My grin is impossible to contain as I politely take the bag. “Thank you, Miss Jenny.”
“Do you mind loading me up?”
“Not at all.”
I set the bag of cookies to the side and hoist the bundle of lavender over my shoulder. Her car beeps when she presses her key fob, the back end rising electronically.
“There you go.” I step back and watch it close with another beep.
“Thank you, George. Say… how’s your grandfather doing? How’s Ralph?”
I look at the ground and shuffle my cowboy boots in the gravel. I never discuss my true feelings, preferring to give short snippets of very direct answers. “Okay. A little more tired these days.”
“Mmmhmm.” She pats my shoulder. “Please let me know if you ever need anything. We’re all praying for him.”
“Thank you,” I mumble. I’m suddenly not in the mood for homemade cookies anymore.
“I saw Madison this morning.”
My wide-eyes flick to Jenny’s. She grins from ear to ear. “She had someverynice things to say about you.”
I swallow hard. “Oh?”
“Yes. She’s decided to stay in town for a little longer. I think she likes you, George.”
My cheeks feel hot, and I can’t look Jenny in the eye. I want to ask her more. I want to ask her what Madison is wearing. Did she sleep well last night? Was she enjoying the flowers I gave her? Did Miss Jenny know what time Madison and I were supposed to get together today?
Her laugh brings me out of my daydream. “I think you like her too.”
I freeze.
“It’s too bad she doesn’t live around here. But maybe the two of you can plan some visits? Unless you plan on moving out of Heartsboro if your grandfather decides to sell the farm.”
My eyes snap to Jenny’s again. “Sell the farm? What are you talking about?”
“Oh.” Jenny seems confused. “Well, that’s why Madison is here, right? She had dinner with your grandfather the first night she checked in. And her company’s paying for her stayat the Wild Daisy. I’m super impressed by her. She’s a girl after my own heart: professional, hard-working, gets the job done. Although, I do hope y’all don’t sell. The last thing we need is some big manufacturer taking over our town. But I’ve always known it’s bound to happen someday.”
My entire body is buzzing, and my perception morphs as if I were outside my physical body. An out-of-body experience.
“George? George, are you okay?”
Beads of sweat trickle down my face, and I blink several times. In a daze, I offer Miss Jenny an over exaggerated beaming smile through gritted teeth. “Of course I’m okay.”
“Good. I know this is a trying time for you and Ralph. I’ll be praying y’all make the right decision.” She hands me twenty dollars for the bundle of lavender and gets into her SUV before I will myself to move.
“Miss Jenny?” I rap my knuckles against her window.
Her smiling face appears from behind the tinted glass as she rolls the window down with the push of a button. “Yes?”
“What’s the name of her company again? I can’t seem to remember it.”
Her red smile beams. “Global Dynamics.”
Chapter Seventeen
Madison
The ridiculous smile on my face can’t be helped as I drive on Paradise Road. I’ve been pining for George all morning, trying my best to get through my work calls before I head to the farm.
