Chapter One – Alexandra (Alex)
“I see you took my advice and grew your cucumbers bigger,” old Mrs. Hensen said as she stroked one of the green vegetables in front of our family’s stand at the town’s farmer’s market. The lady seemed to have some erotic fascination with the small number of vegetables harvested from our garden that we brought to the weekend market. Last year, she requested we grow the cucumbers larger while simultaneously making eyes at our local hockey coach. It was just a fluke that this harvest, the cucumbers included, grew double in size.
But I wasn’t about to tell her it hadn’t been at her request. We needed her sale, after all.
“They are about four inches longer this year, Mrs. Hensen. And a bit wider too, I might add.”
“Hm… that’s good,” she said as she continued to stroke the vegetable. I tried not to make eye contact with her as she inspected the display, but that left me looking at the townspeople passing by the booth, who also seemed curious about what Mrs. Hensen was up to. She had a knack for causing secondhand embarrassment. Usually, my best friend Tami tried to join me when I covered the market stand. She absolutely lived for Mrs. Hensen’s shenanigans.
I waved at Lily and Brett Chisolm as they walked by, an all-knowing smirk growing on Lily’s lips as she took in who was standing at my booth.
“Well, I’ll take all you have of these, dear,” Mrs. Hensen said as she set down what I assumed was going to be her new best friend.
“What?” I said, in shock. I’d come to expect her shenanigans, but she rarely ever made a purchase. And if she did, it was only a vegetable or two.
“Yes. These will do quite nicely for pickling. My dear Roy, bless his soul, loved when my homemade pickles had lots of nubs like these. The stores just don’t sell them that way anymore. And don’t even get me started on the jars of pickles.” She followed that up with a disgusted sneer.
While I bagged up the cucumbers, I tried to ignore the watery look in her eyes as she spoke of her late husband. Mrs. Hensen had been widowed as long as I knew her, and she’d always spoken of a love so true that she never needed to find a replacement when he passed away.
I always wondered if a love like that only existed for a select few. People like Mrs. Hensen and my parents. I knew in my case I’d only be reading about epic love stories in the books I devour late at night. A romance like that wasn’t in the cards for me. Nor did I want to seek it out. I learned a long time ago that the only people I could rely on were myself and my family. There was no need to put my trust and heart in the hands of another.
“Here you go, Mrs. Hensen. Thirty of our finest Sunny Brook Farms cucumbers.”
Her strong but wrinkled hand reached out and grabbed the bag from my fingers. “Thank you, Alexandra. I’ll come back next week to see if you have any more.”
“Yes, we should have a new batch ready just for you.”
I turned my back to her and unloaded a crate of summer squash from the back of my vintage truck, placing them in the spot the cucumbers vacated. When I turned back around, I noticed Mrs. Hensen hadn’t moved away from the stand.
“Is everything all right?” I asked her.
I’m not sure what I expected her to say. Really, she was notorious for having no filter. But asking me if I was single was not at the top of my list.
“Um… yes, I am.”
“I should introduce you to my neighbor’s grandson. He’s just around your age.”
Wincing, I wrapped my arms around my waist, a mostly unconscious way of protecting myself. I’d been doing it since….
Shaking my head, I did my best to rid myself of the dark thoughts that tried to seep their way into my mind. It took years to learn how to keep the memories from taking over.
“What do you think, Alexandra?” Mrs. Hensen prompted, and I forced my arms away from my body to hang limply at my sides while I forced a pleasant smile. I must have failed, because the woman’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion and concern.
“I appreciate it, Mrs. Hensen, but I’m just fine. Thank you, though.”
“Well, maybe I’ll just put a bug in his ear to come visit the market then,” she said with a chuckle.
“You do that. Have a great day.” I did my best to dismiss her kindly, and luckily, she took my cue and waved before heading over to the jam and jelly stand a few spots down the line.
Exhausted from the conversation, I took a few steps back and leaned against the bed of my truck. I felt stuck, out of place. Not as in here, in my hometown, but in my life in general. Unlike my sister, Autumn, I loved everything about our tiny town of Ashfield. I loved the people just as much as I loved the gossip. But sometimes, it all felt like it wrapped itself around my neck and continued to tighten until I suffocated.
People smiled and waved as they passed by the booth—the one I used to share with my mom and sisters every Saturday, but now we just took turns. We’d been growing small vegetables at our ranch since we were little, and the town did their best to support us. The main business for Sunny Brook Farms was corn, and there was never any shortage of need for that. My parents did very well with their ranch.
But sometimes, I felt like that was all people saw when they looked at me and my sisters. We were the Easterly girls. The pretty blondes who obeyed their parents and rarely ruffled any feathers. That was all until my eldest sister broke everyone’s hearts and left as quickly as she could.
I idolized my older sister and wanted to spread my wings just as she had, but after watching how heartbroken my mother became in her absence, I continued being the obedient daughter and stayed, leaving my own dreams on the back burner. Ashfield had a lot to offer, and I knew whatever I decided to accomplish, I could do it right here.
But Autumn was back now, with a new husband to boot, and I couldn’t help thinking that maybe now was my time to see the world a bit.
