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“You’re a merchant of doom.” Bec made a face and ducked out the back door.
Lily grimaced and turned to get ready for the day. She would worry about Bec and their Henry problem later.
Ashton glanced at the slip of paper in his hand as Bill stood in front of him. His farmhand had just caught him in time.
“Great, I’ll add fertilizer to my list,” Ashton said, taking a pen from his pocket.
He was dressed and ready for his shopping trip to town, and he had a list of things he needed to do and get.
Bill nodded. “Thanks, Boss. I’ll leave you to it, then. Those potatoes won’t plant themselves!”
“Thank you, Bill.”
Ashton jumped into his truck and headed for town, his mind going over all the things he needed to do. He would go to the agricultural supplies shop first.
“Hey, Ashton,” the young man behind the counter greeted him a few minutes later. “What can we help you with today?”
“Hi, Owen. I have a list of things here.” Ashton fished the slip of paper from his pocket and handed it over the counter.
“I’ll get one of the men onto this right away,” Owen said as he perused the list. “We’ll call you when we’re done. Do you want us to load them into your truck as usual?”
“Yes, please.”
Owen hurried off to find one of his co-workers, and Ashton wandered around the large building. It carried a wide range of farming and gardening goods, and he never got tired of looking around.
He reached the back of the building and glanced out the huge opening to where the bulk animal food was kept. A young man in a black cap was loading a bag of food into a van. Ashton guessed it was pig food because of the distinctive pink packaging on the sack. He was about to turn away when the van’s driver stepped into view. He drew in a sharp breath. It was Lily!
As he watched, she got into the van and moved it into the parking lot, out of the way of the other shoppers. Then she headed for the shop. Ashton grinned and started casually making his way toward the main door. It might be fun to see how she would react when she saw him.
“Hello, Lily. This is the last place I expected to find you.” His face was perfectly serious, giving nothing away.
Her head jerked up as she stood engrossed in checking the contents of the bags of birdseed in front of her. Alarm filled her eyes when she saw him.
“Hello, Ashton. At least I didn’t run you down this time.”
Did her voice sound shaky and breathless? He couldn’t be sure.
“Well, I must say I’m grateful for that,” he said with a grin. “I wasn’t going to mention it, but since you did, I’ll just say that it was becoming a habit.” He peered at her face. “Your cut healed nicely,” he said. “Did it hurt for long?”
“Just a few days.” Color tinged her cheeks. “I don’t know that I ever thanked you properly for your help that day.”
“I don’t mind, Lily. I was glad to be there when you needed help.” He looked at her. “It kind of cleared the air between us. That was a good thing.”
“How are things on the farm?” she asked.
He had the feeling she was trying to steer his attention away from anything personal. Or maybe she just looked guilty and fidgety because she was hiding a massive, stinky secret in her backyard.
“Great,” he answered. “The crops are growing well, the cows are fat and happy, and the piglets are getting big. I’ll be able to sell some of them soon.”
“Oh, that’s good,” she answered, not meeting his eyes.
“Of course, things aren’t looking too good for next year since I lost Henry.”
She instantly went bright red. “So you still haven’t found him?”
“No, he still hasn’t come home.”Ashton’s tone was innocent, but he noticed that she involuntarily drew in a sharp breath at his words.
He continued.“I hope he’s happy, wherever he is. I was rather fond of the old fellow.”
