Page 69 of Sometimes You Stay

His heart was thinking about forever with a girl who had been part of his life for exactly fifteen days. And his brain only now had the decency to butt in.

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

Finn let out a long breath through tight lips. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?” Her narrowed gaze insisted on an answer.

At the moment? For wanting to kiss her again. But he bit his tongue on that and gave her question another thought. “For starting something that I can’t finish.”

“Really? Seems like I’m the one that asked for a kiss.”

“Today, maybe. But it’s not exactly like you had to twist my arm.”

She shrugged a shoulder and shot him a grin. “True. You were a willing participant.”

“Very.” That was another thought that should have stayed inside.

Her grin turned into a full-on smirk, her eyes glowing as she nudged him with her elbow. “Same.”

One word was all it took for his stomach to clench and his breath to release. He had to physically fight the urge to lean in again. But he cared about her too much to let himself get carried away. She deserved more than that. She deserved someone who would—someone who could—help her pursue her dreams. Not someone rooted to this land.

“So.” She smoothed down the front of her shirt with flat hands. “Seems like we both enjoyed that. And we agree that it would be wise not to do it again.”

“Right. Wise.”

But if she stood there staring at him with her great big eyes, he was liable to fall right into those chocolate pools and make all sorts of stupid decisions. He had to change the subject. Pronto.

“Abner.”

Cretia’s face wrinkled in confusion. Finn didn’t know who he’d surprised more—her or himself. But he repeated the name. A little slower the second time, nodding toward the cow that was still staring at them. “Abner.”

“That’s what you want to name him?”

He shrugged. “Sure. Why not?” It wasn’t exactly a ringing endorsement, but to the best of his knowledge, the farm had never had an Abner, little or otherwise.

Cretia turned toward the cow, bending over until their eyes were almost level. “Abner? What do you think?”

The cow shook his head, tossing his hair out of his face, and lowed.

Cretia shot a smile over her shoulder. “I think he likes it. Abner it is. Thank you, internet.” Waving Finn toward hisnewest addition, she said, “Now let me take some pictures of you together.”

“I don’t know. I’m not very...” He stabbed a hand through his hair, which probably already showcased the wind and his work. His hand came away with a piece of hay in it. “See? I’m not cleaned up for pictures.”

“Psh.” She waved off his comment with as much consideration as a gnat. “You look perfect. Just like a farmer should. The internet is going to eat you up.”

“Don’t you mean the cow? Um, Abner?”

“I do not.” She pursed her lips as she looked at the screen in her hands. “I mean, they’ll love Abner. Don’t get me wrong—ladies of a certain age will be lining up to adopt one just like him.” She frowned for a second. “Come to think of it, videos of cows like Abner looking all cute and cuddly are probably how the poor guy ended up as a pet.”

“Seriously?” he grumbled. “What’s wrong with people?” He knew firsthand that some people took in animals they couldn’t care for. That was how he’d gotten Jenna and the kids. And the rabbits. And several cats as a child.

“They think something this cute must be a house pet.” Holding her phone at arm’s length, she swooped it around them. “Can you blame them?”

“Yeah, well.” He ran his fingers through Abner’s mane, scratching behind his horns for good measure. Abner swung his head, and Finn jerked away just in time to keep from being smacked in the arm by one of those horns. “You’d think that whoever sold him would have warned them against it.”

“You’d think. But for now, just try to look like a good farmer.”

Ten-year-old Finn would have stuck his tongue out at her.“I’m not a farmer. I don’t own a tractor, and I’ve never sowed a seed outside of my mom’s garden. I own about four acres of land. That’s not enough to be called a farm by any stretch of the imagination.”

---