“You’re checking him out.”
A heat totally unrelated to the sun suffused her cheeks. “And?”
Danny’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “You’re not going to deny it?”
“No. Am I supposed to?”
“Well, yeah.”
“Why?”
Danny shrugged. “I don’t know, because you’re my sister, and I don’t need to see you checking guys out.” He glanced briefly at Merrick. “I’ve seen him check you out, too. You guys need to at least learn to be subtle about it.”
“We’re grown adults, Danny.” She raised the water bottle and took another drink.
Merrick hadn’t pressed her any further since their kiss in the ballroom. He was leaving the decision to her. But even if he hadn’t said anything directly, he’d not stopped flirting with her, hadn’t stopped looking at her with undisguised want in his eyes—the same way she looked at him when she thought he wasn’t looking.
Adalynn’s nights had become torturous; she’d lie in bed, replaying their kiss in her head, fantasizing about it going beyond that. It was harder and harder to resist him with each passing day.
He was just so…charming when he wanted to be. And seeing the interactions between Merrick and Danny…
“Isn’t he…old?” Danny asked.
Unable to hold back her laughter, Adalynn nearly choked on her mouthful of water. She swallowed it down and wiped her lips with the back of her arm. “He’s not that old.”
“Did you ask him?”
“No, but he doesn’t look that old.”
“You both realize I’m only thirty feet away, don’t you?” Merrick asked without looking up from his work.
Adalynn ducked her head and covered her face. “Kill me now.”
Danny laughed. “See! That’s what I expected.”
With a smile, Adalynn raised her head and looked at Merrick. Sweat glistened on his brow as he moved along his row, pulling deep-rooted weeds with practiced ease. Adalynn picked up a fresh bottle of water and stood. Dizziness assailed her immediately; she sat quickly and closed her eyes.
“You okay, Addy?” Danny asked; his voice, playful only a few moments ago, was now thick with concern.
She took in a deep breath and released it slowly. The dizziness faded, but it left a cold, heavy lump of dread in her belly. “Yeah. I just stood up too fast. I’m fine.” She smiled at her brother and placed a comforting hand on his arm. “Don’t worry. Let’s get back to work.”
Danny eyed her skeptically for a moment before finally nodding. He picked up his basket and went back to picking weeds. Adalynn walked over to Merrick; the mud was already hardening beneath the intense sun.
She stopped next to Merrick and held the bottle out to him. “Here. You need to take a break, too.”
“Perhaps.” Merrick turned to face her, tugged off his gloves, and accepted the bottle. He twisted off the cap and drank half the water in one go. His gaze settled upon her as he replaced the cap; his eyes narrowed slightly, and a little crease appeared between his dark, thick brows. “You’re sure you’re all right, Adalynn? You look pale.”
“I got a little dizzy from standing up too fast. I’m feeling fine now.”
The skepticism remained in his expression as he handed the bottle back to her. “I will finish the weeding with Daniel. You go ahead and check the tomatoes, as you’d intended.”
Adalynn nodded. She returned to the bench to set down the water bottle and collect her basket before walking over to the tomatoes. Their strong, earthy scent enveloped her, but it wasn’t enough to distract her fully.
She shouldn’t have been irritated that Danny and Merrick were worried about her, and she wasn’t, at least not toward them—but she hated feeling like an invalid.
She forced those thoughts aside and focused on her work, picking the plump red vegetables—or were they fruits?—from the vines and placing them gently into the basket.
The dizziness came and went like lazy waves rolling ashore and then slipping back into the sea. She paused each time it came on, closing her eyes and willing the sensation away before resuming her work. She didn’t want to stop; she didn’t want to stop feeling normal, didn’t want Merrick and Danny to stop treating her like normal.
Before long, a throbbing headache joined the dizziness, but it didn’t recede. The dread she’d felt earlier solidified.
I’m just overworking myself. I’ve felt fine for days. I…I can’t relapse now.
She sensed Merrick’s eyes on her with increasing frequency; whenever she glanced at him, he was staring at her, his expression troubled. After what couldn’t have been more than ten or fifteen minutes, he declared their work finished for the day.
“So long as the weather permits, we will continue tomorrow,” he said, setting the basket full of pulled weeds a few feet away from the other containers, all of which were laden with produce. “I think we’ve earned a good meal and some relaxation, have we not?”
“I’m starving,” Danny said.
“And I am unsurprised,” Merrick replied. “Young Daniel and I will carry our harvest to the porch. Would you go inside ahead of us, Adalynn, and decide on something we can cook?”
Adalynn nodded, and—not wanting to concern her brother—forced a warm smile onto her lips. “All right.”
The intensity in Merrick’s gaze made it clear that he saw through that smile. Thankfully, he didn’t call her out on it.
“Aww. We gotta carry all these? My arms are killing me, and there’s no way we can get it all at once,” Danny said as Adalynn turned and made her way toward the house.
“It will take several trips, undoubtedly,” Merrick said. “It should be a pleasant task, as I’m sure you’ll complain throughout.”
“Just for that”—Danny grunted—“you won’t hear anything from me.”
“Curse you, boy. You certainly know how to punish me for my sharp tongue.”
Adalynn’s lips curled into a genuine smile despite her discomfort. She glanced over her shoulder to see Danny carrying a basket of cucumbers, lagging just behind Merrick, who had the basket of tomatoes in one hand and the basket of squash in the other. Danny’s features were contorted in a scowl, while Merrick’s lips were upturned in a smirk—at least until he looked at her.
His smirk fell into a frown, and that worried crease reappeared between his eyebrows.
She turned away and left the garden.
I’ll be fine. It’s just a combination of the heat and the hard work.
To her relief, she did start to feel better after entering the relative coolness of the house. As much as she enjoyed sunshine, it didn’t seem to agree with her these days. She’d probably just pushed herself too hard and underestimated the heat; she’d likely been on the verge of heat exhaustion or something like that.
She made sure to drink some more water before washing her hands and face. Then she went to rummage through Merrick’s pantry. “What to make for dinner…”
After sliding aside several cans of vegetables, she discovered a box of spaghetti with a jar of tomato sauce conveniently close by. Bingo. It’d go perfectly with the homemade bread—which was only slightly burned—she’d made the day before.