He loved her honesty, but her words were like a punch to the gut. She thought he wouldn’t miss her? The hell?
“If anything, Blakely being home for Christmas will only make me miss you more. But why do I have to miss you? Why don’t you come back for Christmas? I’ll even buy you a plane ticket so you don’t have to drive.” He was kind of thinking out loud, but after he said it, he thought it might be the best damn idea he’d ever had.
“What?!”
“You said you spend New Year’s with Sam, so I assume you don’t have Christmas plans,” he explained. “It’s just Blakely and me. We have lunch at Rose’s café on Christmas Eve, go to church, and then we do our own thing here. Always have. Why don’t you come back and spend Christmas with us?”
Her mouth opened. And shut. And opened. And shut.
“What?” he asked, grinning. He loved it when he did something to impress her, and it flustered her.
“I just . . . it’s . . . you want to date me, date me, even after I have to leave?” she asked point-blank.
“When have I ever led you to believe otherwise?” he asked confused. Good Lord, he did not know how to do this dating thing. He didn’t date. Maybe that was the problem. He didn’t even know how. He thought his interest in her was made clear, but apparently not if she still didn’t understand he was serious about dating her.
“Well, sometimes when you said we’d figure it out, I thought you meant we’d have to figure out how to move on from one another,” she explained with a shrug.
Move on!? Excuse the hell out of him. No. Nope. The very thought of her near any other man made him want to tackle something. Yeah. Not happening.
He took a deep breath before he spoke to calm down. “Sweetheart, I don’t want to move on. And I don’t want you to move on. I can’t ask you to move here. And I can’t leave the farm right now. So we are at an impasse. Long-distance dating is all we’ve got. The other alternative isn’t one I’m willing to consider.”
She looked stunned. “So not only am I your girl, but we are also going to seriously try this thing?”
He nodded. He was sure. And he had no idea when he became so sure, but he was. Her moving on? Over his dead body. That was part of the reason they went to Rose’s café today. He wanted the message sent loud and clear that they were together. He wanted it official.
She grabbed him by the shirt and kissed the dimple on his cheek. “Beckett Harper, you are so unexpected.”
He laughed. “Right back at you.”
And then he kissed her in such a way that he hoped she knew there was going to be no moving on. For either of them.
Doomed from the Start
CHAPTER 14
Monday morning, they settled back into their routines, with Jordyn working remotely from Picketts and Beckett returning to the chores he couldn’t do during the storm. It was like they were still in the middle of the storm of the century—but with a few added responsibilities. When Jordyn wasn’t baking something, she talked on the phone with marketing, answered emails, and got things rolling with Walt for the commercial.
Everyone in Houston was freaking the heck out that she got Beckett to do the dang thing. As for the idea of not using his face in the commercial, the marketing team thought it was smart. Why even try to compete with all the other funny Super Bowl commercials? Instead, they could do something special, sentimental. It would be a way for them to honor their customer base in pointing out how important farms are to our economy. Instead of being a funny ad, it would be a feel-good commercial.
Marketing was coming up with a few different voice-over options for Beckett to read. Jordyn got the final say on the script. She came up with the idea that the crew would basically follow Beckett around for a few days with cameras. They would have hours and hours of footage, and then from that, they could piece together the most powerful parts of a farmer’s day. They would need some aerial shots via drone too, and between those two things, they should have more than enough for their commercial. If they did it right, they would have a ton of fresh customers for the new year.
Her coworkers were so happy they were kissing her butt. Big time. As they should be because she saved their rears—and was doing their jobs for them. The AgGroSo commercial team was planning to arrive in Picketts the following Monday. One week from tomorrow morning would be their first shoot for the commercial. She had asked what they wanted her to do around the farm before they arrived, but after seeing the pictures she’d emailed from her phone, they told her not to do a thing. They wanted it authentic. And how much more authentic could you get than following a farmer around for a few days? The supposed “shadowing” Walt sent her here for was now going to be a real-life scenario.
“Hey, good lookin’,” Beckett sang from the laundry room where he dumped his overalls off. “Whatcha got cookin’?”
She couldn’t help but grin over the top of her laptop sitting on the kitchen table. “At least I now know you won’t be leaving the farm to go on tour any time soon.”
“Rude! Is that how you speak to your man?” He sounded angry, but that one dimple was showing . . . so he wasn’t.
And “her man”?
She shrugged. “Yeah, pretty much.”
He laughed. “Ha! I wouldn’t expect anything less. But you could at least pretend to like my singing.”
She looked at him and shook her head. “You know I don’t like lying to you.”
“Good point.” He grinned. “But really, what is that amazing smell I am sniffing?”
“Homemade pizza. I wanted to make Stromboli instead, but marketing had me on the phone for hours this morning,” she explained with an annoyed wave of her hand.
“Pizza? Heck yeah!” He pumped a fist in the air and then came over to give her a kiss on the cheek. “What do you say we go into town for a date tonight?”
“A date?” she asked intrigued.
“Not a date date since we are in Picketts here, but I would at least like to take you to Rose’s for supper. I mean, I know you do actually have to work this week.” He sighed. “A lot probably, since I am doing the dumb commercial, so let me at least buy you supper. You know I did cook all my meals before this, right? I can cook.” He paused to smile. “So I’ll either cook here or we can go into town. Eventually, when the dust settles, I would like a date date though. A real one.”
She thought about that and couldn’t help but reach to rub Beckett’s face where his facial hair was scruffy. She secretly adored it. “I’d love to. And can we go to the grocery store too? I need to get some ingredients for stuff I want to make this week.”
He raised his eyebrows. “You trying to fatten me up?”
She rolled her eyes. “Like I could. No. I’m just enjoying baking and cooking for someone other than myself. It’s more fun when there is more than one person.”
He looked oddly serious after that.
“What?!”
He shook his head. “When you say things like that, I really want to ask you to stay, quit your job, and never go back. I know you are independent. I know you love your job and are damn good at it . . . . But I hate that you are alone.”
****
Grocery shopping with a woman? How far he had come in just a little over a week. He had done the chores early and showered up to go into town with Jordyn. What woman wanted to go grocery shopping while on a date anyway? Jordyn. Jordyn did.
Jordyn wasn’t at all high maintenance. She was so down to earth it just made him like her even more. And the fact that everyone in her life had let her down made him even more adamant about doing things right with her. He didn’t ever want to let her down. He didn’t want her to write him off like she’d had to do with almost everyone else in her life.
As he drove them the eight and a half miles into town for their date, they held hands like it was something they did every day. And that should probably scare him, but it didn’t. Just like her leaving soon should probably relieve him, but it didn’t. He felt many, many things abou
t her leaving, but relief was not on that list. What was happening to him?
He quickly glanced over at her and checked her out for the third time in five miles. For their date into town, she wore skinny jeans and a nice blouse thing with a cardigan sweater over it. Granted, she probably hadn’t packed date clothes, but he loved that she didn’t go over the top to impress him. Hell, he was already impressed; she didn’t need to do anything. She did put on makeup and let her hair down but that was as glammed up as she got. She looked amazing. Amazing and comfortable. He was used to miniskirts, push-up bras, heels, makeup on thick with red lipstick, and perfume that made him want to gag.
Jordyn always smelled freaking amazing though. A nice sweet smell without overpowering. And her hair looked soft. None of that nasty hair-spray stuff. Her hair. He would like to see her hair down in a variety of different ways, none of which were appropriate to be thinking about right now.
He looked at her feet and saw that she had chosen a tall pair of flat boots over her skinny jeans. “No heels, Houston?” he asked, smiling.
She rolled her eyes and turned toward him. “Can I tell you a secret?”
He bounced his eyebrows. “Please do.”
She grinned. “Though I do wear heels to work every day at the office, I actually hate them. Passionately. I only wore heels when we met because I knew Walt sent me to woo you over. Though I didn’t want to play the part, I was at least trying to look it.”
He laughed. “That’s great. For the record, I don’t like heels either.”
“Wear them often, do you?” she asked.
He laughed again. He couldn’t ever remember a woman who made him laugh as much as she did. Blakely was obnoxious; Jordyn was just witty. “Clever. No, I meant women wearing heels really aren’t my thing. They are just so loud on the floor, and then sometimes they can’t even walk right. I just don’t get the appeal. It seems fake. Like what’s the point in altering your natural height?”
She thought about that for a second. “I can see how you’d feel that way. I wear them for work because it helps me stay focused and professional. But I always take them off under my desk.”
“You rebel.” He smiled, imagining her doing exactly that.
“But maybe I should wear them around you. You’re like a whole foot taller than me,” she said.
He shrugged. “I don’t mind. Most people are shorter than me. I’m used to it.” He didn’t add that he liked the way her small frame could curl into his, such as when they’d slept on the couch those few nights. He had zero problems with her size. Thinking of her body shape was distracting. He needed to get it together today.
“Is Blakely tall like you are?” she asked, snapping him out of those sorts of daydreams.
He snorted. “Yeah. And she hates it. She’s right at six foot. So not as tall as me, but tall enough that her prom dates were intimidated that they had to look up to her.”
“So you’re both tall. Were your parents tall?” she asked.
He shrugged. “My grandpa was. My dad was six two. And my mom was barely five foot.”
“That’s funny, and yet you and Blakely are both tall?”
“Yeah.” He shrugged again, then said, “Irish twinsies.”
“Do you have similar personalities too?”
“Hell no.” He laughed. “We look similar but still different—her hair and skin are a shade darker than mine. And we are both stubborn and driven personalitywise, but the similarities end there. I’m sure you noticed—she does not do laid-back or go with the flow very well.”
She smiled. “I can about imagine.”
“She’s already texting me about having you back for Christmas, so for the record, she wants you here too. Have you thought on that anymore? She doesn’t have a boyfriend or anything, so it’d just be the two of us. You wouldn’t be imposing.” Every time he asked her about it, she said she’d think about it and then changed the subject.
She sighed.
“Out with it,” he commanded.
“I want to. It’s just a big step. Meeting your family, spending the holidays together. It’s just happening so fast.” She squeezed his hand in his, resting on his knee.
He laughed and moved to kiss her on the cheek while they were at a stop sign, whispering, “Sweetheart, I ran a four-four-one forty time for the Combine. I don’t do things slow.”
She laughed pretty hard at that. “True. We are eating at Rose’s, right?”
Beckett smiled. “Of course. Food and then groceries or groceries and food?”
“You can’t grocery shop on an empty stomach. Or else I get stuck in the cookie aisle a while,” she said with a laugh.
“Food it is.”
****
“Back so soon?” Rose asked as she whisked them to Beckett’s favorite booth.
“It was the beef,” Beckett said jokingly.
Rose swatted at him with a menu. “Don’t talk about your aunt like that.” Then she moved to give Jordyn a hug. “You look cute, darlin’.”
“Thank you,” Jordyn said with a smile. She really did adore this woman. She barely knew her, but she seemed like such a sweetheart.
Aunt Rose gave Jordyn a wink before she went to go get them some drinks.
Seeing an entrance, a few guys Beckett knew came over and asked about the football game Friday and what he thought. They introduced themselves as two guys Beckett had played with in high school—and now they owned a construction business in town. After a few exchanged pleasantries, it was back to football. Their beloved team was going to a crappy bowl game, for the third year in a row. These people were not okay with mediocre bowl games apparently.
She thought at first they were being snoopy and trying to see who Beckett brought with him. But it turned out they were just really wanting his thoughts on the game. Or to impress him with how much they knew about the game. Probably more so the latter. She listened but was perfectly content to drink her iced tea in peace. Beckett was nice to them, but a couple of times she caught him looking at her like he wished they’d just go away. They were supposed to be on a date after all.
One must have felt rude because he turned to her and asked, “Are you a Husker fan, Jordyn?”
She shook her head. “I’m from Houston, so I follow the pros more so than college.”
They both looked at Beckett as if they didn’t approve.
He simply shrugged and then pierced Jordyn with an affectionate gaze. “I’ll have her wearing red and singing the songs before long, boys. She knows football too. So it’s only a matter of time. She’ll come around.”
One guy squinted at her, not believing Beckett.
“No really. She got frustrated the other night because Houston was running the ball on second and twenty-two. She said the words ‘a slant route to the running back would be a better option,’ ” he said, staring her down with a heated gaze.
And here she thought he hadn’t really been paying attention to her football talk. She didn’t think he really cared too much. Judging by the way he was looking at her now, he must enjoy that she understood the game. She liked football—all the numbers, and the way certain plays worked better depending on what down it was. She even loved the statistics—the probability that if you went for it on fourth down more often, it’d totally pay off. That’s what the numbers said, but that’s not how too many teams played right now.
The guy who squinted at her looked impressed. “Darlin’, can I have your number?” He reached his hand in to shake her hand.
Beckett playfully smacked it away. “Nope. She’s mine. Find your own.”
They briefly talked about their ten-year high school reunion coming up in the spring and a few other trivial things that Jordyn didn’t care about, and then Beckett told them their food should almost be there. Finally, they went on their way.
“Well, honey, I hope you’re ready,” Rose said as she sat down their food shortly after.
“For what?” Jordyn asked.
“Tweedledee and Twe
edledum over there are nothing but town gossips. You’re goin’ to be talked about around town even more than you already were,” Rose explained.
Beckett just laughed and shrugged. “Let them talk, Rosalie. I don’t care.”
Rose gave him a sharp look. “Did you prepare her for what happens when the tabloids get word?”
Beckett stopped smiling at that. His grin vanished so quick it was like she made it up. “I was hoping to avoid that for a while.”
Rose rolled her eyes and snorted. “Right. Everyone in town already knows. And you know most people here love and support you, but there are a few that are out for themselves. You know that.”
He nodded and sighed. “Crap. Aunt Rose, why do you have to go and ruin my date like this?”
She reached in and gave Jordyn a quick hug before leaving. “Just making sure you’re taking care of our girl.”
After she left, Jordyn felt a bit freaked. Okay, a lot freaked. The tabloids?! This thing between Beckett and her could show up in the tabloids. She was going to be in the tabloids? Her? Why hadn’t she realized this before now?
Oh my gosh. What if they researched her background? Found out her sob story. Could she do this? Was she doing this? Was she going to be okay with being scrutinized? It’d be high school all over again.
For the first time possibly ever, Jordyn understood she wasn’t just dating Beckett Harper. She was also dating Heartbreak Harper. She was stupid to think she could date one and not the other. Of course the word would get out. If not here in Picketts, then in Houston. She wouldn’t even put it past marketing to leak it to get some more coverage for the Super Bowl commercial.
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