Page 47 of Daddy's Little Farmer

She went over everything that was said and could take it several ways. He didn’t want to pressure her or put her in a situation where she was uncomfortable. The one she didn’t want to think about was he was embarrassed by her. She had thought that a few times already because he’d never taken her off the property, and she’d been there close to two months.

She knew he was catching up with work because he was gone for a week when he visited her farm. That kept playing in her head because she wanted to grab anything positive.

Mara raced up the back stairs to her room, grabbed her phone, and sat on the mattress. She dialed the number Landry had given her when she asked, and a moment later, Larkin answered.

“Hi.”

Larkin gasped. “Hi. When do we get to see you?” Larkin asked.

“I’d like to see you whenever you can.”

“Then I’ll ask my Daddy about a date. Now, tell me why you sound sad?”

“I’m not really sad. I heard my Daddy say he didn’t want to take me to this thing tomorrow night…”

“I know what he’s talking about. It’s a meet-and-greet. Businesspeople in the area come to meet new clients.”

“Will you be there?”

“Yes,” Larkin said. “What do you want me to do?”

“Can you and whoever is available tomorrow come and show me how to dress classy and do makeup and hair?”

“Sure. I’ll call a few girls. They can bring some outfits to see if any look good. “

Mara relaxed. “That would be great.”

“What are you planning on doing?”

“I want to dress like the other women so he’s not embarrassed by me.”

Larkin hissed. “Why would you think that?”

“I’ve been here for over seven weeks, Larkin, and I haven’t been off the property.”

“Oh, wow. I hadn’t realized it. The girls have called for a few playdates and were always told you were busy.”

Mara felt her heart break. “You’re kidding me?”

“No. I’m not.”

“I have never been told you guys called. I kept asking to talk to you. I finally got your number from Landry, his butler.” Mara felt tears slide down her face. “God, what do I do? The last thing I want to do is embarrass him.”

“I say we go with your plan. Is your Daddy going to let us come to your house tomorrow?”

“He’ll be gone all day and is supposed to be in meetings, so I won’t see him at all because he said I’d probably be asleep when he gets home,” Mara said.

“Good. We’ll be there late morning.”

“Okay. Thank you.”

“We’ll get this figured out. I hate hearing you so sad,” Larkin said.

“I just sometimes think I made the biggest mistake coming here, but now I feel stuck because my animals are here.”

“We’ll get the girls together and talk about everything. Don’t get upset now, not until we know the truth.”

Mara sniffed and wiped her eyes. “I’m so glad I have you guys.”

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