Page 7 of Out of Place

Excuse me? “I only stared because you look like you just rolled around in a pile of dirt.”

“And I only stared at you because you look like you should be on a stage somewhere. Possibly with a pole.”

Did he just say I look like a stripper? Who does this man think he is? “This is business casual, thank you very much,” I say, gesturing to my outfit.

He raises an eyebrow at me. “I’ve never seen business casual quite like this.”

“Well, there don’t appear to be any actual businesses around here besides the local coffee shop,” I scoff. “So I don’t imagine you would see anything like this.”

A slow smile spreads across his lips. “Are you here for a reason, or did you just come here to have a staring contest with me?”

“Please,” I scoff. “I don’t even know you, and I’m sure I can find much better things to stare at than you.”

He leans against the door frame, and I try not to notice how lean his body is. I especially try to ignore the six-pack I can just barely see through the giant gaping hole in his cutoff t-shirt. “I’d like to see you try.”

I let out an exasperated breath. “Listen, hotshot. I’m here for Dottie. This is her farm, right?”

“Yep. What do you need with Ms. Dottie?” he asks like it’s any of his business.

“That’s between me and Dottie.” I put my hands on my hips. “Now, are you going to let me in or not?”

“I guess so. Wouldn’t want you to try to kick the door down with one of those heels. Could be dangerous for all of us.”

I roll my eyes and push past him into the house.

I take a few steps inside before a voice calls, “Olivia? Is that you?”

“Um, yeah,” I answer distractedly because my eyes are too busy taking everything in around me. There is no sense of design here. No theme. There’s a blue plaid couch with faded red curtains on the windows. There are paintings of chickens on one wall and cows on the other. I almost gag when I see the deer antlers. There are so many things it’s hard to focus on just one, so I stare at the peeling paint on the wall in front of me.

“Come on back, hun. I’m just getting the boys lunch,” the voice calls. Boys? As in, more than one? Awesome. Just what I need.

The guy I was talking to shuts the door and walks around me down a hallway.

I follow, my heels echoing with each step. The kitchen comes into view, and all I can see is. . . yellow. So much yellow. Aunt Dottie is standing at the counter in her standard jeans and a T-shirt. Unlike my mother, who dyes hers religiously, she’s embraced her gray hair. The only way I can tell they’re related is their eyes. We all share the same green eyes.

The first guy I met, and I’m using the term ‘met’ loosely, sits at the kitchen table next to two other guys in cut-off T-shirts and hats. One of them even has an actual cowboy hat on. Serena will get a kick out of that. They’re all covered in dirt, and I’m getting wafts of an unusual stench coming from their direction, making my stomach churn.

Aunt Dottie comes and gives me a hug. “Olivia. It’s good to see you, hun. How was your flight?”

“Uh, it was good.” The guys at the table stare at me like I’m an alien who just walked through the front door. I try to ignore them. I’m used to people staring, just maybe not this close.

“Good. Good. Sorry I couldn’t pick you up from the airport. Couldn’t get away for that much time on such short notice.” At least it wasn’t just me who got this jail sentence on short notice.

“It’s fine. I got an Uber,” I tell her.

“You took an Uber from the airport?” one of the guys at the table asks. “That must have cost a shit ton. Why didn’t you just rent a car?”

“They were out of cars,” I respond with the first thing that pops into my head. He doesn’t need to know that I don’t know how to drive.

“They were out of cars?” he asks slowly, like he doesn’t believe me.

“Yes.”

“Olivia, these are my farm hands. That’s Camden.” She points to the guy badgering me about a car. “This is Bennett,” pointing to cowboy hat. He gives me a head nod. “And this is Landon.” Landon is the guy from the front door. He looks me up and down again before the side of his mouth tugs up in a small smile.

“Boys, this is my niece, Olivia. She’s going to be helping us out here for a little while.”

Camden chuckles. “Not in that outfit, she’s not.”