Page 29 of So Wrong It Must Be Right

“It strikes me that we actually have a lot in common. We just happen to be on opposite sides of things,” Dinah said.

“In my experience, people on opposite sides of an argument usually have a lot in common—a lot of the same experiences, and a lot of the same feelings. But because people want different things and need different things, sometimes you find yourself alone, with a farm in the middle of St. Louis instead of where you wanted it to be.”

“You don’t want to be here?”

“Don’t read into that, Dinah.” He thought about correcting the Dinah to D, but he waited for her to do it instead. She didn’t.

Everything was getting mixed together, though. Talking about land and what they wanted. What they were fighting for. It was all blurring the cross purposes that stood between them.

They sat in silence for a little while, both looking up at the stars and enjoying the way the night air was cooling off after an unseasonably warm September day.

Carter couldn’t help but feel a certain sense of loss that spending personal time together wasn’t possible long-term. Because no matter how often he told himself it was crazy to have developed feelings for the woman he was exchanging emails with, he had. It had been a fantasy, but that fantasy had been truthful, in that he’d given his honest self to it.

He’d been maybe a better, more adventurous version of himself in the emails, but it was stillhimat the core. Based on the past few interactions with Dinah, he was starting to believe that she’d been herself too.

Unfortunately, she was someone he could understand and admire. Even though she was fighting him, he got why. Much like when his father had decided to sell the farm, he had understood. He’d disagreed with Dad’s decision, but he’d understood why Dad didn’t have it in him to keep it.

The farm was a struggle, and the price had been exorbitant, and Dad had missed Mom. The farm had gotten so much harder for Dad after Mom died, and even though Carter had done everything to help out, just as his sisters had done everything they could to help, it hadn’t been the same for Dad. He hadn’t been able to face those memories, especially when so much money was on the table. Dad had figured that farming was changing enough he would’ve lost it anyway to suburban sprawl, so why not lose it when it still had value?

Carter had understood all of that in his rational, reasonable mind, but his heart had felt completely different. He’d known his mother would’ve wanted him to follow his heart. So he’d fought Dad and the girls and lost. He hadn’t had the power.

Dinah was dealing with a similar struggle. No, she wasn’t in danger of losing Gallagher’s. It would always be there, and it would always have her name on it. But she was fighting for her place in it, and even though he could never sacrifice his land, it didn’t mean he didn’t understand.

Since he was twelve years old, he’d understood life is complicated and getting what you want isn’t the same thing as being happy. He’d learned very quickly that right and wrong aren’t black and white.

He thought perhaps Dinah had that black-and-white view of life. He doubted she’d be able to hang on to that simple view given all of the complexities life could offer.

“You want a drink?” he asked, needing to move away from his thoughts.

“As long as it’s alcoholic,” she returned with a smile.

He dropped a soft kiss on her head, feeling protective. “I wouldn’t dream of anything but.”

Chapter 9

Dinah sat on Carter’s little back porch enjoying the cool fall evening and the twinkling stars and moon above.

A light shone from the window of Carter’s kitchen, casting flickering shadows on the porch. It was a nice moment. Oddly comforting and warm. It felt like the right thing to do after a bad day. Unwind in this postage stamp of towering plants, the smell of earth overtaking the usual smell of the city.

Despite the fact that nothing could make her not think about Kayla, this was comforting and relaxing as much as anything could be. Even more so when Carter came out and handed her a glass of wine.

“It’s some two-buck-chuck shit. I’m guessing a little different than you’re used to.”

“Long as it gets the job done.” She took a sip of the bittersweet liquid. Not the tastiest wine she’d ever had, but she wasn’t joking: As long as it got the job done, taste didn’t matter.

She slipped off her heels and let them clatter to the cement below. She drew her legs up under her, and she settled in. Because she wasn’t Dinah right now, she was D. A woman with no worries and no concerns and certainly no obnoxious family members trying to drive her insane.

Erasing the people she loved from her thoughts, even temporarily, offered little comfort.

She blew out a breath, needing to get out of her head, so she turned to him. Focused in on Carter Trask. Well, C. Or maybe both. “How did you start the farm?”

Carter had settled himself into an uncomfortable-looking chair, and he let out a breath and then took a drink from a can of beer before he answered. “Well, I’d moved in with my uncle on his farm after Dad sold out. A few years later, he was making plans to sell his place in north county. About the same time, Grandma started falling a lot. She was thinking of selling the house and moving into one of those assisted living type apartments.” He paused, clearly remembering his grandmother and feeling sad about it. So Dinah let the silence linger, paying attention instead to the odd sounds of insects in the middle of the city at night.

He took another couple of sips and a deep breath before he spoke again.

“I had a decision to make. I could either move to New York with my Dad and my sister, or I could go to California, where my other sister could probably get me a job. Without my uncle’s farm, I didn’t have a job or a place to live, and I didn’t know what I could do. Farming was the only thing I’d ever done or wanted to do.”

This time when he paused, Dinah did something she knew she shouldn’t. She slid her hand over his arm. So they were sitting there, chairs next to each other, staring out at the night sky, touching.

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