Every cell in my body hardens into a wall of steel. “What did you say?”
She shrugs. “Whether it gets done today or tomorrow—”
“I heard you.” I pinch the bridge of my nose. “Don’t say that again.Neversay that.”
She shakes her head at the piggycorns, who are now plopped in the middle of the road like it’s break time. “You don’t get to tell me what to say. You don’t own the world.”
Hmm. Maybe not the whole thing, but a decent chunk of it.
Then, on top of that, she sasses back, “I’ll say whatever I want.”
“Fine. Just don’t use that phrase.”
She scoffs. “Hurry up, and I won’t have to.”
I glare at her, but she just tosses her farm-girl braid over one shoulder and turns her attention to the piggycorns. “Who’s a sweet little piggy? You are!”
I am officially in hell.
When I bend over to shoo the animals is the moment my allergies decide to flare up. After several violent sneezes, when I finally stop, I have an audience of piggycorns staring up at me, pink snouts lifted in the air, eyes glittering with curiosity.
And the moment I stop is when they up the ante, no longer content with simply fixing their attention on me.
One rubs against my leg, wiping what I hope is mud on my suit pants. I push it away, but several others circle like Komodo dragons going in for the kill. Either that, or the pig that rubbed against me wiped its scent on my pants, signaling to the others that I’m now one of them, ready to be smeared with war paint.
That must be the case, because before I know it, they’re tangled in my legs.
“Tallulah, stop,” Sunbeam says. “Y’all get off him.”
The swine are literally swarming. I can’t move without crushing them. One lifts up on its hind legs and places its front hooves on me, pushing me into another who’s behind my calves.
I lose my balance and drop onto the road. Next thing I know, small pigs are crawling over me, sniffing my arms, foraging under my knees. What the hell?
“Get off him,” she commands, more annoyed than worried.
I push them off and get back on my feet.Screw this.I hoist a pig under each arm and haul them to the other side of the road. Miraculously, the rest of the creatures follow.
“There.” I set them down gently and gesture to the farm. “Take your pigs.”
“Piggycorns.”
“Same thing.”
I look down and notice the smudges of dirt that line my sleeves and three-piece suit. It looks like I’ve been rolling around in mud. Fantastic.
She brushes dust off her hands. “Thank you.”
It’s the first nice thing she’s said, and it makes my chest swell with pride.
So I ignore it.
Sunbeam tips up her face and smiles. This woman really is stunning. And frustrating. And aggravating. But she also smells really, really good—like wildflowers on a cloudless day.
Her warm eyes hold mine for a breath before she blinks and looks off, taking in my shirt and suit, which are ruined. “I’m so sorry,” she says, panicky. “Your clothes. Let me get you something to change into.”
I smile grimly. “Overalls? No thanks.”
She frowns, which makes a divot pop between her brows. “I’m sure I can find pants and a shirt.”
