“If he’s smart, he’ll go with the girl who was brought up on a farm. A fish out of water is very well for a short time, but some of those women wouldn’t like the isolation of his farm. It’s damn cold down there in the middle of winter. Lots of snow. At least the woman Nolan chooses will only have to face rain and mud,” Eric said.
“When we come back, each of our farmers will choose eight women from his group to go forward to the next round. Who will it be? Ladies and gentlemen, the tension is palpable here, and I’m as anxious as the girls to learn who our farmers choose,” Hailee said in a confidential manner.
“So who is Nolan going to pick?” Eric asked.
Tyler knew who Nolan wouldn’t select. “Of the ones we saw, I think he liked the woman who owned the dog and a tea shop. She seemed nice and she was subtle yet sexy. Mum would approve of her.”
Josie nodded. “The woman who worked as admin at the fast-food restaurant. With her farming background, she’d be a good candidate.”
“Quiet, the show is starting again,” Eric said.
Tyler smothered a grin. He’d take a safe bet that most Clare residents were glued to their televisions tonight.
“Oh dear,” Josie said, her tone sympathetic when the first farmer read out his eight picks. “Some of the women look as if they might burst into tears.”
“At least the women they showcased tonight might get a little attention from the single men in their area—one’s they haven’t met before,” Eric said.
Tyler didn’t comment, instead wondering how he could get up to Auckland to meet Susan in person. He had a starting point—the club on K’ Road and her name—but he figured a lot of other men would have the same idea. He thought about their work schedule on the farm and acknowledged the truth. He couldn’t leave Eric to cope with the haymaking on his own. The sheep were due for crutching too.
“It’s Nolan’s turn,” Josie said.
They listened to Hailee ask Nolan several questions.
“He’s good,” Eric said. “He comes across as confident yet not arrogant.”
“Shush,” Josie said, her eyes glued to the screen.
Tyler watched Nolan scan the line of women, his expression suitably somber. “Hailee, the ladies I have chosen for the next stage are Maxine, Elle, Tamara, Lucy, Anna, Cherry, Jasmine and Susan.”
“He picked the stripper,” Eric said.
Shock rioted with excitement in Tyler as Hailee informed the viewing audience that the chosen women plus the men would be blogging about their experiences on the show. “If anyone has any burning questions for our farmers, there is a forum to post your queries and you can also comment on the blog posts. During the next show, our farmers are taking their eight women on a group date so they can assess the women in a social situation. Tune in at the same time on Thursday to learn what happens,” Hailee said.
The closing credits rolled over her smiling face before the camera panned across the room to show each farmer surrounded by his chosen women.
“Well,” Josie said. “I didn’t expect that.”
“No.” Tyler stared as the camera plucked Susan’s face from the group and highlighted her for the viewing audience. Their mother was probably frothing at the mouth right now. Nolan never upset her intentionally. He was the doting son who always did the right thing while Tyler was the bad boy who messed up—according to their mother, at least. What the hell was Nolan playing at?
Tyler couldn’t wait to discover about the fallout.
