13. Clover
THIRTEEN
Clover
Brooks surprised me twice in less than twenty-four hours, with the second being this morning. Apparently, he deemed it a good idea for the three of us to go down to the local market.
Still, it’s nothing compared to what he did last night. As I sit in the passenger seat of the truck, Darby tucked in the back and jabbering away, I still can’t stop thinking about last night.
We almost kissed.
I wasn’t expecting the conversation to go where it had in the slightest, but I’d been expecting a kiss even less. The lingering sensation of Brooks tucking a hair behind my ear haunts me even now, and I have to stop myself from glancing over at him.
“Are we there yet?” Darby asks from the back. It’s the fourth or fifth time he has, and I roll my eyes with a smirk.
“Almost, buddy. Just need to find a place to park.”
Brooks drives a little way past where the street is blocked off for the market—apparently a regular sight during the summer—and we get out of the truck when he’s found a spot a block or so down.
As we all walk up, I’m pleasantly surprised by all the local seller stalls, farm animal rides, food vendors and trucks galore, and more that I can’t see because it all stretches down the block.
“Wow, this is intense! They really do this all the time out here?”
Darby is walking between Brooks and me, and he takes the chance to answer the question, stepping right over his dad’s words.
“Oh, yeah. These things are like constant. That’s what Rosie helps with.”
I smile, noting the way Brooks frowns at his kid for interrupting, and bite back a laugh. “Oh, right. That makes sense, then.”
“This is one of the bigger events, but it goes on the entire week. Mostly gives the kids something to do during summer break. And it beats hanging around in the heat with nothing else going on.”
I nod as we walk inside. There’s no admission fee or anything like that. Just individual vendors and rides that you can pay to enjoy. Seeing a stand that’s selling homemade juice blends, I know where I want to stop first.
“Oh, thank God. I’m dying of thirst.” I look down at Darby and hold out my hand. “Want some?”
“Heck yeah!” He grabs my hand, and we dart over to the stall to order our drinks. “Do they have things like this in the city?”
“Umm, kind of. But not quite this big. There are sellers in the park, and occasionally, you’ll find some cool events going on downtown. Definitely no sheep or cows, though.”
Darby laughs, and I pay happily for his watermelon-strawberry juice and my starfruit-lime chiller.
“Enjoy, folks. Everything was grown right here on our farm, so if you like it come on back. We’re also selling at the coffee shop just over there.” The light-brown-haired woman points behind her, and I take note of the adorable café I’ve been visiting every now and then since I arrived.
“Oh, awesome. I’ll definitely check it out when I’m there.”
We head back to Brooks, who’s standing against a lamp post, his arms crossed over his chest, and Darby holds up his drink.
“You didn’t get one. Want some?”
His dad grins and takes a sip, nodding as he swallows. “It’s good. A little sweet for my taste, but good.”
“You might like mine better then.” I smile back at Brooks as he glances over at me, an undeniable heat in his eyes. “It’s really fresh…crisp.”
Nodding again, Brooks takes my cup, his fingers brushing mine. A skitter of electricity zaps through me, and I have to suck in a sharp breath.
We’ve touched before. This is stupid, but because of last night, everything feels different.
“Well, hey. Look what the cat dragged in.”
I turn over my shoulder as Brooks finishes his sip of my drink. Three people walk over, and I can tell already they must know who he is because of the massive smiles they’re all wearing.
“Daisy!” Before I can blink, Darby runs forward toward a young girl I didn’t notice. “Mia!”
Oh, there’s another one, too.
“Holy shit. Well, hey there, Mason.” Brooks steps forward, reaching around one of the guys to clap him on the back. “Bridget. Didn’t expect to run into y’all down here. But why not. It’s a gorgeous day.”
I smile as eyes find me over Brooks’s shoulder, attaching the names to the people and wondering who the third one is.
“And this is?” The nameless guy asks.
“Oh, where are my manners.” Brooks turns around with a grin, gesturing toward me as he hands back the drink. “This is my nanny, Clover. Clover, this is Bridget, Mason, and Xaden.”
I shake hands with everyone, Bridget’s brow going up as she’s the first to take my hand.
“So this is Clover.” Her smile is lovely, beaming from ear to ear, and I can tell she’s clearly with Mason. “We’ve heard a lot about you from this one. Says you’re a big help around the ranch.”
My eyes flare wide, and I look back and forth between Brooks and his friends. “He did?”
Brooks glares playfully at Bridget, his hand going to the back of his head like it does when he’s put on the spot. A habit I’ve noticed after the past couple of weeks.
“I may have mentioned that I appreciate your help with Darby. Don’t go getting ideas, though. You still can’t lift a hay bale for shi?—”
“Language, please.” A woman walks up from behind Xaden, holding hands with another small child, a little boy no older than three. “Remus has been a parrot as of late. Hi, Brooks.”
“Ivy,” he replies, his eyes going to her very round belly, “jeez. When are you due again?”
“Any minute now, actually. Hoping all this walking does the trick. You must be Clover.”
I reach out to shake her hand before gesturing protectively around her stomach. “God, are you sure you should be walking around? I’ve…well, I’ve never been around someone so pregnant.”
Ivy laughs, waving off my concern. “Ah, don’t worry about it. Walking is good for getting labor going. And I’m desperate at this point. If this baby doesn’t come soon, we’re going to have to resort to more personal tactics.”
She wags her eyebrows at Xaden, the innuendo clear. Everyone giggles, and the kids are all jabbering with each other and then tearing off toward the petting zoo.
“We should probably follow them.” Mason gestures with his head toward them. “They’re going to spend everything we gave them on sheep feed.”
The day changes from what I expected, but I can’t deny that seeing Brooks interact with his friends is cute and funny, and even charming.
The tension that’s been lifting his shoulders appears to relax, and I get to see and learn more about what he’s actually like.
All the kids and I head over for ice cream, followed quickly by Ivy and Bridget while the guys all “talk shop.” I have no desire to see what that’s like, but in no time, we’ve all had our fill of chocolate chip cookie dough cones and are bursting at the seams.
After a little while, the families with younger kiddos need to go, and it’s back down to just Brooks, Darby, and I. Of course, the moment we’re left with much more attention on each other, Brooks and I go back to acting… weird around each other.
“Can I go look at the stuff over there?” There’s a booth with figurines and memorabilia revolving around anime and video games—a shock for such a small town—and Darby holds up his hands as he begs his dad to go take a peek.
Sighing with a poorly hidden grin, Brooks agrees, and Darby scampers off toward the veritable “candy shop” while his dad and I take a break under the shade.
We don’t talk. It’s beyond awkward, and I have to physically distract myself from staring at Brooks as he folds his arms over his chest, making the seams of his shirt stretch around his muscles.
Stop it, Clover. Come on.
After the almost-kiss, though, I’m a damn wreck. I’m not even sure why I’m so worked up. It was clearly just a fluke, and with everything Brooks talked about yesterday, it’s probably a good thing we didn’t actually kiss.
He said a lot about his past relationships, and I picked up on some serious commitment avoidance vibes. Not that I’m ready to jump into anything serious.
Hell, I don’t know what I want.
All in all, ignoring the situation seems like the best plan, or at least the easiest. I know there’s something between us; no one could deny that, but I’m not sure if I want to be the one to change Brooks’s mind.
I mean, I’m certainly not in his age range, and there’s the he’s-my-dad’s-best-friend thing to consider.
Immature as it might be, we’re both going the avoidance route. And I don’t see that changing.
Shaking myself as I suck in a deep breath, I push off from where I was sitting on a low bench.
“I’m going to walk around. If you guys leave this area, come find me.”
Brooks nods. “Can do.”
Meandering with no destination, I find myself walking by a large stage that has been set up in the center of the park that splits this section of the street from the next. I can tell it’s been set up for a musical performance.
Amps and lighting are there, ready to go whenever the performer is up on stage, and I see Rosie standing with her back toward me.
I should go say hi.
Hurrying over so I don’t get trapped behind the crowd, I get up to Rosie, smiling as I tap her on the shoulder.
“Hey, Rosie. Thought I’d come—” She turns around, and my jaw drops as I see her face is bright red and stained with tears. “Oh, no. What happened?”
“Clover!” She snatches my hands, holding onto them like I’m a life raft. “My performer called like five minutes ago to cancel. Food poisoning! I don’t know what to do.”
My heart sinks. “Oh, hun. I’m so sorry. That’s terrible. There’s no one who you had on standby or anything?”
Rosie shakes her head. “No, we hardly ever have anyone sign up to perform. Ben was our go-to guy for these kinds of things, and now we’re screwed.”
“Jeez, I’m sorry. I wish there was something?—”
“Have Clover sing!” Darby cuts in, and I whip my head down toward him, my heart rate immediately spiking.
“Darby? When did you get here?”
“You heard her sing, Miss Lane. Clover should sing!” Darby doesn’t even look at me, his hopeful stare pinned on Rosie.
When I look back at her, she meets my eyes with cautious optimism, and I feel like I’m going to be sick.
“Clover,” Rosie squeezes my hands, “you’d be saving my butt. I’d owe you everything if you sang.”
Standing there with the ice cream I just mowed down churning in my stomach, Rosie and Darby just stare at me like I hold the keys to the kingdom.
Well, shit.