“Michelin stars,” she said. “It’s not some other group with the same name. It’s literally the tire guys telling people where to eat.”
“That can’t be true.”
“My point is,” she said, looking down at the food she’d prepared. “If you don’t like it, keep it to yourself.”
I chuckled at that and sat down across from her. “If I don’t like, you can throw me back in the duck pond.”
Shelby nodded. “Deal.”
Lucky for me, the food was fantastic. The cornbread was buttery, the potatoes were creamy, and the pork was juicy and tender. I kept groaning pornographically and Shelby kept shooting me glaring looks, but I was pretty sure I saw a smile shining in her eyes.
The meal wound down and I sat back, belly full, mouth happy, and heart content. The moment was like a glimpse into an alternate universe, where I ended up a farmer instead of a businessman. A timeline where I chose family over fortune, love over liquidity, passion over profits.
And in this bizarro world, Shelby was exactly the woman I wanted sitting there.
It was a startling realization, and I tried putting the brakes on things before they spiraled out of control. Sure, Shelby was great, but I barely knew her. I hadn’t even scratched the surface of this complicated woman. There was no way I had fallen for her this quickly.
I was attracted to her, but that was it. I didn’t need to dress lust up with hearts and roses. Shelby was gorgeous. It was perfectly natural for me to want to sleep with her. I never caught feelings for the ladies I spent time with and I wasn’t about to start now.
Not liking the direction my thoughts kept wandering, I decided to steer the conversation back toward business, which was technically the reason I was there. “So that call I got earlier. It turns out the social media team will be flying into Kentucky two days from now. We’re going to start getting this PR thing going.”
Shelby chewed her lower lip uncertainly. “Carter, I know I said I would help with that, and you’ve been a really good sport pitching in around the farm, but I’m still not sure I can say yes.”
I nodded slowly. “That’s a little disappointing, but I understand.”
“Do you?” Her eyes searched mine, not in a challenging way but like she hoped I was being honest.
“There’s a lot of history between our families,” I said. “I’m trying to make up for it, but I understand healing old wounds doesn’t happen just because I feed some ducks.”
“Or swim in their pond,” she said with a little smile, some of the humor returning to her face.
“You’re never going to let me live that down, are you?” I shook my head and grinned.
“Nope,” she said.
“How about this?” I asked. “How about you take a couple days to think about the social media thing? No pressure. I’ll ask again once the team gets here.”
“Thank you, I would appreciate that.” Shelby looked into my eyes. “You’ve given me a lot to think about.”
Thunder split the sky and rain came down like heaven had opened the floodgates.
“Looks like the shed will have to wait,” Shelby said. “You’d best get back to Mrs. Presley’s before you get stranded out here.”
The idea didn’t sound so bad if I was stuck with her. But I decided to take her advice. We said a quick goodbye and I had to put her in my rearview mirror.
The rain continued for the next two days. I hadn’t seen Shelby in that time, but maybe that was for the best. We could both probably use some time apart to get some perspective. It was easy to fall into fantasies out there, just the two of us, all alone, with no one to judge us but the chickens and ducks. And they could keep their damn opinions to themselves.
I was sitting in Mrs. Presley’s overly wallpapered sitting room, drinking coffee and watching the rain fall outside like a curtain. It was nasty weather, meant for bundling up in front of a cozy fire with a glass of scotch and a good book. Or more likely a TV show or a game, if I was being totally honest.
But I couldn’t have a lazy day. I couldn’t even get some work done, which was what I’d been doing ever since the downpour started. Playing farmhand was surprisingly fun, but I had gotten behind on my real work. Just answering emails had taken hours.
I couldn’t keep working because I was supposed to be leaving in a few minutes to drive to the airport in Louisville. Why hadn’t I arranged a driver for them?
Because it hadn’t been raining when I had agreed to pick them up. That was why.
I was regretting not checking the weather forecast. Los Angeles had one season, for the most part, and you never had to check the forecast because it was always sunny and, more importantly, dry. I had no idea Kentucky had a monsoon season, but I felt like I was in the thick of it.
Aside from a couple of texts, I hadn’t talked to Shelby in two days. She had told me she would be at a market today somewhere outside of Ferris, although she hadn’t clarified if it was a supermarket or a farmers’ market. I didn’t know if she was inside or outside. Surely, it had to be inside. No one would be out in this deluge. Shelby was brave but she wasn’t stupid.
