Page 40 of Ring Me

Everyone was shifting in their seats. I couldn't read the room because I was busy gawking at Conner. He wouldn't change anything about this? Did he mean that?

“My wife,” Pappy said, drawing our attention to him. “The first time I met her, she was dropping off a basket of eggs to my partner on our farm. He wasn't around, so she asked if I could deliver them for her. I said yes, right after she agreed to go out to dinner with me.” He chuckled as he relived the memory. His joy stirred my heart.

“Daddy, did you really?” My mom asked. She had her fingers over her mouth but it barely hid her smile. “She never told me that story.”

“Oh, no, she wouldn't have,” Pappy said. “Your mother was fiercely proud, and she'd been given enough scolding about how fast she started dating me, I know it was a sore spot for her. Times were different back then.” His attention went fuzzy, like he was staring backwards into his own history. When he looked at me, I braced myself. “Maya, don't let anyone tell you the 'right' speed to fall in love. That's not something anyone can control.”

My aunt grumbled something, then pushed herself from the table. “I'll go grab the watermelon from the fridge.” Her shoulders were pinched together as she walked stiffly into the house.

Mom gave me a little nudge. I got her meaning: Good job!

Her happiness was obvious to me.

What I wanted to know, though...

Was how Conner really felt.

****

THE AIR SMELLED LIKEa burning campfire long after we'd cleaned up our meal. I'd helped put everything away until my mother had flapped her hands at me, insisting she and Jemine would clean the mess.

I was sure she was trying to show her father how helpful, how doting, she could be, especially with her sister navigating the scene with a confidence that came from being on the property more often.

Not wanting to get in the middle of their one-up battle, I wandered through the grassy backyard until I hit the tree line. My grandfather's home was on a large piece of land. It was attached to a farm, but I knew he owned much more than the small cornfield I could see. He and his partner, before the man had died, had owned the business going back fifty years.

The number of farms they rented out and took royalties from in this county was immense. He lived a simple life, but Pappy's estate was wealthy. Suddenly, the cornfield below made me queasy.

If there was no money here, I wouldn't be in the middle of this whole mess. I hugged myself and shivered in the cool breeze. I could be back in the city, working on my own business, and not dealing with...

The ground crunched behind me. I turned, seeing Conner approaching. He shielded his eyes from the blazing red setting sun, smiling in his usual relaxed way. Pappy's house was a dot over his shoulder in the distance. “Hey,” I said.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Sorry if I walked off without warning. I didn't mean to make you come looking for me.”

“I knew where you were,” he said, coming closer.

“You did?”

His eyes glinted playfully. “Of course. I didn't take my attention off of you for a single second today. I saw you walk out here, I thought you must have wanted to be alone, so I waited.”

The fact that he'd watched me all day delighted me. Pushing long strands of my ginger hair from my forehead, I turned towards him. The sunset had turned my hair into a burning red cloud that framed my face. “Conner... I'm sorry about today. When I asked you to do this, I thought it would be less... I don't know. Personal? Weird?” I laughed nervously. “Fuck, this is beyond crazy. I should have told my mom no from the start.”

His hands clasped onto my shoulders, pulling my sweater tighter around me. It was a protective gesture but it didn't stop there. Conner kept pulling until our bodies were pressed tight, his warmth more radiant than the material of my sweater, more welcome than any fabric could ever be. He held me close, winding his arms around the small of my back. There was just enough space between us that I could look up into his fierce, emotional eyes. “You're forgetting yourself, Cherry,” he whispered.

“What?”

“The scene,” he growled, clutching tighter. “You didn't say the safe word so our scene isn't over. Stop pretending this is about what your mom asked, and remember it's about me getting on one knee and asking you to be my wife.”

His words stole the air from my lungs. Was he trying to make me feel better by telling me to pretend my reason for this fake engagement wasn't something to be ashamed of? Or did he just not want to deal with my bad mood? “Conner—”

“If you want to talk logistics, you know what to do.” His fingers tightened on my shoulders. “But until you spit that word out, I'm going to hold up my end of the bargain. Do you understand?”

We locked our eyes on each other. He was giving me an exit—say the safe word, end the game, and walk away.

“Okay. I understand.”

“Good,” he breathed, the heat of his voice stirring the hairs on my neck. He kissed my temple softly. “Sweet Cherry, you have no idea how hard it was to keep my hands off of you all day. When we sat together at the picnic table I was aching to reach under and squeeze your thigh. When you stood up to clear my plate, your ass was in my face and I nearly nipped it through your jeans.”

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