Page 195 of Love in Riverbend
I take a deep breath. “I told Ricky I wanted to buy the farm before Devan and I kissed. I want you to know this didn’t start out as something about her.”
“Is it now?”
I nod. “It’s way too fucking early, but I love her, Dad. If we can offer the Dunns the same deal, let them harvest and stay in the house until spring—it doesn’t have to be March. Maybe next spring, Devan and I can live in their house.”
“With Ricky?”
I laugh. “No, that’s not the plan. He wants to go back to school. Once they’re through harvest, he can start exploring his options.”
“That’s a lot of maybes.”
My smile grows. “No maybes, Dad. I’ll work my ass off to keep both farms—correction, the Sheers farm, bigger than before—working and profitable. As for Devan, I think that’s more than a maybe too.”
“You want to drive with me over to the Dunns’ and make the offer?”
“I was just there. Might as well go back.”
Chapter 34
Justin
Six months later
“You know it’s freezing outside?” Ricky asks for probably the fifth time.
“I don’t care. It’s where we went on our first date.”
“You couldn’t have taken her to a restaurant or someplace with heat.”
“Shut up,” I say, sending a scowl toward my best friend. “I want this to be special. And I think Devan will want her friends to be there as part of it—make it official. I know I do.”
Ricky shakes his head. “Devan is turning you soft.”
The truth is the exact opposite, but I’m not going to point that out to her brother.
“Just be there. I told Jill Kohlberg you’d ride with her and Todd. The fewer cars parked nearby, the easier it will be to hide them from Devan.”
Ricky’s eyes open wide. “Shit-pants Todd.”
“The man is about done with his MBA, cut him some slack.”
“Um, what about Marilyn?” he asks. “Aren’t she and Jill, like, connected at the hip.”
“Yeah,” I say, unsure why that’s an issue. “She’ll ride with the three of you too.”
“Okay, I’m going to pass on the kid table…I mean car…whatever.” Ricky sucks in a deep breath. “I’ll ride with the Richardses.”
“Kandace is going to meet us afterward. She said she wants to be there when I ask the question, but Dax is overprotective. Something about his ready-to-pop wife on an icy limestone ledge.”
“Are you saying it’ll be me and…Devan’s friends?”
“No,” I explain. “Dax, Cory, Mick, and Galvin are riding together. Kandace, Judy, and Chloe will be meeting us at Decoy Ducks. That’s why it makes sense for you to ride with the girls.”
“And Shit Pants.” He grunts. “Devan better say yes.”
My smile begins to curl. “I sure hope so. I mean, it’s kind of soon, but with the farm…it seems right.”
“Fine, what time is this going down?”
