“Peachy, Tractor Command.”
“Anyway,” Bitsy went on. “Tom is divorced and he composts. Did we tell you that?”
I turned around in my seat and glared. “Hayrides are not for matchmaking.”
A massive grin spread across Olive’s wrinkled face. “Did you hear that, girls? Joshua, sweetheart, are you feeling territorial?”
As the women burst into a fit of giggles, I turned back, gripping the steering wheel until my knuckles were white.
“Just responsible,” I said lamely. “For the tractor and the hayride.”
“I am not interested,” Celine said firmly.
Bitsy sniffed. “Well, if not Tom, there’s always?—”
“No,” Celine and I said at the same time.
Silence.
Then the old ladies fell into laughter again.
“Please,” Celine said, her tone pleading. “Stop matchmaking. I do not want to date anyone.”
“Fine.” Olive snorted. “But only because I worry if we don’t stop this, Josh will drive us over the Falls.”
“I will not,” I snapped.
“Sure,” Mavis said. “And thank you for confirming our suspicions.”
She cackled, the sound making me wince, and the others joined in. Shit. I’d just made things so much worse.
I managed to dispatch the Mafia without too much more trouble and was getting the tractor onto its trailer when Celine appeared. Her scarf was pulled up over her neck and mouth, and her cheeks were pink from the cold.
“Did you have fun?”
She nodded, her eyes fixed on mine.
“You did this,” I said quietly. “You made this magic happen.”
Her smile was small but real. “So did you.”
I assessed her for a moment too long. I hadn’t looked at a woman like this in years. And I wasn’t sure I’d ever had such strong feelings. It was too much.
This day had been long and busy and emotionally overloading. Memories of my parents popped up randomly, slicing into my heart while also making me smile. The friendly faces were all so familiar and the Maplewood traditions were just as important as they were years ago. My parents loved this place and these people.
But I hadn’t come here today for my parents. And I hadn’t done it for the town.
I’d done it for her.
The realization hit me hard. Attraction, I could handle. But this, whatever it was, was big and unwieldy and hard to define. Care and curiosity and an ache inside the deepest parts of me.
I’d left my life in New York to live quietly on the farm. To take care of the land and provide my family with financial security. And for years, I’d done it. I’d mostly kept to myself, keeping my heart safe in the process.
But Celine had broken me out. She’d forced me to physically and emotionally leave the farm. To be a part of something again.
And I wasn’t sure I could ever go back.
Chapter 21
