Chapter 8 #2
Theo topped off everyone’s glasses. “Every single day for years, Levi drove down to Lucky Penny Farm and bought a pie from Kasi’s fruit stand.
Day after day, he paid for that pie and left.
Then one day last summer, it was hot as blue blazes.
Kasi passed out, and Levi caught her. He said he knew in that moment she was his. ”
Boone nodded, trying to stop himself from comparing him and Mila to Levi and Kasi.
Doing so wasn’t helping his resolve. Not that he’d caught Mila when she fell off that ladder and knew she was his.
Shit like that didn’t happen. But there was a contrary voice in his head insisting he’d definitely felt something when Mila landed in his lap.
He shut that voice down. All he’d felt was lust, because it had been a long time since he’d had a beautiful young woman in his arms.
“That’s a nice…story,” Boone said, not sure how else to reply.
Theo must have heard his skepticism, because he continued trying to make his case. “I was once exactly like you,” he said, mimicking the voice of an old man. “But then I saw the light.”
They all chuckled.
“The first day I met Gretchen, the same thing that happened to Dad, happened to me. I shook her hand and boom. It was like I’d been struck by lightning. I knew in that second that I’d met my soul mate, that she was meant to be mine.”
Boone leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms. “And Kasi and Gretchen just went along with these revelations?”
Maverick shook his head. “Of course not. Kasi thought Levi was off his rocker at first, especially when he started beating on his chest like goddamn Tarzan, pointing at her and declaring her ‘his woman.’”
Theo smirked. “But he wore her down eventually. I’ve had to take a slower approach with Gretchen, because she’s just gotten out of a very bad relationship.
I’m not going to lie though. It’s been hard not to release my inner caveman and carry her off to my lair.
I’ve had to learn how to practice patience. ”
Theo’s three brothers cracked up when he declared himself patient.
“Bro, I’m not sure you can brag about being patient when you hit her with that ‘you’re mine’ line five weeks after meeting her,” Jace joked.
“Hey,” Theo protested. “That was five weeks longer than Levi made it.”
“He makes a valid point,” Maverick said, before turning to Boone. “Theo and Levi made the mistake of telling Edith about the love-at-first-touch curse and—”
“It’s not a curse,” Theo corrected.
“Curse, legend, whatever,” Maverick continued.
“Edith has been spreading the story far and wide around Gracemont, and now, whenever one of us single Storm guys goes out, we’ve got these women we’ve known our whole lives going out of their way to bump into us.
Literally. Like we’re going to fall head over ass in love with them or something. ”
Boone chuckled. “Glad I’m not one of the Storm brothers, then.”
Theo shrugged. “Not sure it’s only the male Storms affected. Lucy fell pretty hard and fast for Miles and Joey. There’s just as good a chance Nora, Remi, and Mila are going to find their true loves the same way.”
With one touch.
Boone wanted to kick his own ass for wondering if perhaps Mila had felt something like that for him that first day. There was no denying the spark between them had flashed hot and in an instant.
“Not sure the curse extends to the girls,” Maverick said, refusing to give up his terminology. “Because Mila hasn’t mentioned the lightning, and she’s out on yet another date with the pastor tonight.”
Boone was instantly overcome with a jealousy he didn’t want to feel, because she wasn’t his. After what he’d learned about her inexperience, she couldn’t be. Christ almighty, he’d break a woman as sweet and innocent as Mila.
Jace waved the waitress down, ordering a platter of wings for the table. “I can see Mila as a pastor’s wife. God knows she’s sweet enough.”
The other brothers seemed to agree—but Boone didn’t.
Sure, Mila was sweet as pie, but there was something more. He recalled her description of her ideal man. How that man would look at her and see her for who she really was. Mila was inherently sweet and kind, but underneath, there was a woman kicking and screaming to be seen, to go wild.
Then, he recalled her last conversation with her father, how it had impacted her, shaped and molded her into the woman she was today. How different might Mila be if her parents hadn’t been killed in that car accident? Would she still be a chatterbox? Still be as wild and unrestrained as Remi?
He wasn’t sure why it felt as if he was the only person who could see all the things Mila tried to hide about herself. After all, he’d only known her a couple of months, while her family had been present for every part of her life.
Regardless, he had to hold himself back from contradicting them outright, though Mila deserved more than the pastor, and that wasn’t jealousy speaking.
It was the fact he’d seen them dance, witnessed one of the man’s lackluster good-night kisses.
There was no spark between her and Joshua, and Mila deserved a goddamn spark.
“I’m surprised Mila went out tonight,” Theo said, pulling Boone from his thoughts.
“Why?” Jace asked, before Boone could.
“Gretchen said she looked pretty wiped today. She was actually worried maybe she’d gotten the flu from Mom and Dad,” Theo replied.
Maverick mentioned that Rex and Claire had caught some nasty bug a few days earlier, but so far, no one else on the farm had gotten sick.
“Wouldn’t be surprised if she did,” Everett said.
“She was the one who took care of them and kept things going at the B&B. I stopped by to check on them and found Mila in the kitchen making chicken noodle soup and baking her sourdough bread. Apparently, the only thing Dad could keep down for a couple of days was tea and toast, so Mila made sure he had a steady supply.”
“Damn,” Maverick said with a grin. “Might be worth getting sick for some of Mila’s homemade bread. Heaven on earth.”
All four brothers seemed to be in agreement on the bread, but Boone couldn’t get past the fact that Mila had once again taken too much on her shoulders, playing nurse while running the inn and, no doubt, keeping up with her countless other chores.
“Do you think she looks worn out because of all that extra work?” Boone said, pissed that the other guys weren’t seeing it on their own.
“Yeah. She probably is.” Theo rubbed the back of his neck. “Damn. I guess we should have stepped in and each of us taken a shift. But Mila always just takes over, and she makes it look so easy. Never complains, never asks for help.”
Boone was slightly mollified when each brother agreed they shouldn’t have placed all the care of their parents on Mila’s shoulders. He couldn’t deny she had a way of simply assuming tasks without ever complaining or letting on that it was too much.
Despite Boone’s determination to stay away from Mila, he was helpless to keep from watching her.
As such, he saw all the hours she put in at the brewery and winery, how she was using the “slow winter months” to do a deep cleaning of the cabins, how she spent hours with Claire, preparing Sunday dinner.
He’d watched as she slowly redecorated every business, replacing the Valentine’s décor with St. Patrick’s Day shamrocks, and God only knew how many scarves and blankets she’d crocheted for the less fortunate so far.
She worked tirelessly, never saying no to anyone who asked for help. And on top of all that, she still found time for Sadie each day.
“Hey, guys.”
Boone glanced up as a woman approached their table.
“Hiya, Tina,” Maverick said cheerfully. “Have you met Boone Hansen, our new vineyard manager?”
There was something about the way Maverick introduced him that made Boone wonder if the man was taking a page out of Edith’s matchmaking book.
“I haven’t,” Tina said, her smile wide. She looked to be about his age.
She was pretty enough, though she’d used a heavy hand when putting on her makeup, and he was sure her blonde hair wasn’t natural.
She had a curvy figure, but she wasn’t trying to show it off with overly provocative clothing.
“I’m Tina Reynolds. Edith Millholland mentioned there was a new vineyard manager at Stormy Weather Farm. ”
Boone recognized her name as one of the women Edith had told him about. And now he was wishing he’d paid better attention, because he couldn’t recall if Tina was one of the two divorcees or the widow.
“Nice to meet you,” he said. Tina reminded him a little bit of Hope, one of his occasional hookups from Williamsburg.
“You too. How are you liking our little town?”
“Gracemont is great,” he replied. “It’s a terrific place to live.”
“It really is.” Tina glanced over her shoulder as a slow song began to play. “Could I interest you in a dance?”
He didn’t want to, but he saw Maverick watching them with great interest, so he accepted.
Maverick was the primary source for information on the farm, as gossipy as a gaggle of old women.
Boone didn’t doubt for a moment that his dance with Tina would make its way through the grapevine to Mila.
And while his goal wasn’t to hurt her, he thought perhaps it would help her move on if she believed he had, as well.
He followed Tina to the floor. A wise man would have concentrated on the woman in his arms, but Boone spent too much of the dance comparing it to the one he’d shared with Mila.
What he decided was there was no comparison.
“Edith tells me you have a daughter,” Tina said, breaking the awkward silence between them.
“I do. How about you? Any kids?”
She nodded. “Two boys. Eight and ten. I moved home about a year ago after my divorce. I’ve got full custody, and I needed my parents’ help since I work full time.”
“I have full custody too,” Boone said, trying to maintain his side of the conversation.
“It’s hard, isn’t it? I mean, we spend so much of our time raising our kids, there’s never time left for us. This is the first night I’ve been out in months,” she confessed.
“Same,” he agreed.
“My ex was a real piece of work, so I’m glad to have him out of my hair. But even so, a woman has needs, and with kids…it makes it so hard to date or spend any real time with someone.”
Tina toyed with the hair at the nape of his neck, pressing herself more firmly against his chest. She was making it perfectly clear she’d like to get to know him in a more carnal way.
If Boone had a lick of sense, he would take her up on the offer.
She was exactly the kind of woman he should be pursuing.
“I’m sure it does.” That was the wrong answer, but Boone had no interest in going home with Tina.
“You know, my parents have my boys all night. Maybe we could move this party to my place, get to know each other.”
The song was coming to an end—mercifully—so Boone slowly lowered his arms, taking a step away from Tina. “I’m afraid I need to get home to my daughter,” he lied.
Tina took his rejection with good grace. “I understand. Maybe some other time.”
He nodded noncommittally. “Maybe.”
“Edith said she gave you my number.”
“She did,” Boone said, not bothering to add that he’d thrown it away.
“Great. Well, call me sometime,” she said, giving him a finger wave before rejoining her friends at a table in the corner.
Boone returned to his own table, sinking down heavily, wishing he’d brought his own vehicle. Glancing around, he realized they were down one man. “Where’s Theo?”
“Gretchen texted to say she and Edith were wrapping things up. He hightailed it out of here so fast, I swear he kicked up a cloud of dust behind him,” Jace joked, sliding over the platter of wings that had arrived while he was dancing.
Boone grabbed one, dipping it into the ranch, trying to hide his frown when the waitress brought over another pitcher.
Thankfully, they consumed that one more quickly than the first two, Maverick and Jace feeling no pain by the time he and Everett convinced them to call it a night. Boone offered to drive Maverick’s car, since he hadn’t had more than one beer.
Pulling up in front of the frat house, he shut off the engine, all of them climbing out.
Maverick gestured toward his car. “Go ahead and drive it to your place. I can come get it in the morning.”
Boone had walked from his cabin to the house, and he didn’t mind doing that again. “I’m fine walking. It’s not cold tonight and I wouldn’t mind the fresh air.” He didn’t dare mention he had an ulterior motive for making the trek on foot.
Maverick nodded, stumbling up the stairs with Jace, as Everett said good night.
Boone headed along the path that led to all three farmhouses. Ordinarily, he would leave it just after the B&B, taking the right fork that led to his cabin. Tonight, he continued on the left fork, walking toward Mila’s.
He wasn’t sure what his intentions were. He sure as shit didn’t plan to knock on her door. But he knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep without knowing if she’d made it home from her date safely.
There were no extra cars in the driveway, so it didn’t look like Pastor Joshua had come in for a nightcap. Part of him was tempted to sneak onto the front porch to make sure she hadn’t put the key back under the mat.
He shook his head. Yeah, he wouldn’t be doing that.
Instead, he skirted around the rear of the house, hanging close to the tree line, feeling like the world’s biggest creeper. There was a light on in the kitchen…and he could see Mila’s face through the window.
She was doing dishes.
Boone shook his head. Eleven o’clock at night and she was doing the damn dishes.
He growled to himself when she rubbed her eyes wearily, stretching her head from side to side to get the kinks out of her neck.
Boone remained where he was, watching as she made herself a cup of tea before leaving the kitchen, turning the light off behind her.
She needed a man to take care of her, to force her to slow down, to set boundaries so she didn’t work herself to the brink of exhaustion night after night.
Boone sighed.
He couldn’t be that man.
Moving on, he walked back to his cabin alone.