by Ali Parker
I snorted. “That’s a very modern view,” I told her.
“Anyway, I’m not dating anyone at the moment,” Cami sighed. “Things have been pretty busy here with work as well. Not nearly as busy as what you’ve been up to there, I’m sure, but it kind of feels like it some days.” She started telling me stories about some of the new models that her agency had picked up, and I let those stories distract me from my thoughts about Mason for a moment.
“Plus,” Cami said, as she was winding down, “I couldn’t date anyone without having my best friend here to make sure he was the right kind of guy for me. We all know I have horrible taste in men.”
“Yeah,” I said, distracted by what I was seeing through the glass. Mason and Jeff had come up onto the back porch and were digging through the trunk out there. “Not to cut this short, but I need to check on something,” I told Cami.
“All right, all right, I get it,” Cami sighed. “You’re too busy for friends right now.”
“I’m never too busy for you. I’ll call you back next week,” I promised.
“You’d better,” Cami said. “I’m still waiting to hear details about your first time! I will get it out of you, you know.”
I smiled, looking out at Mason. Cami and I told each other everything, but I couldn’t help wanting to keep that first time private, just between Mason and I. There had been something so beautifully romantic about it, and it almost felt like the more people I shared it with, the more it would lose its luster.
But I didn’t tell Cami that right now. Let her keep pestering me for details.
“Talk soon,” was all I said before hanging up the phone. Then, I went out onto the back porch.
“I don’t know, they were always in here,” Jeff was saying as I walked out. He continued rummaging through the box.
“What are you looking for?” I asked.
Jeff glanced back over his shoulder. “A gun,” he said.
“What on earth do you need a gun for?” I asked in surprise, looking at Mason.
He grimaced. “We found rats,” he said. “We’ll have to get rid of them all before the inspection. Otherwise, we’ll never get the license we need to open this place up to the public.”
I groaned. “One more thing to deal with,” I sighed. I shook my head. “You’re not going to find a gun in there, though, Jeff.”
“Do you know where they are?” Jeff asked, straightening up. “I swear Grampa had, like, fifty of them when we were kids. Remember, he and his friends used to set up those shooting ranges in the back fields and we weren’t allowed out past the barn while they were there.”
“I remember,” I said. “There weren’t that many of them, though.”
“There were a lot, anyway. And now we can’t find a single one.”
“That’s because Dad took them all years ago,” I said, shrugging. “Something to do with Grampa getting older and Dad thinking it wasn’t safe for them to all be around here anymore. He sold them all off to collectors. There apparently were some pretty nice ones in there.”
Jeff sighed. “Sounds like Dad,” he said.
“We’ll just call pest control,” I said, shrugging. “They’ll deal with rats, right?” I looked to Mason for confirmation.
“They will, but we don’t know how long it could take them,” Mason said, grimly.
“It’s not like they have too much else to do, is there?” I joked. “It’s a pretty sleepy little town.”
“Yeah, but rats aren’t the biggest problem around here. Every farm has rats—that’s why every farm has cats,” Mason shrugged. “But not every farm is trying to open to the public with food stands and whatnot.”
“Can we, like, bribe them or something?” Jeff asked.
“Worth a try,” Mason said. “But anyway, we have a couple guns back at our farm. The quicker we take matters into our own hands, the quicker everything will be solved.”
I frowned at him. “Are you sure?” I asked. In order to get the guns, he’d have to face his family. I knew he had to do that at some point, and I still hoped it would be sooner rather than later, but I didn’t want him to feel like he had to face them right now if he wasn’t really ready for it. I didn’t want to put the pressure on him; he was already doing so much to help me.
Mason shrugged. “It’s about time I faced them,” he said. “I’ve stalled long enough.”
I wanted to say something, to let him know just how much I appreciated the gesture. It seemed like no matter what came up, he was committed to doing this for me. That meant a lot.
But before I could say anything, Mason asked me a question. “Do you want to come with me?”
I blinked in surprise. He’d been acting so distant that I’d almost wondered whether our relationship had fizzled out before it had even started. Now he wanted me to come see his family with him, though. That had to mean something. Maybe I was reading too much into things. He had a lot on his mind at the moment, and I wasn’t the only thing he was thinking about.
That said, I wasn’t sure that I was ready to face his family again. Not yet.
“I think it’s probably better if you go alone,” I told him. “To sort things out with Ted.”
It was only partially the truth. The more I thought about this job opportunity in North Carolina, the more I was sure that it was what I needed to do. It was the only thing that made logical sense. Staying here, in this little fantasy bubble with Mason, just wasn’t what I’d ever imagined for myself. Not forever. I couldn’t throw away everything I’d ever worked for, just for some guy. No matter how kind and attractive he was.
So there was no point in going over to see his family with him. I didn’t want to insert myself any further into their lives. And there was no reason to try to win them over, to get them to like me. In fact, if they didn’t like me, it would probably be easier in the end. Another reason I could tell Mason for why I was leaving. Another way that they could console him, once I had left, ‘Oh, we never liked her anyway. You could do much better.’
I didn’t like thinking about that, the eventual end of all of this. But it was inevitable, and the sooner I started looking at things that way, the better prepared I would be to leave.
Mason obviously wanted to say something else, but then he glanced over at Jeff and shut his mouth again, merely nodding at me. “All right,” he said. “Call pest control while I’m gone and see if you can get them over here sooner, rather than later. I’ll be back in a little while.”
“Sounds good,” I said, watching him leave.
Chapter 29
Mason
I drove up in front of the house and sat there for a moment, the engine idling. I wasn’t sure if I was really ready to face everyone yet, but I wanted to take care of the rat problem and there was only one way to do that. Besides, I couldn’t avoid everyone forever. Even if it weren’t such a small town, they were family and we’d always been close.
Mama met me at the front door, immediately throwing her arms around me. “I thought I heard your truck pull up,” she said. I wondered how many times she had imagined that sound over the time that I’d been gone, and I immediately felt guilty. When she pulled away to get a better look at me, I could see the bags under her eyes. She hadn’t been sleeping well.
I bit my lip, feeling like a young child for a moment.
But Mama merely smiled at me. “You look good,” she said. “Better than I’d expect, with you fending for yourself at the Dew Drop Inn. What have you been eating, anyway?”
I blushed and shrugged, avoiding her eyes. “I’ve been staying at Abi’s place for the past few nights,” I admitted. “They have a guest apartment in the loft of their barn. She’s been feeding me.”
“She sure seems like a keeper,” Mama said, her eyes twinkling.
Just then, the pups came running into the room, barking and falling all over themselves when they saw me. I bent down to scratch them behind the ears, enjoying the way they jumped up to lick my face. “Hey buddies!” I said.
“Looks like they missed you just as much as the rest of us have,” Mama said, and when I looked up, I saw her try to surreptitiously wipe a tear from her eye.
“Oh Mama, don’t cry,” I said. “I wasn’t gone for too long. I didn’t even leave town.”
“I know,” Mama said, laughing a little. “But it’s good to have you back, all the same.”
I winced. “I’m not really back,” I admitted.
“What do you mean?” Mama asked.
“I just came to get a few things, and to talk to Ted,” I told her.
“Will you be joining us for work on the ranch again?” Daddy asked, coming into the hallway as well and peering at me over his glasses. “It would be good to have you. We could use your experience during this busy time.”
“I’ll have to talk to Ted,” I said, even though inside I knew that with the way things had been lately, the zombie haunt took precedence. I knew it shouldn’t be that way, but I couldn’t seem to help feeling like that. And I knew it would show in my work even if I didn’t just admit it outright.
I’d have to talk to Ted and make sure I still had plenty of time to work over at the Brock place.
“How are things going over there?” Mama asked. “I’m sure they’re benefitting from your experience.”
I shrugged. “I don’t have much experience with what we’re doing right now,” I said. “There’s nothing traditional about their harvest at all.”
“I saw something in the paper,” Mama said, frowning. “Something about a harvest festival?”
“Yeah,” I said, pleased that someone, at least, had seen the ad. Hopefully that meant that there were plenty of other people who had seen the ad and were planning on attending. “We just finished building the corn maze, and I think it’s going to be a lot of fun. Now, we’re building some refreshment stands where we can sell hot pies, roasted peanuts, cotton candy, cider, and whatever else Abi decides to put on the menu.”
I paused and turned to Daddy. “Actually, that’s part of why I’m here, other than to talk to Ted. We found some rats out in the barn earlier, and we’re not going to be able to get our licenses if we have rats. I was hoping I could borrow a couple guns and some of those wire traps.”
“Of course,” Daddy said, nodding at me. “I’ll go see what I can find.”
“Thanks,” I told him, giving him a quick hug.
“You know, I’d like to see Abi again,” Mama said, leading me into the kitchen and pouring me a glass of lemonade.
“You would?” I asked in surprise. “I was afraid you’d think she was the cause of all the problems between Ted and I.”
“Of course not,” Mama said. “I thought she seemed like a lovely girl.”
I looked down at my knotted hands and then sighed. “I really think she could be the one, Mama,” I admitted. It was more than I’d said even to Abi. I paused. “How do you know, though? All I know is that I’ve never felt this way about anyone before, but I don’t know if it’s love.”
Mama smiled at me. “What’s the first thing on your mind in the morning?” she asked. “And the last thing before you go to sleep? If it’s her, then it’s love.”
A slow smile spread across my face. “I really like her,” I said honestly.
“I’m proud of you,” Mama said. “For everything.”
“Even for fighting with Ted?” I asked, and Mama laughed.
“You better go make up with that boy,” she said, wagging a finger at me. “I didn’t raise you boys to be at each other’s throats!”
“All right,” I said, getting up from the table. I kissed Mama’s hair one last time and then headed out to the office to see if I could track down Ted.
I found Lauralee first. “It’s good to see you back!” she said, in surprise. “Ted’s out in the back pasture fixing fences,” she told me. “Our crazy tractor driver strikes again.”
I groaned. “I bet Ted was pretty pissed about that one.”
“He was, but at least it’s given him some hard work to do for a few days,” Lauralee said. Her eyes twinkled. “And something he could do on his own, too.”
“Uh oh, has he really been that upset?” I asked.
Lauralee shrugged. “I think he’s frustrated with himself more than anything,” she said. “He knows that he was wrong in firing you, and I think he’s been trying to work out how to make it up to you.”
“I’d better go find him before he hurts himself with all that thinking,” I joked, smiling at her. I hopped on one of the ATVs and headed towards the back pasture, feeling a little better about this meeting, with Lauralee’s words in my head.
Sure enough, Ted was glad to see me drive up to him, although he tried to hide it with brusque efficiency. “Hey,” he said, nodding at me. “Would you mind holding this up here while I hammer in a couple nails?”
I wordlessly did as he asked, waiting for him to start the real conversation.
“I’m sorry,” he finally said, as he hammered the third nail home. He dropped the hammer back into the toolbox and wiped his hands on a rag, looking seriously at me. “I shouldn’t have fired you. You were right, you have a right to a life outside the farm. And you always got more work done than anyone else anyway.”
I grinned. “With the possible exception of you and David.” I looked at the fence, running my hands along it. “This is a pretty nice fence you’ve put up all by yourself.”
Ted looked pleased with the praise. But then he shook his head. “Seriously, I was an idiot for firing you. Do you think you could forgive me enough to come back home and come back to work?”
I paused as if I really had to think about it. “I don’t know,” I said. “I was thinking that maybe I’d buy up a farm of my own, on the other side of town. Do things exactly the same way except better, and take over all your business. Wouldn’t be too hard, would it?”
For a minute, Ted looked shocked. Then, he laughed. “You asshole,” he said, slinging an affectionate arm around my shoulders. “Does that mean you’ll come back?”
“I’m not sure about the moving in part,” I admitted. “I’ve been staying over in the loft apartment on the Brock farm, and things are going well between Abi and I.” They weren’t perfect, not by any stretch. Things had been a bit off between the two of us, ever since that conversation about her return to North Carolina. I didn’t quite know how to bridge the gap. I’d been so caught up in trying to decide if I loved her and if I wanted to marry her that I hadn’t really been trying as hard as I should have.
I only hoped she hadn’t felt that distance as acutely as I had.
But that was something I had to think about later. Ted didn’t need to know about all of that.
“You’re still going to be working over there?” Ted asked.
“Yeah,” I said, folding my arms over my chest defensively. But Ted seemed mostly curious.
“All right, we’ll have to figure out a schedule that works. Something more part-time, I guess. But we’ll take whatever hours you can give us.”
I stared at Ted in surprise. “Really?” I asked. “It’s that simple?”
Ted shrugged self-consciously. “We could really use your help around here. Whatever you’re able to give us. But like I said, you have the right to a life outside the ranch. Just because you were born here, it doesn’t mean that you’re stuck here.” He paused. “And besides, even if I can keep you on part-time, it’s more than we get out of David now, isn’t it.”
I laughed. “I guess I’m glad he set the precedent, then.” I paused. “But I was serious. If Abi decides to go back to North Carolina, I might be headed that way myself.” I didn’t know what the hell I would do with myself there, and I didn’t even know if Abi would be okay with me following her. Maybe that would be yet another thing that it was too soon for. But we’d cross that bridge when we got to it.
“Okay,” Ted said simply. He grinned. “Just don’t leave with no notice in the middle of harvest season next time, okay?”
&nbs
p; I snorted. “That was your own damned fault, and you know it.”
“I know, I know,” Ted said. “It’s good to have you back.” He paused, “Are you staying for dinner at least? Mama must be overjoyed to see you again, she’s been acting like you died or something.”
I grimaced. “Not staying for dinner tonight, but I’ll see what I can do this weekend. We have a rat problem that we need to take care of before we fail our inspection.”
“Shit,” Ted said. “If you need any help with that, let me know.”
I laughed. “Right, because you have so much time to spare,” I said, sarcastically.
Ted laughed as well, but then his face sobered. “For my little brother, I’m sure I could rustle up some help from somewhere,” he said seriously.
“Thanks man,” I said, clapping him on the shoulder.
I left the farm feeling better than I had in a while. Maybe Ted wasn’t so impossible after all. And just maybe things were going to be all right in the end.
Chapter 30
Abi
I took a break from restocking cups at the refreshment booths, looking around the festival. Little kids dressed up as fairies, monsters, and everything in between rushed around excitedly, dragging their parents this way and that. I grinned as I watched them, still stunned. I never imagined Mason’s idea would be this successful.
It was only our second week of the zombie haunt, but things were going incredibly well. After our first week, I’d expected things to taper off. But we’d only sold more tickets for the second week, and eventually we’d sold out of the online tickets for the third week. We were rapidly becoming one of the largest attractions in Oklahoma, and we’d even had a couple news stations drop by to do a story on us, which only increased our customer base.
We were now making money hand over fist, and I’d even had to take time off from Kinsey’s to handle the workload. We’d called on a lot of spare hands to help us out, and once they heard how successful it had become, they’d all been eager to have a part in it.