“I’m okay.” I push my shoulder blades back, shake my head, which does nothing to dislodge the persistent ache lodged there, and attempt to explain my point. I didn’t mean to allude to the way we lost our land. Even though it happened decades ago, Iknow Clancy still hates himself for it. “What I mean is, they’re a type. Rich people who decide to relocate to a nice, sleepy small town for a change of lifestyle or to fulfill some bullshit item on their rich-people bucket list. They swoop in, completely change everything to their liking, and turn the once quaint place into something glossy and unrecognizable. Prices skyrocket, so the locals who have lived here for generations can’t afford to buy property. The whole thing is fucked-up. It makes me so angry.”
“I know it does. And it isn’t fair. But you can’t keep flying off the handle. Remember what the doctor said.”
“What’s the point of listening to the doctor?” I retort, more aggressively than intended, picking up our empty bowls and carrying them over to the sink. “It won’t change anything anyway.”
I have lunch with Clancy every day. It’s only a short drive from the rescue, his cooking is top-notch, and after Dad died and Mom left, he became our primary carer. I love him more than anyone on the face of this earth.
I’m also low-key worried about him living on his own. He can downplay his age all he wants—including insisting that we all call him Clancy and not Grandpa because “that’s for old men”—but running a five-acre apricot orchard all by himself is hard work. I help out whenever I can, especially during harvest season, but I worry about how much longer he can keep doing it on his own. Especially since this is likely to be the last season I’ll be able to lend a hand.
Clancy comes over and stands next to me, leaning a hip against the counter. This is our deal. He cooks. I wash up. I can feel his dark-green eyes on me, the ones Mom inherited from him and in turn passed down to me.
“So what’s going to happen with the Benson boy, then?”
“Nothing.” I start scrubbing a plate. “Why would anything happen?”
“Well, you’ve finally met him.”
“You make it sound like he’s someone worth meeting.” I shake my head. “Geez. It’s not like they’re royalty. They’re not saving lives. I swear, the way people go on about that family around here. His mom ran the world’s second-largest shipping company, and his dad’s family owns Benson Silverstone Winery. Whoop-de-do. Good for them. Who fucking cares?”
A grin dances across Clancy’s lips. “And how do you happen to know all that?”
I clear my throat. “Just, uh, heard it around town.”
AnnndI might have done a little online stalking when I overheard that Maverick, aka one of America’s Most Eligible Billionaires Under 30, was following his brother’s lead and moving to Silverstone after everything that happened with their family.
“Jackson?” A hand lands on my shoulder. I turn to meet Clancy’s eyes, brimming with amusement. “Think that plate is just about scrubbed clean.”
“Right.” I place it on the dish rack and move on to assault the frying pan.
“Well, I personally have found him nothing but charming and friendly.”
“And when have you ever met him?”
“He’s stopped by a couple of times.”
I drop the pan into the sink with a noisy splash. “What?”
My head snaps to my grandfather. With thick salt-and-pepper hair, golden sun-worn yet still smooth skin, and clear, sharp eyes, Clancy Ford easily looks a good two decades younger than he is. And his youthful appearance really shines through whenever he smiles goofily. Like he currently is.
“Would you like me to say it again, slower this time, or use different words?”
I pick the pan up and resume scrubbing. “Actually, you know what? I don’t care because I, unlike everyone else in this town, do not worship at the altar of Benson.”
Although…when Maverick cradled my face in his big, warm hands, my mind automatically went down a very unwanted path where he shoved me to my knees and made me worship him right there and then in the open field.
But that can never happen.
My ship is going down, and I’m not going to take anyone else with me. I shouldn’t even be thinking about hooking up with anyone right now. Least of all, someone like Maverick Benson.
Wrong guy. Wrong time. Wrongeverything.
“That’s what I thought,” Clancy says, watching me keenly with his bright eyes. “Too bad you don’t care because what he said the last time he popped in was very interesting. In my humble opinion, that is.”
I chew the inside of my cheek until the pain becomes too much.Don’t bite, don’t bite, don’t bite.
“And what was that?” I ask because I am a weak, weak person.
Clancy’s grin turns smug. “Oh, come on now. I know how much you don’t like to gossip. And since you’ve made it perfectly clear you don’t care about Mav?—”
