Will, former professional athlete and overachiever extraordinaire, thought he was the only one capable of doing anything. He acted like Laramie and I were just dumb teenagers who couldn’t be trusted to drive the farm truck, much less set up the market booth. I knew he meant well, but sometimes I didn’t need to be reminded that I was a directionless twenty-eight-year-old who still lived with her grandparents. The very same grandparents I shared with Will. He treated memore like a wayward employee than a cousin. But Larry and I were used to it at this point. We loved the guy, but he drove us fucking crazy.
“Of course he did,” I groused, passing her the thermos with dark roast and hazelnut creamer.
“Thank you,” she moaned appreciatively, popping the lid and taking a deep inhale.
Despite having three more minutes on the clock, early birds were already wandering down Main Street and approaching booths. The road was closed to traffic so that pedestrians could mosey.
We sold to tourists and chatted with locals easily enough for the first hour or so. Eventually, Sheila Jessup—retired schoolteacher and active busybody—approached Judd’s tent next door. She was loud enough that I could hear her asking about the vandalism, undoubtedly eager for gossip for the town’s Facebook group that she ran, as well as the local podcast she recorded weekly. I noticed she sure wasn’t buying any apples.
I rolled my eyes as Brady’s equally loud voice indulged her in all the gossip she’d been seeking.
“Just let it go,” Larry murmured from my side.
“I didn’t say anything,” I grumbled.
“Yeah, but I can hear you grinding your molars. For the sake of my sanity and your tooth enamel, just ignore him.”
Honestly, I hadn’t planned on inserting myself one bit. Ididhave self-control, despite what my family thought. But Brady just wouldnotshut up.
“Yes, ma’am,” he exclaimed at full volume, drawl as thick as molasses. “It’s just such a betrayal to be so blatantly attacked by someone in the community.”
“Oh, I do agree,” Sheila cooed sympathetically. “Our neighbors should be sources of friendship and comfort.”
My gaze drifted to the side against my will, and I caught Brady leaning back casually in his chair, a solemn nod aimed back at Mrs. Jessup.
As if sensing my attention, he glanced my way and smirked.
I could probably trace back a number of my angry outbursts over the years to the way Brady’s lips tilted up arrogantly at the corners. Like cause and effect. Pavlov’s slobbery dog and that damn bell all over again. And today was, regrettably, no different.
Heat gathered behind my sternum in a furious swarm, like hundreds of restless hornets ready to direct their wrath onto a specified target. I’d always hated that Brady could get such a reaction out of me, but I wasn’t going to sit here listening to him talk around me, insinuating crimes, placing blame, and spreading rumors, all without defending myself.
An instant later, I stood and faced the Judd’s booth, arms crossed and ready for a fight. “Maybe you just like the attention, Brady Judd. Did you ever think of that?” I heard Larry groan dramatically behind me. “Maybe you paintballed your own Apple House to get sympathy, media attention, and sales. That’s the theory I’m leaning toward.”
The front two legs of Brady’s chair hit the ground, and he turned to face me, bright blue eyes sparkling. “Now, why in the world would I ever do a thing like that?”
I tapped my chin like I was thinking hard. “You have always been jealous of Grandpappy’s. I have no doubt you’d cheat in an effort to outperform your rivals.”
He grinned, delighted. “So you think I’m outperforming you?”
I smiled too, all teeth. “Not a chance, Axe Body Spray.”
Brady frowned and ducked his head toward his armpit as if to sniff and then caught himself, replying haughtily, “Well, luckily, the sheriff’s office isn’t interested in your opinion.”
“And from what I’ve heard, they aren’t interested in yours either.”
My friend Mary Beth worked down at the sheriff’s office answering phones, and she’d told me that Brady called every day to check on the case. The deputy assigned to it tried to avoid Brady at all costs and had even given Mary Beth a standing order to tell him that the deputy was out of the office on important police work.
Brady gasped like I’d wounded him, clutching figurative pearls like a giant man-baby.
“She’s got you there,” Brady’s sister Joan stated diplomatically from his side. “Now, if you two are done scaring off all the customers, I’d really like to get back to work. I have no interest in hauling all these apples back to the farm this afternoon.”
I blinked and then looked around. Sheila Jessup was long gone, her retreating form already mostly down the block.
Brady scowled at me as ifIwas the one who’d gotten him in trouble with his no-nonsense big sister.
I scowled back just as hard.
“Obsessed,” Larry singsonged when I finally regained my seat.
