Bad Bunny’s Carrot (The Parkers’ Happy Ever After Holiday #3)

Chapter 1

SHELBY

Rain pelted down on the roof of my van as I rolled up behind the diner. Dora Lynn waited for me outside, sheltered beneath a wide black umbrella. She looked both ways up and down the alley, as if to make sure we were all alone.

I smiled and shook my head. “Don’t worry,” I told her as I got out, shouting over the sound of the downpour, “I wasn’t followed.”

Dora Lynn nodded solemnly and followed me to the back of the van. The skirt of her waitress uniform swished around her legs. Her sensible shoes splashed in the puddles on the uneven pavement. “Let’s see the goods, lady.”

Dora Lynn and I had been friends since we were children. Ferris, Kentucky was a small farming town. Everyone knew everyone and no one ever left. The friends I’d made as a child turned out to be friends for life.

I opened the back doors of the van. I couldn’t afford to get the farm logo painted on the side of it yet, so it was just a plain white van, which was why Dora Lynn always joked we looked like we were up to something shady back here.

Inside was a stack of cartons. “Eggs, fresh from my farm.”

My bright yellow rain gear kept me mostly dry and warm, but the occasional drop slipped down my neck, chilling me. My friend’s little game, pretending we were doing something illegal, was generally amusing, but this wasn’t the weather for it.

“Perfect.” Dora Lynn pulled a wad of cash from her apron.

“Oh, come on.” I took a step back and spread my hands. “You don’t have a check? This isn’t actually a drug deal. And I’m meeting my brother inside for breakfast. I don’t have time to count all this.”

“You’re no fun.”

I swatted rain at her. “I’m less fun when I’m getting wet.”

“Not me.” She grinned and wagged her brows. “You should find a man and try it sometime, you old spinster.”

I hefted the eggs, shut the van doors, and headed to the diner’s back entrance, where warm golden light spilled out into the gray day. “Finding a man is easy. Finding a good man is hard.”

“And finding a hard man is good,” she teased from behind me. “Sounds like we’re on the same page here.”

I snorted and placed the eggs on an empty shelf in the walk-in cooler. “I wish I was the woman you think I am. But that’s not the woman I see in the mirror.”

She nodded. “It’s because in a mirror, you see yourself backwards. I’m seeing you as you are.”

I wasn’t sure if that was profound or ridiculous, but it gave me pause regardless. I wiped residual rainwater from the tip of my nose. “And who am I? Because I’m still trying to figure that out.”

“You, my friend, are a woman who deserves to be happy.”

I huffed out a surprised breath, not expecting such a direct answer. “You’re my favorite customer.”

“I’m your only customer,” she said with a smile. Dora Lynn had taken over running her family’s diner when her parents retired, and she’d been more than happy to source her eggs from me. Considering the diner fed breakfast to half the town, she bought a lot. And thank goodness for that.

“I have like five customers now,” I said with a shrug. “I’m moving on up, Dora Lynn.”

“Well, good.” She poured a mug of coffee and passed it to me. “Just don’t forget about me when you’re big time, Shelby. I still need a truckload of eggs every other day.”

I patted her on the arm as I slid by her. “No matter what happens, you’ll always be a VIP.”

“Your brother is already here.” Dora Lynn nodded out toward the dining area. “He was getting grumpy, so I’ve been sending him bacon while he waits.”

“Careful. He might follow you home like a stray.”

“Yes, please.” Her eyes twinkled with laughter.

“Please, no.’” I shook my head at my friend and walked out of the kitchen’s swinging door.

My older brother, Shane, sat in a corner booth with a mug of coffee, munching on a strip of bacon. I joined him, taking off my raincoat and hat before I sat across from him. He didn’t even look at me. His gaze remained locked on the kitchen.

“Did Dora Lynn do something with her hair?” he asked, mouth half full. Or half empty, depending on how optimistic you were feeling.

“Good morning to you, too,” I said, rolling my eyes. “And her hair is the same as always. I mean, it looks great, but it’s not different.”

He shrugged. “Well, she looks nice today, is all I’m saying.”

My brother was a simple creature. He worked with his hands all day at his mechanic’s shop, so he always had a big appetite.

The way to his heart was absolutely through his stomach, which was also true for cholesterol.

And since I didn’t want him keeling over from a heart attack, I snagged the last piece of bacon off the plate in front of him and popped it in my mouth.

“Hey,” he said, shoulders slumping. “You never take the last piece. Everyone knows that.”

“There’s more on the way.” I sipped my coffee and settled back into the booth with a sigh. “Sweet, sweet caffeine.”

He turned to look at me. “Still selling your eggs?”

I wrinkled my nose in disgust. “I don’t like it when you phrase it like that. I sell chicken eggs, not my eggs. And some duck eggs.”

“Oh yeah?” He snorted. “Do the chickens get a cut of the profits? Do the ducks?”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “No, of course not.”

“Then they’re your eggs.” Shane shot me a smug grin. “The prosecution rests, your honor.”

I was about to tell him what I thought of that when Dora Lynn brought us two breakfast platters. We never had to order here since she knew what we liked. We thanked her, but when she said, “You’re welcome,” she was looking at Shane, not me.

Interesting.

Dora Lynn hustled off to shift more orders, and Shane dug in like he was ravenous. His plate had been loaded, courtesy of his secret admirer. I would have to keep an eye on that. They would make a great couple.

I forked some eggs up, happy knowing they’d come from my hens. “So what time’s your flight?”

“I need to be at the airport in a few hours.” Shane wiped his mouth with a napkin and leveled a serious look at me. “Is there anything you want me to tell Mom and Dad when I get to Georgia?”

“I have nothing to say to them.” I stabbed a sausage link with my fork and chewed on it angrily.

“I wish you all would make up already. This feud is dumb.”

“We’re not feuding. I just disagree with every single one of their life choices.” I put my fork down. “First, they sell the farm out from under us without warning. Then they sell our house and move out of state? Well, I’m just fine never talking to them again.”

“That’s dramatic,” he said with a sigh. “What were they supposed to do? Go bankrupt?”

“They were supposed to at least discuss it with me,” I said, throwing my hands up in frustration.

“They knew I wanted to take over the farm. So they kept the sale a secret from me. Cowards. And then they sold to Allory, the worst company on the planet. And what did Allory do? They shut the whole farm down and everyone in town lost their jobs. How’s that for a cherry on top of this whole shit sundae? ”

Shane chuckled. “No offense, but I won’t be passing any of those messages along to them.” He picked up his coffee mug and held it up like he was making a toast. “At least you still have Grandma’s part of the farm.”

“Only because Mom and Dad weren’t legally allowed to sell it.”

“Still,” he said, still holding out his cup.

I nodded and clinked my mug against his. “Yeah, it’s the only silver lining to all this. Grandma’s parcel isn’t much, but I’m going to make it work. I have to.”

“I believe in you,” my brother said with a smile. I rolled my eyes, pretending his support didn’t mean the world to me, even though it absolutely did. With Mom and Dad being selfish jerks, he was the only family I had left, and it was comforting to know he was in my corner.

He paid for breakfast, too. I hugged him and told him to have a safe trip.

He went out the front, and I exited through the kitchen, saying goodbye to Dora Lynn on my way out.

The rain had gotten worse while I’d been inside.

It was like stepping into a solid wall of water.

Good thing my work van was rugged enough to make it back to the farm.

I just hoped Shane didn’t run into any trouble with his flight.

On my way back to my place outside of town, I was on the farm road I drove every day, but I saw something I didn’t see every day. A very fancy car was stuck in the mud on the side of the road, hazards flashing, hood gaping open.

Beside the car was a man in a sleek raincoat talking on the phone while repeatedly wiping water out of his eyes. I wasn’t sure why he wasn’t inside his vehicle, like common sense would dictate, but in my experience, people who drove cars that expensive had more money than sense.

A voice in my head told me to drive on by. It wasn’t my problem. Mr. Money Bags could take care of himself. But then I imagined it was Shane stranded on the side of the road. I would want someone to stop and help him.

The wheel of fortune began spinning in my head. Was this a nice guy or a dick? Would he be grateful or gross? Future friend or cannibal killer?

I had pepper spray, although I wasn’t sure how effective it would be in the rain. It would probably get all over me instead of him. But hey, if he turned out to be a cannibal, at least I’d be well seasoned.

I needed to stop watching so many true-crime documentaries.

Chuckling, I pulled over, activated my hazard lights, and got out of the van. Raindrops pattered on my hood and the smell of mud and car exhaust filled my nose. “Need some help?” I called to him.

“Thank you,” he said, his voice loud and as booming as thunder. “But no, AAA is on their way.”

I laughed and shook my head, walking up to the front of his car. “I can promise you, they’re not. At least not for another hour or two.”

“How could you possibly know that?” he asked, eyes narrowed at me. Up close, the guy towered over me, even hunched a bit to avoid the rain. His bright green eyes burned with curiosity as he looked me up and down.

“Because my brother is the AAA guy in town and he’s on his way to the airport. Whoever they’re sending, it’s going to be a while.”

“Lovely,” he said, wiping more rain out of his eyes. “Do you know how to fix an engine?”

“No, but I know how to drive you somewhere dry and warm.” I smiled at him. “Just tell me where you’re headed.”

The man shot me a look of suspicion. “Gonna lock me in your cellar?”

The nerve of this guy, as if I would abduct him? “No, tools go in the barn.”

“Ouch.”

“You want a ride or not?” I asked, my patience wearing thin. “I’m not trying to get pneumonia out in this rain. Some of us work for a living.”

“I work for a living.”

I looked down at his feet, then back up at him, and blinked lazily. “Not in shoes like that you don’t.”

He scoffed, but the corner of his mouth twitched upward. “Fine, you can give me a ride.”

“You’re welcome to wait out here, if my offer of help is so annoying,” I said, planting my hands on my hips.

Even wet and not at his best, there was no hiding the strong jaw and sharp cheekbones. I could only imagine what he looked like when he wasn’t waterlogged like a shipwrecked sailor. I wondered if being dry would improve his personality, though.

He shook his head and held out his hand. “Thank you for the help. I’m Carter.”

I took his hand and felt an electric shock pass through me that almost knocked me out of my rainboots.

Clearly, Dora Lynn was right and it had been too long since I’d been with a guy, if just shaking hands with Carter had me sizzling for him.

Despite the rain and the chill, his hands were warm, and his grip was firm for a city boy.

“Shelby,” I said, hoping he couldn’t hear how breathy my voice had gotten.

We hopped in the van and I passed him a towel I kept in the backseat. He looked at it like it might be radioactive.

“It’s clean,” I said gruffly. Mostly clean anyway.

Carter wiped his face and hands and leaned back in the seat. “Thank you for stopping. It sucks out there.”

He was not my type at all—no flannel, denim, or farmer’s tan—but sitting this close to him in the van, I was having trouble breathing regularly. I glanced at him and his eyes met mine, forcing me to quickly look away before I got trapped in his gaze.

I suddenly wished I wasn’t wearing bulky rain gear, which was impossible to look cute in, at least for me. Then I chastised myself for caring if this stranger thought I looked cute. And so what if my coat squeaked when I turned the wheel? No shame in practical clothes.

“Where are you heading?” I asked, trying to regain control of my racing thoughts.

“Honeyrose House?”

“Oh, Mrs. Presley’s B&B?”

“Yes, that’s it.” He scrubbed a hand through his hair. “I was starting to worry it didn’t exist. I couldn’t find it. The GPS wasn’t working. And then all the check engine lights came on in the car and it died on me.”

“Well, I can get you to Mrs. Presley.” I paused. “Do you have a bag or something?”

“Oh, right.” He reached for the door handle.

“Here.” I took my bright yellow rain hat off and handed it to him.

He smiled for the first time and it made my soul sing, along with other parts of me. Maybe I should lock him in my cellar. Then he was out the door and I forced myself to shake off the silly thoughts.

Carter came back with a suitcase and sat with it on his lap. “Thank you for thinking of this. And for everything.”

“Happy to help out someone in need,” I said, which was true. The world needed more kindness.

“So, listen,” he said. “I’m in town for business for a while. Come have a drink with me later.”

The offer thrilled me, feeling like one of my earlier fantasies coming to life, but then reality immediately crashed down on me and the thrill faded. It was one thing to daydream about messing around with the mysterious stranger, but following through was a different story.

I didn’t date. The farm kept me busy most of the day, and after my folks sold off their farm to Allory, a lot of the people in town didn’t like our family anymore.

It didn’t seem to matter I had nothing to do with it or that I had stayed.

They all lumped me in with them, making me something of a local pariah.

I was rarely out and about, and I definitely didn’t go to the local watering hole, where everyone knew whose daughter I was.

“Thanks, but no thanks,” I said, pulling up in front of Honeyrose House with perfect timing. This conversation had taken a turn and I was ready for it to be over.

Carter looked genuinely disappointed, but he nodded and got out of the van. He reached for my hat, still on his head.

“Keep it,” I told him. “I’m sure I’ll see you around.”

Then I drove away, hoping that I never saw Carter again.