Chapter 43
FORTY-THREE
“I walked the whole field today,” Silas says, nodding seriously as he keeps his eyes on the road.
“Plants are measuring about four inches now and are coming up even across all zones. And the low spot has dried out. And some weeds are coming in along the edges, so we’ll need to spray this week before it gets into the rows. ”
I smile as Silas turns his truck into the parking lot of the pub, the excitement in him seeping into me, too.
“I actually looked at the emergence timing data today,” I say as he shifts the truck into park.
“Most of it came up within the same couple of days. There’s barely any lag between zones and sections, so tubers should be forming consistently across the field.
Meaning an unlikely chance of uneven growth. ”
Silas smiles widely at me as he unbuckles his seatbelt, but before he can reach for the door, I lean over the console and curl my hand around the back of his neck, pulling him in for a kiss.
He hesitates for a moment as our lips meet, and I suddenly realize what I’m doing. We’re in a parking lot, where anyone could see us.
But seeing the joy in him and feeling his excitement… I just couldn’t resist.
Neither of us pulls away, though, and our hesitation fades as we lean into the kiss and hold it a moment longer before we pull apart.
I could do that all fucking day.
Reluctantly, I turn away from him to open the truck door and hop out. Why we decided to go out for a beer tonight instead of staying in so I could run my lips all over his body… I’ll never know.
That was some poor planning.
The pub is busy with a Friday night crowd, but we manage to grab a table along the far wall.
I smile as I slide onto the stool, remembering how we sat at this exact table when we first grabbed a beer after I came home.
When everything started to shift between us, and we finally let ourselves reconnect.
Thank fuck for that.
My eyes drift around the pub as I briefly let my mind wander.
Honestly… What were the chances that everything would line up like this?
That the company I worked for would sell, forcing me to question everything I thought I had figured out, and that it would lead me back here to PEI, the farm, and Silas.
Back where I belong, with the person I belong to.
“Keigan wants to know what your ideal date is.” Silas looks up at me from his phone with his brows drawn together.
I sigh. Fucking Keigan.
“Hi! What can I get you?” the waitress asks as she steps up to the table, setting two coasters down in front of us with an easy smile.
“Hey.” I smile back at her. “Two Gahan IPA’s, please.”
“Coming up,” she says with a nod, and takes off towards the bar.
When I bring my attention back to Silas, he’s staring right at me.
“Why does Keigan want to know what your ideal date is?” he asks.
I roll my eyes with a shake of my head. “He’s trying to make me a profile for some dating apps.”
His gaze practically burns a hole right through me as his jaw ticks.
And a smile tugs at my lips.
I can’t even feel bad about it because I like jealous Silas…
“Don’t worry,” I say, crossing my arms on the table and leaning in. “I told him I was taken.”
Silas’s eyes widen. “What?”
I nod. “Mm. Yeah. Something’s been stealing all my attention. It’s long and wide with clean, hard lines, is strong and hardy…” I tilt my head slightly and bite my lip. “Gets nice and loose when you work it just right, and gets real dirty, especially when it’s wet…”
He stares at me for another moment before it clicks, and he rolls his eyes.
“Here you go.” The waitress appears and sets our beer down in front of us. “Can I get you anything else?”
“I think we’re good for now, thanks,” I say.
“Sounds good, I’ll check on you in a bit,” she says, and heads off into the busy pub.
“Well, tell Keigan to fuck off with that profile shit before I do,” Silas mumbles, lifting his beer to his lips.
“Oh?” I ask, cocking a brow at him with a teasing smile. “You want to tell him I really am taken?”
But as I say it… it doesn’t feel like the joke I intended it to be.
Silas’s gaze meets mine, and we hold it for a moment as neither of us immediately jumps to argue against that idea.
But just as Silas’s lips part, a voice somewhere to my right makes both of us freeze.
“Levi fucking Campbell.”
My attention shifts to the bar, where Ashton watches me with a big smile.
Oh, fuck right off.
“Yo, dude,” he says, walking up to our table. “You visiting?”
My eyes flick to Silas as he drops his gaze to his beer, adjusting his hat on his head and shifting in his seat.
“Nope,” I say. “I live here.”
Ashton lets out a short laugh, his mouth twisting as he drags a slow, dismissive look over Silas.
My jaw tightens as I glare at Ashton, daring him to just fucking try to say something to Silas.
But he turns back to me. “Why the fuck would you move back here? Weren’t you in Toronto?”
I take a sip of my beer, keeping my eyes on Silas as he keeps his cast down, like he’s just waiting for something bad to happen.
“Because I wanted to,” I say simply, then look at Ashton again. “If it’s so bad here, why are you still around?”
He huffs with a smirk, then gestures to a table across the bar where a tiny blonde woman sits with a wineglass, tapping away at her phone. “I’m here with my fiancée visiting my family for the weekend.”
I press my lips together and lift my brows in a flat, unimpressed acknowledgment before I take another sip of my beer.
Silas shifts in his seat again, flicking a quick glance at Ashton before he brings his attention back to his beer glass.
Fuck, I hate this guy.
Ashton’s gaze drifts between us, and I recognize the change in his expression immediately. I’ve seen it too many times when he decides to make Silas his target.
Clearly, this asshole didn’t grow up at all.
“How’s the farm, Silas?” Ashton asks with a smirk.
“It’s great,” I say before Silas can answer, and both their eyes land on me.
Worry swirls in Silas’s gaze, and I fucking hate that this asshole still has this effect on him.
“We’ve been working on some great optimization strategies together,” I continue. “Silas caught the cause for some significant yield inconsistencies on one of the farm’s highest-producing sections, and we’ve been working to stabilize the output before it begins impacting the rest of the operation.”
Ashton stares at me with a furrowed brow until realization finally dawns on him, and he releases an incredulous laugh. “Wait.” He holds up his hand and glances between us. Then he points at me. “You work on the farm?”
I just nod and hold his gaze.
“Dude.” He stares back at me in disbelief. “Why the fuck would you give up Toronto to work on a fucking potato farm?”
My gaze slides to Silas, and I catch the flash of hurt in his eyes, even though it’s quick.
But I just smile.
Because my reason is sitting right across from me, in a light grey backwards hat with hair poking out the sides, a sexy-as-fuck black T-shirt showing off those sinful fucking forearms, and with the biggest, purest heart I’ve ever known.
“Because,” I say, keeping my eyes on Silas. “I realized what was really important.”
His eyes lift to meet mine, and I see some of the tension in him begin to slip away.
“That’s fucked, man,” Ashton says, and I release a sigh as I glare at him again.
He shakes his head as he looks between me and Silas again.
“Also, I heard you guys didn’t even talk anymore.
” Then he settles his gaze on Silas, and once again, that fucking smirk spreads across his lips.
“Guess no one else wanted to deal with you, eh? Had to drag him back and knock him down a few pegs so you wouldn’t be all alone? ”
Silas’s chest rises and falls as his grip on his beer tightens, and his jaw clenches.
I haven’t seen that look on him in a long time, but I recognize it well. He’s doing everything he possibly can to hold himself back and not knock this fucker to the ground.
Heat quickly rises inside me as my focus zeroes in on Ashton’s smug fucking smirk.
Fuck this shit.
Without another thought, I push to my feet and punch him right in the face.
The impact snaps his head back as he stumbles, and his hands fly up to his face as blood starts pouring from his nose.
“Fuck!” he shouts, and his fiancée shrieks from across the pub.
Silas jumps off his chair with wide eyes, reaching out to grab my arm as a bartender quickly starts making his way towards us.
I shake my hand out as pain radiates over my knuckles, and keep my eyes on Ashton, hunched over and groaning.
Fuck, that felt good.
“You deserved that a long fucking time ago,” I say to him. “I’m just sorry it took me this long to do it.”
I lift my hands in surrender as the bartender approaches and step backwards. “We’re leaving.”
Silas quickly pulls his wallet out, dropping cash on the table for the beer, then grabs my arm to pull me through the pub towards the exit.
Once we’re outside, he turns to face me, and a wide smile slowly spreads across his face.
“That was fucking awesome,” he says.
I huff out a laugh, rubbing my knuckles as the ache starts to settle in. “That felt fucking awesome.”
His expression softens as he pulls a breath deep into his lungs and lets it out slowly. His gaze drops to my mouth for a second, then back to my eyes. “Thank you.”
I step towards him as a crackling energy seems to form between us.
“Take me home, and you can thank me the right way.”