“Oh, Wren.” She sighs with disappointment. “I wish you knew me better than that.”
Shame washes over me.
“I’m sorry.”
She gives me a small smile. “It’s okay. There’s a lot about you that I’ve yet to learn too. But we have been getting closer, haven’t we?”
I smile at her. “Yes, we have.”
“You have nothing to worry about with Jonas and me,” she reassures me. “I love Casey. Surely you can see how good we are together?”
I nod. “You guys make a great couple. But are you happy where you’ve settled, Bailey?” I ask tentatively. “Don’t you think Case would consider moving if you weren’t? He could always get a job at another golf club.”
“No, Wren, I don’t want to give up on his hometown yet.”
“It’s just... It’s such a small town. There’s not much culture. I’m worried you’ll be bored there before long.”
“I’m kind of bored now, but I need to give it a chance. And making friends will help. Casey might have his doubts about Jonas because of his reputation, but he’s much more concerned about me being happy. And Jonas makes me laugh. I like Anders too, but Jonas is such a cutie.”
“He is. I like them both too,” I confide.
“So?” She nods pointedly at my phone.
Fine. We wanted to go there anyway. I reply to Anders’s text:We’ll be there in an hour, and then we return to Tyler’s to drop off our shopping bags and get ready.
The interior ofNick’s is plastered with framed photographs, newspaper clippings, and a ton of Indiana University memorabilia. A bunch of famous people have signed the walls—including Barack Obama, who was here in 2008. I still remember how devastated Dad, Sheryl, and Bailey were that they’d missed him.
We spy Jonas and Anders sitting in a red wooden booth, nursing glasses of beer.
Bailey sneaks up behind Jonas and taps him on the shoulder. His face lights up at the sight of her and he jumps out to give her a big bear hug before doing the same to me.
Anders stays where he is, edging over on the bench seat to make room. I sit down next to him, making no attempt to hug him. I’m getting used to his ways.
It’s busy in here but not jam-packed. College doesn’t start back until next week—in American terms, summer is over by mid-August. It’s a dispiriting thought.
“What have you been up to today?” I ask once the server has come over to take our drinks order.
Jonas smirks at Anders, who laughs under his breath before explaining, “Jonas has been talking to store owners about buying his popcorn.”
“I didn’t know you grew popcorn.”
“Neither does our dad,” Anders replies, sliding me a sideways look.
“What?”
“I planted some as an experiment,” Jonas interjects, grinning like a naughty schoolboy. “Not much, only thirty acres, but I didn’t tell Dad because—” He stops speaking.
“Pa doesn’t like change,” Anders chips in.
Jonas nods. “Exactly that.”
“So Jonas is damn glad our parents have gone away for a while because popcorn only grows to about six feet and it was just a matter of time before Pa drove past that field and noticed that the stalks weren’t as high as the others.”
“That’s so devious,” Bailey says with glee.
“Are you hoping to sell it all before you break it to him?” I ask.
“That’s the plan,” Jonas replies. “I want to bring it to the farmers’ markets here too.”
