Page 27 of Wild For You
“It’s okay. I’m trying to make things right with her, but keep her at arm’s length too, you know? I just want to have some sort of family in my life.”
“I get it.”
We stood at the open passenger door of the truck, and I tossed my crutches in behind the seat. Without Kelsey’s assistance, I hoisted myself into the seat using the oh-shit handles.
“Um… guess you don’t need my help with that,” she said with a pout, ducking her head as she closed the door. The expression made it hit home for me just how much she truly enjoyed being helpful.
Finally, she settled in the driver’s seat and made her adjustments, pulling her hair into a high ponytail before she lowered the windows.
“Ready?”
When I nodded, she carefully backed out of the driveway, and we were on our way to the market.
As we walked around, I did my best to ignore everyone’s prying eyes. News had clearly traveled that I was injured, but no one seemed to know how. The consensus Kelsey overheard was that they assumed it happened on the ranch.
I wasn’t about to tell anyone they were wrong.
I hobbled behind Kelsey as she made her way into each booth, greeting people like she’d known them her entire life. And they seemed to know her too. They would ask about her place in Nashville, what she was reading this week, and if she liked whatever she bought from them the last time she was at the market. Her tote was already almost full to the brim by the time we made it halfway around the market to where my family’s booth was set up.
It seemed this week fell on Owen and Aspen, as they leaned across the display and spoke with a customer.
Kelsey waited patiently for the person to purchase their produce before she addressed the duo.
“Hey, guys. Look who I dragged out of the house today,” she announced with a flourish, as if she was one of the models on the game showThe Price is Right.
Aspen’s mouth hung agape as she took me in. Visiting the farmers market wasn’t a normal outing for me, even when I was feeling 100 percent, so being there while I was on crutches was even more shocking for everyone.
It was even more surprising for my sister, since I still refused to have anyone over to visit after they ganged up on me three weeks ago.
“Wow, he lives.” My youngest sibling stared at me wide-eyed in not-quite-fake shock. Thankfully, her fiancé had the decency to move around the booth and shake my hand. The crutches made it challenging, but I was getting better about moving around with them.
“Good to see you, Andrew,” he said genuinely, and it brought me back to the first time I learned Kelsey was in Ashfield. She had shown up at the front door of the bed-and-and-breakfast in town, where Owen’s mother worked as a manager, and asked for him when Beverly greeted her. I never met the woman, only overheard who she was looking for, but immediately assumed she was there to see Owen for nefarious purposes. I made it known to everyone there that day that I was unhappy with her presence.
Only minutes later, I felt like an ass, because little did I know she was actually there on behalf of Owen’s baseball team to help with his arm and his training for the next season. A fact I learned as I hovered in the hallway to eavesdrop without everlaying eyes on her, then promptly stomped off, mad at myself for being a jerk for no reason.
“Everything okay here?” I asked him, never once caring how the stand was performing. It was a passion project of my sisters, to carry on the legacy of their great-great-grandmother—on their dad’s side. Sunny Brook Farms had belonged to the Easterlys since Ashfield was founded.
More reason I felt like an outsider taking it over.
“Yeah. Mrs. Hensen came by earlier and showed us a blurry picture of the vegetable art project she’s been working on for the Fall Festival happening next month. It is… detailed.” I only heard bits and pieces of the story from Kelsey during her constant chatter, but the wild widow, as I’d dubbed Mrs. Hensen, was making life-sized statues of my brothers-in-law, and her method was using vegetables.
“Well, I can’t wait to see it,” I told him, which was followed abruptly by a gasp from Aspen. I already knew what she was going to say.
“You’re going to the Fall Festival?” we asked in unison, me putting on a high-pitched voice to mimic her, and I couldn’t hold back my laugh as she snarled at me.
“I figured, since I’m once again a resident of Ashfield, that I should probably go. And if my knee still needs some work, then I’m certain my handler won’t let me miss out.”
Thinking about her leaving when my knee got better left an ache in my chest, and I didn’t know why. The woman was stubborn and annoying, and as I watched the sun shimmer down on top of her head as she spoke with my sister, I realized she was absolutely breathtaking.
“Fuck,” I moaned and caught Owen’s snicker.
“Oh, damn. I can’t believe I’m seeing it with my own eyes. You like her.”
“I tolerate her,” I argued.
“Naw, youlikeher. I can tell.”
Turning away from the beauty before us, I faced the newest member of our family. “And how is that?”
