And who knows what this driveway would even look like. What sort of chemicals would be used to create it that could affect my land?
I glance over my shoulder at the barn when I get to myfront door and see Ryder storming up the dirt path toward me.
And I make a split-second decision to dip into the sunflower fields instead of my house. He’ll be lost in a few feet if he tries to come after me, but I can find my way through those sunflower fields like the back of my hand. I’ve been doing it since I was far too small to be running through them alone.
The height of the flowers obscures me, and the moment I step into the muddy fields, a sense of peace washes over me.
I used to wander the fields whenever I got upset. You can’t see much other than sunflower stalks, and while we suggest visitors stick to the outskirts to avoid losing anyone, it always felt most like home to me to be right in the middle of it all. Where the stalks block out any noise and all you can really see is sunshine and sunflowers. The bristling of leaves when a gentle wind rolls through. Maybe a little laughter in the distance.
I huff as I run my fingers along the stem of a particularly tall sunflower and step into the small clearing where a few Adirondack chairs are arranged next to a picnic table that I remember sitting at as a little girl.
I’m sure there’s dirt on my jeans and along the back of my sweater, but it’s not like I’ll be wearing this sweater again anyway. It’s now tainted with Ryder’s lies.
But just as I’m about to replay our interaction in my mind and think of all of the clever remarks I could have said but didn’t, the sunflowers sway and part.
“There you are,” he says, his shoulders relaxing like he was worried about where I’d gotten off to. He lets out a long breath as he stalks toward me, every step causing my boiling blood to pulse.
I stand from my chair, rapidly determining the best direction to run in so he can’t find me again. This clearing is the closest to the road and the easiest to find, but there are a number of similar areas further into the sunflower fields that almost no one can find but me and my longest employees.
“Eve, please,” he says, and I hate that the tortured note in his voice makes me want to listen to him. Like maybe the whole BMW and fancy clothes thing is a facade that he has to put on for his business, but on the inside he’s just a boy from Sunflower Hill and I’m just the girl tasked with protecting those sunflowers.
But I know better than that. Especially now. He taught me that.
I turn to face him, keeping my feet firmly on the ground. “I don’t trust you anymore. Iwon’ttrust you anymore. When someone shows me who they truly are, I believe them.”
He takes a hesitant step toward me, his hands held out in front of him as if he’s trying to show me that he means no harm. “I get it. And I’ll be the first to admit that waiting to talk to you was perhaps a bad idea.” He pauses as if waiting for me to snap back at him. “But Eve, can you blame me for not jumping in and asking things of you when I didn’t know you at all?” He lowers his hands once he’s a foot away from me. “I feel like we’ve gotten to know each other, and knowing what I know of you now, I wouldn’t have waited. But just like you play small town politics, I’m trying to figure out the best way to get what I want without hurting anyone along the way. Remember, I’m not doing this for the money. I’m doing this for my grandmother.”
I shake my head, unable to stop my eyes from rolling. “You’ve already proven you’re a bullshitter. Don’t eventrywith the grandmother stuff.”
He shrugs. “It’s true. I happen to have a company that can provide the thing that Reed wants, so he can then provide the thing that I want. I’m giving you a functioning barn and a ton of say in what the development next door will look like in the hopes that maybe you can help clear my way. I know that it goes against what you want for this land, but I wish you would believe me when I say I’m not out to get what I want and fuck over the sunflower farm.”
I shake my head. “This isn’taboutthe easement. This is about you.” I get a flash of my mother kissing me on my head as she left with her new husband, promising that she’d be back soon. My grandmother’s flat expression as she watched her go and the forced smile on her face when she asked if I wanted ice cream for dinner. “This is about you making me feel stupid for trusting you. For giving you the benefit of the doubt even when my gut was telling me not to. I don’t care what you did, I care about the way you made me feel.” I let out a long breath. “And I feel stupid.”
He hangs his head as he takes another half step toward me. “Eve, I’m sorry.”
He lets the words sit there, watching my face.
“I hate that I made you feel that way. And I know that you think I’m being sneaky and underhanded, but not once did I ever try to pull one over on you for the sake of coming out ahead. I know you feel like you’re being blindsided, but I’ve kept you and the sunflower farm at the top of my priorities the whole time, even if I haven’t told you every single move I’ve made. This easement will be the best option for preserving the nature on my land and it should have the smallest impact on the sunflower farm possible.”
I shake my head.
“I can’t do this,” I say, jumping to the reality of our situation.
Because as much as I want to think that this conversation is just about our business relationship, I know there’s something else brewing there. The thing that makes me want to look past everything my gut is screaming at me.
“You can’t… do this?” he asks, his eyes finding mine.
I motion between us. “Whateverthisis, I can’t do it. The sunflower farm is too important, and I’ve already looked past too much.” I shake my head. “I will not let you be my downfall.”
“Evie,” he says, and I hate that he’s become so comfortable with my name because it makes me want to crash into his chest and hug him. “Your downfall? I don’t want to be your downfall either.”
He reaches out to grab my hand, holding it between his, and my heart thumps harder, every neuron in my body firing.
“I know how important the sunflower farm is to you. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be spending so much time here, trying to figure out a plan that works for both of us. It was never my intention to keep things from you, and it was stupid of me to not come right out and say it.” He pauses, his eyes locked on mine. “But can you honestly tell me that you would have evenconsideredthe easement if I hadn’t waited for the right time to ask you about it?”
I shrug. “I’m not considering it now, either.”
“Eve,” he says, tugging on my hand so it’s resting on his chest, and so help me, he must know exactly what he’s doing to me right now. “Give me a chance. I promise I’ll prove to you that I have the sunflower farm’s best interests at heart. Because I do. I always have. I just haven’t been as forthright about my strategy as I should have been.”
