“Me either,” Caleb says.
Becca holds up two blooms in a suggestive way, and Darcy cracks up, turning to pretend to put one somewhere even more unfit for polite discussion.
“They seem fine,” he says, lifting his hat to wipe sweat from his brow. Southern West Virginia heat finds you no matter where you hide. Sure, it’s maybe ten degrees cooler in the shade, but it’s still sweltering. “Hey, thanks for the tip on the cowboy hats. I always wear ball caps, but these really do cover better. And like . . . imagine who I could pull with this bad boy.” Caleb tips his hat. “Ma’am.”
I fan myself. “Gave me a chill in this heat, good sir.”
Darcy stands straight and wavers a little against the hillside, but rather than taking a break like a sane person would, she sings along to “Cowboy, Take Me Away” like she wrote it herself. Becca joins in and they don’t sound so different from two cats squalling.
“She probably needs some tea,” I say, filling a cup from the carafe next to me.
Caleb stifles a laugh. “And Becca doesn’t?”
“You get it then,” I snap, making a “what” motion at him.
“I think you’ve taken a shine to our bosslady,” he says, switching his voice to a deeper accent than his actual one.
“I don’t even know what that means,” I say, stepping out of the shade and mounting the hillside where they’re precariously perched.
Darcy and Becca stop, giggling about something while they look down at me.
“Why do I feel like Daddy’s about to yell at me?” Darcy calls, shielding her eyes from the sun.
Every cell in my body ceases movement for a second. Did she just call me Daddy? I’m going to have to pretend I didn’t hear that. I sigh and climb the hill using sideways steps, careful to dodge the wildflowers they’re picking.
I wait until I’m close enough to not have to yell to extend the cup her way. “You need to drink something.”
“That tea?” she asks, panting like she’s been working hard.
“Yep.”
She points to a big Nalgene bottle in the grass. “Just throw me my water. That stuff’ll make my stomach more upset. Though, I guess the caffeine could help my headache.”
I tip my head and narrow my eyes as I hand her the bottle. “You have a headache, your stomach hurts, and you’re still out here working in the sun?”
She shrugs and takes a big gulp of water, then clutches her stomach with a wince. “We’ve gotta leave for the market in an hour or so, so yeah?”
I look her over, trying to look for the more obvious signs that she’s gotten too much heat and sun. “Caleb and I can finish up. We just had a break. You should go grab a shower.”
“You saying I stink, Daddy?”
She cackles as I squeeze my eyes shut and shake my head. “I think you’re too hot.”
“Oh, thank you,” she says, sarcastically fanning herself.
“Dip in the pond?” I ask.
She wrinkles her nose, and I notice trails of dried, salty sweat on her neck. “It’s gross up there.”
I open my mouth to argue, but I still don’t know if she picked up on the implication that I’ve seen her skinny-dip there when we played Never Have I Ever. I shake the cup again. “Will you at least take some tea, boss?”
“Sounds like you’re trying to be the boss, Daddy,” Becca chimes in and I roll my eyes. She’s happily sipping on the tea Caleb brought her. My brain addslike a good girland I’m woozy. Since when do I think of things in those terms? No one here is under any obligation to please anyone else here.
Since Darcy acted like a little brat and forced me to step in to make her take care of herself, I guess.
Oh god. Maybe I am a daddy.
“Ah, ow!” Darcy shouts, bending to grab her calf. “Fuckin’ charley horse.”
