by Cathryn Fox
He goes serious, and I brace myself. “She’s been gone a long time, bro. You deserve a life, too.”
“I’m happy, Beck,” I say. “I’m busy with life and keeping Tyler on the straight and narrow.”
“Tyler is fine. You’ve done enough for us. It’s time you do something for yourself.”
I brush the moisture from my forehead with the back of my arm. “Where is this coming from?”
“A hot girl moved in next door, and for the last week, you’ve gone out of your way to avoid her.”
We keep pace as we head down the hill. “I’ve been busy.”
“Yeah, busy hiding from her.” He eyes me. “Want to tell me why?”
“No,” I say as we approach my cottage. “Now go get yourself cleaned up and get something to eat.” I give him a shove, and he just laughs as he heads home. When the hell did my kid brother get so grown up?
I step inside my place, shower, get a fast bite, and a half hour later, I park on the street and walk toward the community center. I glance around but don’t see Alyson’s Tesla, which would stick out like a sore thumb on a street lined with pickup trucks. I guess she backed out after all. Probably a good thing. Yeah, it’s totally for the best.
Then why the hell am I disappointed?
I hear the guys shooting the shit and go still when a female voice rises above them. Alyson’s here. I’m almost not surprised by that, and after avoiding her for almost a week, I can only hope she realizes I do not want to start anything with her. But the second I walk inside the building I see her bent over, fussing with her shoes—new heels and new snug-fitting jeans that tease my cock.
“Look what the cat finally dragged in,” Colin says.
“I’m right on time,” I say and check my watch.
My friend Patrick walks over to Alyson, and my eyes are glued to the back of his head as he says something that makes her laugh. Jealousy I have no right to feel careens through me. Christ, I told him to keep his distance, but there’s no reason he should listen to me. He can sleep with Alyson if he wants. She can sleep with him if she wants. Yeah, I have no problem with that at all. As long as it’s over my dead body.
Fuck my life.
Anger steps back for a moment, allowing need and lust to fill the space as I take in curvy hips hugged by tight jeans. Her white blouse is loose on her body, the open top button teasing at what lies beneath. Her hair is piled on top of her head, exposing the long column of her neck, right where my lips want to be.
My gaze moves up her throat and over her face. Dark circles she’s trying to hide with makeup fringe her pretty eyes, a sign that she’s burning the candle at both ends. Soon enough, she’ll collapse under the constant stress. Even though I bet against her, it sucks that she’s having such a hard time. It’s not fun to struggle, and like Tyler said, she’s trying really hard.
They talk for a few minutes, then Alyson’s eyes lift, like she can feel mine on her. Her cheeks instantly flush when she sees me, but she looks away quickly. We never talked about the kiss. Nope. I took off the second we were interrupted and busied myself for the rest of the week. Alyson steps behind the sound system, and a second later, “Sugar” by Maroon 5 blares through a nearby speaker.
Colin laughs. “I love it,” he says. “Sara loves this song.”
“I know,” Alyson says, grinning and avoiding direct eye contact with me. “I had this in mind last week, and Sara and I talked about music when she stopped by to introduce me to her and her friends.” She claps her hands together and looks us over. “Okay, let’s get on with this. We don’t have a lot of time.” She points to a spot on the floor. “I want you five to line up here, and Colin, you stand slightly forward.”
We all do as she asks, and she checks our positions. “Since some of us aren’t happy to be here and don’t have the moves, I’m going to make this an easy dance but still fun for Sara.”
“I’ve got moves,” Caleb says, and Mason shoves him.
“That’s not what Lindsay told me,” Mason says.
“Don’t be upset that she likes me better than you, bro.”
“Boys,” Alyson says and claps her hands. “Eyes on me.”
They stop mumbling, and we all turn to Alyson. “We’re going to start off like this,” she says and steps left, then right. “Really easy, and move your arms like this.” She does the move a couple times, and we mimic her. “Excellent,” she says. “Colin, will you all be wearing suit jackets?”
“You bet.”
“Okay, good. Now this is what I want you to do.”
Christ, if she only knew what I want her to do, she’d go running for the hills.
She grabs a sweater and tugs it on, then slowly removes it and puts it behind her rear end, her hips gyrating. With that look now forever burned into my brain, I nearly bite my damn tongue off as the guys clap and laugh.
“Sara is going to love this,” Colin says, and triumph fills Alyson’s face. For some reason, this is really important to her.
“Okay, now you all try it,” she suggests.
We all make the motion of removing our imaginary coats, and I pretend to put mine around my back and move my hips in some strange gyrating motion that doesn’t thrill Alyson, judging by the way her eyes are narrowing in on me.
“Jay, you’ve got no moves,” she says.
“He’s got the moves like Jagger, said no one ever,” Colin blurts out.
“I’ve got moves,” I grump as everyone laughs.
“Yeah, you do, happy feet,” Patrick says.
She crosses to me, stands behind my body, and places her hands on my hips. “Like this,” she says, and I grumble under my breath when she pushes her stomach against my ass and moves with me.
“Pretend you’re drying your back with a towel.”
“I thought you wanted the towel lower, like on my ass.”
“That’s an even better idea. Try that, boys.”
My goddamn dick starts thickening, and the last thing I need is to be sporting a hard-on and letting everyone in the room know how much I want to sleep with my new neighbor. Jesus, maybe I should fuck her, just once, and be done with this tension between us once and for all.
Once I have the motion down, she goes back to her spot in front of us. She teaches us a few more moves and then goes and turns on the music.
“Okay, let’s put it all together and move to the beat.”
We follow her instructions, and when Adam Levine blares out some line about nobody touching it unless that somebody is him, I get it. Oh, do I ever get it. As Alyson shakes her hips, the room closes in on me, and I misstep a couple of times as my blood leaves my brain.
She teaches us a few more things, and I have to say, she’s a damn good dancer. Was it something she wanted to do professionally? Maybe that’s what she was born to do.
After a good hour, Alyson checks the time on her phone and smiles at us. “You guys were awesome. Now why don’t you all go home and practice? You should have all those moves down by next Sunday.”
“Thanks, Alyson,” Colin says with a laugh. “You’re totally saving my ass by showing me how to shake it.”
“My pleasure. Sara is a sweetheart, and I’m so glad I could help.” She walks to the sound system and turns the music off.
“Beer?” Colin asks us. We all nod, and he calls out to Alyson, “Join us at the Crow?”
“Can’t. I have some preserves that I need to make.”
“All work and no play.” Colin tsks. “You’re turning into my man Jay here.”
“Farm life,” she says.
Colin gives me a look, one that suggests Alyson might be more capable than we ever gave her credit for—that she might be looking to run a solid business—and that I might just end up losing the farm to that asshole Charlie Miller.
“Won’t happen,” I say quietly and push dow
n the unease worming its way through my veins. I remind myself Juanita had determination to be a farmer, too, and it evaporated quicker than a rain puddle after the sun broke through. Yeah, I don’t have anything to worry about. Why, then, is doubt suddenly digging into my gut like an annoying little gopher? Shit.
Colin puts his hand on my back as Allison walks to the door. “You’re right. It’s going to be okay,” Colin says, agreeing with me.
I wipe my brow as we follow her out, push down all worry, and try not to stare at her cute ass in those snug jeans as she starts walking away from us.
“Where’s your car?” I ask and search the curb again.
She turns to me, a sheepish grin on her face. “I forgot to charge it. I walked here.”
I glance at her feet and give a shake of my head. “It’s all uphill on the way back, and you’re in heels again.” They belong in no place on her farm, but dammit if she doesn’t look sexy as hell in them.
She waves a dismissive hand, and her blouse shifts, giving me a view of her sweet cleavage. “I’ll be fine.”
I grunt to hide a moan and dig my keys out of my pocket. “Come on. I’ll drive you.”
“You don’t have to do that,” she says.
“It’s the neighborly thing to do. If I didn’t, my mother would kill me.”
She shakes her head. “Seriously, I’m okay.”
“Don’t make me come over there and put you over my shoulder.”
Her eyes go wide, and I don’t miss her little intake of breath. Is she remembering the last time she was in my arms and what happened after I carried her home? Yeah, me, neither. I resist the urge to snort ’cause that’s a big fucking lie.
“I don’t want to put you out.”
“He hasn’t put out in a long time,” Patrick says, and the guys laugh.
I give Patrick the death glare before zeroing in on Alyson. “You’re not putting me out.”
Colin grabs his nut sack. “You’d better take him up on his offer, Alyson. Sara would neuter him if he let you walk home. Especially if she knew you were here helping us like this and none of us saw you home safely.”
“It’s not like he’s using his balls, anyway,” Caleb shoots out, and it’s followed by another round of chuckles.
“I don’t think I have to worry about my safety.” She playfully glances over her shoulder, but she’s stalling. “Unless Cluck is around.”
“Get in,” I say again and open the passenger door.
“Fine,” she says. “These shoes are new, and I guess I’m not interested in ruining another pair this week.”
I cross the truck and climb into the driver’s seat, and Alyson waves to the guys as they walk to the Crow. I shoot her a fast glance and ease onto the quiet road.
“What is it with you and not wanting to ask for help?”
“I’m quite capable of doing things on my own,” she says with a tip of her chin, but the tightness on her lips as she presses them together tells another story.
“How’s it going over there?”
“Good,” she says, injecting a little enthusiasm into her voice.
“Tyler said Bryce was by to see you.”
She frowns and picks at a piece of hay stuck to her jeans. “He made me an offer.”
“Heard it was low.”
She laughs and throws her hands up. “Of course you did.”
“Have you considered a counteroffer?”
She exhales and looks out the passenger-side window. “I’ve considered lot of things.”
“Can I ask a question?”
“I guess,” she says.
“Do you still have a place in New York, or did you give it up when you came here?”
“I have a condo.” Her cheeks turn a light shade of pink. “My parents pay for it,” she says, like she assumed that was my next question. But the fact that she kept her place as a safety net says a lot, and we both know it. Relief, and something that resembles disappointment, weaves its way through my veins.
“Tell me about my uncle,” she says, redirecting the conversation.
“Well, he mainly kept to himself.”
“No girlfriend or wife or anything?”
“He hung out with Carol Moser for years, but she passed away a while back. He had us, though.”
Her sweet smile wraps around me and squeezes my lungs. “That’s nice but different than having a partner, you know.”
“I know.”
Longing fills her gaze. “Must have been lonely on this big old farm by himself.”
And that right there, my friends, is the first sign that she’s beginning to crack, the early glamour of farm life beginning to wear off. I know that look all too well. I tap my thumb on the steering wheel and pull into her driveway. “I suppose, yeah.”
“Do you…get lonely?”
I laugh but only to hide the truth. “I take care of my mother, brothers, and farm animals, remember?”
“Yeah, I know, but…”
Her words trail off as she reaches for her handle and opens her door. Off in the distance, a coyote howls.
She casts me a worried glance. “That doesn’t sound good.”
I turn my truck off. “We need to get the animals inside.”
We head to the orchard and start rounding up the animals. “Have you ever thought about dancing professionally?” I ask her as I lead Freddie into the barn, and she follows with Barack.
“I thought about doing a lot of things professionally,” she says with a laugh.
“What is it you want to do?” I ask.
We get the animals inside and find Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner already in the barn. I snatch the cowbell from a dusty shelf.
“That’s just it.” She shrugs, and my heart squeezes at the sheer defeat on her face, the spark of determination in her eyes dulling. “I’m not really sure. I’ve tried lots of things but can’t seem to stick to anything.”
“And this,” I say, waving my arm around the orchard, “this is something you thought you could stick to?”
“No,” she says flatly, and while I need her to fail, I hate the sadness in her eyes. “I just have something to prove.” She gives a half-hearted laugh to cover the frustration in her eyes.
“To who?”
“To the people who have no faith in me. The world is cruel to those who don’t know their way,” she says, and something tells me she’s lumping herself in with that group of individuals. “It’s so hard to see the disappointment over and over again, but I know I’m a joke, that you all must think I was dropped on my head as a child.”
I swallow, my heart pounding a bit harder. “No one thinks that,” I counter, even though it might not be entirely true. Not too many people think she belongs, and obviously, she thinks running the farm will prove something to someone. But if she fails, or rather, when she fails, it’s going to come at a steep price for her. I mentally kick my ass for taking the stupid bet in the first place. If I could go back in time…
She nods, like she doesn’t believe that for a minute, and as we make our way to the pasture to collect Sidney, a strange sense of loss takes up residence in my gut. The sweet little socialite who’s in over her head is growing on me—and likely a few members of this township. I turn to her, take in the dark smudges around her eyes. Shit, I want her to succeed at this farming gig—even though I need her to fail.
“Why did Colin say you were all work and no play?” she asks, redirecting.
“I have a lot to do,” I say.
She nods in understanding. “You do have a lot of responsibilities.”
“You do, too.”
“Yeah,” she says, her shoulders drooping. “I can’t believe last week I was in New York with no focus, and now I’m running a farm.” She frowns and adds, “I’m exhausted. I don’t know what I’m going to do when t
he real work starts at harvest time.” I open my mouth, maybe to even reassure her she won’t be here for it, but she cuts me off and continues, “Did Tyler tell you a little boy around two got into the bag of soldier beans and put one up his nose?”
“He didn’t, but that doesn’t surprise me. I have two younger brothers who got into a lot of shit over the years. I had to hide my pennies because of a nose incident.”
She laughs. “It must be a boy thing,” she says. “No way would I have ever done anything so crazy.”
“The kid’s okay?”
“Yes, but you can’t take your eyes off them for a second. I’m a wreck most of the day, worried someone is going to get hurt.”
“They’re resilient. Don’t worry so much.”
She shakes her head, her eyes wide. “How do people do it? Kids, I mean.”
“It’s different when you have your own. Someday, you’ll see.”
She chokes on a laugh. “I can barely keep myself alive, Jay. My life is too messed up to bring a child into it. Did you know the other day I tried to use the tractor and nearly ran over Breakfast? Or maybe it was Lunch. I can’t tell those two piglets apart.” She crinkles her nose at me. “I don’t think I can send them off to the ‘farm’ come fall.”
Everything inside me softens, as she grows on me just a little bit more. “I’ll teach you to use the tractor tomorrow.”
“I don’t like to put people out,” she says.
“Good thing I like to put out,” I say with a wink, hoping to lighten things, but it doesn’t. Nope, it doesn’t lighten things at all. It just moves things in a different direction—a sexual one. Tension takes up space between us, so hot and volatile, it could burn down the orchard after a torrential rainstorm.
“Come on, let’s finish up.” We get all the animals secure, and with Alyson looking a little wobbly in her heels, I say, “Hop on. I’ll give you a piggyback ride.”
“You can’t be serious,” she says, her voice lightening with laughter.
“Unless you want to ruin your shoes. Which are ridiculous for a farm. Have we not been over this?”
She sticks her foot out to examine her heels. “I like these shoes and wasn’t planning on wearing them for farming. They were for helping Colin.”
