I sighed again with that dopey smile on my face, so preoccupied with my imagination—Jake conveniently slipped into something more comfortable, which turned out to be a pair of very tight boxer briefs—I didn’t see Chase until he slid into the booth where Presley had just been.
With a jolt out of my reverie, my cheeks flushed hot.
He wore an amused expression. “Where were you just then?”
“Oh, nowhere in particular.” I glanced around to see if anyone was watching. They were. “What are you doing here?”
“Breakfast, same as you. Mind if I join you?”
“If I say no, will it get weird?”
“Probably,” he said with a smirk as he unfurled his napkin roll.
When I laughed, I sounded like a stranger.
Maybe Jake was right. God, I hope he wasn’t right.
Swiftly, I changed the subject. “You’ll be happy to hear that Esther P. Higgenbottom has found some prime real estate in my bedroom. She can see the whole farm from the window.”
“Lucky her. That’s a view I wouldn’t mind myself.”
I was pretty sure he didn’t mean the farm. I made that weird laugh sound again.
Presley saved me, her weapon of choice in hand. She slid the coffee in front of me, her eyes on Chase and the fake waitress smile on her lips. “What can I get you to drink?”
“I’ll have coffee too, and the eggs Benedict.”
“Done.” She extended a hand for his menu. “And for you? We’re having a sausage special—two for the price of one.”
Her tone coupled with the expression on her face was so suggestive, I gave her a quit fucking with me look and snapped my menu shut. “I think I’ll have the Benedict too.”
She took my menu. “Oh, you’re gonna love it. The sauce is super hot and creamy today.” She winked and made the okay gesture with flair only a perv can pull off.
Chase watched us, clearing his throat to cover a laugh.
“She’s insufferable,” I said.
“She really is. How’d the Fourth end up?”
With me dry humping Jake in the barn. “Really well. We made enough that even Jake couldn’t argue.”
“That’s a first.”
“Tell me about it. How’s … everything at Patton?”
He shrugged. “Same old. Dad’s been out of town overseeing the farm in Washington, so he’s left me in charge.”
“And how do you like that?” I took a sip of my coffee.
“Is there any liking it? If I’m honest, the farm’s depressing—all that cattle looking miserable in the milking stalls, getting pumped and pregnant until they’re ground chuck. Too many to pasture, too many to let roam, just living their lives shoved tail to nose in a barn. But I’ve been raised for this since I was in utero. Not much to do but eat the shit sandwich.”
I frowned. “That’s terrible. Your cows.”
“Not my call. I learned very young that nothing mattered but following my father’s direction, especially if I wanted my inheritance. Which I do. Very much.”
“Maybe one day, you can change things.”
A dry laugh. “If I’m lucky. But I have a feeling he’s going to outlive us all, and if I change a single thing, he’d haunt me.”
“Let’s hope not,” I said with a small smile.
“I’m glad you’ve figured out how to turn a profit. Maybe you’ll be able to get the finances straight after all.”
“How do you know about it?” I asked, unable to keep my curiosity to myself.
“My father makes it a point to know everything about everyone.”
“Ah.”
He watched me for a second. “You know I’m not like him.”
I nodded, taking a sip so I didn’t have to answer. I wanted to believe he wasn’t, but imaginary Jake monkey screeched from my shoulder, calling for caution.
“Anyway, I don’t want to talk about that.”
“What do you want to talk about?”
Presley walked up with his coffee. “How about pancakes? Do you both like pancakes?”
“Who doesn’t like pancakes?” Chase asked.
“They’re the original dessert for breakfast food,” I added.
“Please, discuss,” she said.
My phone buzzed in my pocket, and when I pulled it out to send the call to voice mail, I saw it was the big house’s number.
I frowned. “Sorry, I have to take this.” I hit the green button and brought the phone to my ear. “Hello?”
Kit was hysterical, her voice shrill and quivering. “Livi, there’s a fire. There’s a fire—you’ve gotta come. The hay field is gone. It’s gone, Livi—gone—and it spread to a pasture where the teenagers are, and those calves we just moved—”
“I’m coming.”
“Hurry.”
“I will.”
I was already out of the booth. “There’s a fire on the farm,” I said against the pain in my chest. It felt like a bomb had gone off in my rib cage.
Presley’s hand covered her mouth. Chase tried to stand.
“No, please don’t. I can’t show up with you.”
A somber nod from him, and I was flying out the door.
The radio was off, the windows cracked, and my thoughts were jumbled up and frantic. I couldn’t hear anything past the ringing in my ears as I flicked through scenarios. I could see the smoke billowing all the way from town, as white as the clouds it reached for.
The ten-minute drive felt like an hour, and when I pulled into the drive, I rumbled down it faster than I should have, skidding to a halt in front of the house and cutting the engine. I didn’t think to grab the keys as I ran in the direction of the staff, including Kit, who ran for me.
I didn’t see Jake.
“Oh, Livi,” Kit cried, bursting into a fresh bout of tears. “The crew, the calves out there, the firetrucks pulled through, and I just can’t believe how fast it caught. It was so fast,” she rambled.
My hand was on her arm, but my eyes were on the crowd. “Where’s Jake?”
“He went with them. All those calves …” She dissolved into tears.
I took off running for the truck.
Kit called after me as I sped in the direction of the smoke, leaning over to open the glove box, digging blindly for a bandana I kept there for when I wanted the windows down. When I reached the pasture, I slammed the brakes hard enough to drift.
I couldn’t get to the huddle of trucks fast enough. A dozen farmhands were herding the young cows, trying to keep them calm. Their eyes were ringed white as they stamped and stomped and ran in every direction, and the crew all stood in loose lines on either side with shirts and bandanas tied around their mouths and noses, yelling H’ya! and Get on! and whooping with their arms out. Thank God none of the cattle were fully grown—it would have been expoentially more dangerous.
When my bandana was tied, I sprinted for Mack, who stood next to the firetrucks, as spooked as the calves.
“Mack!” I screamed, panting. I took him by the shoulders, met his eyes, waited for recognition.
“Livi, you can’t be here.”
“Neither can you. Go to the truck. Where’s Jake?”