Page 99 of Love in Riverbend
“Someone who’s trying to ace advanced calculus.” She grins. “And the TA in the Friday morning discussion is worth waking up for.”
“And I thought it was all about you being an overachiever,” I say.
“Says Miss Straight As.”
My smile fades.
“Hey, that’s not a bad thing,” Marilyn says. “It’s amazing. You should be proud.”
“It’s that drive that makes me think accepting a job back in Riverbend is taking the easy way out. And I’m not an easy-way-out person. You know that. I love a challenge.”
“Don’t overthink it. I’ll go to Riverbend with you tomorrow after discussion. What time is the interview?”
“It’s not until four, after school is out.”
“We’ll have plenty of time. I’ll call Mom and tell her it’s a covert operation, one requiring the utmost secrecy.”
Marilyn’s dramatization makes me laugh. “I love it. And I’ll text Jill.” She’s a classmate from Riverbend who is a senior at IU. “She’ll know if there’s anything happening to get us out of Riverbend on a Friday night.”
“You don’t have to take the job.”
Lifting the pillow to my chest, I smile. “I’m afraid I’ll want it.”
“Devan, your eyes are sparkling. Why are you fighting this?”
“Because I never wanted to end up in Riverbend…an RTS.” It’s a local term for people who leave and return—return to sender. “I mean what will I become, the quintessential old spinster schoolteacher for the rest of my life?”
“You’re twenty-two years old. I think it’s a little early to be worried about that.”
“There’s no one in Riverbend. They’re all married, moved away, gay, or worse, like Ricky.”
Marilyn shrugs. “Your brother is a dick, but I guess he’s all rugged sexy.”
“Eww. He’s not. He’s a hard worker. My dad farmed. Ricky farms. The last thing I want to be is a farmer’s wife.”
“All that hard work builds muscles.” Her eyebrows dance.
More laughs bubble from my throat. “It also causes some serious stink.” I wave my hand in front of my nose. “Serious.”
Chapter 2
Justin
“Do you ever feel like we’re the odd men out?” my friend Ricky Dunn asks.
“Out of what?”
Shaking his head, Ricky leans back, causing his chair to teeter on two legs. There’s a piece of grass between his teeth, dangling like an unlit cigarette. The view before us is of the Dunn farm. It’s about the same acreage as the Sheers farm—mine. Officially, it still belongs to my parents, but the time is coming sooner rather than later when Dad will be done. His health hasn’t been perfect and honestly, it’s damn hard work keeping a farm going, staying in the black. I’m not talking profitable. I’m talking about keeping our heads above water.
I’m the first in our area to investigate selling corn to a company in Illinois. My brother-in-law has taken the idea further and is working to get more of our seed corn to be made into ethanol. He’s a fancy-assed lawyer who finally got his head out of his ass. It’s a long story, but right now, he’s living the dream in Riverbend.
That’s it—Ricky’s question.
I turn to my friend. “You’re talking about wives and kids.”
Ricky nods. “Judy and Cory’s new boy is here. That gives them two. Mick and Chloe’s kid is what…two years old?”
I shrug. “The kid is walking. What age does that happen?” Okay, I’m not exactly clueless. I was around a lot when my niece Molly was little. Now that she’s living in town with her parents, I get to be a regular uncle—not someone she sees every day, and honestly, it kind of sucks. I miss that little girl.
