A somberness fell over the group, and then Finn nodded and exhaled. “Right, so let’s talk about emergency preparedness—which includes fires, as we’ve had some of those recently.”
Trap tuned in to the meeting, though something swirled in the back of his mind. Things like, why did he need his own farm? After all, his father had already planted the questions in his mind.
If he and Lila Mae stayed together and ended up married, why couldn’t he just live in the tiny house he’d built on her ranch?
Trap pushed the nagging question away, because he and Lila Mae had been dating for about a month now, and he hadno business thinking of marrying the woman so close to the beginning of their relationship.
And yet, the questions had been asked, and he couldn’t get rid of them entirely.
23
“So he said I can come?” Lila Mae looked across the table to Trap, her eyes wide. “Really? You think it’s a good idea?”
“We have vets who come,” Trap said. “Heck, I run a construction company, and I go.” He picked up a fried mac-and-cheese ball, put it on his plate, and then pushed the remaining one toward her. “We talked about farm and building preparedness at this last meeting. You need that as much as anyone else there.”
“So you asked Finn.”
“I asked everyone,” he said. “And no one has a problem with it.” He smiled at her. “Really, I think it would be great for you. We’ve talked about water management, which is something you’ll have to deal with. We’ve gone over local resources for hay and supplies, and it might not be exactly pertinent to you, but close enough. You have to manage supplies and inventory, and we’ve talked about staffing, taxes, all kinds of things.”
“I have to handle all of that.”
“Exactly.” He nodded to the southwest eggrolls. “You’re not eating, sweetheart.” His dark eyes found hers. “This is just the first place we’re going, but if you’re not hungry….”
“I’m hungry.” Lila Mae reached for the bowl of edamame she’d ordered and cast a smile over to Trap. “Thanks for asking for me. I’d love to come to the meeting next month.”
“Third Thursday,” he said. “Eleven o’clock. There’s always a coffee cart, and someone brings lunch. You’ll probably be paired up with someone.”
“I can provide lunch,” Lila Mae said. “One of the first things my mother taught me was how to order catering.” She flashed another smile and then lifted a soybean to her mouth.
Trap chuckled, though surely he knew Lila Mae wasn’t kidding. “Mitch brought up a neighbor of his,” he said, his voice just a little too casual to actually be casual.
“Yeah?” Lila Mae took the last mac-and-cheese ball and another stuffed mushroom. If she ate much more, though, she wouldn’t be ready for their main dish, which Trap had planned at a restaurant that primarily served soup and salads. As those were two of Lila Mae’s favorite foods, she’d readily agreed to his progressive dinner idea.
He wanted to try a new Greek doughnut place that had just opened up in town for dessert, and Lila Mae never said no to tiny doughnuts covered in chocolate and cookie crumbs.
“Yeah,” he said. “I’m going to go look at it with my father on Tuesday.”
Surprise moved through Lila Mae. “You are?”
He looked at her, having eaten all of his appetizers already. “Yeah,” he said slowly. He tilted his head. “Do you think I shouldn’t?”
Lila Mae didn’t know what to think. She wasn’t sure why she was surprised. “Do you want a farm? It seems to me that you’re so busy that you don’t have much time for…extraneous activities.”
He sighed and reached for his diet cola. “I am pretty busy, but I can’t live in a free cowboy cabin on my cousin’s ranch for the rest of my life.”
“It wouldn’t be for the rest of your life,” she said. “You won’t always just be taking over your daddy’s construction firm, and you won’t always be the only one working there, training everyone, taking on more jobs just to build a clientele.”
“Do you think we take on too many people?”
Lila Mae noted the hint of coolness in his tone. “Yes,” she said honestly. “I think you, Jason, and Sawyer are afraid to say no.”
“Huh.” He fell back against the booth and folded his arms.
“I’m not telling you what to do or how to run your business,” she said. “But you’ve signed what? Four more projects this month, and you keep meeting with people.”
“We’re going to bring on more people,” he said.
“Right, but you don’t have them yet,” she said. “And all that means is more training.” She cut into the ooey-gooey mac-and-cheese, enjoying the crunch of the breading.
