Page 89 of Always Meant for You
I need a long, hot shower and the strongest cup of coffee I can get.
“Mornin’, Mabel!”
I nearly jump out of my skin as Kenny ambles past, chewing a piece of hay like he stepped straight out of a tractor commercial.
I force a smile. “Morning.”
My gaze shoots back to the cottage.
I tug at the hem of my shirt.
No, Cal’s shirt.
This cannot be happening.
“I know what it looks like,” I say quickly, my voice too loud for a casual conversation. “But nothing happened with Cal. I mean, something did happen.”
Kenny’s brows lift in slow motion.
My throat tightens.
“No, not that. Nothing inappropriate. Not that I think about those things. About Cal.”
He blinks.
I raise my hands in surrender. “We worked late. Marketing plans. You know, business things.”
I snap my lips shut.
Kenny adjusts his Muldowney Farms cap. “Your goat’s hanging in there. I got a few ounces of formula into him.”
Relief floods my system.
I’ve never been so grateful for a man’s refusal to engage in awkward girl talk in all my life.
“Thanks for doing that. I’ll check on him later.”
“No problem.” He nods before heading down the path toward the strawberry fields.
I rake my fingers through my hair, catch on something, and pull out a crushed leaf.
Perfect.
Day two in Elverna, and I already look like a cautionary tale.
I scan the yard. It’s empty. But the second I exhale, I spot my reflection in the farmhouse window and flinch.
I look exactly how I feel.
I ease the back door open and peek inside the kitchen. It’s empty. Thank God.
I tiptoe down the hall and up the stairs, skipping the creaky second step out of pure muscle memory. The door to my room is open. I peer inside from the hall. My suitcases are lined up neatly next to the bed.
Nothing’s changed in here.
My desk, my bed, the photos pinned to the corkboard, it’s all the same. The entire room is frozen in time.
I glance at the door to Jamie’s old room and blink away tears. I will not cry. The last thing he’d want me doing is bawling my eyes out.
