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Careful, Anna. Don’t get too attached.
Chapter 4
Levi
“Hey, man, need some help with that?” One of my only friends, Clark Phillips, walked over and grabbed some of the feed I was carrying.
“I was fine, but thanks for the hand,” I said. “Didn’t hear your truck, or did you drive over in that fancy car?”
Clark chuckled and nodded to the chickens. “I’m not sure how you can hear much over them,” he said. “But nah, brought the truck today. I thought it might rain and I have to protect the beauty after going through all the trouble of winning it.”
Clark walked with me and helped spread the feed.
“So, what brings you over today?” I asked.
“Can’t I stop and visit a friend?”
I looked at him. “Neither one of us is very social, man. Random drop-ins are rare. Usually there’s a reason.”
Clark was a bit older than me, and we hadn’t gone to school together like I did with others I considered friends. He also lived in Liberty, so driving all the way to Sunville meant he likely had a reason.
“Alright, you got me. I wanted to get your expertise. I’m looking at building a house, but I know there are some environmental concerns, mostly with erosion, and wanted you to look over my plans to make sure I’m doing everything possible to protect the environment.” I raised an eyebrow at him, and he chuckled. “What can I say? I think you’ve rubbed off on me.”
I laughed. “Sure, man, whatever you need.”
“I have the plans in my truck. I can leave them here with you, and we can talk about it later. There’s no rush.”
Clark and I originally met when our companies worked together on a project about a year back and being the only bachelors in our respective groups meant we’d often hang out when my brothers or his friends were busy with their families.
Clark understood me, and we could both focus on our careers. Clark had recently entered a fun little competition with his friends to see who would stay single the longest, and the winner got his stepbrother’s sports car, which he had used for street racing. It was a classic, very coveted car Clark had always wanted apparently. Now that he had it, he treated it like his one true love.
I had my animals, he had his car. We didn’t need anyone else.
We finished with the chickens, and I grabbed the hay for the goats with Clark’s help. I also had some carrots, their favorite, so we hung out there and fed them.
“She’s due any day now, huh?” Clark asked, pointing to the pregnant goat.
“Yeah, and according to her last owner, she always has twins,” I said. “So pretty soon, I’ll have four.” I grinned from ear-to-ear thinking about the baby goats and how my little farm was slowly growing.
Clark let out a low whistle. “Well, whatever makes you happy. But it sounds like you’re gonna have your hands full for a bit.”
“I know, and I love it.”
My phone buzzed with a reminder, pulling me away from the animals. I frowned at the screen.
“What’s up?”
“A wedding. Someone I knew from high school, we played football together, but I haven’t really talked to him much since we graduated.”
“Then don’t go.”
“I already RSVPed, back when I thought it might be fun to catch up, but truthfully, I’m a bit peopled out.” I thought about the deal with Anna. My brothers and Irene would be at this wedding too, which meant Anna should be on my arm.
“You’re smiling now? What’s up with the mood shift?”
“Oh nothing, I just realized… I RSVPed plus one–”
“When you were dating Beth?” Clark asked, speaking carefully. “I can’t recall you ever smiling before when thinking of Beth.”
