Chapter 12
CARTER
“This better be important,” I growled into the phone.
It was someone from Allory, which was the only reason I had answered it. Even then, I had considered smashing the phone with a hammer. Shelby and I had been vibing until the ringing killed the mood.
It had taken me over a week to open up a slight crack in the walls she had built around herself.
She was finally starting to see me as me instead of a carbon copy of my father.
Yes, I ran Allory now, but I was trying to do things a better way.
Shelby was finally starting to come around, and I hoped this damn phone call didn’t set me back again.
I paced in her hallway, awaiting an answer. “It’s Brian, from the PR team.”
“Start talking, Brian from the PR team. I’m in the middle of something important.”
“Yes, sir, of course,” he said quickly. Now there was the respect I was used to people showing me. If anyone back at the office in LA saw Shelby bossing me around, they would lose their minds.
I let Shelby do it because she was cute as hell. My family also owed hers a debt, and I didn’t mind crawling through some muck if that was what it took.
“We wanted to let you know the social media team will be flying out to Kentucky in two days,” Brian said.
It took a moment to process the information.
Spending time with Shelby, I kept forgetting why I was even in this godforsaken corner of the universe.
There were supposed to be some short videos showing me out here, connecting with the people.
There would be a social media push to counteract the bad buzz we’d been getting.
So as much as I wanted to drag Shelby to bed and apologize to her in a primal way that didn’t require words, what I really needed from her was public support. Spending time with her felt like pleasure, but it was very much business.
Brian gave me some details about the social media team. I was supposed to meet them at the airport in the city and bring them back to Ferris. We didn’t want them getting lost like I had. It was unlikely another Shelby would come along to save them.
“Also,” he said as we were wrapping up. “We’ve got some people looking into the account that was trashing us online.”
“Are they still posting new smear pieces?” I asked, running a hand through my hair.
“No, but we’re still trying to figure out who they are. We think if you make peace with them on the same platform they used to trash us, it’ll be a lot more convincing. I will let you know the moment we figure out who they are.”
I thanked him and hung up. Amazing smells were wafting from the kitchen and my growling stomach wouldn’t let me concentrate on PR nonsense.
“What smells so good in here?” I asked, walking into the kitchen.
Shelby was just taking a pan off the stove. “Pork chops. Also mashed potatoes and cornbread.”
“Mother of God,” I said breathlessly, gripping the doorframe as if my legs had gone weak.
She laughed and shook her head. “Do you get a lot of homecooked meals back in LA?”
“Nope. I’m never home and I never cook.”
She served food for us both and took the plates over to the kitchen table. “Well, this isn’t fancy. No tire companies have given me awards for my cooking.”
“Tire companies?” I asked.
“Michelin stars,” she said. “It’s not some other group with the same name. It’s literally the tire guys telling people where to eat.”
“That can’t be true.”
“My point is,” she said, looking down at the food she’d prepared. “If you don’t like it, keep it to yourself.”
I chuckled at that and sat down across from her. “If I don’t like, you can throw me back in the duck pond.”
Shelby nodded. “Deal.”
Lucky for me, the food was fantastic. The cornbread was buttery, the potatoes were creamy, and the pork was juicy and tender. I kept groaning pornographically and Shelby kept shooting me glaring looks, but I was pretty sure I saw a smile shining in her eyes.
The meal wound down and I sat back, belly full, mouth happy, and heart content. The moment was like a glimpse into an alternate universe, where I ended up a farmer instead of a businessman. A timeline where I chose family over fortune, love over liquidity, passion over profits.
And in this bizarro world, Shelby was exactly the woman I wanted sitting there.
It was a startling realization, and I tried putting the brakes on things before they spiraled out of control. Sure, Shelby was great, but I barely knew her. I hadn’t even scratched the surface of this complicated woman. There was no way I had fallen for her this quickly.
I was attracted to her, but that was it. I didn’t need to dress lust up with hearts and roses. Shelby was gorgeous. It was perfectly natural for me to want to sleep with her. I never caught feelings for the ladies I spent time with and I wasn’t about to start now.
Not liking the direction my thoughts kept wandering, I decided to steer the conversation back toward business, which was technically the reason I was there.
“So that call I got earlier. It turns out the social media team will be flying into Kentucky two days from now. We’re going to start getting this PR thing going. ”
Shelby chewed her lower lip uncertainly. “Carter, I know I said I would help with that, and you’ve been a really good sport pitching in around the farm, but I’m still not sure I can say yes.”
I nodded slowly. “That’s a little disappointing, but I understand.”
“Do you?” Her eyes searched mine, not in a challenging way but like she hoped I was being honest.
“There’s a lot of history between our families,” I said. “I’m trying to make up for it, but I understand healing old wounds doesn’t happen just because I feed some ducks.”
“Or swim in their pond,” she said with a little smile, some of the humor returning to her face.
“You’re never going to let me live that down, are you?” I shook my head and grinned.
“Nope,” she said.
“How about this?” I asked. “How about you take a couple days to think about the social media thing? No pressure. I’ll ask again once the team gets here.”
“Thank you, I would appreciate that.” Shelby looked into my eyes. “You’ve given me a lot to think about.”
Thunder split the sky and rain came down like heaven had opened the floodgates.
“Looks like the shed will have to wait,” Shelby said. “You’d best get back to Mrs. Presley’s before you get stranded out here.”
The idea didn’t sound so bad if I was stuck with her. But I decided to take her advice. We said a quick goodbye and I had to put her in my rearview mirror.
The rain continued for the next two days.
I hadn’t seen Shelby in that time, but maybe that was for the best. We could both probably use some time apart to get some perspective.
It was easy to fall into fantasies out there, just the two of us, all alone, with no one to judge us but the chickens and ducks.
And they could keep their damn opinions to themselves.
I was sitting in Mrs. Presley’s overly wallpapered sitting room, drinking coffee and watching the rain fall outside like a curtain.
It was nasty weather, meant for bundling up in front of a cozy fire with a glass of scotch and a good book.
Or more likely a TV show or a game, if I was being totally honest.
But I couldn’t have a lazy day. I couldn’t even get some work done, which was what I’d been doing ever since the downpour started. Playing farmhand was surprisingly fun, but I had gotten behind on my real work. Just answering emails had taken hours.
I couldn’t keep working because I was supposed to be leaving in a few minutes to drive to the airport in Louisville. Why hadn’t I arranged a driver for them?
Because it hadn’t been raining when I had agreed to pick them up. That was why.
I was regretting not checking the weather forecast. Los Angeles had one season, for the most part, and you never had to check the forecast because it was always sunny and, more importantly, dry. I had no idea Kentucky had a monsoon season, but I felt like I was in the thick of it.
Aside from a couple of texts, I hadn’t talked to Shelby in two days.
She had told me she would be at a market today somewhere outside of Ferris, although she hadn’t clarified if it was a supermarket or a farmers’ market.
I didn’t know if she was inside or outside.
Surely, it had to be inside. No one would be out in this deluge. Shelby was brave but she wasn’t stupid.
Worry prickled at me like ants under my skin. I knew she could handle herself in the rain—better than I could, anyway—but anything could happen in this kind of storm. I wasn’t quite ready to build an ark, but almost.
Mrs. Presley waltzed in and looked out the window. “Every decade or so, a storm like this rolls in and messes everything up. I hope it clears up in time for the bake-off, but if not, we’ll figure something out. Dessert always finds a way.”
I was about to text my assistant to find another ride for the media team, but she texted me first. The storm wasn’t just in this part of the country. It had grounded planes across multiple states. Their flight had been canceled and I didn’t have to drive anywhere.
The relief I felt was like aloe vera on a sunburn. Tyler’s truck could barely function on a sunny day. I wasn’t sure how it would hold up in the rain. I had considered abandoning it at the airport and getting a rental, but I figured I could make that decision when I had to.
Tyler might be upset, but screw him. A decent mechanic could have built me a brand-new car by now, but my vehicle was sitting dead in their garage, waiting on Shane, who was still on fucking vacation.
I wanted to judge him for taking so much time off, but my time in Ferris had been a bit like a vacation.
Sure, I had been working nonstop, but spending time with Shelby had been too fun to feel like work.
I hoped she was okay.
My phone buzzed again but not with a text. It was a severe weather alert. A tornado watch was just issued, which was a first for me. The only twisters in LA were on movie screens.
The house phone started ringing and Mrs. Presley shuffled away quickly to answer it. I heard her speaking in worried tones and then she said, “He’s right here. I’ll tell him.”
I hopped to my feet, on high alert, and found Mrs. Presley out in the hall. She was just hanging up the phone. “What’s going on?” I asked her. “What do you need to tell me?”
“That was Lila,” she said. “She’s panicking because Shelby was driving home earlier today but she and Jake haven’t heard from her.”
I quickly rattled off a text to Shelby, asking if she was all right. I held my breath for an entire minute, waiting for a response, but if she wasn’t texting her friends back, I doubted she would respond to me. When an answer didn’t come, I stowed the phone in my pocket and looked at Mrs. Presley.
“Tell Lila I’ll go check on Shelby. I’ll let you know if I find her. And you do the same.”
Mrs. Presley nodded. “I will. Be careful. We don’t have anyone to send out looking for you.”
I grinned at her as I shrugged my raincoat on. “How about a kiss for luck, Mrs. Presley?”
She giggled and covered her mouth, suddenly fifteen again. “Save it for Shelby, lover boy.”
With that, I rushed out into the storm, bracing myself against the wind.