Page 100 of The Best Kind of Bad

I want to ask her why she’s running then. Why is she still bent on selling? I was starting to fall in love with the idea of Marnie and me working together, creating something new and beautiful on her family’s land. I want to ask why. But I don’t want to spoil the moment.

What I have isnow. And if that’s all I get, that’s enough.

I lay back, slipping my arm under her so that she can use it as a pillow. She snuggles into my chest and I pull a blanket over us. A few miles away, the first firework explodes in a concussive blast of sound. I angle our bodies so we can watch the show without getting up.

Snugging her closer to my chest, I run my fingers over her arm. “So, are you?”

She plays with my fingers. “Am I what?”

“On birth control.”

“Oh. Yes. I am.”

Silly, but I’m disappointed by that. The second she mentioned a pregnancy, the dream started growing in my chest.

That’s what I want, a family with Marnie, and I want it so badly it hurts.

65.

Marnie

I step out of the old building and look back at it. One hundred years ago, Marcus Hill moved to Silver Bend from Sante Fe, New Mexico. He built this mortuary in the classic adobe style, as though clay and stained glass the color of Southwestern Turquoise could make up for Nebraska’s long winters and featureless plains. A bit morbid, perhaps, to think about putting a bakery in an old mortuary. But I have eaten at a restaurant in St. Louis that was built in an old funeral home. It didn’t lack for panache.

But this building isn’t going to work. It’s got more problems than Swiss cheese has holes.

The realtor, Jana Harding, locks the doors and turns back to me. She’s beautiful, in her own way, made up with ice pink lipstick and baby blue eyeshadow. “So, what do you think? Could you make it work?”

I shake my head. “I don’t think so. It’s a beautiful building, but it would take too much work to get into shape.”

She nods, like she knew that was my answer all along. “You need something more turnkey?”

“Yeah, I think so.”

“Okay. I’ll see what I can do. I don’t have any more options in Silver Bend. Would you think about Clark?”

I wanted to have the bakery in Silver Bend so that I could stay near Dusty. That way, if he needed a quick hand on the farm, I could just hop over. “Clark would be a bit of a commute, but I think I could make it work if there’s nothing else.”

Jana lifts a shoulder. “Short of new construction, or retro-fitting your house, I’m afraid you’re next best option is Clark.”

“Okay. Send me what you’ve got. I’m open to the idea.”

She nods sharply. “How soon are you looking to buy?”

“As soon as possible. I want to get my bakery back up and running.”

“You bet. We’ll find you something that will be just perfect. I need to head back soon. I’m meeting a little family at one who’s looking for their first starter home. Real quick, did I hear that right, that you’ve got Dusty Larson working for you?”

My heart does that funny little flutter thing it always does when someone mentions his name. “Yep. He’s the farm manager.”

“Can I ask a favor?”

“Sure.”

She digs around in her satchel. “We ran a little late on this visit. I was supposed to stop by and drop some listings off for him, but I won’t have time.”

My stomach bottoms out. Listings? For what?

She pulls out a small stack of printouts. “I could drive them out later, but that’s an awful long way to go.”

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