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“Somebody should,” Stewart said into his pint glass before taking a sip.
“It is true. I even have goats with bunch of babies in the mix. I got them onesies, which everybody told me was crazy. Obviously I’m a terrible listener.”
They chuckled, but their attention shifted when Chase pulled up a chair next to me.
The guys all got up and clapped his hand or shoulder, and the girls all said their hellos—some with disdain, some with a celebrity sort of longing, a few with friendly enough apathy. But everyone seemed to have a reaction.
Chase Patton demanded attention without having to say a word.
“What are we talking about?” he asked.
“They were just asking Olivia about opening the farm to the public,” Presley said proudly and pointedly with her eyes on mine.
“I think I heard something about that,” he said, hanging his arm on the back of my chair. Everybody at the table noticed.
I did my best not to squirm, partly because I was under scrutiny, partly because he was supposed to be the enemy, and partly because I didn’t necessarily want him to be.
“You’re opening up the old shop, right?” he asked.
“She is, and she’s putting my soap in the front window,” Presley said. “Aren’t you, Livi?”
I chuckled. “Guess so.”
“It really is something, guys. You’ve got to come see what she’s done with the place,” Presley added.
“Oh, it’s nothing, really.” I hated that I blushed and hoped my barely-tan helped cover it.
“We’ve seen bits,” Kendall said. “We all follow you on Instagram.”
Everyone nodded their agreement, even Chase.
I gave him a questioning, smiling look. “Well, thank you.”
Courtney laughed. “Oh my God, the video where you mucked out the stalls and fell in shit had me and Dave laughing. Didn’t it, honey?”
Dave nodded. “I thought Court was going to hyperventilate.”
“I’ve mucked one stall in my life, and it went exactly like that,” Courtney said.
“And the hashtag,” Amanda said, whacking Courtney on the arm. And at the same time, they hollered “Muck it!”
Everyone laughed, but not that teasing, cruel sort of laugh—an authentic laugh of relation and camaraderie.
Now I blushed in earnest, my skin steaming hot and my smile immovable. “If I can’t laugh at myself, what else do I have?”
“Oh my gosh,” Chantel said, slapping Stewart on the chest with her gaze on me. “That picture with Jake in the calf pen? I knew he was fit, but that was just ridiculous.”
Stewart wasn’t amused. “I keep catching her looking at it on her phone, zoomed in four hundred percent.”
“He just has so many abs. There are like twelve of them,” she said.
“How’d you get him to let you post it?” Amanda asked.
“By not asking.”
The table chuckled.
“I bet that went over big,” Jared correctly guessed.
“He barely knows how to work the internet, so really, he’s all bark.”
“Well, from the bottom of our hearts, thank you,” Chantel said, pressing her hand to her chest.
Stewart made a derisive noise and took a swig of his beer.
“Oh!” Kendall said, snapping to attention. “Speaking of having to laugh at myself, the other night, the baby was in the bath …”
Chase leaned in as she continued. “You’ve made quite the impression, Miss Brent.”
“I tend to do that. Question is whether the impression is good or bad.”
“Oh, I think it’s good. The girls have been stalking you on social for weeks.”
“I mean, it’s not like we’ve never met.”
“Sure,” he said with a shrug. “But I’d like to think we’re not who we were back then.”
The statement had layers of meaning. I almost thought I heard an apology somewhere in there.
“No, I guess we aren’t. I hope you’re not planning to push me off a swing again—it’s been a long time since I’ve had a skinned knee, and the thought intimidates me a little,” I joked.
But he didn’t smile. “I think about that more than I should.”
I sat back, pretending to assess him. “You mean Chase Patton is a human being with a heart and everything?”
“Hard to believe, I know.” For a second, he just watched me. “My dad would love nothing more than to keep the feud going, even if it meant manipulating a fourth grader into doing something cruel.”
“It’s fine,” I assured him, unsure what else to say.
“It’s not, but I appreciate you saying so.” Another pause. “Let me take you on a date.”
“Chase—”
“I think I owe you for what a shit I was to you. Let me start with dinner.”
“So the whole town can whisper about us being seen together?” I asked lightly. “So I can take a hammer to the fragile peace Jake and I have going? Chase, you know this can’t happen. Right? A Patton and a Brent, even being seen like this”—I motioned to us—“makes me feel like I’ve broken something.”
He nodded. “You’ve got too much to lose.”
“Exactly.”
“Then I have a proposal. How about you and me come up with a way to end the feud once and for all?”
