Chapter 17
SHELBY
Working on the farm alone had always been peaceful for me.
I could get away from the rest of the judgmental world and let my hair down.
But that morning, as I filled the feeders and mucked out the pens, my peace felt fractured.
I was a little too alone. Or more specifically, I wanted to be alone with Carter.
I had gotten used to his company way more quickly than I would have ever thought possible. Something about him just got under my skin in a big way.
The whole thing was silly. Hanging out with him was fun, but that didn’t mean anything deeper was happening between us. He was an attractive man, tall and built. His green eyes and cocky grin were easy to get lost in. And that kiss?
My insides melted into goo every time I replayed that kiss in my head.
But so what? He would leave and life would go back to normal for me, no different than before he’d arrived. I wouldn’t even be a footnote in his memoirs.
As I worked, I kept thinking, debating, trying to figure out a way things could ever work between us.
The past couldn’t be changed, and as for the future, I would die before I moved to a city the size of Los Angeles.
LA County alone had a bigger population than all of Kentucky.
And Carter would never settle in a place like Ferris, where he couldn’t even get his car fixed because there was only one real mechanic.
There were no long-term prospects for us.
But why did it have to be anything so serious?
Why did my mind immediately jump to love when my body could use some more lust, quite frankly? I had never been able to separate sex and feelings before, but I had also never met a man like Carter before.
On paper, he was everything I hated. A billionaire CEO who had been handed success with his birth certificate. But in person, he was sweet, genuine, and his chest looked super lickable.
It was nice to know I didn’t care about his money at all. I just wanted him for his body. That showed real character and I gave myself a mental pat on the back. Let it be known to the world Shelby Whitaker is horny not greedy.
It wasn’t exactly something I could put on a T-shirt, but I considered telling Lila about the revelation.
I would have to come clean about the naughty fantasies blossoming in my midnight thoughts, though.
She knew I had been spending a lot of time with him, but she had no idea about the kiss we’d shared—or the kisses I wanted to share with him in the future.
With a sigh, I considered my other problem, which was tonight’s bake-off. Mrs. Presley always had a way of getting me to say yes, even though the idea of being around everybody filled me with dread.
I needed to come up with an excuse to bow out.
A sickened chicken? A foul fowl? A fucked duck?
No, she would see right through all of those.
I needed something more drastic. Maybe I could get into a car accident.
Just a light collision with a fencepost. Enough to send a picture to Mrs. Presley of my dented van.
I discarded that idea. Shane would ask too many questions when I asked him to fix it. Also, causing myself or my property harm to skip a social event seemed like an overreaction, even for me.
Carter had assured me he would stand by my side. When he had told me that in the moment, it had been comforting, but right then, it occurred to me Carter wasn’t any more popular than I was.
Did people even know he was an Allory?
Some people knew, like Jake and Lila. Mrs. Presley.
Maybe a few other people. But I didn’t know if it was common knowledge yet.
I kind of assumed it wasn’t because Carter hadn’t been tarred and feathered and run out of town yet.
Who knows? The rules might be different for him.
I never knew how things were going to work.
What would people think if they saw me with an Allory? Would it confirm all their suspicions that I had been involved in the sale? I shook my head. The facts didn’t matter anyway. Nothing I did would change anyone’s mind. The people who didn’t like me would keep on not liking me.
Screw it. I wasn’t going to bow out with an excuse. I was going to the bake-off, I was going to eat way too much sugar, and if I was lucky, I was going to hang out with Carter and annoy him until he tried kissing me again.
After putting in a full day’s work, I went inside and cleaned up. Now that I had decided to go, the hard part would be picking my outfit. I didn’t want anything too eye-catching. Drawing attention to myself was the last thing I wanted to do. At the same time, I wanted to look cute for Carter.
Nothing was going to happen between us, but I still wanted him to want me. Maybe it was pure ego but so what? Carter would be long gone from Ferris before I knew it, but maybe I could make him think twice about going back to Los Angeles.
Ultimately, I decided on some leggings and a long sweater dress with a belt.
Conservative, keeping everything covered, but still highlighting the curves I’d gotten from working my whole life.
I put on some light makeup, put my hair up with a twist, and headed from my peaceful farm to the rough and tumble annual Ferris Easter Bake-off.
I had skipped it the last few years, but in the past, the competition had been fierce. Friendships had been shattered, marriages torn apart. The bragging rights from winning were a big deal and some people held grudges.
That was one of the reasons I wouldn’t agree to be a judge. The runners-up had no problem telling the judges exactly what they thought of the results. I already had enough haters in town. I was liable to get punched if I chose the wrong pie for a blue ribbon.
In that sense, Carter was a perfect judge.
No one could accuse him of playing favorites, and he wouldn’t have to live with these people or see them at the feed store.
That didn’t mean he wouldn’t get smacked, but he seemed tough enough to take it.
Carter had more steel in his spine than I thought at first.
The sun was setting when I pulled into the high school parking lot. At least the rain had stayed away today. It was a nice evening to be out and about. People drifted toward the gym from the parking lot and I followed them.
I caught a couple of looks from people, but nothing mean or judgmental. It was more like they were surprised to see me. I supposed it was well known I kept to myself. Maybe I was getting a reputation as a hermit.
And fine. I stayed on the farm a lot, but I was stuck in an impossible situation.
Either I went out in public and people treated me like I had sold out the town, or I stayed on the farm and people branded me a weirdo.
I swore, there was no winning with some people and I was starting to think it was pointless to try.
Carter was pacing out front of the entrance. His gaze landed on me and he froze. “There you are,” he said with relief.
His reaction made me feel a hundred feet tall. Damn straight, he couldn’t wait to see me again. One day apart, and he was foaming at the mouth for me like a rabid dog. Keep it in your pants, Carter. Or don’t. Let’s see how the night goes.
“Don’t be mad,” he said. “But I did something.”
I narrowed my eyes at him, my good feelings withering. “Okay, I’m not mad, but it’s hanging on by a thread. What did you do?”
Any time I tried to look past him to the entrance, he would move with me, blocking my view. “Just know I mean well,” he said.
I pushed past him and saw a big professional-looking sign just inside the door, suspended on an easel. In bold letters, it proclaimed this year’s Easter Bake-off was proudly sponsored by Granny’s Acre Farm.
I grabbed his arm and yanked until he lowered his face close to mine. “What the hell is this, Carter? We never discussed this.”
“You never answer your phone,” he said. “But also, I had to move fast. I only thought of it yesterday. I had to grease a lot of palms to get all the posters expedited.”
“What do you mean, all the posters?” I glared at him. “How many posters did you put up?”
“So, we printed up fifty—”
“Fifty?!”
“But we only put up about thirty.” Carter shrugged. “Thirty-five. Okay, we put them all up. But the whole point is to get the word out.”
“One problem, genius. I haven’t sponsored anything. Now you’ve got me lying to people.” I inhaled a deep breath and let it out slowly. It kept me from screaming. “Remind me why I shouldn’t be mad as hell right now.”
“Because, technically, a donation was made to the event in the name of your farm. It was just paid by me.”
“Okay, so it’s only a partial lie,” I said. “You’re forgetting I don’t like drawing attention to myself at things like this. Well, I usually avoid them entirely, but when I do come out, I find it’s best to fly under the radar.”
“My response to that, Shelby, is you’ll never fix your reputation in this town by hiding.” He kept his voice low so no one else could hear us. “You need to get back out there, show them you’re not like your parents. That you care about this town.”
“Like you’re doing,” I said. “Coming out here to show the world you’re not like your father.”
Carter smiled at me, but it wasn’t the cocky smirk he often wore. It was warm and real, like he felt seen by me. “That’s exactly right. Despite what that viral post said about me, I’m not the bad bunny bastard people say I am. And you’re not the weird recluse people say you are.”
“Is that what they’re saying about me?” I looked around, like someone might be trash-talking me at that very moment. “I knew I was getting weird looks when I walked up.”
“You’re here now and that’s what’s important.” He gave my shoulder a gentle squeeze. “I’ve got your back tonight. Except when I’m judging. I take my responsibilities very seriously. You ready to go in?”
I looked at the open door and my sponsorship sign just inside. “This is overwhelming, Carter. To say the least.”
“Just remember you’re not alone.” He took my hand and walked me into the gym. Carter didn’t hold it for long. It seemed like a comforting gesture to get me across the threshold.
Nerves fluttered in my chest but then we ran into Jake and Lila.
“What do you think?” Jake asked, looking around at all the signs with my farm’s name on them. “When Carter told me the idea, I thought it was a slam dunk.”
Lila smiled and grabbed my hands with excitement. “It’s so awesome. People are talking. Saying good things,” she added quickly.
“I’m still not even sure exactly what sponsoring this means, aside from putting up signs and taking credit,” I said.
Carter chuckled. “It means there’s cash prizes for the winners of each category, with an extra prize for the most popular dessert overall.”
Lila’s eyes widened. “If I had known there was cash involved, I would have baked my famous rhubarb pie.”
Jake smiled and slung an arm around his wife. “Honey, it’s famous for how bad it is.”
She grinned back at him. “So what? You miss a hundred percent of the shots you don’t take.”