Page 32 of Still Love You

CHAPTER EIGHT

Silas

I'm exhausted. I was up all night thinking about Willow. Thinking about what will happen if Carl is forced to use Willow's college fund to save the business. Willow would have to drop out of school, live with her parents, and get a job until she could save up enough money to go back to college. If that ends up happening, it'll change her life, her plan for her future.

"We're breaking for lunch," Ricco says. He's one of the workers, a guy around 30 with a wife and two kids. He used to do construction but hasn't been able to find work the past few months so ended up here.

"I think I'll just work through it, but thanks." 

He nods and walks off. The other guys are already seated at the picnic tables having lunch.

It's a lot cooler today and cloudy. I've been digging up carrots all morning and now I'm planting onions. I keep telling Carl he needs to change what he grows. People aren't willing to pay much for carrots and onions, even organic ones. And they're even cheaper at the grocery store so he's had to lower his prices to compete. I've suggested he try growing more unusual varieties you can't get in the store so he could charge more, but he's stubborn like his daughter so it's hard to get him to make changes. I also keep telling him to plant flowers, which people pay a lot of money for, but he says you can't eat flowers and his farm is meant to feed people.

"Hey, Silas." I hear Willow's voice and feel my lips rise. Just the sound of her voice makes me smile.

I stand up and wipe my dirty hands on my jeans. "Hey. What are you doing here?"

"I brought sandwiches. I gave one to my dad and I brought a couple for you. I thought you might want more than one after working out here all morning."

"You made me sandwiches?" I smile wider.

"If you don't want them, it's okay. One of the other guys might want them."

"They're not getting my lunch. Where are these sandwiches?"

"In the car." She glances back at the red Honda Civic. "I had to borrow your mom's car. My mom took the Prius to her new job."

So Willow knows about the job, but her mom must not have told her why she took it.

"Silas. Did you hear me? My mom got a job! An office job. At a real estate company!" She grabs my hand. "Come on. Let's go have lunch. I've been dying to talk to you about this."

"Why me?"

She rolls her eyes. "Because you're my friend, that's why. I tell you everything."

"You haven't talked to me in two years," I say as we walk through the field.

"Yeah, well, that was a mistake. I should've talked to you. I told you I was sorry."

We reach the picnic tables where all the workers are sitting.

Willow leans over to me and quietly says, "Could we have lunch in your truck?"

"Sure. I'll meet you over there. I need to wash up." I go over to the hose and scrub my hands with the liquid soap Carl keeps out here. When I get to my truck, I see Willow has lowered the tailgate and is sitting at the edge of the truck bed, her feet dangling down. She's wearing the red cowboy boots she keeps out here on the farm. She changes into them when she walks through the fields. I love those boots. They give her a sexy cowgirl look. Her long brown hair is in a loose braid with wispy strands blowing around her face. And she's wearing denim shorts and a sleeveless blue plaid, button-up shirt.

That's a smoking hot outfit. Sexy cowgirl all the way. I just wish she was my cowgirl.

"Here." She hands me a sandwich. "It's almond butter and mashed strawberries. It's all I could find."

"Sounds good." I lean over and kiss her cheek. "Thanks. You look really hot, by the way."

She looks down, her legs swinging back and forth. "It's just shorts and a shirt."

"Believe me." I eye her up and down. "It's more than that. You look like a sexy cowgirl. Make sure to wear that to my house tonight."

She smiles. "I'm going there to help you study so I was planning to wear my sexy school girl outfit."

She's torturing me with this on-and-off flirting. I'm doing the same thing, but she can more easily hide the effects it has on her. I can't. If she got a good look at my jeans right now she'd know what her little comment did to me.

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