Page 22 of Out of Place

Aunt Dottie gave me a day off from the farmers market, but the next morning, I’m up bright and early to help pack the truck.

Since I won’t be doing any manual labor today, I decide to forego the baggy clothes Aunt Dottie made me buy and wear something from home. Hopefully, it’ll make me feel like a real person again.

I put on high-waisted pink shorts and a black, cropped tank top I wore to a beach party in the Hamptons earlier this summer. At least here, no one will know I’ve already worn this outfit. I pull my hair back into a tight French braid I learned how to do yesterday from a YouTube video. I’m relying on YouTube how-to videos a lot these days, actually. I didn’t realize how many things I didn’t know how to do on my own.

Dottie and I have our tent at the market all set up as the sun starts climbing into the sky. I don’t expect to see any customers for a while, but I’m proven wrong when a little old couple strolls over to our stand.

Being in a small town is weird. Everyone seems to know everyone. I’ve lived in New York for twenty-six years and hardly ever see the same people twice unless it’s intentional.

Aunt Dottie introduces me to her friends, but I stay as far away as I can so I don’t get dragged into their conversation. It’s bad enough that I’m even here. The last thing I want to do is make small talk with people who are older than dirt. Yes, I confess—old people make me uncomfortable. What am I supposed to say to them? I can’t relate to anything about their lives. It’s just awkward.

As the morning goes on, more and more people show up. Dottie explains that on Sundays, a lot of people come out before or right after church. There are a few churches nearby, so people come in waves.

I run around, grabbing what people ask for and refilling things from the truck as stock runs out. We run out of our sunflower bouquets quickly. I didn’t even know there were sunflowers growing at Underwood Farms, but I guess I haven’t seen the whole farm yet.

There are a ton of other vendors at the market, but Dottie always has a consistent line. Mid-morning, I wipe the sweat off my brow and take a second to grab some water. I look around at the crowd and see the only familiar faces I know in this town.

Landon, Camden, and Bennett.

Great. I should’ve known that even on their day off, I’d still have to see them. Can’t I catch a fucking break? Maybe I’ll get lucky and they won’t come over here.

I crane my neck a little more and see three women with them. Probably girlfriends or wives, although I haven’t noticed any rings on their fingers. The first I do when I meet a man is check their ring finger. I’m not about to be pulled into that kind of drama.

One of the girls puts her hand on Landon’s arm and throws her head back in laughter. She’s pretty. Pretty enough that I feel a little tug of jealousy in my stomach, which is insane. I do not have a thing for him. He was nice to me like one time. That’s all. But I did catch him checking me out yesterday, and I didn’t hate it.

I wonder how the blonde would feel about him giving me driving lessons. I wonder if he even told her.

“Olivia. I need some more peaches,” Aunt Dottie calls, breaking me out of my trance.

“Yep. Coming.”

I get back to work, tossing the thought of Landon and his girlfriend out of my head. Dottie introduces me to people as the day goes on, several people telling me how much I look like my mother. A few of them ask me how she’s doing, to which I respond that I have no idea. Aunt Dottie must not like that answer because she quickly follows it up by telling them my mother is doing great. Which is probably true since I’m not around to embarrass her.

“Look who it is.” I look up to see Landon standing in front of me. I’d almost forgotten he was here. Like yesterday, he’s switched his usual work cut-off T-shirts for a normal shirt, but this time, his hat is on backward, showing me more of his face. The backward hat is different. I like it more than I expected I would. And now I can officially confirm that he is attractive. Damn it.

Camden, Bennett, and the three women crowd around him.

“Hi. Do you need something?” I gesture to the food laid out on the table.

“Nah, just wanted to say hi. See how everything is going over here,” Landon tells me.

“Must be making lots of sales with that outfit,” Camden scoffs.

I narrow my eyes at him. “Well, I’ve got to make up for all that money I lost when I dropped those eggs, huh?”

He shakes his head. One of the girls, the pretty blonde that was all over Landon earlier, extends her hand to me. “Hi, I’m Ellie. The guys have told us so much about you.”

I look at her hand for a second before giving it a light shake. “If it came from Camden, I’m sure it wasn’t anything good.”

They all laugh, and no one tries to deny it. It’s basically a confirmation that he’s talking shit. What a little bitch.

Ellie links her arm with Landon and looks up at him. I know that look. I’ve seen it so many times. It’s infatuation. She’s head over heels for him. Unfortunately for her, Landon hasn’t looked at her once since he saw me. Poor thing. Someone should tell her that he’s not that into her.

“Landon, let’s go get food. Our favorite food truck is here today,” Ellie tells him. Aw, how cute. They have a favorite food truck. Gag.

“Right. See you bright and early in the morning, Olivia,” Landon says, keeping his eyes on me. His gaze unsettles me. It’s like he’s trying to see into my soul, and I absolutely can’t allow that.

“Yep,” I say, organizing the fruit to keep busy and not stare at Ellie holding onto his bicep. “Can’t wait to clean cow tits with you.”