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He’d had no more than three minutes with her, and she already had him flustered. Sam had never been flustered by a woman.

He sighed, already resigned to his fate.

CHAPTER TWO

That afternoon, Hazel sat in the passenger seat of her mother’s four-wheel-drive, a bundle of golden fluff snoozing in her lap. Molly and Hazel had spent the afternoon at Phil’s blueberry farm getting acquainted with the Bailey, the last Collie pup of the litter. The puppy was super energetic and had zoomed around the Johnson’s back garden, as if he was putting on a show, while Molly and Hazel had tea with Phil and his wife, Lisa. Bailey had taken an instant liking to Molly, jumping around her heels and attempting to lick her face when she held him.

In the car, Hazel stroked Bailey along his bony spine. He had crashed in her lap after all the showing off he had done that afternoon. The puppy grunted a little and stretched his back leg out into the air.

“He is so cute,” Molly remarked. Hazel nodded in agreement, and she continued stroking his soft fur.

They bumped along the dusty driveway up to the farmhouse. Molly pulled up in front of the verandah. As the vehicle stopped, Bailey suddenly jolted awake. He jumped up and looked towards the window. Hazel opened the car door, and Bailey practically leapt from her hands. Sam stepped out onto the verandah, treading down the front steps. Bailey bounded towards him, his tongue flapping out of his mouth. He reached Sam at the bottom of the steps and sat at his heels, tail wagging. Sam bent down to pet the dog’s furry head.

“Meet Bailey!” Molly called out to Sam as she and Hazel headed over to the house.

“He’s adorable.” Sam gave Bailey a scratch under the chin. Bailey’s eyes rolled back in his head as he dug his chin deeper into Sam’s hand. Molly chuckled as she watched Sam hypnotise the puppy with scratches.

“Would you like to stay for dinner, Sam?” Molly asked.

“Thanks, Molly, but I better get home. It’s been a long day.” Sam stood, gave Bailey another pat on the head and picked up the toolbox that he had left by the front steps.

“No problem, Sam. See you tomorrow.”

“Bye, Molly. See you later, Hazel.” Sam flashed Hazel a small grin as he passed her. She smiled meekly and gave him a tiny wave. She wondered if her expression was as strange as she felt on the inside. Hazel wasn’t sure how to act when Sam was around, which puzzled her greatly.

Once Sam was halfway down the driveway in his truck, Molly turned to her daughter. “Why are you so weird around him?”

Hazel scoffed. “I’m not weird. I just don’t know the guy.”

“Well, all you do is stare at him.”

“I do not,” Hazel scowled. “As I said, I don’t know him.”

Molly smirked. “Whatever you say. Let’s get dinner started. Bailey, come and see your new home!”

Sam pulled a beer out of the fridge. He took a sip of the crisp liquid as he sat down on the couch and flicked on the television. The sports channel was already on, so he settled in to watch the football match that was playing. He was sore and tired from replacing siding all day, but thankfully that job was nearly done. Stretching out his calf muscle, he winced in pain. Sam hardly ever used the big round bath in the master bathroom, but he thought he might need to tonight. A warm bath with the muscle relaxant crystals his mother had given him for Christmas last year sounded quite appealing. He was so exhausted that he found himself closing his eyes, beer still in his hand, during the football ad break. His mind went straight to Hazel. He hadn’t been able to stop thinking about her.

In the few hours since they’d met, something in him had changed.

He’d always thought love at first sight was an outright lie. Who could fall in love with someone the minute they saw them? He wasn’t sure he loved Hazel; they had only just met, but there was something there. Something he didn’t know how to describe.

As he had driven home, a thought had popped into his head. No warning.

I just met the girl I’m going to marry.

It wasn’t an opinion, more like a fact. Sam wondered if he should be concerned about the space Hazel was fast filling up in his brain, but for some reason he felt weirdly comforted by it.

But she was probably leaving soon.

He drained his beer and sighed as he got up, wincing again at the pain. Every thought he had was in contradiction with the others. He wanted to take her on a date, but she was leaving, right? Yes, then no. He was trapped in thought circles.

Making a rash decision, he decided to go with his gut. He would ask her out.

It would make things very awkward at Molly’s place if she said no. Perhaps he should wait until he had finished the job? Or perhaps he could ask Molly what she thought? Surely, they would have spoken about him? Or maybe not, he thought. He didn’t want to flatter himself. Maybe he hadn’t entered their conversations at all, apart from the renovation works. He’d think on it, he decided. Sam shook his head at the absurdity of the situation he had suddenly found himself in, and stripping off, hopped into the bath.

Rain pattered lightly on the metal roof of the farmhouse. The sky outside was the colour of charcoal. Hazel and Molly were relaxing on the lounge. Molly was scrolling on her phone and cradling a glass of red wine, while Hazel, eyes closed, sipped on pineapple juice. She had fallen in love with it during her work on the pineapple campaign.

Bailey had zonked out in his new bed by the coffee table, drunk on chicken treats.