Page 79 of Tinder Embrace
“Sorry, ma’am, he passed away more than a decade ago.”
Her brow wrinkled. “Shame.” She shrugged, waving. “Have a good day. Be sure to get plenty of rest and hydrate. You need to keep your strength up.”
Was it my imagination that she watched my butt all the way to my truck? At least she stopped short of congratulating me for all the sex.
I drove to the farm supply store, eager to shake off the odd goodbye.
Bypassing the pet supplies, I headed straight for the fencing section. Plucking a box of galvanized staples from the shelf, I returned to the cashier and set them on the counter.
"Morning, Davis. Doing trellis maintenance today?" the clerk, Alicia, asked around a wad of chewing gum.
"Yep."
She nodded, used to me coming in for odds and ends during the season.
Dallas and a few other men waved from the coffee counter as I shoved the receipt in my pocket and ambled over.
My neighbor was nice enough, in the good ol’ boy way common in our extended farming community. We pitched in and helped each other out in emergencies, or with the occasional equipment loan. Our business could be lonely and tough when you were pitted against larger corporations that could afford the newest equipment and cutting-edge techniques. By comparison, we had tradition and each other.
"Hey, Dallas. Ray."
Ray nodded his welcome. He was a wiry man in his thirties, his dark hair hidden beneath a ballcap, and he wore the standard farmer gear of jeans and a flannel with work boots. His primary crop was wheat, which had made his farm the perfect landing zone on Saturday. It was too early in his growing season to do any harm to his crop.
"Thanks again for letting us land at your place this weekend."
Ray grinned. "It was worth it to see you in one of the cursed hot air balloons you've been railing against the last few months. How the mighty have fallen, eh?"
"I can admit when I'm wrong," I said, striving for nonchalant.
He didn't need to know his comment hit home in more ways than one. I'd fallen hard. Distracted by thoughts of Sophie, I missed Dallas's reply.
"Earth to Davis," Dallas said, snapping his fingers to get my attention. "Have you really had a change of heart about the festival?"
"Yeah."
His brows rose. "Sophie must have beenverypersuasive."
I frowned at his tone. "She gave me a ride, let me see what all the fuss was about and how careful they are about getting landowner permission and not damaging their landing zones."
Dallas snorted, a shit-eating grin taking over his features. "Sure, Davis. Maybe she'll givemea ride, show me what all the fuss is about."
My hands clenched, and I took a step forward, crowding Dallas with my bulk. We were pretty evenly matched, but if he kept running his mouth about Sophie, he'd remember why my football nickname had been "The Beast." I didn't give in, and I didn't fucking lose.
Ray placed a hand on my arm. "Hey, I'm sure he didn't mean that how it sounded."
Finally sensing the danger, Dallas held up his hands and stepped back. "My bad. I didn't know you were plowing that field."
I growled, annoyed that Dallas couldn't seem to shut up. Disrespecting Sophie was the fastest way to get on my bad side.
Ray shook his head at Dallas, keeping a restraining arm on my wrist. I breathed through the anger, resisting the urge to growl again. I focused on filling my ribcage with each breath, visualizing the air expanding in my chest before I blew it all out.
As satisfying as it would be to knock his block off, Sophie would be disappointed in me.I’dbe disappointed in me. Picturing her sweet face, it was easy to find my earlier contentment.
Dallas only had gossip. I had Sophie.
Calm settled over me.
Dallas was a solid reminder of why I'd worked to grow beyond my hair-trigger temper. Even grown-ass men sometimes acted the fool, running their mouths when they should be quiet.
