by Amy Harmon
“Methinks someone’s mad,” Caleb said.
“Shut it.”
Laughter followed—laughter that wasn’t Caleb’s. Taycee groaned. Of course Luke would be in her apartment right now. As if her horrible day couldn’t be complete without a visit from him—a major source of Taycee’s current problems.
“So, uh, Sterling’s still in it, huh?” Caleb said. “I thought for sure he’d be gone after the horse incident.”
Taycee glared. “Don’t you have anything better to do than watch some lame bachelorette show on the internet? And why didn’t you tell me you were coming again? I would have sprinkled itching powder all over the guest bed.”
“Exactly why I didn’t tell you. I value my sleep and health too much.”
“Ha. Ha.” Taycee could almost see him grinning from her place on the floor. She picked up the broken frame and larger glass pieces, and then stalked to the kitchen where she tossed them in the garbage can.
“Want to join us?” Luke asked, waving a handful of cards at her.
“No.” She grabbed a small vacuum from the closet.
“She had a bad day,” Caleb said, as if it wasn’t obvious.
Taycee rolled her eyes and returned to the front room with a hand vacuum, where she sucked up the remaining pieces of glass. This was twice she’d broken something when Luke was around. Wasn’t that a bad sign? The equivalent to breaking a mirror or walking under a ladder? Or maybe just knowing Luke had destined her to a lifetime of bad luck—at least whenever he was around.
Taycee returned to the kitchen and jerked open the fridge, pulling out a can of Squirt. She popped it open and let the carbonation burn her throat as she drank. Then she glared at Luke. “It’s all your fault, you know.”
Luke leaned back in his chair and fanned out his cards. “Your bad day is my fault? How so?”
“Greg was the winner, not Sterling. But because of your little stunt, he decided he couldn’t date anyone with a police record.”
“Really?” Luke chuckled. “If you ask me, I did you a favor.”
Taycee dropped down beside him and plopped her drink on the counter. “Remind me to send you a bouquet of flowers to say thanks for finding a way to keep Sterling in the running.” Especially now that she had to “up” the romance factor.
Her head hurt.
“Look on the bright side. At least Sterling doesn’t seem to care that you have a shady past,” Luke said, resting an arm on the table as he leaned toward her. “Speaking of which, do you have a copy of those mug shots? I’d give anything to see them.”
Taycee’s eyes narrowed. “You’ve got problems.” But in reality, she was the one with problems. Lots and lots and lots of problems.
“Just think.” Luke taunted her with his eyes. “If you hadn’t sicced Missy on me, you might have been stuck with me instead. Isn’t Sterling the lesser of two evils?”
A rude reminder that Taycee really only had herself to blame for all of this. If she’d just stayed out of it and let things play out on their own, Luke and Greg would most likely still be in the running, and Alec and Sterling would not. “Let’s just say that I’d rather go out with Greg any day over Sterling.”
“But not me?” Luke teased with a raise of his eyebrow.
“I’d even take you.” Over everyone else. In fact, Taycee would love for Luke to swoop in and rescue her from all this.
Luke grinned. “Wow, you must really be dreading your date with him.”
Taycee relaxed against the back of her chair. “He’s a nice guy, he really is. We just have nothing in common. And I’m really sick of getting spit on.”
Caleb’s hand covered hers. “Sounds like what you need is a good game of Rummy to get your mind off stuff.” He wiggled his cards. “Sure you don’t want in?”
Taycee bit her lip. She had two choices: Go hide in her room and try to work up the courage to let Sterling kiss her. Or hang out with Caleb and Luke.
“Deal me in.”
“Ahhh, see Luke? Told you,” Caleb said as he tossed some cards her way. “All you have to do is mention cards and Tace can’t resist. She’s predictable like that.”
Taycee picked up her cards and sorted them. “How many nights are you crashing here this time?” Her eyes flickered to her brother, who looked at his cards and not her. “I saw a listing for what sounds like a nice little office space in Colorado Springs. We could check it out if you want.”
“Sorry, sis,” Caleb said. “I’m only here to do a couple depositions and then it’s back to Phoenix.”
Taycee frowned—both at the news and at her lousy cards. “I’m starting to think that you’re putting me off.” She shot him a worried look. “You still want to move back here someday, right?”
Caleb looked meaningfully at Luke before glancing at Taycee. “Sure,” he said. “But unless we can settle, there’s no telling how long this case will drag on for. I’ll be back again in a few weeks though—after this whole bachelorette thing is over. Hopefully then we’ll have some more time to hang out. And to… you know… talk… about stuff.”
“What kind of stuff?”
Caleb shrugged. “Nothing in particular. You know, just… stuff. Life. That sort of thing.”
Life? Since when did Caleb want to talk about life? A sinking pit settled in her stomach. Especially when Caleb went back to examining his cards without looking at her. Luke, too, avoided her gaze.
Something was up. Something Caleb wasn’t ready or willing to talk about yet, which probably meant that Taycee didn’t want to hear it. But why did Luke seem to know and not her? That bothered her more than she cared to admit. Even though she was younger, she’d always thought of them as a trio—like the three musketeers. But now, sitting here, Taycee felt something she’d never felt with them before.
She felt like an outsider.
Chapter Twenty-five
It didn’t take long for Taycee to discover that Jessa had also chatted with the bachelors about upping the romance.
On Monday, Sterling took her miniature golfing in Colorado Springs and felt the need to hold her hand after every hole and during the entire ten steps it took to get to the next one. The doorstep scene was even more awkward. He went in for a kiss, and she turned her head just in time to get a wet peck on the cheek.
Gross.
But if Taycee had thought Sterling was bad, Alec was ten times worse. He found every excuse to hug her or hold her hand, and against her better judgment she let him. She even let him kiss her. But when he tried to turn it into a full on make-out session, Taycee broke free and left him standing on the doorstep.
Miles, thankfully, had been better. He held her hand during appropriate times, and then left her with a light peck on the lips. She could handle light pecks.
Now she was down to only one date left: Jake.
He picked her up from her apartment, his eyes a deeper blue than ever as he grinned at her from beneath the rim of a blue baseball cap. He had a natural way about him that made everyone feel like they were someone worth listening to and spending time with—as though he looked beyond people’s outside appearance and into their heart. And what he found, he liked. It was his gift.
“So, I was thinking you could give me a tour of your town.” His fingers laced through hers as they walked to his car.
A tour of Shelter? Hadn’t he already seen all there was to see? “Okaaayy,” Taycee said as he shut her inside the car, where Megan was already waiting in the back. Taycee waved before searching Jake’s face for any indication that he’d been joking. “Are you serious? You really want a tour of Shelter?”
He nodded. “Believe it or not, I’d love to check out some of the farms and land around here. It’s a beautiful place.”
“It is a beautiful place,” she agreed. “But honestly, if you’ve seen one farm you’ve seen them all.”
“So show me one.”
Taycee was glad that a city boy like Jake could appreciate her small town, but she didn’t quite know where t
o take him. Which farm? One of the few still in operation? Or one of the tired, dilapidated ones that had given up the ghost years ago?
As Jake backed out of the driveway, she made a quick decision and directed him to the old Meyer place. Ten miles outside of town, it had once been the home of a good friend of hers. Now it was bank-owned with a tattered “For Sale” sign planted out front.
They pulled up the drive, and a pit formed in Taycee’s stomach. Twenty acres that had once thrived with so much life now sat dormant. Well, not dormant, exactly. The weeds sure flourished. But the house and barn had an unkempt, unlived in appearance, making Taycee long for the old days when they used to play tag in and around the corn stalks and eat sugar snap peas straight from the vine.
She swallowed the bittersweet nostalgia and reminded herself that she’d chosen this farm for a reason. Before the show officially started, Jessa had included some footage of the existing farms, along with interviews from a few of the farmers and her aunt and uncle, but she hadn’t shown the already damaged parts, like this farm. Whether it made a difference to the viewers or not, Taycee wanted people to see what Shelter Springs would become if something didn’t change. She wanted them to understand why she played this part. This was so much more than a silly dating competition to her.
Megan followed them around as Jake examined the property and the land that had once been used for farming. After their previous two dates, where everything had been planned to the last detail, today was different. More relaxed. Nice. Her life had been so packed full of structure lately that it felt good taking each minute as it came.
Jake led her through the weed infested fields, and then bent to examine the plants. He pulled a few from the ground, fisting a handful of dirt before letting it strain through his fingers.
What was he doing? He couldn’t possibly be this interested in weeds and dirt—or farming for that matter. Why were they even here? Maybe this was Jessa’s idea, a way to generate more sympathy for the town. Or maybe Jake wanted to see for himself the state of Shelter Springs, Colorado.
“Exactly what kind of business is your family involved in?” Taycee asked.
“Agriculture.” Jake stood and brushed the dirt from his hands. “About forty years ago, my grandfather started what is now called NWOPO. The Northwestern Organic Production Organization. Basically, it’s a long title for organic farming.”
During all of her dates, Taycee had tried to keep things lighter and less personal. No one could get attached to someone he didn’t really know. But this news caught her off guard, and she couldn’t help asking, “You’re an organic farmer?”
Jake reached for her hand again, and they started wandering through the field, mashing weeds under their shoes. “Not really, although I feel like I know everything there is to know about it. I’m actually on the corporate side of things and oversee distribution for a network of farms.”
“And here I thought you just wanted to play in the dirt for our date,” Taycee said with a smile.
He gestured toward the field. “I’m wondering if some of the producing farms might be interested in switching over to organic farming.”
Organic farming? Although Taycee didn’t know much about the process, she knew that organic produce cost more at the grocery store, which meant that there was a lot more involved in the farming process. She also knew the local farmers were pretty set in their ways. “But isn’t that more labor intensive and expensive?”
“Yeah, but it also pays much better. The farming market is becoming so competitive these days that most of the smaller farms, like the ones here, are finding that the only way to stay in business is for them to make the switch.”
“What do you mean?”
“Only that organic farming is mostly done by the independent farms. It’s a market with an increasing demand, creating a situation where the independents are able to work together, rather than compete against the bigger commercial farming organizations.”
Jake made it sound so simple. So easy. Like a minor change could solve a very real problem in Shelter. But it couldn’t be that easy. “What would it take to make the switch?”
Jake stopped, looked around one last time, and then pulled her back in the direction of the car. “It’s more of a training and educational process. NWOPO operates sort of like a franchise. Farms from all over the country buy into it via an annual membership fee. Then we teach them how to make the switch to organic farming, get them certified, and when it’s time to sell we have a distribution channel already in place. It’s a pretty smooth system actually.”
“It sounds too good to be true,” Taycee said.
Jake smiled. “Don’t get me wrong, it will take some money, work, and time to get the farms pesticide and chemical free—usually in the neighborhood of three years. But if the farms can survive the transitional period, ultimately the returns are much greater. In addition, they’ll live in healthier conditions, have better soil, and better tasting produce that needs less water to grow.”
Three years sounded like a century to Taycee, especially with the way things were going now. Very few of the existing farms could survive one more year—let alone three. But maybe the farmers market co-op could help them get through those years. The farmers would be a lot more willing to consider something like this if it meant they could one day sell through regular distribution channels again. That was their biggest concern with the co-op. No one was excited about taking on the responsibility of selling their own produce.
“Hey,” Taycee said. “Would you be willing to put together a presentation for the farmers in the area? Talk to them about organic farming and how your company works?”
“If you think it’s something they might be interested in, I’d be happy to.” Jake stopped and turned to face Taycee. “But please don’t think that’s why I’m here. I didn’t come to drum up more business for my company.”
Taycee grinned. “No, you came because your sister roped you into it.”
“That may be true, but when I saw your face and read about the girl who owned her own flower shop and liked making people happy, she didn’t have to twist my arm too hard. That’s why I’m here—not for any other reason. But if I can help at all with your town’s situation, maybe there’s a chance this can end up being a win-win,” he said with a smile.
Taycee forced herself to return his smile, even though she knew it could never be a win-win—not if one of those wins included her and Jake getting together. It made Taycee wish that he had come with ulterior motives so he wouldn’t care if she walked away at the end of it all.
“I honestly don’t care what brought you here,” Taycee finally said. “Not if your company really can help the town. In fact, if it’s all right with you, I’ll see if Jessa can get something set up soon. Maybe Saturday night? Would that work?”
Jake tugged her closer, and his hands circled her waist. “Sure, as long as you’ll come with me.”
“I’m not sure Jessa would approve of that,” Taycee joked. “You know, no preferential treatment and all that.” She hadn’t been to a town meeting since the whole bachelorette fiasco, and she had no intention of going again anytime soon—especially not as the date to one of the bachelors. There would be whispers and pointed fingers. Maybe Luke would even be there.
No thanks.
Taycee backed out of Jake’s hold and led him toward the car. “Okay, so now that that’s settled, do you really want to keep looking at farmland, or can we do something else?”
Jake chuckled. “I have some reservations at a restaurant in Colorado Springs, and then I was thinking we could do some window shopping afterwards. Or do you have a better idea?”
A hearty breeze whipped some of Taycee’s hair into her face, giving her a much better idea. She cocked her head to the side. “How do you feel about kite wars?”
“Kite what?” The bewildered look on his face made Taycee laugh.
“Wars,” she said as she climbed into his car. “You’ll love it, I promise.�
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“If you say so.”
Megan climbed in back with her camera, and Taycee directed Jake to Nicky’s Novelties where they purchased a couple of kites. Ten minutes later, he pulled to the side of the road, next to a wide open grassy meadow.
The wind lifted Taycee’s hair from her shoulders and whipped stray tendrils across her face. She closed her eyes, enjoying the fresh country air and how comfortable it was being with Jake. He didn’t make her nervous. Her stomach didn’t knot and twist whenever he was around. Her thoughts didn’t scatter. It was nice. Easy.
“So how does this war thing work, exactly?” Jake asked as he assembled his kite.
“Well…” Taycee snapped the plastic rods into the connector, making the bright pink and black checked kite go taut. “Basically the first kite to get knocked out of the sky loses.”
Jake waited a second before his mouth lifted in a half-smile. “That’s it?”
“Welcome to Shelter Springs.” She grinned at him. “We like to keep things simple ‘round here.”
Jake chuckled. “I can live with that. In fact”—His fingers brushed some hair behind her ear—“I’m starting to really like simple.” His words, combined with the way he looked at her made Taycee’s stomach knot. Not good. Don’t look at me like that. Don’t!
Before she could step away, Jake dipped his head, and his lips brushed across hers. It wasn’t a bad sensation. It felt good—his touch, his apparent admiration. She didn’t feel chills or fireworks or the all-consuming desire to wrap her arms around him and return the kiss, but she didn’t necessarily want to stop it either. Besides, it would make Jessa happy which was always a good thing.
Jake pulled back, and Taycee studied his eyes. So open. So honest. Do I like you? Could I like you? He really was the complete package. Why wasn’t she throwing her arms around him and kissing him back? Feeling giddy? Twitterpated? At the very least excited?
Probably because when she looked into Jake’s blue eyes, what she really wanted to see was deep brown.
Taycee dropped her gaze and picked up her kite. Holding it up, she forced a smile. “Ready?”