Page 5 of The Inn

I take a step away from CC. Salty seizes the opportunity. He shamelessly rubs the broad flat of his face against her chest, putting enough force into it that I swear he's aiming to topple her over. CC giggles and presses against him, her laughter filling the air.

I take a step back and admire her. I note the way a smile dances across her lips. The way her eyebrows raise in delight. I let CC have her fun with Salty for a moment and commit the sight of her swollen tits being jostled to memory. I know that I’ll be pulling this memory out later in the shower, and I hate that about myself too.

If he isn’t the luckiest damn horse I’ve ever met.

I’ve never been jealous of a horse before and when I can’t take it any longer, I shoo Salty away. “We’re at work, don’t forget. It ain’t all loving on horses around here.”

“Right, no problem. He’s just so cute.” She hesitates. “And Jameson, thank you for being so sweet with me. The anxiety can come out of nowhere, I’ve learned to live with it. I work around it really but…” She trails off.

I brush off the conversation, I can’t start caring about her more than I already do. “Come on, those boards ain’t gonna fix themselves.”

We walk further into the enclosure toward the broken boards and Salty insists on following us. He’s as enamored with CC as I am. When I kneel to start the repair, CC takes out her phone. She uses the silence to go open season on me with questions and just like that, resisting her gets easier.

The mundane prompts never end. It’s boring shit that no one cares about.What do we grow on the farm? How do we generate revenue? What is our tie to the community?I give her one-word answers at first. Then decide that the best way to speed up this whole mess is to give some social media-worthy quotes. The woman does research on TikTok, so I’m sure that’s all she’s after. I just hope there’s enough depth to the article to keep Mom from putting us through this again.

CC flips through the screens on her phone. “Your grandfather started the farm. You’re father’s parents…”

“No, actually. He was one of three original owners. Findlay Farms was once part of a massive conglomerate. Robinson Ranch, Eggnog Ranch, and Findlay Farms were all the same thing. But that was before lines were drawn in the sand. Now we all operate independently and have for years. It’s a good thing too. Let’s just say, we don’t trust Robinson Ranch as far as we can throw them and those are some big boys out there.”

“Oh, I see. So are they a competitor now for you all?”

I let out a sarcastic laugh. “They wish. Robinson Ranch isn’t even a real farm. They’re a dude ranch that caters to tourists. But they’re always looking to see what ideas they can steal. They’ll be all too eager to read every detail you publish in your story.”

CC chews her bottom lip and taps the back of her pen against the paper. “I see. Well, I’ll try my best not to give away the farm as they say.” She bites back a laugh at her own cheesy joke. “And what about Eggnog Ranch?”

I put the board down. “Ha, the boys over at Eggnog aren’t bad. They can hardly afford to keep their doors open these days. That and they’re perpetually embarrassed that their name sounds like a condiment.Christmasis their thing. So no, I’m not losing sleep about them. I do keep an eye on Robinson though. Every few years they make some kind of ass-backward attempt at getting a monopoly on all the farms in this area.” I tap the old nails out of the boards and toss them onto the ground.

“And what about—” She starts.

I turn, cutting her off. “No, what about you? You’re a writer or journalist or whatever. But I’m sure you can take your pick when it comes to the things you cover. Why did you want to do this story? It can’t have been your only option, coming all the way out here.”

She leans back. “It wasn’t my only option of course, but this story is a big deal to more than just your mother. I jumped at the chance to cover the largest employer and producer of food in the area. I may not have learned much about farming, but I did do a deep dive into your family. You have roots here and that’s when I knew this story would be special…”

She trails off and I stare at her.Does she know? Will she have the absolute gall to ask?

But CC only looks away. “Besides, this is my last local assignment pending it goes well. When we’re done here, I leave for my own European village tour. It’s a total dream come true. So I need to do this justice.”

I scoff. “Yeah, I could see needing to go as far as Europe to find small farming villages. Hold this up for me.”

I put a board in place and steady it until CC’s hand takes my place. I gently tap in a nail. Even fixing a few boards takes ten times as long with her by my side. This is why I like to work alone.

CC insists on filling the silence. “I’ve gone sort of stir-crazy stuck out here in Findlay the last few years. It isn’t a terrible place if you’re from here I’d bet, but I can’t consider myself a part of that group. Growing up, my father was in the military, which meant that we moved around a lot. When it was time for me to have a real grown-up job, all my travels came to a sudden, screeching halt. I took the only job seeing as I finished my degree in the middle of a recession. That’s how I got to Findlay. I’ve been here for almost three years.”

“But all the floral crowns in the world don’t make it feel like home. Well, princess, believe it or not, it takes more than flowers on your clothes to be a part of a farming community.” I finish out the board and move on to the next.

She crosses her arms and leans away from me. “You don’t need to be rude, besides you aren’t fooling anyone. I see exactly who you are Mr. Findlay. Have you considered that maybe I don’twantto be a part of this community? Maybe I miss seeing things and being places. As a rule, staying in one place for too long makes me want to crawl out of my skin. It’s not how I grew up. It’s unsettling for me.” Her words come out in an adorable huff and she scoots away from me.

That settles it. CC and I couldn’t be more on opposite ends of the spectrum. On top of that, she looks pissed. This isn’t going well. She picks up a board and the hammer along with several of the bent nails I tossed on the ground. I sit back, amused.This should be interesting.I watch in silence as she lines up the board and taps a crooked nail into the face of it.

When she swings back, I reach for the hammer, but she jerks it away from me. CC’s eyes are filled with determination and maybe even a hint of defiance. Her face is pinched into a tight line when she swings with all her strength.

Almost in slow motion, I see her thumb perilously close to the hammer's path. Before I can react, it happens. CC pounds the board with the metal head of the hammer, missing the nail completely and narrowly avoiding turning her thumb into a mess.

“Dammit, sweetheart if you aren’t gonna hurt yourself out here one way or another! Give me the hammer. This isn’t happening on my watch. Pulling from the kitchen garden is next, you can do that. But you’re done with the tools.”

Summer turns backward and puts a hand on her hip as if she thinks it might be worth it to break a bone. “No, I’m not done with the tools thank you.”

I reach across her beautiful body and wrestle the hammer from her hands. “You aren’t in charge here sweetheart. The sooner you learn that, the sooner we can get through this.”

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