When I Fall in Love

by Bridget Anderson

  “Well... I guess so,” she mumbled, walking away.

  Rollin came back around the table, shaking his head.

  “Looks like you’re pretty popular around here. A single brother with not one but two businesses. I see the ladies throw themselves at you,” Tayler said.

  He shook his head before responding. “That’s a child.”

  “She has all the makings of a woman, that’s for sure. What about Bernice? She’s not a child,” Tayler added with a playful smile.

  Rollin took a deep breath and stroked his goatee. Every time he struck a pose she got a tingle in the pit of her stomach. Damn, he’s fine.

  Rollin started rearranging the baskets of pears. “Can we change the subject?” he asked without looking at Tayler.

  Two women walked by with broad smiles and waved. “Hi, Rollin.”

  He gave them a quick nod. “Mornin’, ladies.”

  Tayler crossed her arms and laughed. “Yeah, I can see it now. You smile at them with those big dimples of yours and you can have any woman in town.”

  He shook his head and laughed. “My day starts at five a.m. and usually doesn’t end until after dinner. I don’t have time for a woman right now. My business is my lady.”

  “Sure it is.”

  “Besides,” Rollin continued, “I’m trying to get into some bigger markets, like Whole Foods.”

  Tayler nodded. “Then you won’t have to stand out here selling at a farmers’ market, huh?”

  “I don’t have to be out here now, Kevin can handle this. But I enjoy talking to people who eat our produce to see what they have to say. It’s my market research. I bring food to the people. Not everyone wants to come out and pick their own food.”

  She held up her hand. “Amen.”

  A few more customers stopped by to purchase vegetables. Once everyone left, Tayler picked their conversation right back up.

  “So, why can’t you get into Whole Foods?”

  “It’s a long story, but basically we need more money to expand in order to meet their demand. Holding onto the land and the B and B takes a lot of money.”

  “Did you ever think about selling it all and leaving Danville?”

  “Never. This is home. I came back here after college, and I don’t ever plan on leaving. It’s a nice town.”

  “Looks like it.”

  “I’ll tell you what, after we leave I can give you the grand tour. I’ll show you my town, and then you’ll see why I love it so much.”

  She smiled. “Sure.”

  “Well, if it isn’t Tayler Carter.”

  Tayler and Rollin turned around as Officer Greg approached the table.

  “So, we meet again.” He extended his hand. “Good morning.”

  “Good morning, Officer Greg.” Tayler accepted his hand.

  “Please, call me Greg.”

  “What’s up, man?” Rollin reached out to shake Greg’s hand.

  “Nothing much. I saw you guys over here and thought I’d say hello and see if Tayler is up for that tour I promised her.”

  Tayler and Rollin exchanged glances.

  Chapter 7

  Tayler turned to Greg, then back to Rollin, and waited on him to say something—anything.

  “Unless you’ve already been on a tour, as part of your stay at the B and B,” Greg said, looking from Tayler to Rollin.

  Rollin shook his head. “Nope, not part of the package.”

  She couldn’t believe Rollin was going to leave her hanging out there like that. “Actually, Greg, I’m kinda busy today.”

  Greg took a step back and then picked up a pear to examine it. “Yeah, I see they’ve put you to work. Rollin, I didn’t know things were so bad you’d put the guest to work,” he said.

  Rollin crossed his arms. “Who said things were bad at all?” he asked.

  Tayler heard a hint of annoyance creep into Rollin’s voice.

  Greg placed the pear back on the stack. “Well, I heard you’ve had a lot of vacancies. And with school about to start back, you’ll probably lose some of your workforce.”

  “I don’t know where you heard that. We’re doing okay. I’ll lose two guys when school starts, but that’s all. And Tayler—”

  He glanced over at her, and she could see his face hardening.

  “She’s only here because I didn’t have time to run her back to the house after we ran an errand.”

  Greg flashed Rollin a cold smile, then turned back to Tayler.

  “Thanks, Greg, but I’m gonna hang around the B and B the rest of the day.”

  Greg shrugged as his mouth turned downward. “Well, if you change your mind, you’ve got my card.”

  “Yes, I do.”

  “You folks have a good day. I’ll be waiting for that call.”

  Tayler nodded and smiled as he backed away.

  “Later, man,” Rollin added, then turned to Tayler. “Sure you didn’t want to take him up on his offer instead of mine?”

  She crossed her arms. “If I did I wouldn’t be standing here.” Rollin winked and gave her a smile that set off those sexy dimples. She wished he hadn’t done that—it made her stomach do flip-flops.

  “Come on, let’s sell some strawberries. We’ve got customers.”

  She turned around as a few people approached the stand.

  * * *

  After they returned to the B and B, Tayler had a long hot shower and then poured herself a tall glass of Rita’s tea. She then found a nice quiet spot in the library to read.

  She now realized she had to put as much distance between her and Rollin as possible. Any woman in her right mind would be attracted to him, but she didn’t want to be. In less than a week’s time she already had the hots for the guy. What was wrong with her? She didn’t usually let herself get this worked up over any man. But then, Rollin wasn’t just any man.

  She opened her book and forced herself to read. This attraction she had to Rollin was going to stop right now.

  A couple of hours later, she heard the sound of Rollin’s work boots coming down the hallway toward the library. He cradled his cell phone between his ear and shoulder while he mumbled, “Uh-huh,” a few times into the phone. He held the cell out and quickly pulled his T-shirt up his back and over his head with one hand.

  Tayler’s eyes widened but she couldn’t have said anything if she’d wanted to. Oh, my God! If she wasn’t looking at a perfect specimen of a man, one didn’t exist. He looked like chiseled chocolate.

  He rubbed the shirt across his chest and under his arms before pitching it into a nearby chair. He didn’t notice her curled up in the corner with her feet tucked underneath her as he walked straight to the desk on the opposite side of the room and pulled open the drawer.

  Tayler’s head tilted as her eyes traced the muscles in his back. Not an ounce of fat. Farmwork did a body good.

  Afraid he might catch her staring, she returned to her book. She could hear him fumbling around in a desk drawer, and he still hadn’t noticed her. She stole another peek and wondered what having his big triceps wrapped around her at night might feel like. The last time she’d shared her bed with a man escaped her. She bit her bottom lip.

  “Rollin!”

  Tayler jumped and turned toward the door where Rita’s husband, Wallace, stood nodding his head toward her. Rollin whipped around and noticed her for the first time.

  “Hold on a minute,” he said into the phone. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know you were in here,” he explained as he closed the drawer.

  Her eyes locked on his chest as her teeth let go of her lip. Then she turned into a stuttering idiot. “I... I started to say something, but, uh, you were on the phone.” She quickly pulled her feet out from underneath her and stood up. She picked up her glass of iced
tea.

  “Boy, go put a shirt on,” Wallace said.

  Tayler held her hand up. “Don’t do that on my account.”

  After a quick glance from Rollin to Wallace, she realized what that sounded like. “I mean, I’m leaving anyway.” She eased toward the door. “I should be outside on such a beautiful day. I’ll let you guys continue to do whatever you were about to do in here.” She scooted past Wallace, who seemed very amused by her. “Excuse me.”

  “Don’t let us run you off,” Wallace added.

  Tayler turned around. “No, you’re not. I could use the fresh air.” Unable to resist, she took one last peek at Rollin as he maneuvered his discarded T-shirt over his head, and she stumbled back over the rug in the hallway.

  Wallace reached out to catch her. “You okay?” he asked.

  She spilled some tea but managed to hold onto everything else. “Oh, God, I’m sorry. I spilled tea on the rug.”

  “Don’t worry about that. You just be careful. Wouldn’t want you to fall and hurt yourself. The boy’s insurance ain’t paid up.”

  Tayler wiped at the tea on her pant leg and looked up at Rollin, who shook his head laughing.

  “I get it,” she said, smiling. “You don’t want a lawsuit.”

  Wallace grinned even bigger. “You got it.”

  “Trust me, I wouldn’t do that. I’m gonna go out back and sit in the garden for a while. You sure you don’t want me to clean this up?” she asked, once more before leaving.

  “Don’t worry about it, I’ll get it.” Rollin walked around them and down the hall toward his private quarters.

  “Well, okay,” she said to Wallace before leaving.

  “Enjoy the sunshine, pretty lady.”

  She glanced back over her shoulder. “I will.” Big flirt.

  In the garden, she chose a wrought-iron love seat surrounded by the magnificent aroma of flowers. She cracked her book open and continued to read. Halfway through another chapter she heard what sounded like thunder coming from the wraparound porch.

  Tayler looked up as Corra’s children jumped off the porch and ran out in the direction of the barn.

  “Don’t get in Rollin’s way. Did y’all hear me?” Corra shouted.

  “Yes, ma’am,” they called out.

  Tayler waved when Corra looked her way.

  “Just who I was looking for,” Corra said and walked over.

  Tayler pointed to herself. “Who, me?”

  “Yes, you. Remember I wanted to talk to you about helping down at the school with our fund-raiser to purchase computers? That is, if you aren’t too busy around here.”

  Corra took the wrought-iron chair next to Tayler. “My brother isn’t working you too hard, is he?”

  “No, not at all. I’m actually beginning to enjoy the morning truck rides. It’s amazing what a little time in the country can do for you.”

  Corra crossed her legs and took a deep breath. “Yep, a couple of weeks out here can transform you. We see it all the time. People arrive all tense, but they leave so relaxed.”

  “That’s what I’m hoping for.”

  Corra twisted around in her seat to face Tayler. “So, Rollin was telling me that you’re a vice president at your job, is that right?”

  “I’m vice president of strategic alliance, not the whole company.”

  “That sounds interesting. I bet you’re good at persuading people to do things for you.”

  Tayler closed her book. “One could say that. How can I help you?”

  Corra crossed her legs. “Well, we could use help soliciting items for the silent auction. I created the pitch we’re using, but it could stand to be more persuasive. Can you help with that?”

  “Sure, I have plenty of experience in that area. You know, Nicole and I have a nonprofit organization called the Color of Success, and we’re always soliciting for sponsorships.”

  “Cool. So what do you guys do, exactly?”

  “We give empowerment workshops to young women all over the US. Our goal is to educate, empower and inspire young women. We teach them about having confidence and self-respect.”

  “You and Nicole travel all over to do that?”

  “We do. We bring in women from the community to discuss personal challenges they’ve faced and overcome in their lives. It’s a wonderful program.”

  “It sounds like it. We need something like that around here. How did you get started?”

  “Fortunately, my job affords me the luxury of traveling the world and meeting people from all walks of life. I was invited to be the keynote speaker at a women’s empowerment conference in Los Angeles years ago, and the work they were doing moved me so that I wanted to start my own organization. However, at the time I was traveling and working so much I didn’t have the time. But after sharing the experience with Nicole and discovering we were of like minds, she went to work setting everything up and the rest is history. It’s a labor of love.”

  Corra held a hand to her chest. “Man, I would love to do something like that. Maybe while you’re here you can come speak to the young women’s group at my church? Or at the school.”

  Tayler laughed. “I’ll see what I can do.”

  “Too bad I didn’t know about that earlier—I would have asked you to speak at the ceremony. How much do you charge?”

  Tayler know her speaking fee was more than they would be able to pay. “I’ll tell you what, you let me know when and where and I’ll speak to them for free.”

  Corra’s eyes widened. “You’d do that for us?”

  Tayler pressed her lips together and smiled. “Why not.”

  “Girl, let me get up from here before I intrude on your vacation anymore.”

  “It’s not an intrusion. I love speaking to young women. I want them to know they’re worthy of going after their dreams.”

  “You’ve just inspired me so much just now. We have a committee meeting tonight if you can make it. We’ll go over all the details of the silent auction and the ceremony being held at the end of the fall festival in about a month.”

  “Just let me know where to show up.”

  Tayler liked Corra, and helping with the fund-raiser would be a perfect way to get away from the house and Rollin. She didn’t trust herself around that man. He was her accident waiting to happen.

  * * *

  One week into her vacation, and Tayler had a new friend in Nicole’s cousin Corra. Tayler helped her perfect the sales pitch before they rode around town collecting items for the silent auction. After the last stop, they headed back to Corra’s house in her gently used Toyota Corolla.

  “Girl, you have to tell me where you got those sandals. I can’t stand up in heels like that, let alone walk around all day in them. Your feet don’t hurt?” Corra asked.

  Tayler looked down at her Stuart Weitzman wedges.

  “No, they’re actually very comfortable. They were a gift.”

  “Now that’s what I call a present. You must have been good to somebody to get those,” Corra teased.

  “They were an I’m sorry gift. You can tell how much dirt a man’s done by the size of the gift when he gets back in town.”

  Corra laughed. “I wouldn’t know anything about that. The best gift I’ve ever received are those two kids of mine.”

  “I’m sure they’d beat a pair of shoes any day,” Tayler added.

  Corra sighed. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. I hope today didn’t bore you to death.”

  “Not at all. I enjoyed myself. I met some really cool people and learned a lot about life in the country. I’ll admit those first few days were a little rough, but I can get used to this slower pace.”

  “That’s a nice way to put it. We call it Dullsville, but it’s my home and I can’t bring myself to leave.”
r />   “Why would you want to?” Tayler asked.

  “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe to find a man who’ll buy me expensive shoes and love my kids. Those men don’t live around here.”

  “What, no old high school sweetheart?”

  “Girlfriend, been there, done that, got two kids to show for it. I haven’t seen my ex-husband in over two years. He moved to California without looking back.”

  “Men can be dogs,” Tayler blurted out.

  “You can say that again,” Corra added. “Except for my brother, who’s the sweetest guy I know. There need to be more men like him in this town.”

  “I gather he’s a hot commodity?”

  Corra smirked. “The women in this town have been on him like white on rice. Thankfully, he’s more focused on the family business than some of these scallywags.”

  “He doesn’t have a girlfriend?” Tayler asked.

  “Nope. He dated a woman over in Bullet County for a while, but that didn’t last.”

  “Do you ever work at the farm?”

  “Me, naw. I’ve helped out from time to time when they’re in a pinch, but Rollin handles everything. He has a business degree from Morehouse College in Atlanta. Although this isn’t what he’d planned to do with it.”

  Arriving at her house, Corra backed into the driveway and popped the trunk. “Let’s pile everything in the basement.”

  Tayler grabbed a large gift basket and followed Corra inside the house. The split-level country-style home was nicely decorated and reminded Tayler of her room at the B and B.

  Tayler could hear the children and noise from a television as she followed Corra downstairs. At the bottom of the stairs she walked into a large den, and who was sitting in front of the television with the children but Rollin. She hadn’t seen his truck outside. He did a double take after he noticed her.

  “Score!” Jamie yelled.

  Rollin turned back to the screen. “Dude, you beat me again.”

  Jamie danced around the den. “I always do, Uncle Rollin.”