My father scoffed. “That’s ridiculous. We’ll do business wherever we want.”
“No, you won’t.” I stood firm, knowing I was holding the winning hand. “In fact, I think it’s best you stay out of Kentucky altogether.”
“And what makes you think we’ll agree to any of that?” Dad asked, his fist clenched around his mug like he might shatter it.
“Simple,” I said. “If you fight me on any of this, or if you try to mess with Shelby’s farm, I’ll pull every skeleton out of Allory’s closet I know about, which is a lot, and I’ll put them on display for the world to see. If you think one viral post trashing us is bad, wait for the shitstorm I will unleash if you don’t do what I ask. The company stock will be worthless and all of you might have to work for a living for once in your lives.”
“That would be a mistake,” my father said, looking uncomfortable, which was rare for him. He wasn’t used to me standing up to him.
“Then it sounds like we have an agreement,” I said with a smile. “Don’t worry. As soon as all the paperwork is finished, I’m resigning. I’m done doing your dirty work.”
It was the only thing other than falling for Shelby that I had ever done with myself in mind, and it felt damn good to be selfish.
“There’s one more thing,” I said. “And I’ll warn you right now, you’re not going to like it.”
CHAPTER 35
SHELBY
Iwas out hoeing in my carrot patch, which wasn’t nearly as scandalous as it might sound. I was just tilling the soil where I wanted to start growing carrots.Make it loose, get it wet, then plant the seed deeply. That’s how you get a nice, girthy carrot.
God, I missed Carter.
I promised myself I wouldn’t cry again. The tears had come off and on since he’d left three days ago, not that I was counting the days. The farm felt emptier than it ever had, and I kept glancing at the road like he might come driving up at any minute.
Even the ducks seemed to be missing Carter, walking with less of a pep in their step when they saw it was me coming to feed them instead of him. I was probably imagining that. The sadness was mine and I was carrying it everywhere with me like a poison cloud. To combat my sagging spirits, I had decided to work on the carrot patch I had been thinking about for a while.
If I got them in the ground soon, I should be able to harvest them late in the summer. This would mostly be a test batch anyway, to see if I could grow the damn things in the first place. Granny’s Acre Farm did eggs, not veggies, so this would be a step into the great unknown for me.
My grandparents had had a little garden out here when I was growing up. Things could definitely grow in this soil. And chicken crap made for great fertilizer, as long as you let it age for a year or so, mellowing it enough to not kill the plants. I had never dabbled in chicken-shittery myself, but now felt like the right time to try new things.
Any distractions would be welcome. Be it a carrot patch or learning to make fertilizer, it had to be better than torturing myself by thinking of Carter. He ran through my head like an annoying song stuck on repeat. I was on the verge of losing my mind.
The sound of an approaching vehicle cut through everything. I perked my ears up like a dog and scampered from the back field toward the road leading onto the property. Of course, it wasn’t Carter’s fancy car or even Tyler’s old beater. It was my brother’s shiny truck.
My stomach fell and I debated running off into the trees until he left. When I had thought I would takeanydistraction from my heartache, I had been wrong. Getting nagged by my older brother was worse than missing Carter.
Anger flared inside me. Instead of running, I marched toward him, clenching my jaw. He parked and got out. I didn’t wait for him to start in on me.
“If you’re here to yell at me, you can get back in your truck and get lost,” I told him, crossing my arms over my chest.
Shane held up a brown paper grocery bag. “I’m not here to yell at you. I’m here to say I’m sorry.”
“Hmm. In that case, you can stay.”
He pulled the six-pack out of the bag, cracked one open, and passed it to me. I took it with a nod while he opened one for himself. Shane held out his bottle. “Cheers?”
“To what?” I asked.
“To second chances?”
“I’ll drink to that,” I said.
We both sipped our beers and walked toward the house. I sat on one of the wicker chairs on the porch and kicked my feet up on the railing. My brother stayed standing, leaning against one of the posts.
“So what happened?” I asked. “You were pissed at me the other day.”
“I’ve had a lot of time to think,” he said. “And I’ve been talking to Jake and Lila.”
