Page 61 of Country Charm

“Delivery for Ms. Walker.” A voice cuts through the room, and a young woman holding a brown bag in her arms appears in the doorway. Standing, I walk over to her, confusion clouding my mind.

“That’s me… what do I owe you?” Taking the food and setting it down on my desk, I pull open the drawer that holds my bag and wallet.

“It’s taken care of.” She beams and turns on her heel to leave.

“Looks like you’ve got it all covered. Well, I better get something myself.” Dominic’s voice has a slight edge to it. It seems like he can recognize he’s not getting anywhere, and I imagine that frustrates him. He seems the type that likes to get his way. It’s funny, we’re similar in that sense.

“Yeah…” As I’m going to send him on his way my phone rings in my pocket. Smiling at Dom, I pull it out. “I better get this, have a nice lunch.” Polite is the only way I can describe my tone. It’s not friendly, or rude, more considerate than anything else. Without even looking, I hit the green icon on my phone.

“Hello?” I say, giving a small dismissive look to Dom. He gives me a short wave and leaves quickly.

“Hey Beautiful, the deli said your food was delivered. Did it get there? I don’t know what to make of all thesedamn apps.” Hunter’s frustration makes me giggle. The man knows enough about technology to get him by, but he’s by no means savvy. He uses outdated Microsoft software for all his farm work and bookkeeping and still has a Hotmail account.

“Yes, it’s here, but I haven’t peeked at what it is.” Hunter said Deli, but the bag feels warm.

“Just a sandwich. I thought about getting you a soup, but a sandwich sounded better.”

“I appreciate the lunch, any lunch. I wasn’t hungry until I smelled this.” It’s true, I was more focused on getting that cup of coffee than anything to eat. Now that I smell whatever is in this brown bag, I’m suddenly hungry. “Are you on lunch?”

“I stepped inside the house to grab a quick bite. You seemed busy, so I figured some real food would be better than a vending machine Pop-tart or bag of chips.”

“I did that like twice…”

“Last week,” he chuckles, and it makes me smile. I wrap my free arm around my waist and sink into my chair. I like the way Hunter makes me feel. I should listen to the girls, and just see this through. What does that mean for everything else in my life?

“Anything from Jake?” I ask him.

“No, and I called half a dozen times. I figure when he sees it, he’ll know to get back to me. Right?” Hunter is truly concerned. The way he has taken this kid under his wing melts me. The natural parental intuition and genuine want to care and be there for him. It’s not something a lot of people do, especially in my city.

I could not show up to work and my boss would call once and then just plan on reaming me out the next day I showed up. My coworkers would show little interest untilsome kind of rumor started to mill around, but that’s not the way Hunter or his little town run things.

“Yeah, he’ll know. Are you going to wait until tomorrow before driving over?”

“Probably not, if he doesn’t get to me before dinner, I’ll make a stop over there.”

“Okay, let me know either way.” I sigh and start to open up my lunch.

“Work’s weighin’ on you heavy today, I can hear it.”Shit. I don’t want Hunter to have to worry about me, on top of Jake.

“Yeah, maybe a little but I need to pep up for Mary’s bachelorette party this weekend. The next two weeks are going to be busy.”

“Do you guys have a lot planned between now and then?” Hunter asks that question and actually cares about what I’m going to say next. He’s not just asking to make conversation. He cares about how my next two weeks look. He cares if I have a lot on my plate.

“Yes and no; this week I have some errands to run to make sure everything is all set for this weekend, but Georgie split some of those with me. Next week is busier, but Trent hired an amazing wedding planner. So honestly, there’s not a bunch for us to do. We are making the thank you trinkets together over wine next week after the bachelorette party, that’s our only official plan.”

“I can only imagine how crazy wedding planning is,” Hunter chuckles.

It doesn’t rub me the right way. How would Hunter’s wedding look? I can’t imagine him getting married in a church wearing a suit and tie. I can’t imagine him in a grand reception hall making a big toast.

What is worse than what I can’t imagine, is what I canimagine. I can imagine him at the top of the hill of a green pasture with wildflowers, wearing dress slacks and a dress shirt, with that stupid hat on his head. I can imagine an outdoor reception with string lights and live music. I can imagine him making a toast and his whole town hootin’ and hollerin’. I can imagine me laughing at his stupid words. I’ve known this man for less than a month, this can’t be healthy.

“Yeah, I can’t. Definitely not my cup of tea.” My words just make him laugh a little more.

“I know, Cass. You don’t have to tell me.”

We chat for a few more moments lightly when I hear a man yell for him.

“Shit Babe, I gotta run. Maybe someone heard somethin’ on Jake.”Babe? Fuck, is it weird that I like that?

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