Chapter 1 #2
Welcome to ! If you’re here, it’s because you love the rural lifestyle, whether it’s farming, ranching, or some supporting industry.
Maybe you just live in the country and love the country life.
And wouldn’t it be great to find that special someone to share your love of the slower-paced lifestyle with? You’ve come to the right place!
Slower-paced lifestyle? Kyle just shook his head and chuckled under his breath. He worked his ass off day and night, always rushing here and there to try to get everything done. There was nothing slow about his lifestyle. He read on.
Fill out your profile as accurately as possible to help you find the best possible match. Don’t be afraid to include everything you’re looking for in a relationship. It’s better to scare someone off than waste your time with someone who isn’t the person you’re looking for.
First, he had to set up an account. He chose a user ID, tractorboy34, and a password, lookin4love. They wanted his name, address, and telephone number for security purposes, so he gave them his whole name, Emmett Kyle Miller. Then he ran into a roadblock.
It’s best to use a good photo, and the more current, the better. If you don’t have one, try to get someone to take one for you. A picture from a phone’s camera is usually good enough, and make it casual and fun.
Casual and fun? Kyle dug around in his phone until he found a pic of himself that Constance had taken that spring at a family gathering.
He remembered what she’d said: “Here. Post this on your social media and let’s see if you can get a date!
” Yeah, she’d never really dreamed he’d use it that way.
He uploaded it to the site and kept going.
Gender, height, weight, eye color, hair color—male, six feet, one hundred ninety-five, hazel, light brown.
His lifestyle: Kyle wrote that he farmed, but he didn’t say what or how many acres.
Then it asked if he owned or rented the place where he lived, and if he had a vehicle.
It asked about past relationships and children; he put “widower” and “one daughter.” Pets—no.
Livestock—no. Well, chickens, but they weren’t really livestock, were they?
He didn’t think of them that way, so he didn’t change the answer.
Then the questions became more subjective, and he tried to answer them truthfully.
Where would you love to go on your dream vacation? “Paris.”
What’s your idea of a romantic date? “Gourmet dinner, dancing, and a walk in the moonlight.”
Are you doing what you always dreamed you would with your life? Is there something else you’d want to do other than what you do now? “I’m a farmer. It’s all I ever wanted to do.”
What’s the most important quality a wife can have? “Being kind and loving.”
What’s the most important quality a husband can have? “Being kind and loving.” Why would that be different for men than for women? Kyle couldn’t see that it should.
How do you feel about kids? “Love them.” Truth was, Kyle would’ve loved to have more kids, but it hadn’t seemed possible until he’d started thinking about dating.
He answered about twenty more questions, then hit “Complete My Questionnaire” and waited. It only worked for about thirty seconds and his computer made a beeping sound. When he hit “Results,” he was shocked.
Over four hundred women’s faces popped up on his screen, all potentially good matches.
Good god, more than four hundred! He’d always been fond of redheads, so he set the filter and it automatically pulled out all the ginger women, then thought better of it and turned it off.
At six feet even, he’d never really wanted to date a woman taller than him, so he set a height parameter.
That only ruled out two women. There was another filter that let him choose states where the potential dates might reside; being in western Kentucky, he checked off Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri, Illinois, and Indiana, all bordering states.
That narrowed the playing field down to twenty-five women.
Twenty-five. That was a good number to start with.
He’d start with the ones closest to him and work his way out.
Traveling to meet them would be easier that way.
He was in the Madisonville area, so he picked out one in Hopkinsville.
After he’d read her profile information, he sent her a message on the website.
It automatically showed his ID, so he started with his name.
Hi. My name is Kyle. I don’t know if you’d be interested, but I’d like to chat with you sometime and see if we have anything in common. If you’re interested in talking with me, just contact me here. Thanks.
He didn’t know what else to do. Ashley Blake. Pretty name. She had full lips and beautiful green eyes, and she looked like someone who’d be kind and sweet. All he could do was wait.
“See you this afternoon, babycakes!” Kyle called to Myla as she got on the bus.
She turned and gave him the stink eye. Yeah, she hated that nickname, and he laughed every time she glared at him because he’d used it.
Standing there at the end of the drive, he let his mind drift back and imagined he was standing with Becky in front of him, his arms wrapped around her, as they watched their beautiful daughter ride away.
She’d been so excited when they’d discovered they were having a girl.
Raising her alone was something he’d never imagined, and yet there he was, doing exactly that.
Gravel skittered here and there from his steps as he headed back to the house.
It would be a long day in the fields, but he was ready.
A fresh pot of coffee, sandwiches, and some fiber bars would hold him until dinner time, and he’d been dressed for two hours.
There’d been an hour of paying bills and checking on orders before he’d even gotten Myla out of bed.
By noon, he would’ve already put in what would’ve been considered a full day for most people.
He’d gotten his little cooler loaded and was almost ready to head out the back door when his phone pinged. Probably Constance, he figured, wanting to know if they wanted to come to dinner that evening. But when he pulled up the phone’s screen, he was shocked.
Hi! My name is Ashley. You sent me a message. The answer is yes—I’d love to meet you. Please let me know how you want to proceed. Thanks and have a great day!
Kyle’s heart skipped a couple of beats. What should he say? He decided simple and straightforward was the way to go, so he sent back a brief reply.
Hey! Sure—I’d like to meet up with you somewhere. Where do you work? I could come that direction easier than you could, I’m sure. Just let me know. And thanks for replying.
Before he could get outside, he got another message.
I work at my dad’s furniture store, but I always wanted to be a farmer’s wife. Hope we can get together soon. And I’d be glad to come there. I’m free this evening.
Kyle’s eyes went wide. Wow, she sure is eager. And she always wanted to be a farmer’s wife? That’s a little forward, he thought. Of course, getting it over with would be a good thing, so he messaged back.
That would be great. Would you like to meet at the steakhouse down on LaClede? Do you know where that is?
In seconds, she sent back her own response.
Yeah, my grandmother lived in Madisonville. I can be there at 7:00. Sound good?
Kyle sighed. Boy, she wasn’t wasting any time! He thought for a minute before he typed his response.
Sure. Sounds good. I’ll be wearing a red and blue plaid shirt and I drive a gold Chevy Silverado. See you there.
He’d no more than sent it when he got a smiley face emoticon. Then it hit him.
He had a date that evening. Good lord, what was he thinking?
Every emotion he hadn’t dealt with before came rushing in.
There was abject fear—what the hell was he doing?
And the guilt was overwhelming—what would Becky say if she knew?
Not to mention the fact that he’d have to leave Myla with someone.
Sure, Constance would watch her for him, but did he really want that?
She had homework, and clothes to be laid out, and a bath, and …
Quit freaking out, he told himself. It’s just a woman you’re going to meet. There’s no commitment, just a friendly get-together. It took him twenty minutes to get his breathing under control.
He’d decided to disc a couple of fields that day, but by the time he’d gotten his head together, he realized he only had time to do the largest one before Myla came in from school.
Worse yet, he almost tore up his equipment twice because he ran it over a stump at the edge of the field, a stump he knew full well was there.
Just not paying attention, that was all in the world it was.
He was so preoccupied with the prospect of the coming evening that he was rattled and scatterbrained, and he found himself wanting to back out.
But he couldn’t. He had to go through with it.
There was a first time for everything, and this was his first time for dating after all the years that had gone by.
God, I bet I’ll be terrible at this, he thought as he drove the tractor back to the equipment shed.
He’d barely gotten in the house when he heard the bus, so he stepped out the front door to let the bus driver know he was there.
Myla bounded down the bus steps and ran straight for him, and he grabbed her and slung her up in the air before hugging her tightly to him.
Do I tell her? he wondered. No. She didn’t need to know what was going on.
Myla was settled down and working on her homework when he called Constance to see if she’d mind watching his cherub that evening. “What’s going on?” she asked. He was hoping she wouldn’t, but there it was. Now he had to tell her.
“Oh, I’m going to the steakhouse on LaClede to meet a woman I contacted on one of those dating sites,” he told her.