Page 32 of Sawyer
“He said he wants to sweep me off my feet.”I can’t help but share that tidbit, and she smiles like the cat that got the cream.
“Good.Make him work for it.”She winks at me, and I suddenly feel giddy.
“So Sawyer grew up in New York?”I ask, wondering what she knows.
“Yes, born and bred there, raised by a single mom.Tanner tells me that it was tough when they were kids, only finding success in their twenties.I think that’s why Tanner loves him so much.He came from nothing and made something of himself.He has good morals.”Victoria starts tapping on her laptop, looking at something.
I swallow as I take in the information.He was raised by a single mom?He hasn’t mentioned that.I start to feel a little odd, given that I’m a single mom of two boys as well.Does he feel sorry for me?Does he feel some weird connection to me because of his own upbringing?Self-doubt starts to creep in, because I was already struggling to understand why a man such as Sawyer is interested in a woman like me when he could have anyone in the city.I know all those women in the city are glamorous, beautiful, smart.Yet as I lift my phone and look at my text messages, I see the one where he mentioned he was looking forward to seeing me, and my heart still skips a beat.
“Oh, wow.”Victoria breaks into my thoughts.
“What?”I look over at her and see a wide grin.
“Our sales.They’re going through the roof!”I look at her screen and see in real time, orders coming through for the soaps, and my eyebrows rise.
“Thank God we’ve got good stock levels stored at the distillery warehouse.I’ll be packing these all night!”She laughs, and I join her, both of us dancing in our seats.
Sawyer didn’t have to do that.Just like he didn’t have to fix my car, and he didn’t have to deliver the contracts to my door.I just hope he’s doing everything for the right reasons.As much as I’m looking forward to seeing him again and cooking for him, I want him to look forward to it because he has feelings for me, not because he’s trying to save me from a life he’s already endured.
15
Sawyer
As I drive from the airport and snake my way around the roads, an odd feeling of contentment lowers my shoulders.I feel like I’m home.Like I can breathe for the first time in days.Which is odd, because I left New York this afternoon and just landed in Whispers.The one place I swore I’d never settle, yet the one place that’s feeling more and more like it’s where I’m meant to be.
As I edge closer to Annabelle’s house, an excitement twirls in my stomach that hasn’t been there in a very long time.She has me off my game.I’m usually so much smoother with women.I give flowers, chocolates, and pick them up for dates, sweeping them off their feet at the top restaurants in the city with the best bottles of wine.Getting her four brand-new tires was obviously too much for her, but I was at a loss at what to get her to show my affection.When it comes to Annabelle, I’m some idiot who falls in cow manure, says or does the wrong thing, and can’t even flirt properly over text.
I pull into Annabelle’s gravel driveway and slowly make my way up to her place.The late afternoon sun is hitting the lavender, making the entire field look vibrant purple.It’s beautiful.She mentioned having great soil, and it’s clear by the large bushes that she’s right.
Spotting Kevin outside, I turn off my truck and jump out.“Hey, Kevin.”I walk up to him, pocketing my hands.I’m in my usual suit, not really farm attire as per usual, and I watch Kevin, with a baseball and a glove on, throwing the ball into a small stack of hay bales, before running and grabbing it, and then heading back to the same spot and throwing again.
“Hey.”He pays me little attention.By the look of concentration and the sweat on his brow, I’m assuming he’s been out here for a while.
“Are you practicing your pitching?”I squint at him, watching his throw.He has a good arm on him.Strong, fast, and accurate.The ball hits the same marker on the bales each and every time.
“Yeah.”His vocabulary is clearly not in working order today either.
“Do you have a spare glove?I can throw with you.”It’s been a while since I threw a ball, but it’s something I enjoy doing.I look at his glove.It’s old, falling apart, and the ball doesn’t look much better.
“No, just got this one.”He continues throwing the ball.Not even looking my way.At least he offers me more words this time.
“Looks like you need a new glove.It seems like an old one.”
“Was my dad’s.”I swallow.Fuck.
“Oh, a bit of family history, then,” I offer with a small smile.I wonder how he’s coping without his father.I know too well how hard it can be when you’re young and don’t have that father figure in your life, someone you desperately need.
“It’s a piece of shit, just like he was.”For the first time this conversation, he looks right at me.His eyes flame.
My jaw clenches as I take in his words and see the hurt and anger in his gaze.I never really knew my father, but it seems like Kevin remembers his all too well.That feeling I had when I last saw Annabelle, the way she flinched when I touched her cheek, these little snippets of her story are now starting to add up, and the picture I’m getting is not a good one.
“Kevin!Oh Sawyer, you’re here.”Annabelle’s voice breaks through our moment like sweet honey, and Kevin’s face immediately softens.“Sorry, I was just out the back; I didn’t hear you come up.”
She walks down the porch steps toward us.The small breeze blows through her pretty blond hair, her eyes sparkling like she’s happy to see me.With her wide smile aimed my way, I release the breath I was holding, my body relaxing instantly.
“I was just chatting with Kevin; he’s got a good throw on him.Looks to be pitcher material.”
Kevin looks at me like he’s confused that I would offer him a compliment.
