Whatever racket Nate had been making suddenly stopped as his back stiffened.
“Nate?”
Turning toward me, he held a circular device in his hand that reminded me of the robotic vacuum I kept in my apartment.
“Shit. I didn’t know anyone was here.”
“Clearly. Of course, you’ve been ignoring me all week, so how would you know if I were around?”
His gaze lowered as he set the device back on the workbench. “I haven’t been ignoring you, Alex.”
Releasing a puff of air, I told him he could have fooled me. “Besides dinner, you’ve been holed up in this shed, working. And not to mention, it looks like you haven’t slept at all. It’s not healthy.”
“I’m fine. Come here. Let me show you what I’ve been working on.”
Unable to help myself, I sauntered over to him, curious to see what occupied so much of his time lately. He began speaking, describing the device, its parts and capabilities, and explaining how it was a smaller prototype that would be developed on a larger scale. It was like Pig Latin to my ears, but I fed off his enthusiasm. It was plain as day that Nate was passionate about whatever he was working on.
“Want to head over to your parents’ house with me? I want to show this to your dad and go over a few things I discussed with him last weekend.”
I had no plans, which was why I was left wandering around the grounds of the bed-and-breakfast. Especially with the twins spending a lot of time with my mom, I was feeling… lonely. Normally, that didn’t bother me. I flourished in my alone time, never finding myself bored, but knowing one of my greatest temptations was so close gave me a creative block.
It didn’t matter whether it was a good decision or not. If riding over to my parents’ house offered me a chance to be alone with Nate, I was going to take it. Frankly, I missed him the last couple of days.
Like a lovesick puppy, I followed him back to the large farmhouse and waited for him to shower. He returned donning a pair of pressed pants, a white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled to his elbows, and a blue tie. Though I loved when he was casually dressed, I was growing really fond of the suit version of Nathaniel. His presence in the foyer called for attention, and he certainly had mine.
He turned down my offer to drive to Sunny Brook Farms, claiming he’d probably bring the twins back with him and needed the booster seats. I completely understood, but at the same time, I was a bit disappointed. I loved my vintage truck and always jumped at the chance to show it off.
With Nate’s project tucked securely in the back of the SUV, we traveled the ten minutes down the road toward my family’s farm. The fields of delicate wheat swaying in the breeze met us first, followed by a lengthy portion of white picket fencing. We approached the stone and metal signage for the farm, and my stomach did a little flip-flop as Nate’s gaze turned toward me for a second.
“We’re here,” he said.
I wondered if his ex knew what she’d had with him. Did her stomach flutter like an angry nest of hornets when he gave her even the slightest attention? Did his sexy smirk leave her panties soaked as it did mine? God, she was a lucky bitch to have him for the time she did. I was a jealous fool over nothing, because she gave him up, and now he was here with me, traveling down the gravel path that led to my family’s property. Even if he wasn’t truly mine, I had his time right now. And as he put the SUV in park, smiling at me in that way that left me reeling, I was going to enjoy every little bit of him I had.
Molly and Eloise found us around the kitchen island, sipping on some homemade sweet tea. They both hugged their father quickly, then wrapped themselves around my legs as if they hadn’t just seen me that morning.
Molly was still as energetic and outgoing as she had been, but it was nice to see Eloise coming out of her shell a bit. During meals, she spoke up more, not allowing Molly to dominate the conversation, and I even caught her dancing with her twin in the kitchen, something she hadn’t done when she first arrived.
I knew my mom was the reason. Marisol Easterly had a way of bringing out the best in people, and I loved her dearly for it.
Mom followed the girls into the house with an exhausted smile on her lips. My mom may have raised five kids, but I knew firsthand that handling the twins was something else entirely. Somehow, I was going to have to convince Nate to let us keep the girls at the house the next couple of days to give my mom a break.
Quickly, I grabbed my phone from my back pocket and shot a text out to Rory, asking if she wanted to come by the B&B’s pool this evening. I knew it was her last day of school, and the students let out around lunchtime.
I didn’t linger for her message. Instead, I rallied the girls, and we snuck into the pantry to find something delicious to make. By the time we came out with the fixings for a chocolate silk pie, Nate and my dad were nowhere in sight.
Mom helped us in the kitchen, instructing the girls which ingredients needed to be added first. I was in charge of helping them measure correctly. It was a recipe Mom and I mastered when I was in middle school. We no longer needed to read things out, since we knew the measurements by heart, but we made sure to find the old recipe book for Molly and Eloise.
I disappointed them when I said the dessert wouldn’t be ready for a couple of hours, but I mixed them up a small fruit salad from our garden.
“Want to help me pick the vegetables for tomorrow’s market?” I asked the twins, who jumped at the chance to get dirty.
I didn’t have my truck to gather the crates, so I’d have to stop by early in the morning, but it was no hardship. This weekend should have been Autumn’s turn at the stand, but I promised to fill in for her. I had nothing else to do except make a quick breakfast for the Sullivans.
The girls dashed in and out of the rows of late spring vegetables, admiring the tomatoes and cucumbers as they went. After I set out baskets for them to pluck the red and green goods, I went to work gathering a variety of peppers and squash.
Every week, we had a new bounty to bring to the market, and I adored that we got to keep up the family tradition. The small garden was started by my great-great grandmother, and my sisters and I worked to expand it, as farm-fresh produce became a hot commodity in our town. Corn was my family farm’s bread and butter, but the vegetable garden was something my sisters and I were proud to uphold.
“That was so fun. Can we do it again?” Eloise asked, covered from head to toe in dirt. Little smudges dotted her face, arms, and legs. Her clothes were completely soiled, and Molly matched her smear for smear. I couldn’t understand how they got so dirty plucking the vegetables, but I knew children were far messier than anyone realized. I even witnessed Rory covered top to bottom in dirt before, and she was the teacher.
