Just Want Somebody to Love (Bella Warren Book 1) (17 page)

Justin nodded, and holy hell, he was going to kill his brother for not mentioning this. “Nice. If we can set a time, I’d love to talk.”

“We can try to figure something out.”

He hoped that meant she was over him standing her up. Agreeing to meet for business was a good sign. Unless she was just being polite in front of her mom.

The table quieted as everyone ate, and then just like Whitney called it, a cobbler was placed in the center of the table. Kara scooped him a piece of blackberry while Jana gave him ice cream. “Looks like you were right. That’s a pretty good talent.”

Whitney smiled. “Of course I was. You shouldn’t doubt me. Ever.”

He finished his dessert and drank the last of his tea. “Thanks for the invite to supper. It was a wonderful meal.”

“You’re welcome” and “anytime” were tossed out by everyone at the table. Wade stood. “I don’t know about y’all, but I’m ready for bed.”

Kara yawned. “Right behind you.”

Justin took that as his cue. Sitting stowed his muscles, and this wasn’t going to be fun. He braced himself and managed to push out of his chair without making a scene. “Let me get out of your way. I guess I’ll see y’all in the morning, same time?”

Whitney blinked at him. “You’re coming back?”

Ah, caught her. Did she think she could run him off so easily? She might have thought she got close, but she wasn’t close enough. “Planned to. Is tomorrow an off day? I won’t then.”

“No, not an off day.” She tucked hair behind her ear only for the thick curl to bounce back out. “Most people don’t do this for more than one day in a row, especially when they stay a long time.”

He gave her a lazy shrug. “I’m not most people.”

“So I’ve noticed,” she muttered under her breath. He wasn’t sure he was meant to hear it.

He’d take that as a good thing and leave on a high note. He said his goodbyes, gave thanks again, and headed for his car. Where he fell in the seat. He was afraid it’d take a winch to get him back out of this thing.

Then again, the promise of a bed perked his muscles up. That and he had some questions for Brandon. Justin parked in the back where there were fewer cars. Now the hard part. Getting himself out from behind the wheel. After talking himself into it and counting to three, he pulled with so much pain. He grunted through the ripping of his muscles and managed to get on his feet and inside.

He knew he looked filthy and should shower first, but if he climbed those stairs, he doubted he’d come back down any time soon. He had a date with a bottle of painkillers and his bed.

The bar was busy, but not like he expected with the amount of cars outside. He flagged Brandon over and leaned against the wall, and oh holy hell. He worked out, but he couldn’t even describe the pain that was his lower back. Felt like a railroad spike was impaled in the center and pain radiated out from there through his whole body.

Brandon chuckled as he got closer. “You look like hell.”

“Thanks.”

He tipped to his head to the side and studied him. “But for real, did you quit working out? Work at the farm is hard, but not this hard.”

“Want to see my six-pack to prove I haven’t?” But that would involve lifting his arms, and he just wasn’t sure that was doable. “It’s a different kind of work is all.”

“It’s just planting.”

“Maybe if you didn’t work so much and took more time to help out the neighbors, you’d know it was more than just planting. That was the start of it. Then I got handed a post-hole digger to put in scarecrows, not to mention hauling all that shit out in the fields.”

Brandon frowned. “Scarecrows?”

“Yeah. One spaced every ten or so rows and about fifteen or twenty feet apart down the row. I must have dug thirty or forty holes today.”

“Scarecrows.” Brandon stared at him.

“Yeah. Two boards make a cross. Dressed in old clothes and stuffed with hay? Then you hang tin from the arms to catch light and make noise. We didn’t get that far today. Just got the boards set. Whitney said it’s been years since they’d had them, and her mom wanted to see them again.”

“Right, right.” Brandon flipped his rag over his shoulder. “Sorry. Long day.” He cleared his throat. “Have you made Whitney fall in love with you yet?”

“Working on it. She’s forgiven me for standing her up. And her family must like me enough because it was her brother who invited me to stay for dinner.”

“I’m not sure how that’s relevant, but good for you.”

“Because I got to spend more time with her. And if her family likes me, she’ll like me quicker.” She wasn’t as anxious to go out in the world and see something new as he’d thought, but she needed to think about it.

“Sounds like you have this all figured out.”

“I told you to consider it done. I like her.”

“Oh, well I didn’t know you liked her.”

“Don’t be an ass. And speaking of asses, thanks for letting me know Whitney’s aunt and uncle is where we get our beef from.”

Brandon smirked. “You didn’t like me giving you advice, and I didn’t figure you’d want to hear me say tread carefully.”

“A heads up would have been nice. Is it a strange coincidence that you live here, or what?”

“Or what. The Chesters are the reason I moved here.”

Justin’s brows lifted. “Y’all don’t seem like close friends.”

“We’re not. When Dixie and I separated, I wanted to go back to a small town. I didn’t want to go home, though. I could have picked anywhere on the map for a fresh start, but I remembered S&J talking about their brother who owned a farm and what they did. It sounded charming.”

“Charming.”

“Yeah. I wanted some charming and down-home stuff after all the fighting. Some quiet, country life.”

Justin couldn’t wrap his head around his brother’s logic or find anything charming about a small town. It was so limiting. “Why did you and Dixie break up anyway?”

Brandon tugged the rag off his shoulder. “I have customers waiting.”

Of course he did. Struck that nerve again.

Whitney buckled in and stared across the fields at Justin working under her mom’s direction. Her mom getting to avenge her daughter’s name? Yeah, she’d jumped at that chance and had him busy in an instant. Good thing, because Whitney didn’t have a clue what to do with him. He wasn’t supposed to come back for more. When the rumble of his car had come up the drive just before daylight, her coffee slipped in her hand. Without a plan ready, she’d put him on tomatoes and stayed with him long enough to show how it was done before running for her life. It was impossible to stay around the guy and not start liking him. Which lead to feeling sorry for him. From there it was a one way trip into guilt-land for working the shit-fire out of him. She wasn’t ready to feel guilty for that. Maybe tomorrow, but not today.

Since guilt wasn’t on the menu, escape was. Maybe in the time she was gone handing out things for Kara, Whitney could figure out what in the world to do with him. Or maybe after he spent hours under instructions and over exaggerated nags from her mom, he would give up and leave. If he survived that, well, she really didn’t know then. Nobody survived that.

She had one last box to drop by Tasha. This care package wasn’t earned for planting, but to satisfy Tasha’s raging pregnant hormones. She had the box in hand and headed to the door when Brandon stepped out.

For the first time in, well, ever, he stopped in front of her and poked at his ice cream. She started around him, but he caught her with a look. Okay. Not once could she recall him ever stopping her or anyone. Everyone knew you smiled and nodded toward Brandon and kept going. It was his thing since he moved here years ago.

For him to stop, and was that a smile? Who was this stranger in town? His brows lifted and he shook his head with a chuckle. “Scarecrows, Whitney?”

She pressed her lips together. Damn it. Busted already. “He told you.”

Brandon nodded and a little bit of laughter continued to escape. “Yep.”

Oh shit. That’s why he showed up this morning. That little prick, he was on to her and aimed to out-work her. Damn. “I guess he didn’t take the news too bad, since he came back.”

Brandon chuckled some more. “I didn’t tell him what you were up to.”

She blinked as new hope resurfaced. “He doesn’t know?”

He dug through his ice cream again and was a kitten over the cup. “I almost said something, not realizing you were screwing him over, but I played it off. I’m not getting involved in whatever you’re up to, but if you can manage a picture of him decorating a scarecrow for me, I’d really appreciate it.”

She tucked the box of cookies against her side. “Since you’re not telling, I can get some pictures. He’s working on them with Mom today.”

“Working next to your mom?” More laughter as he shook his head. “I’d pay to see that.”

Who was this laughing, smiling guy? Was this the brother Justin spoke about? She wanted to capture it to show Justin that the man he knew lurked in there somewhere, he just needed to be brought out. That wasn’t her business, though, and sharing life details wasn’t part of this thing between them. “You’re welcome to come to the farm whenever you want.”

He shook his head. “I don’t think I could without laughing and giving the secret away. A picture will be fine.”

“Consider it done.”

He paused and his brows lifted while he stared at her.

She glanced around. “What is it?”

He shook his head. “Nothing. You just reminded me…of someone.”

His wife? She didn’t ask. If he was keeping her secret from Justin, she could damn well keep his. “Well, thanks for not saying anything.”

“What you’re doing is good for him. He needs the grounding.” He gave her the polite Brandon Nod everyone knew, then stepped around her.

Justin liked to call him a grump, but that was pretty awesome big brother behavior right there.

She got in the ice cream store, and before the bell quit dinging to announce her, Tasha came around the corner. “What was that about?”

“I don’t think I’m completely sure, but he knows I’m screwing Justin over at the farm and isn’t telling on me.”

“Everyone knows. It’s all anyone has talked about this morning.”

Great. And what was that unfamiliar itch on the back of her neck? Felt a lot like guilt, but she had nothing to be guilty about. “He came back today. After talking to Brandon, for a minute I wondered if Justin knew and he was humoring me to play at some game.”

“Freaky game.”

She couldn’t agree more and handed over the box. “But since Brandon didn’t tell on me, I’m pretty sure Justin doesn’t know. I don’t know what to do with him.”

“What are you options?”

“I don’t know.”

“What do you want your options to be?”

Naked? She gave a half shake of her head that wouldn’t confirm or deny anything. She wanted him naked with her about as much as a dog wanted a steak. So, well, a lot. But she didn’t want to say that and leaned on her new favorite phrase. “I don’t know.”

“Are you still mad he stood you up?”

Good question. “Should I be?”

“I don’t know,” she repeated. “Is he worth forgiving?”

For another night together? She could laugh. Or cry. He was worth another night without forgiving him because it had been that good.

“Uh-oh.” Tasha eyed her with an examining tilt of her head.

Whitney pushed her hair back and was sure she didn’t want to hear more. “What?”

“That look.”

Oh boy. She turned away. “I don’t have a look.”

“You have more than a look.” Tasha studied her and nodded. “You might as well be holding a neon sign. You’ve already forgiven him.”

Maybe. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You like him.”

“I don’t dislike him.” He showed up for another day after she put him through the ringer yesterday. How could a person not like the guy?

“A week ago you were cursing his existence.”

“That was a week ago.”

“You
like
-like him.”

Oh God. The
like
-like. “I…” She shrugged and ended that statement before she buried herself in a hole she didn’t want to be in. “I don’t know what I am.”

Tasha’s mouth dropped. “Oh. My. God. You’re falling for him.”

“I am not.” She took a step back from those burning words. She didn’t know him long enough or well enough for that kind of talk. “He’s just a very likeable person.”

“Sure he is.”

“He is. He’s charming. And he…” Her throat tightened. Oh boy.

“And he…” Tasha leaned forward and motioned for more.

“He flirts very well.”

Tasha leaned back and studied her. “Is this about him standing you up before or because you know he’s leaving town soon?”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“Sure you do. You like him but you know he’s not staying. That makes him complicated. So it’s easier to pretend you hate him than admit you like-like him when you know he’s leaving soon.”

Whitney might have had that thought a time or twenty. Three thousand other ideas racketed around in her head, too, so she wasn’t committing to anything. “I don’t know. He’s a lot to take in. And people make long-distance relationships work all the time, so that’s not an issue.”

“You better figure out what you want from him soon.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because if you think you’re the only girl in town who’s got an eye on him, you’re crazy. If there’s a chance you want him, you better make that clear. If you don’t, you’re close to moving into friend zone.”

Was she circling that drain? That night together with him landed front and center in her head. That definitely couldn’t be considered friend zone. Then again, he hadn’t made any moves on her since he’d been back either. Hmm. Tasha had a point. Whitney nodded and walked out the shop, even more confused now than before.

Sure there was a moment at supper when he’d put his hand on her leg. He’d paused and everything about the room stopped. That touch on her thigh had drawn all her focus. His hand, with slightly roughened fingertips, had become her whole world at her brother’s table.

She didn’t know what she wanted, and she wasn’t sure why she even bothered with these thoughts. He made it clear last time he wasn’t into relationships that much. And a long-distance one seemed like it would take a hell of a lot more work than a regular one.