I glanced over at Kandi and squeezed her hand. “I really don’t want to leave. Not yet.”
“Good,” she whispered and bumped me with her shoulder, the puffy coat rustling against me.
I leaned in to kiss her. “Ford? Kandi?” Just as my mouth was brushing hers, a deep voice interrupted us.
I bit the inside of my cheek and swallowed the urge to curse. Because I knew that voice. I’d known it for over a decade. Ben.
11
Ford
Ben Kingston looked just as douchey as ever with his slim-fit pants, skinny black tie and blonde hair, cut high and tight. “You’re fucking kidding me, right?” he sneered and smacked Tyler, one of the old gang, against his chest. “Would you look at this shit? My ex-girlfriend… and ex-best friend.”
I blew out a tight breath through my pursed lips. “Ben, this is a fight you don’t want to pick.”
“Come on, man,” Tyler said to Ben, giving me a quick, apologetic look. “Let’s just go the party.”
Jonah nudged Ben’s back, giving me a nod. “Yep, that’s a good idea. Let’s get going.”
“No,” Ben snapped and his balance faltered. My gaze dropped to the flask clutched in his hand, and I sighed. How’d I forget that Ben liked to pre-game? Hard. “This… this is some bullshit right here. There’s a code, man. You don’t date your bud’s ex-girlfriend.”
With a deep breath, I set the nearly empty mug of cider onto the table and stood. “Except… I’m not your bud,” I said quietly.
“Is this why you told me to dump her ass? Because you wanted her the whole time?” He took a step back. “Shit, I knew you had a crush on her. It was so fucking obvious. I just never thought you’d grow a pair and finally act on your little crush.”
“Okay,” Tyler said, trying to nudge Ben along, “you’ve said your peace. Let’s go.”
“And you!” He pointed at Kandi, and her eyes narrowed onto him. I stepped between them.
“Don’t fucking say another word to her,” I warned, growling the threat to him.
“Or what? You’re going to defend her honor?”
I didn’t answer him, but folded my arms, holding my ground. My muscles went rigid as Kandi stood and came out from behind the table. “I don’t need anyone to defend my honor, Ben. I can do it myself.”
Ben snorted and rolled his eyes. “Yeah, okay. Good luck dating this guy when he can barely stay awake after nine.”
Tyler shook his head. “You’re such an asshole, Ben.”
Ben’s head whipped around. “What did you say?”
“You heard me.”
Jonah nodded. “He’s right. You’re being a dick.” Then, looking at Tyler, he jerked his head toward the street. “We’re going to the party… are you coming, Ben?”
“Not yet.” Ben’s gaze stayed cold and stony, directed at me.
Tyler and Jonah rolled their eyes and each gave me a quick nod. “I’m sorry, Ford,” Tyler said.
I snorted. “If he’s such an asshole, why are you both still friends with him?”
Tyler shrugged, sighing heavily. “He’s my cousin. What am I supposed to do?”
He had a point there. Blood relatives are harder to walk away from.
“Yeah, well, he’s not my fucking cousin,” Jonah growled. “Hey… I’ll call you sometime, Ford,” he added, with a light tap to my shoulder. “We should catch up.”
“I’d like that.”
“You’ll catch up?” Ben glared at me. “I hope you don’t mind the early bird specials with the old folks for dinner, Jonah.” But they were already halfway down the street, ignoring him.
I laughed at that and it was my turn to roll my eyes. “Is that the best you’ve got, Ben? ‘Cause here’s the thing. You’re going to be seeing us together around town… a lot. When you lift your chin out of a pool of drool from being passed out in the gutter? We’ll be stepping over your body to head to breakfast. Two years from now when you’re still sadly out partying and getting wasted, hitting on sorority girls here on spring break? We’ll be happy together. Your right to ‘bro code’ ended when you dumped her when you thought she was pregnant.” I smiled and slipped my hand around Kandi’s. “But your loss is my gain.”
Ben’s smile widened and it was dark and awful. “You’re right about that. Kandi with her hippie ass parents and trust fund is quite literally the best you could ever do.” His gaze shifted to Kandi. “I just didn’t realize you were willing to slum it with a poorboy redneck.”
My face went red. My whole life, that had been the insult thrown my way. In elementary school, I was called the dirty farmboy. By middle school, it had evolved to white trash. In high school, it advanced to worse terms like goat-fucker.
And now… even as adults, and from a man who had claimed to be my friend for years, I couldn’t escape those insults.
It didn’t make me angry as much as it made me sad that this kind of bullshit bullying still happened among grown-ups. And sad for him that he thought it could accomplish what he wanted.
“The only time in my life that I ever slummed it was when I stayed with you for two years,” Kandi snapped.
Ben blinked rapidly, shaking his head at Kandi. “Oh,” he said. “You never told him.” His gaze hardened as he looked back from Kandi to me. “I’m not the one who coined the term poorboy redneck for you. It was Kandi. Back when we were dating.”
I snorted and shook my head. “Bullshit.” But when I glanced at Kandi, her face went as white as a ghost. I swallowed hard, staring at her. “That’s bullshit… right?”
Her brown eyes flashed with a sheen of tears as she looked at me, her mouth gaping open. “Oh, God. I forgot about that. It was over a year ago, and I didn’t really know you. Ben had just told me you tried to tell him to dump me, and I just… I hated you then.”
I stumbled backwards, feeling completely sucker punched.
The weight of Ben’s palm landed on my shoulder, and red-hot anger spiked in my gut. “It’s okay, man. You’ll come running back to me when she fakes another pregnancy. Just keep a coat hanger handy in case you really knock her up.”
Stars filled my vision, and my entire body went numb. Before I could stop myself or even know what was happening, my hands balled into fists and I took a swing at Ben’s face.
“No!” Kandi’s hand on my shoulder was the only thing that stopped me from punching a second time.
My knuckles cracked. He grunted as he fell to the sidewalk. But he didn’t retaliate. He stood slowly, a smile spreading across his face as he picked up his flask, took a sip and gargled with the alcohol before spitting it back onto the street. A bit of blood dripped from the corner of his mouth.
He gave a slow nod at each of us and tipped an invisible hat before stumbling down the street, presumably toward the party.
Kandi and I stood there in silence several moments before she moved to get closer to me, but I countered her, stepping back. “Don’t.” My voice was a harsh whisper, hoarser than I meant it to be.
“You have to believe me,” she sobbed. “I completely forgot I ever said that. It was back when I thought the world revolved around me and Ben. And I thought you were just this guy who wanted us to break up. This asshole friend—”
“You mean redneck? Oh, I’m sorry. Poorboy redneck.”
Her head fell between her shoulders. “I’m sorry,” she said again. “What can I do?”
I swallowed clamping my hands to my hips. “I just… I need a little space.”
“No,” Kandi cried. “Please, let me come back to the house with you. Space is the worst thing. We need to talk it out—”
“No, you need to talk it out. Right now… I need to think.”
She pressed her lips together and nodded. “What do you need to think about?” I didn’t answer her, and after a moment’s pause, she asked, “Us?”
I glanced up at her and winced. I didn’t want to lie, but the truth was going to hurt. “I need to think about whether or not this can really work. This week
end was amazing, but the truth is, we are very different people, and while I love that you believe love can conquer all… that’s not my MO.”
Her head jerked up. “Love?”
I cleared my throat and shook my head. “No… not… you know what I mean.”
“You called me Princess.” Her tone shifted from contrite to accusatory, and she pointed a finger at me. “How is that any different? You can’t tell me that when you coined that nickname for me, it was meant affectionately.”
I nodded. “You’re right. Difference is, I never said it behind your back.”
I didn’t wait for her to respond this time mainly because I knew if we kept talking, she’d find a way to keep me here. Keep me talking. And eventually talking would lead to me wanting to kiss her. But truthfully, I needed to think. I needed to sleep. And I needed to reflect on whether or not my heart could take another woman leaving me after she realized her first assessment of me as “just a poor farmboy” was one hundred percent true.
I backed away. “Goodnight, Kandi.”
12
Kandi
I didn’t sleep at all that night. Every thirty minutes, I kept getting up and finding reasons to wander my house, which was suddenly far too silent. The guest bathroom was empty without five kittens tumbling and playing. When I stepped out on the balcony, there was no Ford standing below, waiting for me with coffee.
I got up again and glanced at the clock… three-thirty in the morning. I scrubbed my hands over my face, thankful that my shop was closed on Mondays.
What was it Ford had to think about tonight? Was he still worried that I couldn’t hack it on a farm? Or… what? That I would leave him because the early nights and even earlier mornings were too much?
I grew up on a ranch. My parents and I used to wake up every morning at five to take care of the horses before I had to catch the school bus. Hard, dirty work wasn’t something I shied away from. Or was this truly all because I called him a poor redneck once a year ago when I was mad and disillusioned? Admittedly, that was not my finest moment. But I apologized. Sincerely. If he dumped me over that, then maybe he was right, and we weren’t meant to be.
Because I needed someone who understood that life and relationships were messy. We were both going to screw up at times in our relationship, and we each needed to learn forgiveness and grace.
I pushed my lips together and fell to a seat on my couch. What would Samantha from Bewitched do? She and Darren always ended up in wild predicaments and misunderstandings. The whole show was based on the fact that he didn’t believe she could live in his world…
I smiled, slowly at first, but suddenly, I wasn’t groggy at all anymore—and I knew just what Samantha would do.
Ford
That morning, I woke up as usual and showered, threw on my jeans and a t-shirt, and zipped up a hoodie to cut the chill that was in the October morning air.
I popped into the room with the cats, cracking open a can of food for Momma, and gave Boots his medicine.
I froze halfway down the stairs. A light was on in my kitchen. A light I was certain I did not leave on. I inhaled deeply. Coffee was made. And bacon and eggs. I peeked downstairs, and although the room was empty… sure enough, a pot of coffee was on the counter along with a plate of bacon and eggs, wrapped with cellophane.
I edged closer and lifted the note that sat on top of the plate.
Ford,
When you finish eating, meet me outside.
Xoxo,
Kandi
What in the hell did she have up her sleeve? I’d spent most of the night thinking of nothing but her… and I had concluded that I wanted to try. I wanted to try to give it a go with us, even though I had no doubt it would be hard.
I ate the breakfast she made, even though the last thing I wanted to do right now was sit and eat. If Kandi was on my property, I wanted to find her. I wanted to kiss her. Declare her as mine. But, I also wanted to show her that I appreciated her peace offering. The food was simple, but good. And her coffee—hot damn. It was motor oil strong, just how I liked it.
I made my way to the chicken coop and found that Kandi had let them out of the hen house and into the penned off area where they could roam and eat. My boots crunched beneath the feed that she had spread out for them and Clucky Brewster, my favorite hen, greeted me by dancing around my feet.
A basket of eggs sat on a ledge within the henhouse and it was pretty clean in there. Close to how I would have taken care of things myself.
Another note was tucked into the gathered eggs.
If I missed anything in here, let me know and I’ll get it right next time. Meet me near the goats.
Xoxo,
Kandi
I narrowed my eyes at the note and turned toward the goat house. I only had four types of animals… chickens, sheep, goats, and horses. “There’s no way she knows how to milk a goat,” I said, as Cluck Norris, my rooster, came pecking his way over to me.
I crossed the field, and sure enough, the goats were already let out. I only had four goats and four sheep and they all shared a shed together. Their feed trough was full, and they were out grazing, doing a fine job of keeping the grass trimmed for me.
I snatched another note off the door of the shed, shaking my head, bewildered, and my toe touched a pail of fresh milk.
Only one of the goats needed milking. The rest seemed okay.
Meet me at the stables.
Xoxo,
Kandi
I all but ran to the stables and threw the doors open to find Kandi there in her fancy leather boots, now caked with dirt. Tight jeans hugged her gorgeous ass, and the sleeves of her sweatshirt were pushed up to her elbows.
She barely looked up from where she stood, brushing Chester, when I ran into the stables like a madman.
“Kandi,” I said, out of breath.
“Hm?”
“What the hell are you doing?”
She blinked her long, inky lashes, and even makeup-free, she was the most stunning woman I’d ever seen in my life. “I’m proving to you that I’m a ranchgirl just as much as you’re a farmboy.” She paused, tilting her head. “Granted, I don’t know anything about harvesting crops… but you can teach me that.” She patted Chester gently on the belly and his caramel tail flicked happily under the attention. “But animals? Animals, I know.”
I crossed behind her and inhaled shampoo smell clinging to her damp hair, piled on top of her head in a messy bun. I draped my hand over hers, gently tugging the brush from her hands. “You don’t need to prove anything to me,” I said softly.
Her brows shot up as she spun to face me. “Don’t I?”
I shook my head. “Last night was… upsetting. I just needed a little time to think.”
She nodded, her eyes softening. “I get that. But last night was upsetting for me, too. Ben represents the worst two years of my life, which,” she rolled her eyes in spite of herself, “I recognize shows that I’ve had a charmed life.”
I brushed my knuckles across her jaw. “Ben was abusive to you. Not physically, but emotionally. You don’t have to qualify that.”
Her mouth dipped into a frown and she nodded. “Thank you. And I’m sorry for what I said. For calling you poor. A redneck.”
I shrugged. “I overreacted. I do that sometimes, especially if I’m already pissed about something, like I was with Ben. I’m sorry I took it out on you.”
She held up her finger in my face as I was bending to kiss her. “Rule number six—”
“Seven,” I corrected her with a grin. “Rule number six was coffee in bed every morning.”
She pressed her lips together. “So it was. Good memory. Okay, new rule number seven: even when we’re mad, we give the person the chance to apologize.”
I blew out a tight breath. “I process anger differently than you, Kandi. You need to understand that—”
“I do. You’ll still get to have your quiet time alone to ‘think’.” She threw air quotes around the word. �
��But I won’t spend the night sick with worry that you didn’t hear my apology. And likewise, for you when you mess up.” She rolled her eyes with an exaggerated arch of her neck. “And we both know you’re going to mess up.”
I laughed. “Well, that’s a given. I like rule number seven. I can live with that.”
“Good,” she whispered and tilted her lips to mine. “Now… back to rule number one.”
I grinned. Rule number one: If I offer my lips for a kiss, freaking take them. “Happily. Rule number one is my favorite.”
Epilogue
Kandi
One year later… on Halloween.
I had to cover my mouth with my hand to stop from laughing as Ford came downstairs in his costume. I bit my lip, my entire body literally shaking with suppressed laughter. Frank and Vlad hopped off of my lap, where they had been snuggling with me, and Momma came in through the little cat door Ford had installed after the winter frost had subsided last year. Spider was scaling the back of the couch, which had sadly been torn to shreds thanks to his climbing ways.
One thing I had to say in favor of living with six cats? We never saw a single mouse in this massive farmhouse. Not even once.
But apparently, none of my cats wanted to sit in my lap during my uncontrollable giggle fit was too much for my cats. Because for Halloween, Ford was dressed as a giant pea pod.
He glared at me and it was even funnier when he tried to put his hands on his hips. “Seriously, Kandi?”
I gasped for breath, falling over onto the couch. After I moved in last February, I decorated the farmhouse with all new furniture and paint, sprucing the whole house up a bit. It was the perfect blend of me and him. Rustic. And chic.
“Come on!” I cried, standing and twirling for him in my bubblegum pink costume. “We’re adorable.”
He grimaced. “I thought we agreed on Major Healey and Jeannie this year?”
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