I was sitting on the front porch steps, lacing my tennis shoes when Cole appeared. He wore a pair of faded denim jeans and agray T-shirt that looked way too snug around his biceps and had a wet ring around the neck from his sweat.
“Morning. How you feeling?” Cole greeted as Rocket bounced down the steps and lay at his feet, rolling onto his back.
“Better. Sorry about last night. I was wrecked,” I admitted, hating how weak it made me sound.
“How are you feeling this morning?”
“Better,” I assured him.
“Good to hear.”
“Sorry for …”
“Nothing to apologize for. What are you up to today?” he asked, squatting down to rub Rocket’s belly.
“I was going to head out and check on Daisy. Maybe feed her again,” I started.
“Sounds like a plan. Let me know when story time is. I need to know what happens next,” Cole teased with a wink.
“You think you’re so funny,” I deadpanned back at him.
“Oh, I am funny,” he confirmed.
I finished tying my laces and stood up. “Wanna walk me out to the barn?” I asked, batting my eyelids.
“Or … I could walk you back inside and do unspeakable things to you?” Cole suggested, raising his eyebrows.
I pretended to be shocked by his words. “Don’t you have farmer things to do?”
“I know a farmer you could do,” Cole countered as he stretched out his arm offering me his hand.
When my fingers laced with his I felt calmness wash over me. I was trying to figure out what this was and if there was any sort of future there, but as soon as the man touched me, my whole body became electrified.
“I’ve got something I want to show you,” Cole said excitedly as he led me around the house.
We stepped into the backyard, and I came to a screeching halt. At least the banging made sense now. Hunks of wood, tools, and wire were strewn about across the yard.
“What happened?” I asked, not sure what to make of it.
In front of me was some kind of frame but it didn’t make sense to me.
“I’m building a chicken coop,” Cole declared.
“What?” I screeched.
“Well, there was this really smart girl with a killer rack, and she put the idea in my head. Chickens. Fresh eggs. The more I thought about it, the more sense it made.”
“So what? This morning you woke up and decided to build a chicken coop?” I didn’t know what to say let alone think.
“Last night actually. While you were snoring …”
“I don’t snore,” I protested.
“Let’s pretend for a minute that I believe you. Anyway, while you were sleeping,” Cole tried again. “I sketched out some plans. I already had the lumber so I started this morning.”
“Cole …”
“We pick up the chickens in two days.”
