My eyes blew wide. “No. I just meant I didn’t expect anyone to be here. I don’t think you’re scary. You’re not scary.” I was babbling, but I couldn’t seem to stop.
She let out a small laugh that matched Brooks’s almost to a T. “I’m just fucking with you. Want a hit?” She offered me the small pen.
“I’m fine, thanks.” Though I enjoyed getting high just as much as the next person, I wasn’t very high-functioning when I did smoke, so it wasn’t the best idea.
She took another drag. “Suit yourself. So what’s up with you and my brother?”
“I… Uh…” The question took me off guard. I didn’t even know the answer to that myself, much less how to verbalize it.
“Yeah, I figured. I can tell what he sees in you, though. We’ve always had the same taste.”
She looked right at me, and my mind went blank. I wasn’t shocked into silence often. In Stonebridge, lots of people were crass and direct—it’s how I had grown up. But it seemed a couple of weeks here had me losing my edge.
“Brooks has just never shown interest in… Well, anyone, seriously. My advice? Don’t fuck it up. I may be biased, but he’s the best.”
She walked away then, leaving me stunned. Bridget was really different from anyone I’d met here, which I guess made sense.
I needed to go get the strawberries, so I went to the back and grabbed one of the crates. There was something I quite enjoyed about all this—working alongside everyone and talking to customers was actually pretty exciting. I even snapped a few photos with my phone. It wasn’t the same, but I was sure I could fix them up after.
It made me wonder if Hoffman Farm needed new stuff for their website. There were only a few photos on there, and they all looked like they’d been snapped by a local paper. Maybe Brooks, or whoever updated the site, would appreciate these.
As I walked back, I paused when I noticed Brooks talking to someone. He wasn’t his normal, relaxed self. His hands were gripping the table, and he was standing straight, his entire body looking tense.
I walked closer and froze when I saw who he was talking to. Behind Brooks was Preston Fairfield. The man blackmailing me. And down went the crate.
What the fuck is he doing here?
Brooks turned around, and I tried to compose myself. “I’m sorry,” I mumbled as I started picking up the spilled packages.
Brooks turned back to Preston and said something I couldn’t hear. My blood was pumping through my ears. Why the fuck was he still here? His wife and job were back in the city, and he never seemed one for country life.
Though I hadn’t known Preston well in college, everyone knew the hyper-rich Fairfield, who treated everyone like a tool for his personal use.
Including me now, apparently.
I didn’t think doing that test for him would cause so much trouble. Because of his reputation, I had even charged double, and my friend told me he hadn’t even blinked. But of course that would come back to haunt me, and I was now facing a broken heart and a ruined career. It was all just too much. I could feel myself hyperventilating, and my palms were sweating.
“Hey,” Brooks said, setting his hand on my shoulder. I jumped, almost knocking us both from our squatting position. “Are you okay?”
“Fine,” I snapped too quickly. I was the farthest thing from it. “I think I just need some water. I’ll be back.”
I stood and all but ran out the back of the stall toward the alley. I took a deep breath, trying to steady myself. There was no use freaking out. And how would I explain it to Brooks if I did? No, I just needed to relax.
After I managed to pull it together, I stepped back out. I’d just tell Brooks I got overly hot and needed a minute.
“Looks like you’re doing a bit more than your job,” the voice that haunted my nightmares said from behind me.
I turned and there stood Preston. God, he was just so painfully… average.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I replied and tried to keep walking, but he grabbed my arm, holding me in place.
“I hope you haven’t forgotten our little deal,” he said. “Or are you not concerned about everything you’ve worked for going down the drain?”
I snapped my arm away from him. “I know what I’m doing.” That couldn’t have been further from the truth, but I didn’t want him to know I was having second thoughts. “It will be done.”
He put his hand back in his pocket. “See that it is.”
“Babe?” a voice I recognized called.
