same, content to wait my turn. Just as Colt steps up to his brother, Pap sidles in beside me. He puts his arm around my shoulder and gives me a squeeze.

  “Does my heart good,” he says as we watch Colt talking to Mely and Lowe.

  “Seeing your brood succeed?” I hazard a guess.

  “Well, that,” he replies agreeably, but then turns his gaze to me. “But I enjoy seeing this community grow from the outside in. First Ry from Boston, then Mely from New York, and finally Jake from Chicago… all finding a new home here in Whynot. Just like I did all those years ago.”

  “It’s a lovely sentiment,” I tell Pap.

  “You stick around here, and that would be another fine addition to our community,” he points out.

  Sly old dog. I know where you’re going with this.

  “That’s sweet of you to say,” I reply noncommittally, not because I’m unwilling to consider a permanent move here. On the contrary, this would be an amazing place to raise Linnie, but I don’t engage in “what-ifs” with Pap because this thing with Colt is newly forming and I don’t want to jinx it.

  Pap grunts in frustration that I won’t give him any clue as to my thoughts, but I just give him a polite smile back. Then I step up beside Colt and join him in congratulating his brother and sister-in-law.

  CHAPTER 22

  Colt

  “Watch it,” Lowe calls. “You’re going to hit the doorjamb.”

  I growl at my brother as Jake and I carefully, and without any error, maneuver a loveseat into the sitting room of Millie’s. “You’re awfully bossy for someone who doesn’t seem to be doing any of the actual physical work.”

  “I’ve got ice-cold beer for the two of you,” Lowe points out as if that excuses his overbearing manners.

  I just grunt in acknowledgment as Jake and I carry the loveseat to place in front of the window as Lowe had imperiously directed.

  We set it down and turn to look at my brother expectantly for our next assignment. So far, we have carried in two high-backed chairs, a coffee table, a sideboard, and a dining room table that seats eight. In fairness to Lowe, he helped bring in the dining room chairs.

  “Where did Mely get all this furniture?” Jake asks.

  When I arrived this morning to help Lowe move furniture per his request, I was stunned to find a large moving truck in front of Millie’s blocking a good chunk of the road.

  “She had me drive up to High Point a few days ago, and we picked all of this out. It was a lot cheaper for us to just bring it back ourselves in a rented U-Haul.”

  “Because you had free muscle labor,” I mutter.

  “Exactly,” Lowe says with a huge grin. “Besides, I know you’re going to have my butt out there harvesting grapes at some point.”

  “And don’t forget you promised to build the actual winery portion,” I
remind him.

  “You two definitely have a quid-pro-quo deal worked out,” Jake says, butting into the conversation. “But what do I get in return for this?”

  Lowe nods toward a cooler sitting in the foyer. “Like I said… I brought beer. And Colt and I won’t harass you for dating our sister.”

  “A beer sounds like a good idea,” I say as I head that way. “Let’s have one now.”

  “But we have to unload the bedroom furniture,” Lowe replies, following Jake and me out of the sitting room.

  Bending over, I open the cooler Lowe had waiting in the foyer, pulling three beers out. I hand one to Jake and one to Lowe, then twist the cap off mine. I take a long swallow before I finally reply to my brother. “And I think we need a break before we do the upstairs furniture.”

  “It’s hot as Hades in here,” Jake says as he opens the front door. “Let’s sit out on the front porch.”

  Millie’s Bed and Breakfast has been an establishment in Whynot, North Carolina for decades. After Millie died, her sons let it run into the ground until it was unfortunately closed. It was the only place for lodging in our town. While the inside was a complete mess and Lowe had been hired by a real estate development company that bought it in foreclosure, the outside bones were still good.

  It’s a Victorian-style house with a wide sweeping porch that ends in rounded turrets on both sides. They go up two stories, ending in a conical roof with a spire and gray decorative shingles.

  The clapboard siding is done in a buttercup yellow and the trim in bright white. Black shutters adorn every window, and Mely has put out several rocking chairs so people can sit out front and stare across the street at the beautiful courthouse.

  Jake and I take two of the rocking chairs while Lowe leans back against the porch banister facing us. He crosses one leg over the other and takes a sip of his beer. “You got most of your stuff moved down here?”

  That question is directed at Jake, who nods in affirmation. “Yeah… for the most part. I’m going to have to put some of it in storage up there when I put my apartment up for sale.”

  “I thought you were going to keep it since you’re going to be working some out of your Chicago office?” I ask.

  He shakes his head. “I’m just going to stay in a hotel because I don’t think my trips up there are going to be enough to justify the cost of keeping a home there.”

  I smile and take another sip of my beer. Jake has become a permanent full-time resident of Whynot. Apparently, my sister Laken has just that much of an effect on him.

  Jake and Lowe lapse into a conversation about the value of real estate in Chicago and I let my gaze drift out across Courthouse Square. To the left of where I sit is Floyd’s store, The Reader’s Nook, and Central Café. To the right is Sweet Cakes, Trixie’s law firm, and Chesty’s. On the far side of the courthouse and outside of my view sits Laken’s veterinary practice. It hits me all at once that all of my siblings now have their careers and much of their lives tied up right here in the town proper, whereas my life and career is still back at the farm on the outskirts of town.

  For the first time in my life, I feel like a bit of an outsider with my brother and sisters. Which is ridiculous because they have never done anything to make me feel that way, and they have always maintained a great deal of interest in the farm even if they don’t want to actively be involved in working it.

  My gaze starts to drift back over to Sweet Cakes, thinking I might stop in later to see Larkin when my eyes stop on a white sports car parked parallel to the bakery. It’s not necessarily the car that gets my attention, even though it’s foreign looking and well out of the price range of what someone around here would drive, but rather the man who is leaning against the passenger side and facing Millie’s.

  He’s got his arms crossed over his chest, one leg crossed over the other, and he is staring right at me.

  Darby’s husband Mitch.

  I have no clue how long he has been sitting there clearly with the intent to find me. I know this because his stare is challenging and creepy at the same time. My gut tells me he’s probably been there as long as I have been here helping Lowe and Jake move furniture, which has been about an hour. If that’s the case, he could have potentially followed me from the farm and I didn’t notice.

  “Son of a bitch,” I mutter. I push up from my rocker and shove my beer at Lowe.

  “What?” Lowe says when I start down the porch steps.

  “I’ll be right back,” I call out over my shoulder. Crossing the street, I head toward Mitch.

  As I walk his way, I’m secure enough in my manhood that I can admit to the outward appeal this man had to Darby when she was younger. He’s good-looking and super successful. While I never asked Darby what he did at the company they had both worked for, the fact he’s driving a super expensive car tells me he makes good bank. Why wouldn’t that be appealing to a young woman fresh out of college?

  Mitch smiles as I draw closer but it’s not welcoming. If anything, it’s spiteful and his eyes are filled with utter disdain.

  I don’t mince any words. “What do you want?”

  Mitch chuckles and shakes his head at me as if I clearly don’t understand why he’s here.

  I don’t.

  His arms drop away from his chest, and he casually rests the palms of his hands on the hood of the car he’s leaning against.

  “I came to give you fair warning,” he says with a smirk.

  “About what?” I ask.

  He smiles again. In a falsely polite and genial voice, he says, “Why… to stay away from my wife, of course.”

  I am not about to get into it with this man about the nature and extent of my relationship with Darby. It’s definitely going places, but it’s a journey that’s none of his business. But I also don’t want to walk away from him right now. I would like to know the extent of his insanity, so I know how to best protect Darby and Linnie.

  Because there’s no doubt this guy is off his rocker. Darby has told him time and again the marriage is over. She left him and moved away with their daughter. She has rebuffed him every time he has tried to push his way back in. Not only that, I saw firsthand just how nasty he can be and there is no way in hell Darby would go back to that.

  While I don’t want to goad him into doing something stupid, I do want to know his motivation. “Can I ask you a question?”

  He blinks in surprise but then gives me an accommodating smile. “Of course.”

  “Why do you want a woman who clearly doesn’t want you?”

  Mitch’s face turns red with anger and embarrassment. If looks could kill, I’d be dead in the street right now. He has an answer for me. “Darby doesn’t know or understand what she wants or needs. She’ll come to her senses soon enough.”

  “Seems to me she has come to her senses. And the Darby I know has proved to be nothing more than a brilliant woman with a good head on her shoulders. It seems to me she knows exactly what she needs and wants, and it’s not you.”

  Mitch pushes off the car and puffs out his chest. It’s comical since he is not a threat to me at all, but I don’t go there.

  He sneers. “I suppose she needs a man like you? A farmer? You don’t know Darby at all. She wants a lifestyle you would never be able to give her.”

  It just goes to show that Mitch has known Darby for years and I’ve only known her for weeks, and yet, I know her better than he ever will. Darby doesn’t give a crap about lifestyle, fancy cars, or expensive trips. She cares first and foremost that her daughter has everything she needs in life. After that, Darby wants to make her own way. She does not want a man to support her.

  There is absolutely no sense in having that conversation with Mitch, though. He doesn’t want to know the real Darby. He only wants the woman who used to be content to sit under his thumb. He has no clue that woman is dead and gone.

  I casually tuck my hands into the pockets of my jeans, wanting to come off as nonthreatening even though my words are very point
ed. “Let me give you a suggestion. You need to leave Darby alone. She’s not interested in coming back to you, and she never will be. She is now in a community with many friends who care for and support her. She has everything she needs right here. Do yourself a favor and move on.”

  Mitch then does something that causes the hair on the back of my neck to stand up. He actually laughs in a maniacal kind of way with something like a high-pitched giggle to it. He wags his finger at me. “You think by going to lunch with my wife and taking her to wedding parties, it gives you knowledge about the real Darby? You don’t concern me at all. You’re nothing but a speed bump, and I’m going to roll right over you.”

  Mitch turns his back on me and walks around to the driver side. I don’t move an inch as he gets in and slams the door shut. After he turns the car on and puts it in drive, he peels out of his parking spot with a squeal of tires.

  After he’s out of sight, I head back to Millie’s.

  Lowe hands me my beer after I jog up the porch steps. “What was that all about?”

  “Just had a few things clarified for me,” I say before taking a long swallow of the beer.

  “What’s that?” Jake asks.

  “That Darby’s soon-to-be ex-husband is a certified nut job. He’s also been stalking Darby and me.”

  “Should you report this to the sheriff?” Lowe asks, his eyebrows drawing inward with worry.

  I turn to look at Jake. He knows this guy better than I do. “What do you think?”

  Jake’s lips press together in a grimace and he shakes his head. “I don’t know. Never liked the guy and sort of feel like he’s a lot of bluster and no action.”

  I consider this for a moment. I don’t want to be an alarmist and it’s probably nothing more than this guy is just a world class jerk. “I think I’ll let this ride and I just watch over Darby a little bit closer. Hopefully, he’s all hot air.”