by LuAnn McLane
“And here I thought you had turned your back on us when we needed you most.”
“I’m sure that’s how it appeared. But I worried every night about the fate of this farm. I worried about Jeff tossing everything away for a music career. I agreed with Mom that he should stay on the farm and help, and that Braden should stay in school. What I should have done was encouraged everyone to go after their dreams, but I didn’t. I’m doing the same damn thing to you now.” He swallowed hard and looked away.
Sara reached over and covered his hand with hers. “It’s because you care.”
Reid gave her a small smile. “After coming back here to the farm I’m not so sure that I want to go back to Lexington and work in an office. In other words, I don’t know which end is up anymore. I shouldn’t get involved with anyone until I get my own life straightened out.” He raised his eyebrows. “Enough now?”
“Look, I know that you want everything to fit into timelines, graphs, and charts. But life isn’t like that. Sometimes you have to reinvent yourself. I loved teaching and I love this farm. Now I get to combine those two things every day. Dad has a blast with the kids and it’s helped his health. You know that Mom preaches that everything happens for a reason. I’m not so sure I buy into that . . . more like when life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” She grinned. “And add some vodka for good measure. Sometimes you just have to make life your own personal cocktail.”
Reid laughed. “Yeah, well, if you’d put my life on a timeline there are more valleys than peaks. My plan was to invest and make enough money to help Mom and Dad keep this place. For a while my plan was working really well. I invested my own money with more risk than I advise with clients, and the payoff was big . . . until the stock market crashed and I lost my ass. Then the loss was bigger.”
Sara frowned. “Are you in financial trouble, Reid?”
He scrubbed a hand down his face. This part was hard to admit. “No, but I was for a while. Over the past couple of years I’ve recouped most of my loss but I’m nowhere near where I’d thought I’d be at this stage of the game.”
Sara tilted her head and smiled. “Well, baby brother, the good news is that you have a lot of life left to live. It’s time to get out of the valley and start climbing that big ole mountain again.” Her smile faded a bit. “Hey, I reached rock bottom when Blake broke my heart by cheating on me. But Cody came along and he’s such a good man. I’m so much better off and I love him to pieces. Your time will come but you have to be open to it and keep that big head of yours poked out of your shell, because it might come when you least want it to or expect it. So toss your timeline out the window and take a leap of faith.”
He chuckled. “And what if I land on my ass with a big fat splat?”
“Are you referring to the time when I promised you the tree branch would hold you?”
“Yeah, to rescue that damned cat of yours. The branch broke.”
“But you saved the cat.”
“And your point, teacher?”
“You got a little bit bruised.”
“And scratched by the cat.”
Sara winced. “Maybe I shouldn’t have used that example.”
Reid gave her shoulder a brotherly shove. “I’m pulling your chain. I might have hated that cat, but you loved it and so a few scratches and bruises were worth it.”
“See, now we’re on the same page. Look, I don’t know if Addison is the right one for you. But don’t shut yourself off from the possibility. It’s obvious that you’re attracted to her and you care about her too. That’s a pretty good start.”
“Yeah . . .” He flicked his gaze away from her and fell silent.
“Okay, what aren’t you telling me?”
“Addison proposed this . . . thing.”
“What thing? Talk to me, Reid.”
Reid wasn’t sure he should tell Sara. After all, Addison seemed to have already reconsidered. Plus, it was kinda of weird talking about this with his sister. “Nothing. It was stupid, anyway.”
“Hey, it’s your twin you’re talking to. I won’t breathe a word to anyone. I promise. Not even Cody. I also won’t let up until you tell me, so you might as well save us some time and spill.”
Reid looked at Sara. “Addison wanted us to have this sort of no-strings-attached kind of deal. I told her I’d been off the market for a long time and was rusty at, well, the whole flirting or whatever bullshit. She wanted a sort-of pretend boyfriend, a rebound guy to keep her from making another big mistake. And she would be kind of my introduction back into dating.”
“And you said yes?”
“Sort of. But I haven’t heard a peep from her all week.”
“Did you call her?”
“Hell, no. I wanted to give her time to reconsider her stupid plan.”
“Wait. So you agreed but you think it’s stupid?”
“Hell, I don’t know, Sara. Yeah, sure it’s stupid, but I don’t know. It does have some merit, I guess.”
“Well, she probably thought you had backed out.”
“Oh crap. You think so?”
Sara nodded. “Um, yeah. Even in this day and age girls still wait for guys to call first.”
“So, what do you think of the plan?”
“I think both of you just need to quit being so scared. You don’t need any so-called plan. Just hang out. Get to know one another. It’s pretty simple when you get right down to it.”
Reid blew out a sigh. “What if she won’t do that? Should I agree? I mean, I don’t want to put my heart on the line for some game she wants to play so that no guys approach her.”
“Do you want other guys to approach her? It sure didn’t seem like you wanted her to hang out with Zack.”
“Zack is an ass.”
“You are avoiding the question even though I already know the answer.” She swung her legs back and forth while staring him down.
“So, what the hell do I do?”
“Reid, you’re going to put your heart on the line, no matter what the two of you call it. If you want to see where this is going with Addison, then agree to that nonsense. I think it’s just a thinly veiled reason for her to give herself permission to hang out with you, anyway. I’m sure she made a no-guys-for-a-while vow after the breakup.” Sara rolled her eyes. “Much better than my every-guy-for-a-while downward slide until I, thankfully and pretty quickly, came to my senses.”
“It was called me carrying you out of Two Keys in Lexington.”
“Whatever . . . We all have our ways to cope. Some ways are, you know, better than others. So . . . she’s willing to see you if she pretends it’s all for show, or whatever reason she’s come up with, so she can feel some sort of safety.”
“So, in other words, I should just do it and hope for the best?” Did he even want it to become something more?
Sara raised her hands in the air. “Geez, Reid, quit overthinking. Just roll with it.” She shooed her fingertips at him. “Now go get showered and all prettied up.” She leaned over and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. “I’ll see you tonight.”
Reid nodded but sat there for a minute while mulling over what Sara told him. Little John came bounding his way and defied gravity by leaping up into the truck bed. Booker trotted over and looked longingly up at them, knowing there was no way he could jump up that high. When Reid laughed and patted his thighs in encouragement Booker actually tried, coming an impressive foot off of the ground before landing sideways and rolling over. He got up and gave Reid an I-totally-meant-to-do-that look.
“You know what, Booker, you old crazy hound?”
“Woof!” Booker jumped again, a tiny bit higher, and somehow came back down on all fours.
“You just inspired me. Go against the odds and give it your best shot. Is that what you’re sayin’?”
“Woof!”
Reid jumped down and scratched the old hound behind the ears. “Gotcha. Now I guess I’d better get cleaned up and try to make my amends. Beats me how I manage to get i
nto hot water without even trying.”
After a long, steaming shower Reid towel-dried his hair and then added a little bit of gel, something he hadn’t bothered to do in a long time. He shaved his neck but decided to leave his five o’clock shadow, in hopes that Addison thought the stubble was sexy. He brushed, flossed, gargled, clipped his nails, and then splashed on some Acqua di Giò. With a sigh, he gave his reflection a critical once-over. Between his mother’s cooking, Wine and Diner, and Grammar’s Bakery, he’d put on some weight, but with farm work he’d bulked up rather than getting soft around the middle. He was tan from all of the time spent outdoors and his hair had lightened to a golden brown. The brackets of tension that had been present around his mouth had vanished. Reid had to admit that coming back to Cricket Creek and working on the farm agreed with him in more ways than one.
Usually a grab-it-and-go kind of guy, Reid put way more thought into what he was going to wear than he had in a very long time. He pulled out his favorite Lucky Brand jeans and tugged them on but then tried on four different shirts. “Quit being such a girl,” he grumbled, but part of the problem was that he filled out the shirts to the point of them being almost too tight across his shoulders and biceps. He thought a golf shirt would be too casual for the grand opening, so he finally settled on a light blue Western-cut shirt with dark blue piping and mother-of-pearl-covered snaps. He knew one thing: He sure as hell didn’t miss wearing a suit and tie.
Reid grimaced after looking at the digital clock on his nightstand. “How did it get to be past six thirty?” He would have to hustle to get to the shop before closing time. Sara was going to be pissed. After tugging on his best cowboy boots Reid hurried out of the cabin and jumped into his truck, wishing he’d drunk a beer while getting ready.
Sure enough, as Reid pulled into the parking lot everyone else appeared to be leaving. After he parked, Reid paused to reply to Sara’s half dozen messages asking where in there world he was. Reid replied that he was running late and would meet her at Sully’s after stopping in to say congratulations to Addison. He jogged over to the florist and quickly purchased a bouquet of spring flowers.
Reid entered From This Moment with three minutes to spare. A few people were milling around, making their way toward the entrance. With the bouquet in hand he looked around for Addison, and finally spotted her at the back of the shop, straightening up inventory. Her back was to him as she hung colorful dresses from a rack on wheels back to neat rows against the wall. Bridesmaid’s, he guessed, since the entire middle of the shop displayed wedding gowns.
Addison wore a sleeveless dress in burgundy, simple but elegant, nipped at her waist and flowing to just above the knee. Usually straight, her shiny dark hair hung in soft, loose curls halfway down her back. She wore black open-toed, high-heeled sandals that looked difficult to walk in, and, judging by her sudden glance down and grimace, not too comfortable.
Soft music played through speakers and the shop smelled like coffee and cake. Everything looked so pretty and feminine, making Reid feel like a bull in a china shop. When Addison went on tiptoe to put a floppy lace hat up on a shelf he tilted his head, admiring how the silky material of her dress molded to her very nice butt. He decided he’d better make his presence known and walked closer to her. “Hello, Addison.”
“Eek!” Clearly startled, she spun around, tossing the hat like a Frisbee right at Reid.
He caught it. “I want you on my Frisbee golf team.”
“I didn’t mean to do that.” She put a hand to her chest. “You scared me,” she admitted with a smile that quickly dissolved to a frown, as if she suddenly remembered to be pissed at him. “You really need to stop sneaking up on me.”
“Sorry.”
“At the risk of sounding rude, what are you doing here?”
“It’s an open house.”
“Was . . .” She pointed up to a really big round clock boasting large Roman numerals. “I’m closing.”
He stepped forward. “Hey, um, are you mad at me?”
“No,” she said, but her clipped tone indicated otherwise.
“Look, I’m sorry I didn’t call. I—”
“Oh, just the phrase a girl wants to hear. Whatever . . . no big deal.” Again, her tone said that it was a big deal. She reached out and snatched the hat. This wasn’t going well.
“Okay, um, these are for you.” When he thrust the flowers forward something flickered in her eyes.
“Thank you.” Ah . . . at least her voice softened.
“The cake smells good,” Reid said uncertainly, wishing he was better at this.
Addison waved the hand with the hat toward a table near the windows. “Help yourself. There’s coffee or champagne if you prefer.”
“Would you have a glass with me?”
“I’m busy.”
Reid glanced around. “Everyone is gone, Addison.”
“Except for you.”
“Do you want me to leave?”
“Yes.” She took a few steps away from him but then gave a little cry of pain and started to limp.
“Oh God. Are you okay?” Reid rushed forward and put a hand on her elbow.
“It’s these shoes. They’re killing my feet and I have a blister the size of Montana on my left heel.”
“Montana?”
“Maybe Texas,” she said weakly.
“Well, damn, Addison, sit down. I’ll bring you some champagne.” When she took a step and hissed, he said, “Hey, wait. Hold on to my shoulders.”
“What?”
“I’m going to kneel down and take the stupid shoes off.”
“They’re not stupid; they’re Jimmy Choo. I should have broken them in, but Mom sent them so I wanted to wear them.”
“Let me guess—they cost the earth.”
“Ha. Who are you to talk in your Tony Lama boots?”
“How did you know that?” Did she know they’d set him back nearly a grand? He’d bought them back in the heyday, before his life went to hell in a handbasket.
“I’m going to stock boots for brides who want a cowgirl theme. If I’m not mistaken those are ostrich.”
Reid grinned. “You’re not mistaken. I want to be buried in these suckers. You should be flattered. I bring them out only for very special occasions. But they don’t hurt my feet.”
When Reid eased one shoe from her foot she moaned. “Oh God, that feels so good.”
“I get that a lot.” Reid glanced up at her and she laughed. “You wanna go for two?” he asked. He looked at the heels. “That’s gotta be at least five inches.”
“Only four,” she corrected, and laughed.
“I know what you’re thinking. . . . Don’t say it.”
“Okay, I’ll just think it.”
Reid looked at the shoes. He had to admit they were damned sexy.
“But, yes, let’s go for two.” She gave him a low moan when he gently eased the shoe off of her other foot. “Oh, that’s heaven.”
“Addison, you do have a nasty blister. Why didn’t you change out of these pieces of torture?” He stood up with the shoes dangling from his fingers.
“I didn’t really notice the pain until people started leaving. And then my feet were suddenly on fire.”
“This girl is on fire . . .” he sang, and she tossed her head back and laughed. Thank goodness the ice was broken. He usually wasn’t exactly good at flirting, but there was something about Addison that somehow made him relax after being in her presence for only a few minutes. He didn’t think he’d ever burst into song with a woman before but getting her to laugh was worth making a fool of himself. “Now go sit down in that huge chair over there. Hand me the flowers. I’ll bring you some champagne.”
“I won’t argue,” she said weakly and walked gingerly over to the big wingback black velvet chair trimmed in gold. After she sat down she eased her feet up onto a matching ottoman. A weary sigh escaped her while she leaned forward and massaged her feet, exposing a nice display of cleavage. Reid swallowed hard a
nd almost dropped the flutes of champagne. He downed the cold bubbly liquid in three gulps.
“Here you go,” Reid said.
“Thank you.” She accepted the glass and took a sip. “Ah, nectar of the gods,” she said with a tired grin.
Knowing he was taking a chance Reid lifted up her feet and scooted onto the big ottoman. Her eyes rounded slightly but she didn’t kick or scream, so he went on to his next move . . . massaging her feet.
“If you’re trying to get back in my good graces, that’s totally working.”
Reid chuckled softly. “I am.”
“Then don’t even think of stopping.”
“I won’t.” He pressed the pad of his thumb to the ball of her foot, rolling it back and forth.
“Dear Lord . . . I think you missed your calling.” She leaned against the back of the chair and sipped her drink, watching him through half-lidded eyes. She looked so tired that Reid longed to scoop her up in his arms and carry her upstairs to bed. The massage therapy wouldn’t stop with her feet.
“Sara said you wanted to go over to Sully’s and have a night out on the town. Are you game?”
“Not unless you want to carry me piggyback again.”
“I would.”
Her expression softened even more. He hoped it wasn’t just from the champagne. “That would be funny.” She giggled, and he knew she was a bit slaphappy but it was so damned cute on her.
Reid chuckled. “Have you eaten?”
Addison jammed her thumb over her head. “Cake.”
“Is that champagne going straight to your head?”
“Yeah, it’s awesome. May I have another?” She raised her glass.
“Absolutely.” Reid refilled both glasses. “What are the raspberries for?” He pointed to the bowl.
“Oh, you drop one into the bottom of the flute. To look pretty and to go with the filling in the cake.”
“Ahh . . . of course.” Reid plunked one into her glass.
“No raspberry for you?”
“I don’t fruit my drinks.”
“Yeah, well, you do have to worry about that last swallow.”
