by Elle Casey
He rolls his eyes. “Whatever. I don’t understand how that means I can’t go out with one of her sisters.”
“It’s a rule we have, Smitty. You have Brian, right?”
“Yeah, but we don’t have that rule.”
“Well, I appreciate you asking. It was very sweet of you to do that, but no. It’s not going to happen.”
He leans in closely. “If I hadn’t slept with your sister, would you go out with me?”
I have to laugh at that. “I would seriously consider it.” Smitty is definitely easy on the eyes. He’s one of those good old boys with big muscles, a nice butt, and a special kind of charm with the ladies. I think he could be fun. Emerald always said he was, but he’s just a little too brash for her. She prefers the strong, silent type like Sam.
He looks down at the desk. “I see you haven’t found a replacement for your stolen laptop yet.”
“Who told you about my laptop?”
“I don’t remember. I heard in town somewhere.”
“So, the word is out, but still nobody has returned it.” I shake my head in disappointment. “What is this world coming to?”
“There are a lot of strangers coming in and out of town these days. I’m sure it wasn’t anybody from around here who took it. We have nice neighbors; you know that.”
“Yeah, I know that. But still, it’s really frustrating. I don’t have the money for a new one.”
“You don’t? I thought you got some money for taking care of these animals.”
“Some, yeah . . . but believe me, it doesn’t last very long.” I smile bitterly. “I’m broke. Most people hardly pay me anything. I’m not a vet, remember?”
He nods, looking disappointed. “Yeah, I know. That really sucks. Maybe I can help you out.” He turns on his heel and starts walking to the door.
“What are you talking about?” Now I’m a little worried.
“You’ll see.” He leaves, closing the door behind him. I have no idea if he’ll be back.
I lean back in my chair and sigh, propping my feet up on the desk. I can’t believe Smitty just asked me out. I’m going home early, before dinner, so I have time to gossip with my sisters about it. Emerald’s going to pee her pants. I wonder if she’ll be mad. I know what Amber’s going to say. I’m hereby mentally betting myself five dollars that she is going to talk about what a backwoods hick he is for thinking he could date two sisters in the same family. I smile just imagining the expression on her face. She’s so protective of us.
My watch says I have two more hours before I’m outta here. I look down at the little doggy digging in my purse again. Banana is in the back, sleeping behind a closed door so that he can get a break from his little buddy. He still needs some time to recuperate before he’s a hundred percent again. I’m going to take Oscar Mayer and Banana home with me tonight. The puppy needs to get out into the world more, and his brother needs some running time. I lean my head back, remove my hair clip, and let my hair flow over the back of the chair. My mind replays my walk with Greg.
He put his arm around me. Twice. He could be interested in me romantically. Or maybe he sees me as some kind of sweet sister who he wants to take care of. Ugh. That would be totally frustrating. No, that won’t work at all. I don’t want to be the sweet sister, I’ve decided. I want to kiss him, at least. I’ve been staring at his lips and wondering how they’d feel for too long. He’s too gorgeous to not at least try, right? I could totally lay one on him and solve the mystery once and for all. And then he’ll be gone back to Manhattan, and I won’t have to face him anymore. Do I dare?
My mind really starts to wander at this point. I’m really warming to the idea, the more I think about it. It could be perfect, actually. If the kiss works out, we could have an affair—a secret one that nobody but us knows about. I would only have to see him once a month—or even less frequently than that once the band is back in Manhattan. Geez, if I played this right, I could have my cake and eat it too; I could have my work that keeps me busy all day, and every once in a great while I could have awesome sex with a gorgeous guy who makes me laugh. Talk about perfect. I don’t need to have what my sisters have—a man by my side all the time, raising a family with me. I could be content with a wild, sexy affair with a beautiful man who used to live on an apple orchard. Oh, yes, ma’am, I could. If I were bold and fearless and not at all worried about being rejected. Good luck with that.
I get up and go into the back room. I need to check on my patients so that when I leave later this afternoon I can spend some quality time with my family and enjoy every minute of it. I miss being with them. I’ve been spending more time than ever out here at the clinic, but it’s time I stopped avoiding all the Red Hot drama and became more engaged with what’s happening with my moms and sisters. I’m definitely looking forward to seeing Greg at the dinner table. Maybe I’ll even get the chance to hint at this affair idea, if I’m feeling particularly bold. I could just imagine the look on his face . . . the point where serious Lawyer-Greg becomes loosened-up, sexy Greg. And I’m the only woman who ever gets to see that side of him. I think I might be a little bit addicted to that idea.
CHAPTER TWENTY
The three of us—Amber, Emerald, and I—are sitting on Emerald’s bed with the door locked. So far we’ve already had three people try the handle in an attempt to enter, but we’ve sent them away. It’s our sister time—our chance to reconnect and gossip about everything and everyone under the sun.
“So, what is going on with you and Greg?” Amber asks, rubbing her hands together like an evil genius. “He was down there at the clinic with you for ages today.”
“What’s he even doing here on the farm?” Emerald asks. She looks at Amber. “Were you expecting him to fly in?”
Amber shakes her head while wearing a big grin. “Nope. He’s here for Rose.”
I feel my face going pink. “No, he’s not. He has work for you guys.” I’m afraid to hope that she’s right, or that she’s right but that he’s here because of that silly phone call. I still can’t totally get rid of the idea in my head that he’s just being nice and trying to let me down easy . . . like he mentioned he’s doing with Veronica.
“Ha, ha. Work. Please. You should’ve seen what he brought with him. A five-page document he could’ve easily emailed me.”
“Really?” My face gets so hot I have to put my palms on it to try and cool it down. I want more information, but I don’t want to seem too obvious or desperate.
“That is so romantic,” Emerald says, sighing and looking at me with googly eyes.
“Cut it out. You have no proof of anything.” I don’t want to get my hopes up. It’s too hard to believe that a guy like Greg would make a special trip up here just to see me. I’m basic. Basic Rose. Nothing special. Not to a guy like him, anyway. I’m more suited to someone like Smitty, someone who grew up just off a dirt road. I probably shouldn’t have been so quick to turn him down. He could be my last hope.
“What did he do with you today?” Amber asks. “Tell us everything. We want a total play by play. Did you touch his junk yet?”
I burst out laughing and slap her on the arm. “Are you kidding me? Nothing even close to that.”
“Tell us,” Emerald urges. “Seriously. We’re excited for you.”
I shake my head and roll my eyes at their desperation on my behalf. “There’s nothing to be excited about. He helped me clean out the kennels, and then we took a walk with the dogs. That’s it.”
I can’t tell them about how he’s helping me with the lawsuit because I don’t intend for them to ever find out about that damn thing. Both of them are pregnant, and they don’t need the stress, and they’d for sure tell our mothers. The last thing I need is them freaking out about something like this. Then the band would get involved, and everyone would have an opinion about what I should or shouldn’t be doing with my life. Plus, it would fuel Amber’s theory that there is something going on between Greg and me. For sure she’d put her nose in
to our business and do something to embarrass me.
“He cleaned out those nasty kennels?” Emerald asks. She looks over at Amber. “He likes her.”
“Seriously.” Amber reaches over and squeezes my arm. “Not even the people who love you most in the world want to do that crap.”
“I might have guilted him into it.”
“Guilt trips do not work on kennel cleaning,” Amber says. She looks over at Emerald. “Am I right?”
Emerald nods. “You are so right. That is my least favorite job on the entire farm.”
Amber starts waving her hand in front of her nose. “Possum poo? No thank you.”
“We only have one possum right now, first of all. And second of all, Greg lived on a farm, so he’s used to that kind of stuff.”
Amber’s eyes go wide. “No shit?”
“I can see it,” Emerald says, nodding. “He looks good in those flannel shirts.”
“Hey, I forgot to tell you this,” Amber says, grabbing me by the hand and squeezing. “I was there when his L.L.Bean order came in.”
“I knew it!” I squeeze her back. “I knew he was wearing L.L.Bean.” Totally called it.
“All brand-new. He practically bought an entire wardrobe. I asked him what he was doing with all that stuff, but he just shoved the boxes aside and changed the subject. I knew he got it to come up here.” She shakes her head slowly, grinning from ear to ear.
“I wonder why he would do that?” Em asks, trying to be sly.
I shove her. “Be quiet. It’s not because of me. It’s because of you guys.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Amber asks.
“He’s just trying to fit in. He’s doing the farm-boy thing so he doesn’t stick out like a sore thumb.”
“What kind of farm did he live on?” Emerald asks.
“His family had an apple orchard. But he moved to the city when he was a teenager, after they lost the farm. Don’t tell him I told you, though.” I’m feeling a little guilty that I shared his secret. Is it a secret? He didn’t say I was supposed to keep it to myself. Surely he knows sisters tell each other stuff, though. “He didn’t say it was a secret, but I don’t think he’d want everyone to know.”
“I don’t think the guys in the band know,” Amber says, sounding impressed. “How did you get that out of him?”
“I didn’t get it out of him; he just told me.”
“It sounds like you talked about some pretty intimate things,” Emerald says, wiggling her eyebrows at me.
I suddenly feel like I should be keeping more of my interactions with Greg to myself. Some of the moments between us were very nice and almost . . . private. I don’t recall ever feeling that way about a man before. I’ve always shared everything with my sisters.
“Smitty stopped by today,” I say, hoping a change of subject will make this weird feeling I have go away.
“What did he want?” Emerald asks, frowning.
“You’re probably not going to be happy about what he wanted.” Both my sisters stare at me, waiting. “Believe it or not, he asked me out on a date.” I cringe.
Emerald gasps.
“Are you kidding me?” Amber shouts.
I hold out my hands like two stop signs. “Shhh . . . geez . . . I didn’t say I was going out with him; calm down.”
“But . . . ,” Emerald says, stopping when she can’t find her next words.
“I told him no, obviously, but isn’t that weird? That he’d even ask?”
“Of course it’s weird,” Amber says. She pats Em on the hand. “Don’t be upset, sweetie.”
Em pulls her hand away. “I’m not upset. He’s just a big doofus.”
I nod. “He is a big doofus. A doofus with a nice butt, but still . . . I told him we have a rule; we don’t date each other’s exes.”
Emerald sighs and glares at me. “He’s not my ex. We went out two times. We had sex one time. That does not make him my ex-boyfriend.”
I raise an eyebrow at her. “Are you telling me I could go out with him if I wanted to?”
She shakes her head rapidly. “Don’t. You’ll regret it. He’s seriously strange.”
“He’s not strange; he’s harmless,” Amber says, scolding our sister.
Em sticks her tongue out at Amber. “You’re just saying that because he watches your bees for you. But trust me, he’s weird.”
“I’ve known Smitty practically his whole life, and I’ve never seen him act strange, other than this one time,” I say, looking at Amber for confirmation.
She shakes her head at me. I think we’re silently deciding together that Emerald is hurt that they didn’t go out on another date, and this is what’s behind her opinion of him.
“Okay, whatever you guys say,” Em says. “But you didn’t sleep with him, so maybe you should consider that you don’t know him as well as I do.”
Amber puts her hands on her hips, pretending to be offended. “Are you trying to tell us that you did not give us all the details of that encounter? Did you fail to tell us about Smitty’s perversions? Because that would violate the terms of our sister contract.”
Em shoves Amber until she falls over on the bed. “We don’t have a contract. But I told you everything. Almost everything.” She casts her eyes down.
I wave my hands and close my eyes. “I do not want to know any more details than I already do. Please. Let’s just leave the past in the past.”
“Yes, let’s. What else did you and Greg talk about?” Emerald asks.
I’m glad for the subject change, so I answer her question, even though it’s not exactly going to lighten the mood. “He asked about the stupid settlement again.”
“Why would he do that?” Emerald sounds annoyed.
I shrug. “I have no idea. He’s brought it up, like, four times so far.”
“He hasn’t asked me,” Emerald says. “Not beyond that one time when he first showed up.”
“Me neither,” Amber adds. “Why is he so hung up on you and your settlement?”
“I don’t know.” I look at both of them in turn, waiting to hear their theories.
“I think he’s just using it as an excuse to talk to her,” Emerald says.
Amber’s smile turns sly. “I agree. It’s quite the conversation opener, isn’t it?”
“All it does is make me mad. I don’t know why he keeps bringing it up, but whenever he does, I tell him I’m not interested and change the subject.” Usually. Today during our walk I gave him my rationale for saying no, which will hopefully stop that conversation from ever happening again.
Emerald and Amber share a secret look that makes me instantly suspicious. “What?”
“Nothing,” Amber says, trying to look as innocent as possible. Unfortunately, I know her way better than this. I also know Em better than this. I turn to give her a sad look. “Em, are you keeping secrets from me? That hurts my feelings.”
“Don’t say anything, Em,” Amber warns. “She’s trying to trick you.”
“I think we should tell her.” She gives Amber a pleading look.
“Tell me what?” I glare at both of them. “You guys had better not be keeping secrets from me. Now, that is a violation of the sister contract.”
Em puts her hand on mine and strokes my fingers gently. “We’ve just been talking about it . . . and we were thinking maybe you should take the settlement.”
I pull my hand away from hers. “Why? Are you?”
“I’m thinking about it.” She cringes.
I look over at Amber. “What about you? Are you thinking about it?”
She shrugs casually. “I am. I don’t think it’s such a big deal anymore.”
“What happened to change your feelings about all this?” They’re wearing guilty looks, but their chins are looking pretty stubborn too.
“We’ve just gotten to know them better,” Em says. “They’re nice guys, you can’t deny that.”
“I agree they’ve been nice since they’ve been here.” That�
��s about as much as I’m going to concede. Regardless, it doesn’t change the past.
“You haven’t spent much time with them yet, but if you did, I think you’d see what I see now,” Em suggests.
“I work with them and now I’ve been living with them,” says Amber. “They are good people. I think they were just young and stupid and full of themselves back when our mothers first knew them.”
“I think you’re probably right about that,” I say, lifting my chin. She’s not changing my mind.
“We’ve all done stupid things in our youth, and I’m sure I’m going to do more stupid things before I become old and wise like our mothers,” Amber says, shrugging. “I don’t think people should hold that against us in the future. And to be honest, I could do a lot of good with ten million bucks.”
I fold my arms over my chest. “Oh yeah? What’re you going to do with it? Buy another condo?”
“Actually, I was thinking about donating some of it to a homeless shelter so my friend Ray has a place to sleep at night.”
The guilt threatens to drown me. “Oh. Well. That’s nice.”
“And I was thinking about opening up an art school,” Emerald says. Her face turns pink, and she drops her gaze to the bed. “But maybe I wouldn’t be a very good teacher. But if I had money, I could hire one.”
I reach out and take her hand. “I know for a fact that you would be a wonderful teacher. Look at how much you’ve taught Sadie already.” It’s true; the little girl is very young, but her drawings show promise, and there’s a definite difference between what she’s doing now compared to what she was doing when she first arrived here. My sister is one of those rare artists who can not only create but who can also teach others to create.
“What would you do with ten million dollars if you had it?” Amber says. “Just pretend it’s not coming from the band. Pretend it’s coming from an anonymous donor and you can do anything you want with it.”
Emboldened by my sisters’ selfless ideas of helping others, I let my mind go to the place I wouldn’t let it go before and dream. Greg’s voice comes back to me. “I’d hire somebody to watch over the shelter while I went to vet school.”
