Page 22 of Take Me Home

“Naw, but I bet we’ll figure it out. I’m glad we’re going together for the first few markets,” Becca said.

“Who knows? Maybe we’ll be so busy this summer that we’ll both have to go the whole time,” I suggested.

“Us two pretty girls, I bet we can move some pretty flowers,” Becca said, winking.

“I thought you had a boyfriend!”

“Doesn’t mean people don’t have eyes,” Becca retorted, shaking her hips seductively.

“Should we change or just dress like farm grubs?” I asked.

“I only have what I’ve got on and a spare shirt. What you see is what you get. We can plan to be cute next time,” Becca said. “And anyway, we’re cute like this. At least Jake thinks you are.” Becca raised her eyebrows at me suggestively.

My mind took off running. Had he been talking about me to Becca? I didn’t dare ask.

“I think we should focus on the flowers,” I said, trying to change the subject.

“Nice try. I’ll get you yet.” Becca narrowed her eyes at me.

“I’ll sleep with one eye open,” I laughed.

We picked in a country music-filled stillness for a while, occasionally bursting into song with the older hits. I can’t stand that god-awful bro country that dominates the airwaves, but 90’s country and prior was my sweet spot. And any Shania. Who doesn’t love Shania?

“How do I look?” Becca asked, posing with a flower over each boob.

“I think we’ll be the talk of the Putnam County Market if you sell flowers like that.” Buckets filled with flowers, we sat for a water break. When the sip of water hit my stomach, it just made me feel nauseated. I refrained from a second sip but didn’t think much of it.

“It really is gorgeous back here,” Becca said, wiping sweat from her brow. “Your uncle takes care of this place himself when he’s not getting surgery?”

“He always hires people like you every year to come and help out. It’d be too big a job otherwise.” My head was starting to pound. Maybe I hadn’t done my coffee math right that morning. I’d get a Sheetz iced coffee to get through the rest of the day, though my stomach seemed like it might revolt if I had bean water at that point.

“Correction: there’s no one like me,” Becca said.

“I suppose you’re right about that.”

Becca moaned. “It’s so damn hot. You sure we can’t swim in that pond?”

I sucked my teeth. “I just know Uncle Bill always says there’s snapping turtles in there. I like my toes. I don’t want to lose one.”

“Maybe we could at least pretend it’s a beach and tan by it. Not like I’m going to see a beach this summer,” Becca sighed.

“True. Hard to come by a beach around here.” I hadn’t ‘laid out’ in the sun since the Rob days when he was out schmoozing on desert golf courses. “I’d love to get to work on this farmer’s tan.”

“I don’t think Jake minds it,” Becca said, nudging me.

“God, Becca! You don’t quit!” I stood and offered Becca my hand. “Come on. We’ve got to arrange these things and make people want to buy them.”

We set up a makeshift flower-arranging station in the barn, where at least there was shade. Jake and Caleb returned from town, stocked for the market day.

Jake climbed up in the truck bed so he could load our finished bouquets. I tried not to visibly drool watching his sweaty silhouette in the sun. The hair on the backs of his arms glowed golden in the afternoon sun that passed through the trees lining the holler. Since he was working hard, I caught a waft of his signature musk, that cedary spicy clean smell. It haunted my dreams since that first night with the coyotes.

I stepped into the tack room to grab my phone and wallet, Jake following me in.

“Hey,” he opened.

“Hi!” I returned, a pleasant but ‘what do you need’ expression on my face. I didn’t have much time to make it to the bank and Sheetz for that hopefully headache-busting iced coffee. I rubbed my fingers across my forehead, watching Jake’s face turn to concern.

“You got a headache?”

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