Jake was paying too close of attention to Clover and not enough to his surroundings. They were almost to her house when he realized that her car was gone from the side of the road. Her dad must have had it towed. He needed to pay closer attention. It wasn’t safe to drive with his mind in a haze.
He also needed a plan. Clover wasn’t going to ride around with him all night just because he liked holding her hand.
He dropped her off, then hurried back to his aunt’s place. He could throw together some food for a picnic while Clover cleaned up and talked to her dad. Then at least he wouldn’t have to worry about her getting hungry.
Jake parked and jogged to the house. Sure, Clover had to take care of some stuff, but he didn’t want to keep her waiting. She was the kind of girl to move on when she got bored.
His aunt stood at the sink doing dishes when he entered. The screen door slammed behind him. She gave him a scolding look. “What’s your hurry, Jake?”
“Hi, Aunt Tammy.” He kissed her cheek. “Sorry about the door. I’m taking Clover for a drive. Do we have anything for a picnic?”
Aunt Tammy raised her eyebrow and half-smiled. “Randall Watson know that you’re taking his girl out?”
Jake flushed. “I don’t know.” It hadn’t even occurred to him that Clover’s dad would object. She was twenty-two now, old enough to make her own dating decisions. If that’s what this even was. He wasn’t sure and had no idea how to ask that question. Instead of focusing on what he didn’t yet understand, he pulled a plastic grocery bag from the cupboard and put two apples in it.
“What in the world are you planning to do with that plastic bag?” Aunt Tammy looked offended that it was even in her kitchen.
He shrugged. The bag hung limp and deflated in his hand. “Picnic?” He’d already said that, but the look on his aunt’s face said that what he was doing wasn’t even close to what she defined as a proper picnic. He pulled a bottle of wine from the rack that looked decent and held it up. “Can I take this?”
“If you promise to use the picnic basket instead of that plastic bag.” She outright laughed at him.
“Where is it?”
“Hall closet.”
When he got back with the basket, his aunt had assembled a small, portable meal for them. The apples, chips, and a couple of pieces of pie in a container. To top it off, she was assembling sandwiches. He set the basket on the counter and loaded it up. There were linen napkins, cups, and utensils already inside the basket.
“Are you sure Clover drinks wine?”
Jake looked at the bottle. Didn’t all girls drink wine? “I don’t know.”
“Then you’d better take this, too.” She handed him a six-pack of long neck Bud Light.
Jake agreed. At the very least, he knew he liked beer. But in the movies, people on dates drank wine. Friends drank beer. He didn’t want to give her the impression that he thought of her as a buddy. That couldn’t be further from the truth. He tossed a couple of bottles of water in the basket just to be safe and then headed toward the door. At least the beer and wine sent a specific message. He had no idea what it would mean if she picked the water.
“Jake,” his aunt called him back. “Don’t play with that girl.”
“What?” Jake shook his head. She didn’t understand the situation at all. He wasn’t that kind of guy. Even if he was, he couldn’t be with Clover. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“When you go home at the end of the summer, I have to stay here. Her dad is my neighbor. I don’t want to complicate that.”
Jake didn’t know how to respond. It was possible that Clover would go back to ignoring him after today. He just wanted to enjoy the time she was sharing with him and maybe, just maybe, he’d be able to convince her that he was worth a second look. If he was really lucky, that is. There was no playing in that scenario. Only him worshipping her from up close instead of from afar.
“There’s no danger of that. Don’t worry,” he assured his aunt.
Before she could ask any other questions, he ducked out the door and trotted back to the truck. The picnic basket was bulky, but the odds of the food inside getting scattered around his truck bed while he was driving were pretty slim. If he’d gone with the plastic bag he’d selected, he would have had to put in the cab. From there it was guaranteed an apple would have rolled under the accelerator pedal at some point. He set the basket in the back and drove as carefully as possible on the way to Clover’s house.
She was sitting on the front steps when he pulled up, clearly showered and wearing a light summer dress instead of the skirt and tank top she’d had on earlier.
She smiled softly when she got in. “You came back.” She sounded as uncertain, yet hopeful, about things as he felt.
“Of course.” He kissed her cheek like she’d kissed his earlier and wished he had the nerve to move his mouth just a little to the side. That was all it would take to touch his lips to hers. Instead, he pulled back and shifted into gear.
She settled into the middle seat right next to him with the length of her thigh pressed up against his. He much preferred to have her sit there than all the way over on the passenger side.
He tried to sound casual, but he could feel his face flush with heat as he said, “I threw together some food in case we get hungry.”
“That’s sweet, thank you.” Clover stretched up and kissed his cheek. For one stuttering, suffocating, perfect moment, her lips touched his skin. His eyes drifted shut and he held perfectly still. So far, their exchanges had been relatively chaste, but he felt something shift inside him with that kiss. His crush was moving far too quickly into something solid and his chest swelled with fear and hope.
She lingered there for several seconds, close enough for him to feel the whisper of her breath against his skin. When she finally pulled away, he stayed in that position, stunned immobile by her closeness. She squeezed his leg, kissed his cheek again, quickly this time, then pulled away completely. “So, where are we going?”
He jerked into motion, embarrassed by his reaction. But what else could he expect? When a girl like Clover got close enough for him to smell the subtle fragrance of her shampoo and the lingering chlorine on her skin from the pool, well, something like that would always affect him. And this time it wasn’t just a girl like Clover; it was Clover herself. The crush he’d been cultivating for as long as he could remember had grown exponentially since he’d picked her up earlier that day.
He cleared his throat as he pulled out of the parking lot. “I have no idea. Where do you want to go?”
“Head south, toward the river.”
“You got it.”
Instead of holding her hand this time, Jake settled his arm around Clover’s shoulder. As he pulled onto the highway, she rested her hand on his leg. She let her hand lie in one place, low by his knee, with her fingers curled around the inside. It was for the best, he knew. The distraction of her hand sliding high up on his thigh while driving would be too much to ignore. Still, he wanted to feel her hand everywhere. If he could figure out a way to say it without sounding like an asshole, he’d tell her that she was welcome to touch him whenever and however she wanted. The fear that she might actually take him up on it, however, was enough to keep him silent.
For now, he was happy simply to drive down the road with her sitting next to him.
Chapter 8
Nine Years Ago
Every family in the county decided to visit the river that day, but that didn’t stop R.J. and Jake from having fun. Clover sat on one of the lounge chairs that Brandon had packed into the back of his truck and read her book. She looked up occasionally to see what they were doing, but since Brandon and her dad were both there, too, it wasn’t her responsibility to watch them.
“Clover, come play!” R.J. yelled from the water. He stood knee deep in a shallow pool. At six, he was a pretty decent swimmer, but their dad still wouldn’t let R.J. go past waist deep. The current in the river could be unpredictable, especiall
y here where it looked placid. He also insisted that R.J. wear a life jacket at all times. R.J. hated it, but didn’t argue. He knew as well as Clover did that if he fussed too much, they’d all pack up and go home.
Clover held her book aloft to show R.J.. “I’m reading.” Not that he would care. He thought books were boring.
“You can read at home. Come play with us.”
Jake stood next to R.J. with his hand held up to shade his eyes. He watched Clover, but didn’t say anything. It seemed that the older he got, the quieter he got when Clover was around.
“Maybe later.” She went back to reading her book. As much as she enjoyed the day out with her family, a book only made it better. Her dad had brought a book along as well. Something about annuities and tax law. She’d tried to read some of it once, but she didn’t understand most of it.
“Lunch is almost ready.” Brandon had taken a rare day off to join them at the river. He stood next to the tailgate barbecue wearing a pair of cut-off jeans and a ridiculous grilling apron. He’d taken off his shirt as soon as they’d unpacked. Her dad, on the other hand, wore khaki shorts and a short-sleeved button-down shirt. He’d opened the top two buttons. Clover had never seen him more casual than this.
She hadn’t been hungry until Brandon mentioned food. Then she could suddenly smell the burgers he was cooking. Her stomach growled and she realized that she was starving.
“Look at us!” R.J. said. He and Jake had come out of the water to stand far too close to Clover. “We’re camouflaged.”
They’d pulled green algae from the edge of the river and piled it on their heads, then painted brown stripes under their eyes with mud. Jake’s chest was covered with mud, as was R.J.’s life jacket.
“Oh my God. You are disgusting.” Clover stood and backed away from them. Her brother was devious. He was probably trying to get close enough to shake that gunk all over her. She wouldn’t put it past him. “Get away from me.”
“What’s wrong, Clover?” R.J. asked in a sing-song voice as he came even closer. For his part, Jake stopped looking like he was having fun when she told them to get away from her. His brows were drawn together and he stood rooted in one place. R.J. realized Jake wasn’t with him and said, “Come on, man. Let’s get her.”
Jake shook his head. “No. I don’t want to.”
“What the heck? You did a second ago.”
“Yeah, well, I don’t anymore.” Jake turned back toward the river. A glop of algae fell from his head and landed with a squishy splat at his feet.
Without his backup, Jake gave up the chase. Clover had never been happier. She didn’t trust him enough to sit down again, but for now, at least, he seemed to be retreating.
“You’re no fun.” R.J. threw a clump of mud at Jake’s back.
“You boys get cleaned up. Lunch is ready.” Brandon pulled a burger from the grill. “You want the first one, Clover?”
Clover looked at her dad. Usually he went first. He joined them at the tailgate and took a deep, exaggerated breath. “Smells delicious. You go ahead, honey. Ladies first.”
By the time she’d finished adding all the fixings to her burger, Jake and R.J. had rejoined the group. They’d scrubbed clean in the river, but their hair still held a slight tinge of green to it.
Jake came over to her and quietly said, “Sorry, Clover.”
“It’s okay.” She offered him her burger just to show that she had no hard feelings. He didn’t take it.
Chapter 9
Present Day
Clover signaled for Jake to turn down the service road that ran along the south property line of her dad’s land. She waved at Brandon. He was working a field of alfalfa with the harvester, driving with a farmer’s confidence. Anyone unfamiliar with the large piece of machinery wouldn’t even try. It looked otherworldly with the long sweep arm that cut the hay. In reality, it was pretty simple. She’d learned how to drive a combine before she learned to drive a car.
“Is that your dad’s property?” Jake asked.
She wasn’t surprised that Jake wasn’t immediately familiar with the boundaries of her dad’s land. He had several tracts, each several hundred acres. Clover herself needed a map to keep it all straight.
“Yeah, just keep driving.” She turned her body into Jake’s. The feel of him, solid and strong, with his arm around her shoulders, made her almost forget about her broken down car, her crappy day at work, and her even crappier boss.
Clover needed to figure out a solution for work. She had another month and she couldn’t spend it constantly avoiding Vince. Maybe Jake would agree to hang out at the pool during her shifts for the rest of the summer like he did when he was kid. Of course, back then he didn’t have any real responsibilities on his aunt’s farm. Now, it seemed, Tammy was making use of him.
Jake drove slow enough that he didn’t kick up a dust storm from the road. The crops would survive a little dust, but it was better for them if they didn’t have to. Clover didn’t even think about those restrictions anymore. She’d been raised to respect the land and the food they produced. Still, she liked that she didn’t have to remind Jake. He’d been a part of his aunt’s farm long enough now that he just knew.
“Where do you live?” Clover had never even thought to ask. She’d known since she was little that Jake came at the beginning of summer and went home to his parents when it was over, but she had no idea where home was.
“Salem. My dad works for the state.”
“What does he do?” Working for the state, in Clover’s experience, was never actually very interesting. But the fact that the man would send his son off every summer made her more curious than normal.
“He’s a civil engineer. He works for the Department of Transportation.”
“That sounds...really boring,” Clover laughed.
Jake shrugged and smiled in a way that said he agreed, but what could he do about it?
She understood enough about life to know that sometimes jobs that sound boring weren’t, but she didn’t think that was the case this time. At the end of the day, however, it didn’t really matter anyway. Work was a thing people did to get paid. Her goal was to make sure she got paid as much as possible. Her dad had taught her that with enough money, she could buy any dream she wanted, just like he had. But that would never happen without hard work, focus, and dedication. She might have enjoyed another line of study, but it was more important for her to earn a living and make her dad proud doing it.
They drew near a large cottonwood tree at the end of the field. The road ended not too far after that. “It’s just right up here.”
Jake slowed a little more and searched the horizon. He could look all he wanted; he wouldn’t see where she was leading him. She’d discovered this place when she was little, not too long after her dad bought the land. It wasn’t exactly a secret, but she hadn’t brought many people out here either. Her brother, obviously, Brandon, and her dad. But that was it.
She hadn’t wanted a place she loved to turn into a party hangout during high school, so she hadn’t brought any of her friends. Not to mention she’d been too focused on her grades to spend any time on boys. She supposed that if she’d had a boyfriend, she would have brought him out here. Maybe.
It seemed to her, based on what she knew of Jake’s history and their shared experiences that day, that he would understand and appreciate how special it was. She felt guilty about not sharing this with him before. There’d been plenty of opportunities, but she’d never acted on them.
Jake stopped under the shade of the tree and cut the engine. The land dropped off just beyond that point and opened up to a small, private pond. There were several other trees around the pond, and until they got right up on it, it looked like nothing more than a small grove of trees. Farmers did that all the time, left patches of trees along the borders between fields. Often times they’d place rest stations for workers and beehives in those areas.
“Wow.” Jake climbed out of the truck and pulled Clover along b
y the hand. He led her to the front of the truck and he paused there for a moment to look around. “This is beautiful. I didn’t know you guys have a pond.”
“Most people don’t.” She let go of his hand and went to the back of the truck. She grabbed the beer and the picnic basket, which she thought was adorable. She’d never had a guy make a picnic for her before. Her ex-boyfriend thought it was romantic to order pizza after they’d fucked. He wasn’t big on wooing. To be fair, she was too wrapped up with her studies to have time for much else either. The functionality of what he offered worked well at the time. There was just no way it would ever lead to more.
She bumped Jake with the basket and he took it from her. She led him down to the water’s edge.
“This is perfect.” He set the basket on the picnic table her dad had installed several years ago. Clover set the beer next to it.
There was a layer of dust on the table from going unused. She should encourage Brandon to come out here more often. It didn’t look like anyone had been here since the previous summer when she’d been home, and that had been a brief trip. Nothing more than a pit stop between the end of her internship and the beginning of senior year. Just enough to convince her dad that she was still alive, and that he should pay another year’s worth of tuition and expenses.
She and Lexy kept their apartment in Seattle year round. It was simpler than moving everything home or into storage for a couple of months. Twice she’d stayed in Seattle for school. She’d tasted what adult life would be like, going to work and coming home to an empty apartment. She enjoyed everything she learned, but she knew she wouldn’t be happy living alone long term.
“I love it here.”
“Could we swim?”
“Did you bring a suit?” Clover laughed. She wasn’t opposed to getting Jake naked, but skinny dipping wasn’t what she had in mind. It felt kind of like cheating.
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