Chapter 9
SHELBY
It was weird sitting at the diner with anyone aside from Shane, Lila, or Jake. Even weirder, I was sitting across from the enemy. Carter Allory, the CEO of the company that had ruined my life and crippled the town. The weirdest part?
Carter asked Dora Lynn to put cheese on his chicken-fried steak, gravy on the side. When it arrived, I looked at it with suspicion. In theory, the idea was sound but I had never seen anyone order a chicken-fried steak like that.
He caught me looking. “What? I’m hungry.”
I nodded. “Sure, you worked up an appetite earlier, but that’s not exactly traditional.”
“Tradition is overrated.” He poured a generous portion of gravy onto the cheesy, deep-fried meat. “Why shackle ourselves to the past?”
“Sometimes the past shackles itself to us, like it or not.” I picked up a wedge of my club sandwich. “There’s still people in town who won’t even look in my direction.”
Carter chewed his food and grinned. “To be fair, that might be because you’re so mean.”
I chuckled at that. “I didn’t used to be so grumpy but losing everything can do that to a girl.”
“You haven’t lost everything,” Carter said, wiping his mouth. “You’ve got your farm. You’ve got your evil ducks.”
“Those ducks aren’t evil,” I said, smiling. “You’re just a scaredy cat.”
“I want to make it clear,” he said, leveling his gaze at me. “I wasn’t afraid of the ducks. I was afraid of hurting them, which is not the same thing.”
“If you say so.” I eyed him skeptically as I took another bite of my sandwich.
“What’s the story with people in this town holding a grudge against you anyway?” he asked. “You had nothing to do with the farm closing, and no offense, but it kind of seems like the people in Ferris dislike you more than they dislike me.”
“Yeah, because they hold me to a higher standard than they hold you,” I said.
“How so?”
“Because Allory is an outsider. People expect companies to screw them over. It’s a tale as old as greed.
But my family and I are local. This land is in our blood.
This is our community and my parents chose to turn their back on it.
” I sighed and picked up a fry. “Or so people think. My parents didn’t know your father would shut it all down, but they also didn’t care that much when it happened. They took their money and left.”
“Sounds like you’re not happy with them.” His green eyes bored into me, peeling away my layers and leaving me feeling vulnerable and exposed.
“That’s none of your business, Carter.” I sat up straighter and gathered my composure. “All you need to know about me is I’m trying to continue my family’s legacy. My grandparents worked Whitaker Farms before my parents did, and the line goes way back before that. I’m not going anywhere.”
He put his fork down. “Shelby, it might be inappropriate to say this, considering who I work for, but I’m very sorry my father shut down Whitaker Farms. Hell, I’m sorry he bought it in the first place. It would have been in good hands once you took over.”
I waved his comment away because I didn’t want him to see how deep his words had penetrated my soul. His kindness shone a light into some of the darker places inside me where doubts took root and festered.
When I was sure my voice wouldn’t crack, I said, “Thank you. If I had the family farm back, I would reopen it and bring some life back to Ferris.”
“Even the people who’ve been mean to you?” Carter asked.
“Even them.” I nodded. “Community includes everyone, even the assholes you disagree with. A rising tide lifts all ships, and I’m not looking to leave anyone stranded in the water.”
“You should run for mayor.”
I threw a fry at him. “And you should stop running your mouth.”
I smiled to take some of the sting out of it. Carter claimed he was different than his father, and to his credit, everything I had seen from him so far lined up with that claim. He didn’t seem like a ruthless businessman who just cared about making the numbers go up on a spreadsheet.
A man like that wouldn’t have shoveled chicken shit or braved my ducks—who absolutely were attacking Carter earlier. They took after me and also didn’t like strangers too much. I didn’t tell Carter, though. Messing with him was too fun.
We finished our meals, with Carter all but licking his plate clean. I insisted on paying the check, still not wanting anything from him. Could I afford it? No. But sometimes pride came before careful spending.
I went up to the register to pay, and Dora Lynn shot me a wide-eyed look, filled with questions. “Looks like you finally took my advice,” she said quietly. “Excellent choice.”
I shook my head and passed her some cash. “It’s a long story, but it’s not like that with him.”
“Well, why not?”
“I’ll tell you later, when I make my next delivery.”
She handed my change back to me. “You better, Shelby. A man like that doesn’t walk into Ferris every day.”
“Trust me, that’s a good thing. He’s not a man, he’s a CEO.”
Dora Lynn smiled at me. “Oh, that’s definitely a man. Job titles don’t matter in the bedroom. Well, usually.”
“Thank you for the encouragement, but he and I won’t be ending up in any bedrooms together.” I glanced over at him sitting at the table, eyes on his phone.
Carter couldn’t be more different than me. Even wearing those overalls, he had a polished shine to him that no amount of dirt and dust would diminish. The man lived in LA, for God’s sake. I couldn’t think of a place more different than Ferris, Kentucky.
Whatever marketing push he was doing down here, it wouldn’t last forever. He would be out of my life as quickly as he had appeared in it, and he wouldn’t look back. That meant, even if we somehow magically hooked up, it couldn’t be anything beyond a meaningless fling.
Casual sex had never been my style. I always caught feelings, unable to separate physical affection and emotional connection. I couldn’t open myself up and be vulnerable to someone and then just move on with my life like nothing had happened.
If I let Carter charm my pants off like he clearly wanted, I would be the only one who got hurt when he left. The Allory family had already taken so much from me. I couldn’t let Carter take more.
Even entertaining the idea of hooking up with him was insane. Maybe he hadn’t personally destroyed life as I knew it, but his company had. I had been robbed of both my past and my future. I would be a fool to let him fuck up my present, too.
My only defense for my traitorous thoughts was the simple fact that Carter was the hottest man I’d ever seen. People who looked like him simply didn’t roll through Ferris, and even if they did, I was certain they wouldn’t be so hellbent on impressing me.
It was kind of nice to have someone helping out around the farm, too.
Realistically, I needed to hire on some help, but there was no money for that.
My grandparents had left me a few bucks when they gave me the farm, but that was almost all gone.
My parents had offered me a chunk of the Allory money, but I’d told them to shove it.
Carter wouldn’t be my farmhand for much longer, but I was pretty sure I could squeeze a few more days of free labor out of him. He owed me that much, especially if he wanted me to be in his dumb commercial or whatever PR nonsense he asked me to be a part of.
We walked out of the diner together. Before we went our separate ways, he thanked me for lunch.
“Same time tomorrow morning?” I asked him.
Carter blinked at me in surprise. “Do I have to work with the ducks again?”
I smiled and shook my head. “No, I have a different project for you, one that will keep you well away from the animals.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
The next day, bright and early, I heard an engine approaching from the farm road. To my surprise, it wasn’t Tyler’s rolling dumpster. This was a Cadillac the size of a cruise ship, and Mrs. Presley’s gray-haired head peeked at me over the steering wheel.
I walked down to meet her as she got out of the car. “Mrs. Presley, to what do I owe the pleasure?”
“I need eggs, Shelby. Lots of them.”
“You came to the right place,” I said, smiling.
“And not just for today,” the older woman continued. “I’m going to have a standing order every week. Reservations are picking up now that the weather is warming up. And we’ve got the spring festival coming up. That means hungry people in the morning.”
“Hey, I’m happy to keep you well stocked with eggs. Anything for you. You’ve never held a grudge against me for the Allory thing.”
The woman patted my arm. “Anyone with a lick of sense knows you had nothing to do with that.”
She told me exactly how many cartons she needed and I tallied up the price. Mrs. Presley frowned at the amount I told her, and I worried she couldn’t afford it. Maybe I should tell her I made a mistake and charge her less.
“Shelby, you’re worth far more than you give yourself credit for. This isn’t nearly enough.”
Relief flooded me and I shrugged. “I’m not going to charge you more.”
“Well, listen,” she told me. “Honeyrose House will be participating in the city bake-off event taking place in a few days.”
I frowned. “I’ve been skipping that the last few years.”
“Yes, but you should come this year. The town is going all out for the spring festival this year. You don’t want to miss it.”
“I don’t know,” I said with a sigh. “I’m still not the most popular person in town. I try to avoid big community events like that.”
Mrs. Presley leaned in. “You’re far too young and pretty to live like a recluse, kiddo. The years tick by fast. Don’t waste them worrying about what other people think of you.”
The rumble of another engine interrupted our conversation. Tyler’s truck came bouncing down the road, and Mrs. Presley grinned at me.
“Is that Carter?” she asked.
“Uh, yeah,” I said, not elaborating.
“Hmm,” she said, also not elaborating. “Well, then, I’ll leave you two alone.”
“Mrs. Presley, stop,” I said with an embarrassed smile. “He’s just helping me out around the farm.”
She nodded like she knew exactly what that meant. “Good. You need some company out here. I won’t say a peep to anyone.”
“Peep all you want,” I insisted. “There’s nothing going on.”
“Of course not.”
She waited just long enough for Carter to park and exit the truck. She shot him a knowing smirk as well and drove off.
“What’s her deal?” Carter asked.
“She’s just excited about the bake-off,” I said, not daring to tell him the truth.
Carter nodded, not questioning me. “Who doesn’t love dessert? So, what’s on the agenda today.”
I gave him a sweet smile. “Do you know anything about planting carrots? I’ve been thinking of adding a plot in one of the back fields.”
“The only thing I know about carrots is that they’re good for your eyesight,” he said, seeming proud of knowing that piece of trivia.
I couldn’t help myself. “Actually, that’s a myth about carrots. It’s not true.”
Carter sighed and his shoulders slumped. “Okay, then I don’t know anything about carrots.”
I grinned. “And this is why you make a bad bunny.”
“I really don’t like when you call me that,” he said, eyes tight.
“I know. That’s why I keep calling you that.”