Opposites Attract (Nerds of Paradise Book 1)

by Merry Farmer

  Opposites Attract

  Merry Farmer

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Acknowledgments

  OPPOSITES ATTRACT

  Copyright ©2017 by Merry Farmer

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to the appropriate ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Cover design by Erin Dameron-Hill (the miracle-worker)

  ASIN: B01NGZJ7QD

  Paperback:

  ISBN-13: 9781542519793

  ISBN-10: 1542519799

  Click here for a complete list of other works by Merry Farmer.

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  Created with Vellum

  For my mom, Susie Farmer, who left my life far too soon.

  Chapter One

  Casey Flint loved her family more than anything on earth, but there were times when she wanted to strangle them.

  “So let me get this straight,” she said as she sat between her father, Roscoe, and her brother, Ted, in Roscoe’s truck as they drove into town. “You went ahead and actually sold off five acres of our ranch to some stranger?”

  “He’s not some stranger,” Ted explained, an edge of impatience in his voice. Roscoe merely frowned at the icy road in front of them. “He’s one of the engineers from Paradise Space Flight.”

  The explanation did nothing to soothe the sting of betrayal pricking at Casey’s already unsettled heart. “You sold off a part of our family ranch, a ranch that has belonged to the Flints since the late 1880s, to some dorky engineer who probably wears a pocket protector and Spock ears all the time?”

  Ted huffed a laugh. “I think that guy you met at the grocery store last month wasn’t the typical Paradise Space Flight employee.”

  “I wouldn’t be so sure.” Casey couldn’t stop herself from grinning just a little bit at the memory. The man she’d run into was a hoot. Nerdy as the day was long, and as far as she was concerned, typical of the wave of new residents in Haskell. They’d been a simple, although unique, ranching town since the original Howard Haskell founded the place in the 1860s. But now, a fresh crop of engineers, mathematicians, and astrophysicists had shown up to knock the whole town off-balance.

  No one more so than Casey. And her life was already off-balance enough now that her mom was gone.

  “My point is—” she went on.

  “Oh, you were making a point?” Ted teased her.

  Casey frowned and elbowed him hard. “My point is,” she repeated, “that all these guys—”

  “And girls,” Ted quickly added.

  “—that Howie Haskell is hiring to build his spaceships—”

  “Supply rockets and independent vehicles to launch commercial satellites,” Ted butted in once again.

  “—are not the sort we’re used to in Haskell,” Casey finished in a growl.

  “Now, Casey,” Roscoe said in his gruff but steady voice. “I didn’t raise you to be prejudiced against anyone for any reason.”

  “I’m not being prejudiced,” Casey insisted. “I’m just saying that Haskell has a certain rhythm, a certain pace and feeling. We’re a town of cowboys and we always have been.”

  “If we’re such a town of cowboys, why did you stop competing in the rodeo?”

  Ted was teasing, but his question struck straight to her core, filling her with guilt and regret. “I grew out of it,” she lied, gut twisting. “That’s not the point. We’re a traditional town full of traditional people, and it should stay that way.”

  “Actually, Haskell has always been on the cutting edge of social justice issues and inclusion of new and sometimes radical ideas,” Ted corrected her.

  “Shut up, nerd.” Casey elbowed him again, even as her heart swelled with pride in her brother and their hometown.

  “Ah ha!” Ted laughed. “So by your own admission, nerds have always been an integral part of this town. I mean, if you consider one of your closest family members to be a nerd….”

  Casey blew out an exasperated breath. “Brothers,” she muttered, as if that explained it all. She shook her head and went on with her train of thought. “All I’m saying is that I don’t like all this change. Things are changing way too fast. Why can’t everything just stay the way it was? We were all happy the way things were. Life was simple and easy. The town was like one big family. Now….” She shrugged, feeling a shiver race down her spine. The ache in her heart that had been there since her mother’s final, painful days throbbed. She sighed. “I just don’t like the way things are going.”

  Rather than cracking a joke, Ted glanced over her head at Roscoe. Roscoe glanced briefly back. They both wore looks of deep concern and sorrow.

  “What?” Casey asked.

  Neither of them answered right away.

  “What?” Casey pressed when the silence grew too awkward.

  Ted cleared his throat. “Ah, sis? Are you sure you’re not confusing your feelings about Mom’s death with everything that’s going on in town?”

  “No,” Casey answered right away. “And keep Mom out of this. She wouldn’t like all the changes around here either. She certainly wouldn’t approve of you ripping out a part of the ranch and feeding it to the wolves.”

  “Princess, we’ve talked about this,” Roscoe said, his voice as calm as ever. “Ranching is hard work. The market is getting tougher and tougher out there. We’re a small operation, and we’ve reached the limit of our capabilities. Unless we get a cash infusion, our whole operation will collapse. If that happens, we’ll lose the ranch entirely, not just a piece of it. Scott Martin has offered us a generous price for those five acres.”

  “Scott Martin,” Casey grumbled, even as the prickly, uncomfortable feeling that her father was right about everything he was saying twisted her insides. “You’re selling a piece of our heritage to a man I’ve never so much as laid eyes on?”

  Roscoe nodded patiently. “You would have laid eyes on him if you’d been at the meeting with Ted and me last week.”

  “Last week was the week before Christmas,” Casey explained. “I had a ton of shopping to do, not to mention dozens of cookies to bake and volunteering at the senior center.”

&nbs
p; “I’m not laying any blame on you,” Roscoe assured her. “Just sayin’ it like it is. The price Mr. Martin was willing to pay ensures that the ranch will continue to operate for at least another five years. After that, we’ll see how the economy is doing and reevaluate our position.”

  Admiration and despair mingled in Casey’s gut. Her dad was a man among men. He’d worked hard his entire life, keeping the ranch functioning at peak productivity in a rapidly-changing world. Of course, her mom had been right there by his side, shouldering as much of the load as he did. They’d all been hit hard by her cancer, but Roscoe had continued to get up every day and tend to the herd in all weather and conditions. But Casey would have to be blind not to notice the strain around her dad’s eyes and mouth in the year since her mother’s death, or the way he moved just a little slower, his shoulders stooped just a little more.

  “I can step up my game and work harder,” she blurted as the blossom of grief flowered in her chest. “I can take on more responsibility, do more than office work and dealing with distributors. I’ll get up early and help manage the herd too. Will you undo the land sale if I do that?”

  A tired smile touched Roscoe’s lips. He reached a hand over to squeeze hers as it lay balled into a fist on the truck’s seat. “I love you, Princess. I know you’re doing everything you can and that your heart is in the right place. But I also know good and well that a broken heart can only take on so much before it breaks down.” He paused, then added. “Selling those five acres was the right thing to do.”

  Casey ground her teeth, but there was no way she would contradict her dad. Even though every fiber of her being wanted to scream and thrash and battle against the horrible forces of change that left her feeling helpless and hopeless. It was that same helplessness that made everything she did these days seem somehow hollow and pointless. If only she had something she could do that would make a difference. If only she could really sink her teeth into a cause that would put her family back where it deserved to be and heal the wounds they all had. She had to find something to throw her energy into that would make her feel like she was fighting back, for her mom’s sake.

  “Good Lord,” Ted said, laughing, as they pulled into the parking lot of the flashy, new Paradise Space Flight building. “Was everyone in Sweetwater County invited to this thing?”

  Roscoe grunted, lips twitching to a grin, as he circled around, looking for a parking space.

  Casey’s heartache and frustration were pushed to the back of her mind as she glanced through the windshield at the rows of cars and trucks. “Howie’s email said it was an all-town mixer.”

  “All-county is more like it,” Ted said.

  Roscoe found a spot to park as Casey said, “Well, you know the Haskell family. They’ve always thought it was their responsibility to entertain the whole town along with providing jobs and homes.”

  “True,” Ted laughed. “Remember ‘Ice Cream Social 2013?’”

  Casey snorted. “Remember how livid Howie was that we were ten gallons short of the world record for biggest sundae?”

  “Or how about that masquerade ball last Halloween?”

  “I think they’re still vacuuming up glitter at The Cattleman Hotel.” Casey burst into a fit of giggles as Roscoe cut the truck’s engine and opened the door.

  Casey slid out the passenger side after Ted, hugging her vintage men’s pea coat close as a burst of icy air hit her. She, Ted, and Roscoe started walking up through the rows of cars and trucks together. The front door of the garish, five story, glass Paradise Space Flight building was illuminated with colored lights. It was December 29th, so Christmas decorations were still up, but already there were signs of New Year’s Eve decorations. Apparently, Howie had some sort of a light show planned. Cheerful music poured out of the front door every time an arriving guest opened it.

  “I shudder to think what Howie has in store for all of us with this mixer,” Ted went on, holding the door for both Casey and Roscoe.

  “Mixing is my guess,” Roscoe replied with a straight face.

  Casey knew her dad was joking, even though he didn’t crack a smile. She loved that about him, loved his wry sense of humor. Her mom had loved it too, even though she was rarely without a smile on her face. Hester Flint had been the life of the party wherever she went. Roscoe had adored her silently. Casey had adored her too, but in a much louder way. Even now, she marveled at how different her parents were and how much they loved each other regardless. Opposites really did attract.

  A horrible burst of pain squeezed her heart at the sight of her dad walking ahead of them, alone, hands in his pockets. Her mom should have been there. Life was so unfair.

  “Well look at you!”

  Casey turned at the sound of her friend, Melody Clutterbuck’s shout. Melody and her sister, Calliope, were heading toward her from farther down the building’s main hall. Melody was dressed to kill in a flowing blue dress that matched the flowers in her vibrant, blonde curls. She managed to look both boho and chic at the same time. Calliope was a strawberry blonde reflection of her sister—same wild, curly hair, same sylph-like build and heart-shaped face, but with a peasant blouse and green skirt to match her emerald eyes.

  Casey waved goodbye to her dad and Ted and veered off to meet her friends. “There’s not much to look at,” she said, holding her arms to her sides.

  “Please,” Melody laughed. “I’m sure you look dynamite under that old coat.”

  “Here, let me take it,” Calliope said, stepping forward to help Casey out of it. “There’s a coat check in the other room. I’ll get rid of this and meet you guys in the planetarium.”

  “Planetarium?” Casey blinked from Calliope to Melody.

  “It’s pretty amazing.” Melody grabbed Casey’s hand and tugged her on down the hall as Calliope dashed off to take care of Casey’s coat. “I knew that Howie pretty much went all in building this space flight company, but you should see some of the things he has in this office.”

  “I guess if you’ve got the money, you can spend it however you like,” Casey said.

  Her excitement level grew as she and Melody headed deeper into the building. Everything around them looked and smelled new. Paradise Space Flight was barely months old, but Howie had been planning it for a decade. He’d sent head-hunters all over the country looking for the best scientific talent and had contracted the best builders on the west coast to put together the facilities. The company’s name came from the fact that the building they strode through now was built on the corner of what had been the original Paradise Ranch, started by his great-great-great-great grandfather. Howie’s dream team of engineers and scientists was still coming together, but the building and company had been open for business for just over two months now.

  “Casey, Melody, have you seen this place?”

  Ahead of them, Sandra and Rita Templesmith, some of Casey’s other closest friends, stood in what looked like a courtyard between two hallways, staring up. Casey was more impressed by how elegant both sisters looked in designer gowns and shoes that set off the mocha of their skin. She could have sworn Sandy was wearing a real diamond necklace too. Which made perfect sense, considering she was one of Haskell’s top lawyers and her family still ran the First Bank of Haskell.

  Those observations were blown out of the water when Casey reached the courtyard and looked up. And up and up and up. The entire space was open to the domed, glass roof. A magnificent sculpture of blown glass that looked like the sun hung suspended in the center of the space, illuminated by spotlights attached to the balconies that marked each floor.

  “Wow.” Casey’s jaw dropped. “Who would have thought that a building that sticks out like a sore thumb on the outside would be so gorgeous on the inside?”

  “That’s not the half of it,” Rita said. She waved to Calliope as she hurried to join them. “You should see the planetarium.”

  “She means you should see all the men in the planetarium,” Sandy added.

  “Men?�
�� Casey laughed.

  “Men,” Melody and Calliope answered together, expressions wide-eyed and serious.

  “I—”

  They didn’t give her time to say anything. Sandy took one hand and Melody took the other, and they led her on to a set of three double-doors, all of which were open. If Casey had thought the courtyard was outstanding, it was nothing compared to what waited for her inside. The room was huge. Above them, the domed ceiling had a crystal-clear night sky projected on it. The room was dim so that the projected stars could be seen, but that didn’t take away from the tables of food, display boards of projects Paradise Space Flight was working on, or most especially, the people who were there to enjoy the party.

  And Rita was right. Well over half of the people in the room were men. Not just any men, either. Sure, she noticed a few that looked like they were cut from the same cloth as the pocket protector guy she’d run into at the grocery store, but the vast majority of the others were clean-cut and well-turned-out. They wore suits and stood in clumps, talking to each other while eyeing all of the Haskellians who had come to mingle. In fact, they gave Casey the feeling of a freshman class socializing with the upperclassmen for the first time.

  “Aww. The poor things,” she lamented. “They don’t know anybody.”

  “Exactly,” Sandy said. “We’ll have to help them out with that.”

  “It is a mixer, after all,” Calliope added.

  “Yeah. It’s our sworn duty as Haskellians to introduce ourselves to as many of these gorgeous nerds as possible.”

  The five of them laughed together. It was exactly what Casey needed. The weight on her heart lifted—not entirely, but enough that she could tuck her grief away at the back of her mind for a moment. She’d been looking for a project to make her feel useful and relevant again, and maybe forming a Haskell welcoming committee with her friends was just what the doctor ordered.