Nineteen #2
Edwin stops at the rail, tips his bottle back and swallows. Together we stare out over the landscape of the farm. What I couldn’t see from the road is clear now. Things have changed.
“What happened?”
“June took over. That’s what happened. After you left, she and Gerald came here with a whole new plan.
He didn’t seem overly thrilled about it, but I think things happening the way they did maybe shocked him out of his usual pattern of thinking.
” He wrinkles his nose. “Shocked me out of it too, I suppose. She said it was time we let the past go and move on. And so we did.”
“How does that explain the rest of this?”
“They reworked the blueprints from the expansion. I downsized the livestock and sold off some of the dairy operation to help fund the development. That, along with the loan from the Bells, was enough to get us started.” He points to the north side of the property, where half a dozen little houses are framed and in various stages of completion.
“We’re starting with ten cottages that we can rent out year-round.
As soon as they’re up and running, the income will be enough to keep us going. That and all the crops she’s planning.”
“Crops?”
“We repurposed some of the fields for the development. We’re switching up some of the others.
June’s got her head set on strawberries.
She wants a whole damn field of them. She says the renters will love being able to pick their own.
And she wants to expand on the orchard so we can get some more people coming here in the fall.
” He laughs. “You think I’ve got my hands full with projects.
You should talk to her. She’s unstoppable.
Honestly, I think she’s been bored out of her mind up at the hotel all these years, and she’s finally getting to do something on her own.
Bringing her here might have been the best thing you ever did for her. ”
I look at him again in disbelief.
He takes another swig of his beer and points to the cottages. “Go see for yourself. She’s out there keeping everyone on their toes.”
I ponder his suggestion a moment. The prospect of seeing her again has me frozen in place suddenly. Especially now that everything I believed to have happened has been all wrong. Now I hate myself for believing she’d let Edwin sell and turn my childhood home into ugly townhomes.
“I think I’ll do that.”
I leave the house, reeling. A second glance at Edwin’s truck reveals the McCasker Farms logo retouched.
No longer a faded blue, the lettering now frames two bright-red strawberries in the center.
Relief like I’ve never known bubbles to the surface until I’m laughing and smiling ear-to-ear like an idiot.
How could I have ever underestimated her?
I drive toward the cottages, slowing by the custom-made sign that reads McCasker Farm Cottages.
I park in front of the first cottage, which seems near completion. Her Jeep is parked outside. She’s here. My palms prickle with anxiety. I left her for four months. I never looked back. And I’m a repeat fucking offender. She’s never going to forgive me for this.
But why would she do all this? Why would she save the farm if she didn’t care?
I force myself out of the truck and up the front steps.
I walk through the front door and she’s there, standing across the room.
Her arms are crossed. She’s staring out a picture window facing the pasture and the mountains beyond.
In this moment, she has no idea I’m here, and I almost wish I could be here a few more minutes to simply acclimate to being in her presence again without her knowing.
Maybe build up the nerve to face the wrath I surely deserve.
I take a couple tentative steps forward. “That’s quite the view,” I say.
She spins toward me. Her arms fall to her sides and her face registers her shock. One look at her feels like blunt force to the chest. That hollow place where my heart used to be. Does she have any idea how empty I am without her?
I stop when we’re only a few feet away from each other.
“Kase…” Her lip quivers.
God, she’s beautiful. Her hair is a mess, a dull pencil poked through her bun. Her jeans and shoes are dusty. I just want to wrap my arms around her. I’m convinced I could simply hold her for hours, cherish her heartbeat, the feel of her breath, the smell of her skin.
“What are you doing here?”
I glance around and then back to her. “I was about to ask you the same question.”
Her lips form a little o, and she follows my circuit around the room. “It’s not what you think, Kase. We changed the plans.”
“I know,” I say quietly.
She exhales softly. “Oh.”
“Why are you doing all this?”
She presses her lips together and turns away. “I’m just trying to make things right.”
I step closer and touch her shoulder. She shivers. How I ache to lean in and bury my nose in her hair, taking her scent into me. Her taste. Her moans…
“June.” I can hear my desperation in her name. The months of aching and missing her.
She wraps her arms around herself tightly, like she’s hoping that can keep me out.
“I’m so sorry,” I say quietly. “I wanted to give you time.”
She swivels back around, her eyes narrow and misty.
“Time? You think I haven’t wasted enough of my life waiting for you to come back to Falls Edge for me?
I didn’t need time. I needed you, Kase. That’s all I ever needed, and you left me here.
” She cuts herself off, bringing her fingertips to her shaking lips.
I work my jaw, trying to ignore how her words dig into me. I almost forgot how much the truth could hurt.
“I was afraid, all right? I ran. I couldn’t stomach the thought of losing you and watching you slip away.”
“I wasn’t—”
“You left me first, okay? I know why you did. You were hurting, but my heart was in this too. I know I screwed up. I should have told you everything. I just…” I close my eyes and reach for the right words.
“I’ve been broken for so long, June. And when you left, maybe I convinced myself I was foolish to believe we could have something so perfect. So right. That I could deserve you.”
“I shouldn’t have left you,” she whispers, her eyes glimmering with unshed tears.
I pray that means it’s not too late. I send up a solemn vow never to do anything so damn stupid as long as I live if she’ll have me now. If she’ll take me back.
“Tell me I’m not too late, June. Tell me I’ve still got a chance.”
She laughs and brushes away the tear that falls. “My God, Kase. Do you know how long I’ve waited to be with you?”
“Probably just as long as I have. But I think we’ve run clean out of excuses, grudges, and tragedies to keep us apart, don’t you? Time to get on with it already.”
Her lips curve up into a sad smile, but I’m not convinced I’ve won her over. I hurt her. I dealt a blow that might take time to recover from. I’m ready to do the time, but hell, I need some hope right now.
Take me back. Take me back…
I want to drag her against me and kiss her until she gives in to me, but that’s not enough. The answer has to come from her heart. I already know her body will say yes to what I want to give her, which is a lifetime supply of bliss and earth-shattering orgasms.
I’m on my knees before I know what I’m doing. I grab her hand and gaze up at her.
“Will you take me back?”
She shakes her head with a laugh. Then a sigh. And another smile, one that reaches her eyes. “I will take you back.”
I grin broadly, like I’ve just won the world’s best and biggest grand prize of all time. Another chance with the love of my life. And the thread I thought was unraveling everything just started making something new. A whole new dream I could have never imagined without June in my life.
“I may have one condition,” she says. “Maybe two.”