Page 24 of The Reason I Married Him
She purses her lips, clearly not amused. “Just stay away from the farm, okay? We don’t need you here.”
I wince. “Oh, I know you don’t need me, but I hate to say it, half this farm is mine, so you can’t really keep me from coming here.”
“I knew it,” she says, pointing her finger at me. “You’re here to try to mess with it. What are you going to do? See where you can make improvements and then sell your half to some developer who’ll put apartments right in the middle of the potatoes?”
“Do I seem like that kind of person?” I ask.
“I wouldn’t know, Wyatt, you haven’t been around.”
Got to hand it to her—good comeback.
She seems to be a bit stabby, though, so before this gets more out of hand, I decide it’s best I back away. “Well, I’m here now, so . . . I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Don’t bother,” she says, moving toward the door of her guest house. “I’ll be too busy.” And then she leaves me alone in the dark night with crickets chirping in the background.
Well . . . that went well.
I can practically hear the wedding bells.
Chapter Three
AUBREE
“It’s going to be a better day,” I mutter as I pour my coffee into my to-go cup, leaving just enough room for creamer. Hattie believes if you add the creamer first, you don’t have to stir the coffee because it stirs itself. She’s a liar. I know this because I tried it once and nearly grew hair on my chest from the gulp of black coffee I drank.
Never again.
I pour creamer into the cup and then give it a good stir before putting my spoon in my bathroom sink—because that’s the kind of life I live. No kitchen, just a dual-purpose sink.
I cap off my coffee, set it on my nightstand, then reach for my boots to slip them on. I chose a pair of khaki shorts for today, a bright red tank top, and my worn-out baseball cap that I pulled my hair through the back and made a messy bun. I also applied a good layer of sunscreen on my body because I plan to be in the sun today.
I adjust my taupe tube socks, making sure they have the perfect ruffle, and put on my shoes. I have one hell of a tan frommy high socks, but they’re necessary when I’m traipsing through the farm. Dirt and weeds and everything you can imagine get stuck in my shoes. I learned pretty quickly to wear work boots and high socks to protect my ankles.
Once dressed for the day, I stick my phone in my back pocket, grab my coffee, and then head out my door.
The morning has a crispness to it now that summer is ending, and a light amount of dew is on the ground from the night before. The sun barely peeks past the horizon, and I’m not sure Mac is even awake yet, so I quietly hop into my four-by-four and ride it around the backside of the guest house, taking the long way to the barn.
Sometimes I enjoy this route to check out the land, take in the mountains in the distance, and see how far this parcel has come since it was first purchased.
I’m pretty sure everyone thought Cassidy and Clarke had lost their minds when they said they were buying a farm since they hadn’t shown any interest in farming. But then Cassidy laid out her plan, and I found it fascinating that they could devise a plan and see it through. It’s why I’ve sworn to keep this farm afloat.
I just wish I could pinpoint the financial problem. I’m going to try to tackle it later this week. I think I need to be immersed in the day-to-day grind to clear my head and then look at the numbers with a fresh mind.
I wind through a gathering of trees where we promised Mac we’d build her a tree house, something we haven’t gotten to just yet, and then round the corner toward the barn, where I see a strange car parked in front. Huh, that’s weird.
Maybe it’s one of Esther’s or Aggie’s friends—they visit occasionally when they’re working. It’s cute. They’ll go around helping with certain chores and treat the work as something to do rather than a job. That’s what happens when you’re retired—they told me—they just want to be useful in some way. I’m not complaining.
I’ll take all the help I can get.Except Wyatt Preston’s.
I park next to the right side of the barn, where we’ve been slowly building a large chicken coop. It’s another new venture we decided to take on, something that wouldn’t create too much work but would also provide another source of income. We wanted to offer enough space so the chickens had grass and some free range to walk around, so we chose the right side of the barn. We made a feeding hole through the barn as well as a door next to the beds where they will be laying eggs so we don’t have to step over them to retrieve the eggs. We can just open the door and collect. It was well-thought-out, but because of that, it’s taken us longer to put it together.
We’re not in a rush, though. I’d rather it be right than have to make changes later. We plan on selling the eggs at The Almond Store. We’ll add a cooler to the store to sell the eggs, some honey, and possibly frozen cookie dough so people can slice it up and bake it themselves. Just some small ideas we’ve thought about to expand the business.
Coffee in hand, I hop out of my four-by-four and head into the barn, where I hear some voices in the distance.
“Good morning,” I call out.
“Morning,” Parson says.
