‘A saviour? What are you talking about?’
Really? Was he that stupid?
‘You had to jump in to tell your high-flying friends that I wasn’t just a farm girl, so I wouldn’t embarrass you, yeah?’ she hissed.
His face screwed up like newspaper.
‘That’s not it at all, Laurel. Not at all. I would never be embarrassed by you,’ he said earnestly. ‘You’ve accomplished so many amazing things. I just wanted people to know that,’ Nate shook his head and looked around, as if searching for divine inspiration. ‘I was embarrassed at how Alex and Lucia were treating you, acting like they were malicious, jealous teenagers. Pathetic.’ He shook his head. ‘But embarrassed? By you? No. Never.’
He looked back at her, holding her gaze defiantly. She assessed him warily.
‘Right, well I need to go and see Benji in the cow house.’ She took a few steps away from him, before turning back, ‘Thanks for bringing me here, Nate.’
As she walked up to the cow house, she tugged her phone out of her bag and googled how far the local train station was. Christ, that would be an expensive taxi ride.
‘Laurel, don’t be like this!’ Nate jogged after her. ‘I have absolutely had enough of Alex acting like a fucking twat all the time. I’m not letting him get away with it anymore, and I’m sorry you got caught in the crossfire just now.’
Laurel crossed her arms over her chest and raised her eyebrows at him.
‘I just think it’s amazing what you’ve built at Little Willow Farm and wanted to tell my friends. You won’t blow your own trumpet, so I wanted to do it for you.’
Laurel watched Nate colour slightly. He was impressed by her? Perhaps what Jess had said was right, and Nate had brought her to meet his friends because he, what, liked her? But he had made it clear that this was a friends thing.
What was she supposed to say?
‘Uncle Nate, Laurel, come on!’ Benji cried.
Nate looked over her shoulder and pasted a smile on his face.
‘Coming, mate,’ he said and his eyes fell back on hers. ‘Look, if you don’t want to be here, I’ll take you home. Or if you don’t want me to, I’ll organise something else for you. I just thought you could do with a break.’
Nate took off to Benji, leaving her standing in the ridiculously large garden.
Well, now she felt like a shitbag. She’d had a go at him, and all he was trying to do was help. That’s what friends do, wasn’t it? He was there for her through the George Hibbert fiasco, a quiet, solid presence that she knew she could turn to. If only her heart would stop clenching every time their skin brushed. Having Nate Daley as a friend was better than not having him at all, she supposed. She followed him quickly across the garden.
‘Nate,’ she called, and he turned, waiting for her to catch up. ‘I’m sorry, alright? Sorry. Alex just puts me on edge.’
‘Yeah, I get that,’ Nate said. ‘He’s a dick.’
‘I want to stay. I’m having a good time,’ she said.
The worry on his face smoothed into a slight smile.
‘Good,’ he said, after a long moment. Nate slung an arm across her shoulders. ‘Come on, let’s go and see this pregnant cow.’
Laurel’s stupid heart clenched again.
Nate
Laurel was so prickly sometimes. Couldn’t she just accept his help? He hadn’t lied; Laurel had built an amazing business, and quite frankly, Alex was a dick and needed putting in his place. Whatever. They were past it now and were standing in the farmhouse, with Stapleton, the farmer.
The others had joined them, and Owen was explaining how he had bought the farmhouse and some land. Even Alex was there, turning his nose up at the smell and Lucia was telling them about how she had bonded with a sacred Indian cow.
‘Laurel here runs a farm,’ Owen said and Laurel smiled at Stapleton.
‘Hard work,’ the old man told her, obviously dismissing her as a farmer, but Nate kept his mouth shut. He had learned his lesson there. ‘Cattle?’ Stapleton asked, and she nodded. ‘How many head have you got?’
‘Little over fifteen hundred,’ she said.
