In the Market for Love

by Squires, Megan

  “I know. He told me.”

  “Wait, what? He told you? When?”

  “Well, he didn’t so much tell me as confirm what I already knew to be true. That man is smitten, doll. It’s plain as day.”

  “It was amazing, Ver. Like life-altering type of amazing.”

  “Okay, now you’re just bragging.”

  Sophie sighed. “I haven’t felt like this about anyone before. It’s kind of scary.”

  “Nothing to be afraid of. What’s the worst that can happen?”

  “I could have my heart broken.”

  “A broken heart just means that you’ve let yourself love, and that’s the greatest thing we can do while on this round, spinning thing we call earth.”

  “I’ll take these, please.” Another customer lifted up a fistful of flowers to pass to Sophie. “My wife will just love them.” He held out a ten-dollar bill in the other hand and offered a genial smile while he waited for her response.

  “I’ll get those wrapped up for you.” Sophie took the bouquet and settled the flowers down on a sheet of brown Kraft paper. She turned toward Veronica, continuing the sidebar conversation at a lowered volume. Not all of Fairvale needed to know about her romantic woes. “I don’t want a broken heart.”

  “So you don’t want to fall in love—that’s what you’re getting at?”

  “I didn’t say that.” She measured and snipped twine to tie around the bouquet.

  “Yes, you did. Love involves heartache, even in the best of scenarios. Happily ever after isn’t real, doll. Even the most solid relationships will go through hardships and trying times. What you’re telling me is that you want a fairytale that doesn’t exist.”

  Passing the bouquet back to the gentleman across the folding table, Sophie smiled. “I hope your wife likes them. Be sure to change their water every couple of days and you should get a good two weeks’ worth of enjoyment out of them.” Then she said to Veronica, “I’m saying I don’t want to dive into anything that is going to end up in certain heartbreak. That doesn’t seem unreasonable.”

  “It’s totally unreasonable. Life isn’t all puppies and flowers.” Veronica paused. “Okay, maybe it is all flowers for us, but you know what I mean. Let yourself fall for him, Sophie. Even if it doesn’t last. Better —”

  “To have loved and lost than never to have loved at all. I know, I know.”

  “I was actually going to say better get a piece of that hottie before someone else snags him.”

  A laugh fell from Sophie’s lips. “I’m going to go make the rounds while there’s a lull here. Mind keeping an eye on the flowers while I’m gone?”

  “Sure thing. Happy to.”

  Reaching under the table, Sophie fished around for her canvas tote bag and once found, slipped it onto her shoulder. She had plans to buy a pound of peaches from the Nicholson’s farm for a cobbler recipe she’d discovered in a magazine last summer. She couldn’t wait to test it out. Caroline was the baker in the household, but Sophie still liked to try new recipes when she stumbled upon a promising one. Maybe she would even see if Cole wanted to come over and join her for dessert that evening. Would that come across as too assertive? Was there some sort of period of time after a kiss that one was supposed to wait until planning another? It wasn’t like she was planning another kiss, necessarily, though she did suppose she had promised Cole one.

  “Hello, Miss Potters.” The same voice that had caught her so off guard earlier that day in the flowers now made her stomach bottom out.

  “Kelly.” Sophie ran a hand through her bangs, shoving her hair out of her eyes. “How are you?”

  “I’m well, thank you. Just checking out the market. Looks like you’ve done a nice job recruiting vendors this year. There are so many, it’s almost overwhelming.”

  “Honestly, after last year’s success, it was pretty easy to find vendors who wanted to participate. I’ve even had to turn away a few due to lack of space.”

  “Good problem to have, I suppose.” Kelly was prim and proper as always, her hair styled just so and her tailored gray dress hugging her slender body. “I’ve been meaning to chat with you, actually.”

  Those words made goose bumps rise on Sophie’s skin. “You have?”

  “Yes. Is there any chance you might be able to drop by the house tomorrow, say, around noon?”

  “I’ll already be out at the farm harvesting, so that will be no problem at all.”

  Kelly’s head lifted in a slow, approving nod, even though she appeared to be looking down her nose at Sophie. “Great. I will plan to see you then.”

  “Wait!” Sophie blurted, just as Kelly turned on her heel to go. “Any chance you have some time this evening? I’m making a peach cobbler and I’d love to bring it over.”

  Eyes narrowing, she gave Sophie a scrutinizing once over. “This is more of a business meeting than a social activity, Sophie.”

  “I know. I just…well, I just figured conversation is always better when food is involved. And food is always better when it’s right out of the oven. I’d hate for a piping hot cobbler to go to waste. I certainly can’t eat it all by myself.”

  Kelly deliberated like the decision was a big one. “Okay. Fine. What time does the market finish up?”

  “I’m usually home by seven. I’ll get the cobbler started and in the oven right away and can be at your place by 8:30. If that’s not too late for you, that is.”

  “That will be just fine. I will see you then.”

  It took Sophie several minutes to recover from the conversation, her composure rattled. Why she had forced a peach cobbler on Kelly McAllister, she had no clue. In reality, the thought of waiting until the next day to learn what Kelly wanted to talk about would just about do her in. She’d likely have a fitful night of sleep, making her a mess the following morning. Any coping skills would be out the window, and she worried if Kelly had unfavorable news, Sophie would wear her disappointment all over her face. At least if she broke it to Sophie tonight, she’d have a delicious dessert to drown her sorrows in.

  “Peaches, peaches. Where are the peaches?” Sophie muttered under her breath as she scanned the market for the Nicholson’s pop up tent. At one point, she had memorized the location of all of her vendors, but chatting with Kelly had turned her all kinds of confused. “There they are!”

  Across the lot and next to the soy candle display was her friend’s produce tent. She was glad to see plenty of stone fruit to choose from.

  “Well, if it isn’t Sophie Potters! Good to see you. I figured you’d be busy with your flowers all evening. The crowds tonight must be record setting. Seems like all of Fairvale is out here,” Kent Nicholson said, tipping his straw hat. He was the quintessential farmer donned in denim overalls with work gloves hanging out of his back pocket. His skin was leathery, darkened from years spent under the sun, which made him look significantly older than Sophie knew him to be. Those extra wrinkles just made the friendly sparkle of his eye all the more noticeable. Kent was an endearing man, and had always been a huge supporter of Sophie’s farm, a mentor of sorts when she was just getting things off the ground.

  “What can I get for you tonight, my friend? Our yellow freestones are ripe right now. So sweet, they taste like candy.”

  Using a paring knife, Kent sliced off a peach wedge and held it out to Sophie to try.

  She popped it into her mouth. Immediately, her taste buds perked up as the sweet juices coated her tongue. “How is it possible that these are even better than last year, Kent? Are you sprinkling actual sugar on your trees?”

  He chuckled. “Some years you just get doubly blessed; that’s my only explanation. The valley sweets are my personal favorite, but we’ve already sold out of them for the evening. It’s a good time to be a Fairvale farmer, isn’t it?”

  “It sure is,” she agreed. “I’ll take a pound of freestones.”

  “Coming right up.”

  While Kent weighed the peaches on a hanging scale, Sophie looked around. Jus
t a few tents over, she could see her dad and Cole seated on two barstools while they took a break from singing. They were chuckling about something and even though Sophie couldn’t hear them, she noticed Cole pull his glasses from his face and wipe his eyes with the back of his hand, as though whatever they had been talking about sent him into a fit of laughter. Her dad slapped a friendly palm between Cole’s shoulder blades.

  It was clear Sophie wasn’t the only one who would miss Cole when he left for Nashville.

  “Here you go, Sophie. One pound of freestones. Mind me asking what you plan to use them for?”

  “A cobbler.” She fished in her pocket for her money, but Kent held up a hand.

  “Are you planning to share that cobbler with anyone?”

  “Actually, I am.”

  “Then the peaches are on me.”

  Sophie shook her head. “I couldn’t let you do that.”

  “You’ll have to.”

  “Kent.”

  He wasn’t about to budge. “No negotiating, Sophie. I’m happy to share my bounty if I know you’ll be sharing it, too. A pay it forward sort of thing. All I ask is that you give every bit of it away. Don’t let any go to waste.”

  “I think I can handle that.” She vacillated. “Are you sure I can’t pay you?”

  “I’m sure you can pay me. But I won’t accept it. Enjoy that cobbler, friend.”

  * * *

  EVEN WITH OVEN mitts on, the heat from the glass dish warmed Sophie’s fingers, to the point that if Kelly didn’t open the door soon, she would have to set the cobbler down on the front stoop to keep from burning herself.

  Sophie used her elbow to press the doorbell once more.

  “Kelly! Are you expecting someone?” a hoarse voice echoed through the closed door. Sophie had met Theodore McAllister on several occasions over the years, but all business dealings were typically executed with Kelly. Sophie wasn’t sure why she hadn’t expected Theodore to be present that evening, but the thought of him sitting in on their conversation had her reeling with panic.

  “The flower girl is stopping by,” she could hear Kelly answer from within the home.

  Sophie had been called a lot of things over the years, but flower girl was a first.

  As the bolt turned over, Sophie straightened her spine to stand tall.

  “Hello there, Miss Potters. What brings you by at this hour?” Theodore was a short man with a thick voice that sounded like he’d swallowed a handful of gravel.

  “Kelly said she had some things she hoped to discuss with me.” Sophie pushed the dessert out. “And I brought a peach cobbler.”

  “Well, why didn’t you say so?” Theodore teased as he held out a hand to welcome Sophie into the house. “Come on in. Let me take that from you.”

  “It’s hot.”

  “Oh, I can handle it.”

  Just then, Kelly came into the foyer, her lips drawn tight as she took Sophie in. She was a difficult woman to read—not unfriendly per se, just not overly warm.

  “Hello there, Sophie.”

  “Kelly.” Sophie stuck her oven mitt-clad hand out, only realizing her gaffe when Kelly’s eyes narrowed. Lifting the mitt to her face, Sophie pulled it off with her teeth and held out her hand again for a shake. Hesitantly, Kelly took it.

  “Let’s take a seat in the family room, shall we?”

  Theodore was already at work in the kitchen, dishing up heaping portions of cobbler. Steam rose from the plates in wispy curls. It made the entire home smell like a fragrant orchard in the throes of harvest season. It would be Sophie’s little secret that she’d enlisted Caroline’s help to make it. After she had to scrap the burned first attempt, her roommate came to her rescue. That was a huge blessing. She wouldn’t be doing herself any favors by bringing an inedible dessert to a meeting that had the potential to change her future.

  “This smells wonderful, Sophie,” Theodore said as he passed out three plates. He offered a fork for her to take. “You’re a woman of many talents, I see.”

  “That’s very kind of you to say,” Sophie replied, keeping her little culinary secret to herself. She placed the oven mitts on the coffee table and settled into the plush couch cushions. “I hope you know how grateful I am to you both for letting me farm the land these past five years. I don’t know what I would do if I didn’t have access to this space. Your generosity has let me live out my dreams; I hope you know that.” Like she was spreading frosting on a cake, she laid the guilt on thick.

  Kelly folded her hands in her lap and looked down at them. “Yes, well, that’s what I wanted to talk with you about.”

  From his stuffed leather chair, Theodore inhaled the cobbler like it was his last meal. He made appreciative little sounds with each bite. “This is hands-down the best cobbler I’ve ever had. Even better than my Grandma Gertie’s.” Kelly’s eyes cut to her husband, but he didn’t pick up on her warning glare. “Any chance you can start paying your rent in dessert rather than cash?”

  “He’s obviously joking.”

  “Obviously,” Sophie said.

  “Speak for yourself,” Theodore mumbled around a mouthful of peaches.

  Kelly cleared her throat. “Anyway. Something has recently come up regarding the land and I wanted you to be the first to know.”

  That was a lie. Sophie was never the first to know anything when it came to the farm.

  “We’re planning to sell, Sophie.”

  With surprising control, Sophie kept her features neutral. “For how much?”

  “We’re not just selling your flower portion. We’re selling it all. The house. The land. All of it.”

  “But we can sell just her portion, Kel.”

  Tightening her lips, Kelly scowled at Theodore in an attempt to silence the man, but he was so engrossed in his food that he didn’t notice.

  “Seriously, this is so good. Best cobbler I’ve ever had. I’m going to have seconds.” He stood up from his seat. “Can I get anyone else another helping?”

  “I’m fine, thank you,” Sophie said.

  “Like I was saying, we’re planning to sell it all. Theodore has a job transfer to Arizona and we’ll be moving in the middle of July.”

  “Moving at the hottest time of year to one of the hottest states in the country. We must be crazy,” Theodore hollered from the kitchen.

  “I know your flower season will still be going on, so I hoped to give you some advance notice so you can figure out what to do. I’m not sure, but maybe you can transplant them somewhere else?”

  Sophie’s stomach rolled.

  “She can’t transplant them, Kel. That’s not how it works. There are thousands of flowers. Have you even looked at them lately? There’s a whole sea of them.”

  “Yes. The realtor and I have looked quite closely at them. Honestly, I am just giving Sophie a heads up as a courtesy. It’s well within our rights to have the lease terminated at any given point in time.”

  Sophie didn’t know if that was true or not, but even if she wanted to challenge Kelly, she couldn’t find the right words.

  “I hope this doesn’t come too far out of left field for you.”

  “Actually, it doesn’t. I had a feeling something like this was on the horizon.”

  “Good. I don’t see why we can’t leave things on pleasant terms, then.”

  Sophie swallowed. “I do have one question, though.”

  “Of course.”

  “Why did you decide to enter the competition if you knew you would be selling?”

  Kelly nodded, like the question was one she had anticipated. “At first, we didn’t know we would sell. But once Theodore got the job offer and we made up our minds to relocate, we saw how winning the competition could actually help with the sale of the home.”

  “But you haven’t even officially won yet.”

  “No,” Kelly said. “But I’ve checked out the competition and there’s no doubt in my mind that we will.”

  “You are aware that my brother is Derek Potters,
right?” It was a Hail Mary that could go one of two ways. Sophie hoped it wouldn’t backfire on her, but she was left with no other option.

  “The local news anchor? I suppose I knew that. Yes.”

  “So then you’re aware that this whole thing is and has been a glaring conflict of interest from the very beginning since they are sponsoring the contest. Have you considered pulling out of it completely? Especially with plans to sell, it might be best to avoid any negative press altogether.”

  Kelly’s penciled eyebrows pulled together. “Well, I suppose it could be considered a conflict of interest.” She stopped, then concluded, “I guess that just means we’ll have to end your lease even sooner.”

  “Kelly.” Theodore’s voice was stern, even through the forkful of cobbler.

  “What, Theodore? We’ve spent all of this money and come all of this way. It seems like a simple solution. The only solution, really.”

  “I think you need more cobbler.”

  “I don’t need more of anything. Just an understanding on Sophie’s part that, as of this moment, her lease is terminated.”

  The room became quiet, save for the quivering breath that Sophie tried to rally into submission. She would keep it together, no matter the cost.

  “That’s crazy. We’re not terminating her lease.”

  “Theo.”

  “I’m serious, Kel. Winning a contest is not worth losing our integrity.”

  “It’s not about integrity, Theo. It’s about being financially opportunistic. This contest will be great exposure. We’ll have a bidding war for the property once it’s on the market, no doubt in my mind.”

  “I’m not concerned about a bidding war, Kelly. We’re not breaking the lease.”

  Kelly’s hands flew up. “Then it sounds like we’ll have to pull out of the competition like Sophie said! Is that what you want? You’re leaving us with that as the only option.”

  “It’s not our only option.”

  Sophie kept silent as Theodore and Kelly volleyed back and forth.

  “What do you suggest, then?”

  “That we sell Sophie her land,” Theodore replied.