Page 30 of The Reason I Married Him
I shake my head and move past him toward the four-by-four.
“Is that a no?”
“Tour’s over,” I say from over my shoulder. “Find something else to do. Hint: annoying me is not an option.”
And then I drive away, leaving him alone in the silos. I can’t deal with him, not right now. Not when he makes me feel far too inferior.
“There you are,”Echo says as she approaches with a bagged lunch.
I’m resting under one of our large oak trees, my back up against the trunk with my water bottle in one hand and an egg salad sandwich in the other.
“Hey, Echo,” I say. “How’s your day?”
“Great,” she says as she adjusts her straw hat and takes a seat next to me. “Can I join you?”
“Of course. Want to lean against some of the tree trunk?”
She shakes her head. “No, that’s okay.” She lets out a deep breath and says, “Gosh, I don’t know if you’ve met him yet, but Wyatt, he’s something else.”
Finally, someone to bemoan with.
“Oh yes,” I say as I set my water down and pick up a piece of my apple that I cut up. “I’ve met him. He really is something else.” My voice is full of sarcasm.
But Echo doesn’t seem to pick up on it as she says, “I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone as smart as he is.”
Great!
He got to Echo.
Last night, it started with Ethel, then he made his way here, captivated Mac with a present, and then charmed Ryland, Hattie, and even Hayes. This morning, he won over Parson and now he’s won over Echo. He’s probably already made the rounds to Esther and Aggie. They’re going to love him more than they love me. Because how can you not like the charming, smell-good guy over the curmudgeon wench in a pair of khaki shorts with a terrible sock tan?
At this point, I’m sure if my life were one of his novels, everyone would be cheering on Wyatt while they complained about how annoying I am, wishing I was the one the villain captured only to have my body parts sold on the black market. Isn’t that how it always goes, though? The man gets the praise, while the woman gets the blame?
Will that happen here on the farm? They’re all going to love him, and I’m going to fall to the wayside, so much so that they’ll form a mutiny. Then I’ll be asked to step down from my role while Wyatt takes over. And then what? I don’t ensure my sister’s dreams come true, while Wyatt turns the farm into a fully high-functioning modern farm with cows and milkers and creamers and God knows what, with the most beautiful cherry trees George Washington’s ghost has ever seen. People from miles away will visit the farm to look at the cherry trees.
News reporters will flock to Almond Bay to interview the man-wonder who turned around a potato farm that saved the planet with a thing as simple as starch.
He’ll receive awards.
The president will call and name a day in honor of him where everyone gets off work. Wyatt Day. But I won’t get it off because I’ll be working a retail job somewhere open on WyattDay because that’s the day that everyone buys a potato, tosses and kisses it, thanking Wyatt for his contribution to society.
“Uh, you okay, Aubree?” Echo asks, probably stunned by my silence. If only she knew what was going on in my head.
“Oh yeah, sorry. Just blanked there for a second.”
“That’s okay. You must be tired. Running a farm is not easy.”
Apparently not for Wyatt.
“Yeah, just busy, and you know, I gave Wyatt a tour this morning, so I’m trying to catch up from that.”
“Parson was telling me Wyatt owns half of the land. Is that true?”
Ugh, Parson. I love him, but sometimes he can’t keep anything to himself . . . just like the rest of the town.
“That is correct. Wyatt is Clarke’s brother, and it was part of the will that when Cassidy passed, some of the land stayed within his family, so yes, he owns a portion of it.”
“Makes sense. Well, he’s done an amazing job on the chicken coop.”
