by Natalie Ann
“My mother does now. It’s been in our family for years. Why?”
“I’m the one who’s buying it.”
One Tough Chick
Well, that didn’t go over as badly as he thought it would. She was still sitting there across from him in the restaurant.
She hadn’t screamed at him.
She wasn’t crying.
There wasn’t any food dumped on him anywhere.
He’d take it as a win.
“Excuse me?” she finally said.
“Last week I talked to your mother about buying Granny’s. We have a verbal agreement. I didn’t know who you were. She said her daughter Allison would be upset over it, but it was her decision to make in the end. That was it. Then I met you in the bar last Saturday and I just didn’t put Ali Rogers with Allison Rogers.”
“How could you not?” she asked.
“I just didn’t. I’ll admit the last name caught my attention, but it’s not that uncommon of a name. I was too interested in learning about you to think of anything else.”
“And when you talked to your lawyer on Monday, what did he say? How did he know?”
She was still calm, but he could see her shoulders were tighter than spandex on a sumo wrestler. “Like most people in this area, he knew your mother and you. He called you Ali and then it confirmed it to me. You never said a word to me about it when we were talking about our jobs. Why wouldn’t you?”
“Because most people know who I am.”
“Exactly,” he said. “But I didn’t. I moved here when I was fourteen. I was only in school a few years, then went to college and came back. I don’t know the community quite like most people do who have lived here their whole lives.”
“But you know about the farm. My mother told me that you always went there as a kid and that you really wanted the bakery for your mother. That’s what my mother runs.”
“I know. I’m sorry.”
“I don’t know what to think. You didn’t call me again because you thought I’d be mad at you?”
“Mad, hurt, upset, maybe blame me?”
She laughed, not a funny sound. “Blame you because my mother and I can’t keep it together? We can’t manage to carry on my grandfather’s name?”
Her eyes were filling with tears now and he knew he was losing her. “I wanted to tell you, but I didn’t know what to say. And when I finally realized you were going to know when you saw me around, I knew I just had to do it and stop hiding it. But by then almost a week had gone by and it didn’t feel right to just call you for a date as if I blew you off.”
“If I didn’t text you, you wouldn’t have?” she asked.
“I wanted to. I just didn’t know what to say. Your text just proved what I’ve been feeling all along.”
“What’s that?” she asked. She was one tough chick fighting back the tears on him.
“That I felt something for you when you bumped into me over a week ago. I did again in the bar. I feel horrible that I might be the one ending your family dream.”
“I want to be mad and annoyed, but the truth is, if it’s not you, it’d be someone else. I appreciate you telling me. I appreciate that you were trying to spare my feelings.” She pushed her chair back and stood up. “I’m sorry to cut the night short, but I need to go think on this.”
He stood up too, but couldn’t leave because the bill hadn’t come yet. “What’s there to think about?”
“I guess I had some hope my mother and I would be able to keep it in the family. That whoever was going to buy it would back out, but meeting you and knowing what I do about you and why you want it, I know you won’t back out.”
“No, I won’t, Ali. I’m sorry. It means a lot to me to buy it.”
“It means a lot to me to keep it in the family, but we can’t always get what we want in life.”
She walked away from him and he had no choice but to let her go at the moment. He’d see her again. He had to. There was no way she could avoid him.
***
“That was a rotten thing to do, Ali. I’m disappointed in you.”
Not again, Ali thought, blinking the sleep from her eyes. She couldn’t believe she was going to be woken up a second time by mysterious voices.
“Who’s there?” she asked, turning the light on and reaching down to grab the bat by her bed. She was prepared this time.
Her grandfather laughed at her. “You know darn well who it is and put that bat away. You can’t hurt a dead man.”
She had to be dreaming. Her grandfather didn’t just tell her he was dead, did he? She pinched herself and it hurt like hell. Not good. Maybe if she humored him he’d go away.
“Fine, it’s my dear old grandfather come to give me a lecture. Talk away.”
He laughed at her again, just like he always did when she was being a wiseass. “Never change on me, Ali.”
She crossed her arms. “What is it that you’re disappointed in?” Might as well get this over with. It’s not like she’d had that wonderful of a night as it was.
“Don’t blame Liam for wanting to buy the farm. It’s not his fault. And you were right when you said if it wasn’t him, it’d be someone else. Be happy it’s someone who wants it as much as him.”
How was it possible her grandfather knew she’d said that to Liam? It wasn’t possible, which was why she knew she had to be imagining this whole conversation. “How can I be happy that it’s no longer going to be in our family?” she asked.
“That’s not for me to say right now. What you need to do is think about everything and realize that things happen for a reason. That sometimes fate lands in your lap.”
She snorted. “Yep, it’s fate that Mom and I can’t handle what you did on your own for so long.”
Her grandfather frowned at her. She didn’t think ghosts were supposed to show emotion, but here he was laughing and frowning. Then he pointed his finger like he used to do too. “Ali, open your eyes. The farm is not what you thought it was. It’s not meant for everyone.”
“But I love it there,” she said stubbornly. “It’s what my memories of you are.”
He reached his hand out and she felt it on hers. Oh my God, she was trying not to hyperventilate right now. “Take a deep breath, Ali. My memories are always going to be with you. I’d prefer you didn’t remember me as a workhorse my whole life, but rather someone that taught you better lessons in life.”
“I remember everything,” she argued.
“Stop contradicting yourself. And if you remember everything, then you’ll remember this conversation in the morning. But just in case you don’t, this will make you think.”
She looked down and saw he’d put a plastic apple in her hand. Just a refrigerator magnet that used to be at the farm when she was a kid.
“Can I go back to sleep now?” she asked, forcing some confidence in her voice, praying she wasn’t going insane because she felt his hand and there was no way she could unless she was losing her mind.
“Sure, Ali. Get some sleep and think about what I said. Then cut Liam some slack. If you play your cards right, things will work out the way you always dreamed.”
She shook her head, turned the light off and lay back down hoping the stress wasn’t getting to her. Or maybe it was just stress and she could will that away easier than insanity.
When her alarm clock went off the next morning she went to slap it off and something flew out of her hand. She got up to see what landed across the room and picked up the little red plastic apple, then sank down on the floor and burst into tears.
Tempt Them
It took Ali a week to work up the nerve to contact Liam again. Between work, the farm, her own embarrassment over walking out on their date—not to mention the fear that she was going insane—she was trying to figure out what to even say to him.
Her mother told her that the lawyers had talked and the paperwork was being processed with Liam putting a fairly large deposit down. Guess there was no turning back now.
> After work on Friday, her mother said, “I think you should meet the new owner. Maybe you could walk him around sometime this weekend so he can get an idea of how busy it is this time of year.”
Ali hadn’t told her mother yet that she knew the owner. First off, her mother had yet to tell her it was Liam buying the farm, and second of all, she wasn’t sure how to tell her mother that she’d been kissed lavishly by the new owner, then walked out on their date. She thought her mother might fear Liam would back out, but guessed that wasn’t going to happen.
“That’s fine, Mom. Just tell me when he is going to come out.”
“He’s coming over tomorrow afternoon. I already asked him.”
Great. She was glad her mother told her that beforehand. “Thanks. I look forward to it,” Ali said, walking away and looking over the stock of cheeses and pies. Everyone had to check out in the bakery, which doubled as a store. It was a great way to tempt them into more.
Hours later, sitting in her living room, Ali picked her phone up and dialed Liam’s number. This wasn’t the time to be a coward and text.
“Hello,” he said on the first ring. Just his voice alone had her treacherous body heating up and feeling like warm cocoa running through her body on a cold winter in the Adirondacks.
“Hi, Liam. It’s Ali. Ali Rogers.”
He laughed on the other end. “I know who it is. I programmed your number into my phone.”
Duh, but she didn’t say that. “I wanted to apologize for the way I walked out last week on our date.”
“I get it.”
“You probably do. It’s really not your fault. It was just a shock. Everything is happening so fast. That night I saw you at the bar the first time...I went out for a drink because I was trying to process everything. I had no idea my mother even wanted to sell, then to find out it was pretty much a done deal in her mind...it’s just hard.”
“I understand, Ali. I’m sorry that this is so hard, but I promise that I’m not going to change much about the orchard. I’ve been going there since I was a teen. I just want to fix it up and make it into what it could be.”
She believed he’d at least try. “Anyway. I know you’re supposed to come to the farm tomorrow to meet with my mom. She asked me to show you around and I thought I better clear the air at the very least.”
“Did you tell your mother you knew who I was?” he asked.
“No. I wasn’t sure how to say it without telling her what I did last week. There’s no excuse for my behavior.”
“I can play along then if that’s what you want.”
“It might be for the best right now,” she said.
“So what about us?” he asked.
She hadn’t expected him to ask that. She figured he wouldn’t want anything to do with her other than a business relationship. “It’s probably going to be too messy, don’t you think?”
“Messy has never bothered me before, but if it’s what you really want.”
“It’s not.” Did she really say that out loud? She hadn’t meant to. “I mean I don’t know what I want. Life is just so complicated right now.”
“How about we don’t close off the possibility. I like you a lot. I’d like to continue with the date that we never got to finish at some point. I’d really like to kiss you again.”
His voice was soft and it touched a chord in her she hadn’t known existed. She knew her own voice was quivering when she said, “It was a pretty awesome kiss. I had high hopes for another on our date. Again, sorry about acting like that and just leaving the way I did.”
“I hate to repeat myself, but again, don’t worry about it. Why don’t we just try to put it all behind us for now and start over?”
It didn’t seem like it would be that easy, but she honestly didn’t know what else to say. “I’d like that.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow then. Unless of course you’d like to get some dinner tonight?”
She wanted to say yes desperately. “Do you think that’s smart?”
He sighed on the other end of the line and it caused her to grin. “I’m a pretty smart guy, Ali, but the ball is in your court. You know how I feel about it.”
“I guess it wouldn’t hurt. Why don’t you come to my apartment and I’ll make us dinner? That way I can’t leave on you, and if you want, you can walk out on me and we can call it even.”
He laughed this time. “Give me your address and tell me when to be there.”
“I’ll text it to you when we hang up. You can come over anytime. It’s six now, so I’ll just get dinner going.”
“I’ll see you soon,” he said, then disconnected the call.
She quickly texted him her address, then looked around her small apartment. It wasn’t anything special at all, but it was in a decent section of town and was clean. Since it was the best she could do, she wasn’t going to worry about it.
Good thing she planned on making burgers tonight as it was. Opening her fridge, she pulled out the ground beef and went about mixing up some spices and seasonings in the meat, then made the patties, stuffing the center with some shredded cheese, and put them aside. Then she sliced up some potatoes and set them in cold water for a few minutes.
She was just patting them dry and sprinkling them with seasonings when she heard a knock at her door. It sure didn’t take him long.
Walking over to the door, she opened it. “Hi. That was fast,” she said.
“You’re not that far from me.”
“Come on in. I’m just getting ready to put the grill pan on the stove and plug in the fryer.” He followed her into her little kitchen and leaned against the wall watching her go back to work. “Where do you live?”
“On the lake,” he said.
Wonderful. Why didn’t she think of that before? That he had some money and she was barely scraping by. How was this going to look to people?
“That’s nice. My grandfather brought me to the beach there often as a kid.”
“It can get busy in the summer, but I don’t spend too much time at the public beach.”
“Bet you have your own beach?” she asked, putting her hand over the grill pan to see if it was heating up.
“I do. Is that a problem?” he asked, watching her face.
***
Liam was trying to figure out what was going on. First she asked him over, but now she was barely looking at him. Matter of fact, she was almost treating him like a stranger when all he wanted to do was pull her into his arms and kiss her like he had that first night. Feel her arms around his neck and her sweet lips against his, her body straining to get closer yet holding back at the same time.
“No, no problem.”
He put his hands on her shoulders and turned her. Her hair was in a ponytail, her face scrubbed clean of any makeup, not that she had that much on the other night, and she was in jeans and a T-shirt with socks on her feet.
“Why don’t I believe you?”
She took a deep breath. “I just realized that people are going to think I’m with you because of what you’ve got.”
He frowned. “What do I have?”
“A lot more than me,” she said, staring at him.
“Wow, you’re good at putting obstacles in our way, aren’t you?”
“I’m not trying to. I’m just thinking of what others might think.”
“Why do you care what others think?”
She frowned and he found it irresistible, making him want to pull her bottom lip into his mouth. “I have no idea. I never used to. It’s just everything is all upside down in my world.”
He leaned down and whispered, “Maybe this will help straighten you back up.” His lips brushed over hers lightly, then when she sighed and parted her mouth open, he swooped in and kissed her exactly as he had hoped he could have a week ago.
The time between then and now didn’t matter. She didn’t seem to care either. He felt her body against his when he pulled her in and it was enough for him. By the way she was gripping him, he wa
s thinking it was enough for her too.
“Yeah, that helped a lot.”
She pushed back and returned to cooking, but this time looking at him and grinning as she put the burgers on the grill. “Do you like to cook?” he asked.
“I do. I don’t do it often. I actually planned on making burgers tonight. I usually make a lot of something and eat it leftover for lunches or other dinners. It’s cheaper than buying lunch each day,” she said.
“Better too,” he said. “I like to eat.”
She laughed. “Then I’m glad I’ve got four burgers here. Help yourself to as many as you want. Can I get you a drink? I don’t have any beer here, sorry. I don’t really drink it. I don’t have wine either since I don’t drink much at all. But I’ve got some tea, soda, and water.”
“Water is good,” he said.
“Why don’t you grab a chair and bring it in here so you aren’t standing.”
“You’re standing,” he said back and he could see he was flustering her.
“But I’m cooking.”
“Maybe I can help you then.”
“I guess, if you want to.” She picked up some sliced potatoes and dropped them in a small portable fryer. “Just keep an eye on these until they’re a nice golden brown.”
“I can do that.”
And he did. The two of them made dinner together like a couple might do one night. When it was done, she set the table and they sat to eat.
“How much do you know about farming?” she asked him.
“Not much. I’m assuming you know a lot.”
“No. I think that was part of the problem after my grandfather died. He did everything. I know the basics about the orchard and growing some of the other fruits and vegetables. My mother runs the store and bakery. There is staff that does the rest. Are you going to keep those staff on?”
She stopped eating when she asked that, as if it just occurred to her that people might lose their jobs. He wanted to reassure her. “Yes. I’m not going to change much. Right now I just want to learn how things operate, get a feel for the land, you could say. I have no intention of letting go of any staff, I promise.”