Page 26 of Butter You Up

The second eyebrow joins the first. “Which kind?”

I roll my eyes. “The strawberry, duh.” It always sells out first, and I know he didn’t want to make it at all.

“What’s the bet?”

“If I win, you come to Sunday dinner. If I lose…I’ll…” I cast about for something Alex might want from me.

To my shock, Alex’s eyes dip to my lips. My stomach flips. Is that what he wants? A kiss? When his eyes meet mine again, he’s blushing, and his gaze darts away quickly.

I put my palms on the tabletop and lean in. “If I win, you come to dinner tomorrow. If I lose, I’ll kiss you.”

Alex goes absolutely stone still. I realize what I’ve done. I just propositioned my boss. What was I thinking?

I wasn’t, obviously. I need the money to pay for the batteries. I need to get my paycheck every week so I can pay Quinn as much as I can. My mouth has run away from me, but for a moment, I forgot Alex signs my paycheck and that he could fire me for inappropriate behavior.

Why do I always do this? From milking virtual cows to baby goat cuteness overload, I just can’t seem to keep my mouth shut around Alex.

Just when I’m about to blurt out a backtrack, Alex swallows. “Okay.”

Before I can say anything else, he bends down, grabs the ice chest, and stalks off.

Watching him leave, I realize that I’ve put myself in a really dumb position.

Because now I kind of want to lose.

* * *

I don’t lose. Strawberry production is high this week and we stay open longer than last week. I offer samples of the strawberry milk and really work it with the parents.Strawberries grown right here on the farm, never frozen. The dairy cows are raised in a pasture right down the road.Ethel and I talked about the recipe recently, so I’m educated enough to say things like,the syrup is made right over there by the farm’s owner,while I point to the big house. Ethel told me to make everything above board, she has a home processor exemption so she can legally sell the syrup and her jams. When the strawberries dwindle, I’ve got strawberry milk to sell, and I sell the whole damn lot.

For the first time, I text Alex.

Molly

Guess who’s coming for dinner tonight??

Alex

Okay.

I grin, hearing Alex’s gruff voice in my head. Texting gives me no context clues as to how he feels about losing, but I think I’ve figured out a happy compromise.

I run off to tell Ethel.

“Really?” she asks, hand to her chest.

“Oh, Kit too, maybe.”

Ethel waves it away. “We’ve got plenty of food.”

“Okay, I’m gonna finish clean-up. Smells great in here, by the way.”

I rush back to clean the pole barn bathroom and then check on Vaniel. Quinn’s been here, and while she’s tidied up, it’s a small space and thus contains barely controlled mayhem. The old batteries are still online; she’s getting the entire system set up first, and then when she’s ready, we’ll shut everything down and swap to the new batteries.

It sounds so simple when I think of it like that, but I have a healthy fear of being electrocuted, so I am very glad that I found Quinn.

I’m back in the house carrying a bean salad to the table when the door opens, and I hear an enthusiastic Kit. I hang back while Ethan and Colleen greet their brother. He has to bend down to hug Ethel.

We finally sit down to eat, passing big platters of food around.