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“What would you do then?” Bec asked, her eyes round.
“What could I do?” Lily countered. “I’d just have to do my job, wouldn’t I? But that’s an extreme-case scenario.”
“You could just apologize for your part in the argument,” Bec said.
Lily shook her head. “He said some really mean things,” she said. “He needs to go first.”
Bec chuckled. “Listen to you. Anyone would think you were fresh out of grade school. Would it hurt to be a bit mature about this?”
“You didn’t hear what he said to me,” Lily said firmly. “I don’t want to make up. I just don’t want to see him at all. He told me I would do well out in the pasture with his mule because I’m so stubborn.” Her face hardened at the thought. “And that wasn’t the only mean thing he said, either.”
Bec gave her a quirky grin. “You know, life has a habit of bringing us face-to-face with the things we don’t want to do,” she said. “You might just turn and corner and run into him one day.”.”
“Well, I’ll deal with it if it does,” Lily replied.
Bec drove slowly along the road, and Lily could feel the tension building in the pit of her stomach as the numbers grew closer to Ashton’s farm.
“There it is,” she whispered as they rounded the corner. “It must be the opposite farm.”
But it wasn’t. Lily stared at the piece of paper in her hand as the horrifying truth dawned on her. Jesse had given her the number for Ashton’s farm.
“It is Ashton’s farm,” she whispered faintly, feeling as if she might suffocate at any moment. “Jesse gave me the number for Ashton’s place.”
Bec looked at her in concern. “Are you sure? Could it have been a mistake?”
“I sure hope so.” Lily looked out the window at the familiar farm as all the old memories rushed back.
Walking along the maple-lined driveway with Ashton while they laughed and talked. Ashton holding her hand as they strolled beside the stream at the back of the property. Ashton, with his laughing blue eyes and handsome face. The feeling of his arms around her as they stood beside the pretty pond in one of the fields and watched the sun set. Playing in the snow when they went to feed the animals in the barn after a snowstorm.
She heaved an involuntary sigh as the end of their relationship reared its ugly head again. Harsh, unkind words over a misunderstanding. Both of them had been too proud and stubborn to take the first step toward reconciliation. And now, they just avoided each other. So what on earth was she going to do about this problem?
Bec stopped the car. “Want to talk?”
“Not here!” Lily snapped back to reality. “What if Ashton comes along and sees us sitting outside his farm like a pair of stalkers?”
Bec giggled. “I see your point. It’s not the best idea I ever had.”
They kept driving, and Lily’s mind was whirling.
“What are you going to do?” Bec asked when they were a safe distance away.
“Is pulling my shirt over my head and wailing an option?” Lily asked.
Bec laughed. “It is, but you might still have to face the problem when you emerge again.”
“I’m going to call Jesse first,” Lily decided. “It might be a misunderstanding.”
“There’s no time like the present,” Bec said. “At least you’ll know for sure then.”
“True.”
Lily got out her phone and called Jesse’s number.
“Hey Lily,” he greeted. “What’s up?”
“I’m just double-checking that number you gave me,” she replied. “It’s not your farm, is it?”
“No, it’s my neighbor’s farm. We’re holding the party there so my wife won’t know about it. It’s a surprise.”
