“Sold!”
Rob tried to catch sight of Lucy’s face, but it was impossible. She was huddled with Fiona and the group, her back to him, whispering.
His heart sank. Hopefully Lucy wasn’t too upset. Maybe she had a plan for getting another one?
The auction went on, and Lucy rejoined them for the last item: a large tractor.
“Well?” asked Claire. “How are you feeling? How’s Fiona?”
“Good. And no one cares about that old tractor,” she said confidently. “We did pretty well. Not great, since we lost the harvester, but one of the guys is pretty sure we can afford another one.”
“Will the farm live on?” Lillian asked.
Lucy beamed. “I think it will.”
“I’m so proud of you!” Claire said, pulling Lucy in for a hug.
“Thank you.” She broke out of the hug and looked at Rob. “I bet Carriageway is furious that the bidding didn’t go higher on everything.”
Marty cocked his head to the side. “Why?”
“Because I thought they get all of the profits as part of the bankruptcy deal?”
Rob watched as everyone’s eyes slowly drifted to him. He cleared his throat. “Maybe, maybe not. To be honest, I don’t see a representative here from Carriageway, so they’re probably past the point of caring.”
Lucy’s face hardened, the smile disappearing as though it had never existed. “Do you have to ruin everything?”
He paused. “I thought that would be a good thing?”
Her only response was to glare at him, and Lillian stepped in to fill the silence. “At least Rob didn’t try to outbid you for all that stuff.”
Lucy crossed her arms. “I guess.”
He turned to Lucy, studying her pinched face. How could she be so sour after such a success? Had she really thought he was here to bid?
“Lucy,” he said slowly. “Were you afraid I was going after the farm equipment?”
“Afraid isn’t the right word.” Lucy rolled her eyes and laughed. “More like I didn’t trust you.”
He smiled. “Ah. That’s much better then.”
Claire, a smile dancing on her lips, cleared her throat. “Dinner tonight? I have a table saved at the restaurant.”
“Yes!” Lucy clapped her hands, recovering from her salty mood. “I’ll go and tell Fiona and the gang.”
“What time?” Marty asked.
“Eight,” Lucy said. “At the hotel. Will Emma be able to come?”
Marty nodded. “Yeah. We’ll be there.”
Lillian grabbed Lucy’s arm, stopping her from leaving. “It’d be polite if you invited your friend, too.”
She stopped to look at Rob.
Clearly, she didn’t consider him a friend. Rob’s heart sunk at the thought. He didn’t even mind if Lucy kept blasting fire at him with her words – he just liked being in her company. She was funny, whip-smart, and had achieved a near miracle with this farm.
She was also beautiful, but that wasn’t something he could allude to without having his head bitten off.
