Page 23 of Till The Cows Come Home
How had I not thought of any of this?
I made a mental note to work on marketing, and while Sage finished poking toothpicks through little blocks of cheese, I grabbed milk from the crates to set up the display cooler. When it was just about full, Sage sauntered over, and when she saw my efforts she just shook her head.
“No one can see anything but the caps. You’re loading it like it’s beers at a frat party.”
She immediately began rearranging my work, tilting the bottles so the farm logo was showing.
“See? Much better.”
“You’re right.”
Sage reached around her pockets searching frantically until she found her phone, and confusion washed through me as she held it between us.
“Can you say that again? I want to record it.”
“Go stand behind the table.” I laughed, playfully swatting her phone away from me. “I gotta grab the cash box.”
I ran to my truck to retrieve it and as I walked back I was surprised to see Sage had actually listened to me. Her playfulness had disappeared, though, and she inhaled deeply as the patrons began entering the park, almost as if she was readying herself for the unknown of it all. But before I had even made it back to the table, she was spotted, countless eyes lighting up with recognition.
People really did love her.
Aside from restocking the milk cooler and making change, I stood back, allowing Sage to run the show, and man, was she a natural. She explained the cheese-making process, turning to me to explain the processes she didn’t know, and once they understood, she recommended other local products to pair it with. All the while she simultaneously remained attentive to everyone that stopped by.
“Some man just came up to my stall and said a pretty girl suggested he pair the cheese he got with my bagel chips. Imagine my confusion when I look up and see the star crossed enemies running the farm stand together.”
Sage looked back to me for help, but I raised my hands in surrender. I’d been in the middle of enough squabbles with Beth to know better.
“We have a business deal,” Sage responded coolly.
“Ahh, do the googly eyes from tall and handsome happen to come with this deal?”
“The googly eyes are customary for all pretty women, Beth. That’s why I always have them around you,” I added, trying my best to shield Sage from embarrassment.
“Whatever you need to tell yourself, baby. I just came over to let you kids know I’m happy you’re playing nice. You look good back behind this table.”
Beth’s stamp of approval earned her a kiss that Sage affectionately planted on the old woman’s cheek.
“Thanks Beth,” she whispered.
The market was slammed and a couple of hours later, Sage called to me to grab another crate of bottles. When I dropped the tailgate though, the bed was empty.
We were out.
I walked behind Sage, lowering my mouth to her ear, chuckling as the hairs on her neck rose.
“We're out,” I whispered.
“What?” she asked, spinning around so fast that our faces almost collided.
“Sorry folks,” I called out, momentarily ignoring the big blue eyes gazing up at me. “We’re sold out! We have some business cards out front if you’d like to contact the farm to make additional orders. Thank you everyone for your support!”
As I watched the crowd disperse, I could feel Sage’s gaze fixed on me and I stumbled backwards at the sudden crash of her body against mine as she wrapped her arms around me. A misplaced crate sent me onto my back and when I landed, Sage was on top of me. She pressed her forehead to mine, her body shuddering as silent laughter coursed through her.
Tears streamed down her face as she tried to rein herself in, but when my own chuckle escaped, we both lost it. We laid that way for a while, shielded by the walls of the tent, and it wasn’t until we caught our breath that the realization hit. Sage was still on top of me. Our bodies were blissfully connected, and I became acutely aware of my hands resting on the curves of her hips. Her face reddened as if her mind was going through the same motions, but she didn’t move, not until her eyes fluttered closed and in that moment, I realized she wasn’t pulling away.
Sage was leaning in.
Chapter Twelve
