Chapter 15
A woman stood in the long grass with Zander in front of the Bouras house. A pretty woman at that, auburn hair flashing in the sun.
Which was fine with Penny, because she was playing it cool after their not-date. It had been almost forty-eight hours since the kiss against her door, and he hadn’t texted or called. But neither had Penny. Because she was playing it cool.
And because she had no idea what she was doing.
Penny didn’t go around kissing people. As RJ had so kindly reminded her, she’d been celibate since Henry left two years ago.
For all she knew, it was perfectly normal to kiss the hell out of someone and not follow up.
Maybe Zander went around kissing people like that all the time.
And Penny’d been insistent that it wasn’t a date, so she couldn’t blame Zander for not making the night out to be more than it was.
She could blame him for not responding to her text about festival planning.
After begging her to let him help out, he’d gone silent.
They hadn’t set up any formal schedule for going about festival business—something Penny now regretted—but they were close enough to go time that she couldn’t afford to go two days with her messages left on read.
Especially from her so-called co-planner.
So after checking in with RJ about his progress with the orchard pests, she’d put on her big-girl panties to march over and see what the hell was going on.
And now there was a woman in the yard talking to Zander.
She had pale skin, shiny reddish hair, a tailored navy suit, and she looked tiny next to Zander, whose blue T-shirt fit him perfectly, because one of Zander’s most annoying qualities was filling out a simple piece of cotton perfectly.
The woman wove one hand fluidly through the air as she spoke, clutching a clipboard at her side.
As she spun to sweep her hand around, both she and Zander turned in Penny’s direction.
For a flash, Zander’s eyes brightened as his mouth pulled up into a wide smile, the kind she’d seen so many times the other night. But then his expression flattened as he looked away.
Penny tripped on the trail, just barely catching herself. Maybe it was a bad time, and she should go home, be patient. But what about Zander’s sincere look in his darkened truck as he talked about elementary school math?
When I decide to do something, I do it.
The hell he did.
When Penny reached them a moment later, huffing from her speed walking, the redheaded woman smiled big. “Why hello, you just came out of the wilderness!”
“Just from next door, actually. I came to say hi and make sure Zander’s phone is working. But if I came at a bad time—”
“Oh no,” the other woman said. “I was actually just leaving. You’re next door, at Becker Farms?”
“Sure am.”
“Incredible piece of land you’ve got there.”
“Sure is.” Penny glanced to Zander, but he was staring back at his house, hands shoved into his back pockets.
Meanwhile, the well-dressed redhead slid a sleek business card from her clipboard and passed it over. “I’m Monica Reynolds, Zander’s Realtor.”
The card was slick between Penny’s fingers. “Of course. To sell the house.”
“As soon as possible, according to this one,” Monica said in an exaggerated deep voice. “Suddenly had a fire lit under him today. You aren’t looking to sell also, are you? Putting these lots together could really up the appeal for a buyer looking to develop.”
“No.” Penny left no room for argument in her tone. “Definitely not selling.”
She was working her ass off to avoid it.
Monica smiled breezily. “Had to ask.” She peered back down at her clipboard. “Okay, Zander, I’ll let you know about the photographer coming for the pictures. It should be about two weeks or so, and meanwhile I’ll send over those numbers for the contractors for the fence.”
Finally, Zander looked up and nodded. “Great. Whatever it takes.”
As soon as possible.
While Penny was still reeling from their good-night kiss, waiting for him to follow up about the festival as he’d promised, Zander was calling Monica the Realtor to rid himself of this place, stat.
“Don’t worry.” Monica gave Zander’s substantial shoulder a little pat.
“I think you’ll make out just fine on this place.
People are snatching up these properties like hotcakes.
As soon as I mentioned we were going to list it, I started getting calls.
Lots of buzz!” She gave a short nod to Penny.
“If you ever change your mind about selling, you have my number.”
Monica admirably navigated the grass in her heels. Once they were alone, Zander finally looked at her.
“Hey.” He squeezed the back of his neck. “Sorry I, um, went MIA.”
She held his eye contact. “A fence, huh?”
His brows furrowed. “Monica says it’s a good idea. People like to know what’s theirs.”
“How beautifully capitalistic.”
He shrugged, looking down again. “It is what it is.”
She couldn’t stop the harsh laugh. “What a poetic way to talk about a house that’s been in your family for generations.”
A thick swallow moved down Zander’s throat as his feet shifted in the grass. “I’ve never lied about my intent here, Penny.” His lids lowered in a slow blink before he looked at her again, brown eyes intense. “I’m here to sell this house and leave.”
Penny threw back her shoulders and kept her face blank.
“I hear you loud and clear, Zander. I get you wanting to sell the house,” she huffed.
“You don’t want to live here. You have a whole life somewhere else.
Fine.” She nodded to the offending house.
“But if you’re just waiting to sell, why bother fixing it up?
For all you know, whoever buys it will just knock it down and start over. ”
Zander went even more rigid. “I wanted Winter to have a place to stay.”
“He does have a place to stay. With Mallory’s parents. You probably do, too, if you want it. But you’re here. Fixing the sink, playing house, and for what?”
“Because I needed to clear out all the old shit in this place, so I decided to stay here while I did it, it’s that simple.
” He ran a hand through his messy hair. “I know this whole town is special to you, Penny. But it means shit to me, do you understand that? None of this can—” Zander’s head tipped back as he stared at the sky. “None of this can mean anything.”
The sting hit right in her sternum, and only gave her more fire.
“Maybe not to you, but it means something to the rest of us.” She pointed fiercely to the meeting of their property lines.
“You know that bees fly up to three miles to find a nectar source? So whether or not you put up that fence, the bees will come and encounter whatever the next owner puts here. What if they mow all this down and put in a lawn and spray herbicides all over everything? What if they decide they don’t like the bees that come for a drink and lace the water with poison? ”
Zander’s eyes stayed trained on the sky.
“But it’s not just bees.” Penny pressed on. “Families that have called this town home for years are leaving because they can’t afford the property taxes anymore. Houses are getting snatched up as vacation rentals or second homes, properties getting split up and flipped while pricing everybody out.”
Finally, he looked at her again, his eyes a storm. “And what do you think I can do about that? You want me to hang on to this place out of some kind of principle? Ignore the opportunity to have savings for Winter because I can’t promise you the perfect neighbor?”
“No!” A sparrow spurred from the thick grass, shooting up into the blue.
“You have every right to sell this house. You have every right to not look back. But you can’t show up here and do whatever you want and pretend it doesn’t impact things around you.
” She stepped toward him through the grass.
“You may have left this place, but you’re back now, and what you do matters to people.
You don’t have to love it here, but if you don’t give a shit about it, don’t pretend to.
Don’t pretend to care about the house, or about the bees, or about the Honey Festival.
And definitely don’t pretend to care about me. ”
Penny turned and stomped through the grass, cutting back through the trees and beehives.
Her mistake to think he cared about any of it. To think anyone could take on the work except herself.
Just keep working. She weaved through the trees, and didn’t even stop to notice the bees going about their orderly lives.
Just keep working.