I shook my head stupidly.
“I know you said you and me are never happening, and I know how much of that is to do with the fact that you can’t trust me. So here’s me being honest with you in the hopes you’ll reconsider. My father wants anything he can’t have. He wants to end the feud in the way my grandpa did and his father before him. But I don’t want to see you hurt. And I can offer inside information and protection against my father. Just think what a long way it’d go in mending the feud if we had something?”
Shock was too mild a word. I stood there mutely as Chase pumped the BB gun and lined up a shot, trying to parse what he’d just said. Patton had set Chase on us, and he’d told me because he wanted to … date me?
Nothing made sense. But one thing I knew was that his proposition was impossible, not only for what it would do to my family here at the farm, but because I didn’t want him.
There was someone else I wanted, someone I’d told myself I could never have. Once upon a time, that might have been true. But not anymore.
I saw it in Jake’s eyes, felt it in his touch. I’d witnessed his kindness, the gentle care that lived in him. It’d just all been buried inside layer after layer of armor. But with every day, I’d earned his trust a little more. And one by one, the layers had fallen away, leaving only the man he really was.
And that was the man I wanted.
The realization was a whip crack, snapping my consciousness to attention.
When I caught myself, I packed the knowledge away to address the problem in front of me.
“Chase …”
He unsquinted an eye in order to glance at me, his lips higher on one side. “You’re not going to shoot me down while I’m in the middle of winning your favor, are you?”
I laughed, my eyes flicking to the striped awning. Ping.
“Oh shit. You are.”
When I glanced at him again, he was still smiling, though now it was resigned. “I get it. I’m the enemy, right?” Ping.
“It’s not that,” I lied, hating to let him down. “I just … I have a lot on my plate. I only have a few more weeks to turn a profit on the farm, or Jake’s going to get it, and I’ll have to leave.”
“Right … the bet.”
“The bet,” I echoed ominously. “At least it’s friendly now. A few weeks ago, I didn’t know that I’d get a fair chance. But after today, I think I’ll have put a big dent in the margin.”
“I can’t imagine you’ve made enough to cover all the debt.”
My brows drew together. “I was referring to the cost of starting up the store and what it took to put today together. What do you know about our debt?”
Chase shrugged and lined up another shot. “I mean, everybody knows Brent was in trouble. I don’t know how much, just that the debt’s there.”
He was lying, but I didn’t know why, nor did I know what exactly about. But I made a note to find out.
I changed the subject, not willing to discuss the farm’s finances with him any more than I already had.
He fired the gun again and hit another bullseye. The carnie scowled at him.
“You’d better watch out,” I said out the side of my mouth. “I don’t think Reggie is amused.”
A chuckle. “Told you I was an ace.”
I turned to face his profile, leaning my hip on the rail in front of the booth. “The truth is, I’m so busy here that I don’t have time for anyone else. Not until the matter of my inheritance is settled.”
“So what I’m hearing is, there’s a chance.”
I laughed. “That’s what you heard, huh?”
Reggie interjected with, “Which one do ya want?”
“The pink kangaroo, if you would, Reggie,” Chase answered.
With a sigh, Reggie used his stick with the hook on the end and brought down a big, fluffy marsupial with outrageous felt eyelashes. He handed it straight to me, giving Chase a look.
We wandered away, heading toward the funnel cakes.
Chase was quiet for a minute. “So once you win the bet and Milovic’s all settled, you’ll have more time. And then I’m going to take you on a date.” When I laughed again, he added, “In the meantime, friends?”
“Friends.”
“Great. Then how about brunch?”
“You’re relentless. Has anyone ever told you that?”
“A time or two. It’s genetic. And anyway, friends have brunch. We can go to Debbie’s Diner when Presley’s working, if you think we need a chaperone.”
I gave him an amused look and sighed. “Rain check?”
“All right,” he said, stopping. He turned to me and extended a hand. “But you’re gonna have to shake on it.”
I shifted my prize to my other hip and took the offering, giving his hand a pump.
“Now let’s platonically share a funnel cake before my stomach loses its voice.”
With a laugh, I followed him to the line as he told me about a camping trip the Joe’s crew had all gone on, but I only half listened, too preoccupied to do anything but smile at him.
Jake was right. Patton was after us, and he was using Chase to do it. I’d been used, but Chase had come clean before I was taken advantage of. He was honest in an effort to build trust. I’d seen a glimpse of that little boy who’d shared his dessert with me in the fourth grade. The kid who’d been a friend to me when I’d been left alone in the world. And I couldn’t help but imagine we could be friends. Maybe his honesty would bring Jake around.
Jake.
My heart climbed into my throat and stuck there.
It should have felt complicated. I should have shied away from the thought. But instead, I found hope. I found possibility. I found the thrill and fear that Jake could be everything for me, if we could uphold each other’s trust.
And if he felt the same way.
17
Heights
JAKE
From my perch in the hayloft window, I could see all that Olivia had done in a sweeping panoramic.
Below me bustled what appeared to be the entire town and half the town next door, the hum of the crowd far enough away that I couldn’t make out a single voice other than the occasional burst of laughter or a cheer from the direction of the carnival games.
I’d spent the day going about my duties—heifers needed milking regardless of the holiday—and for a while, I kept myself busy in the barn where I could keep an eye on the animals we allowed to be petted, ready to pounce should the need arise. But it never did.
Little kids and plenty of adults stood beyond the pens, cooing and smiling at the animals. Olivia had rented a tent, and we’d put up a temporary pen for the goats and the piglets with a farmhand inside to help the kids and make sure no one got bitten. The calf pens were busy with people bottle feeding them through the fences.
I didn’t think there was an unhappy face in the whole place.
Other than mine, I supposed. But that was just how my face looked.
But even I couldn’t muster up a complaint, seeing everyone so happy. The delight on their faces as they fed a calf or held a carrot as a baby goat nibbled on it. After work, I’d gotten myself cleaned up and wandered around. Picked up some barbecue, had a couple of beers. Within about an hour, I had enough peopling, so I’d put Bowie to bed, snagged a sixer, and climbed up in the loft to watch.