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“We’re starting the second cut of hay this morning.”
There’s a pause.
Then, “You know I have no clue what that means.”
“We’ll have another crop to store in the barn. That means the crap that’s currently in the hayloft needs to be stored somewhere else so the bales will fit. And that means, unless you want to live with a couple of rusty rototillers and boxes of vacuum tubing from the old milking equipment, you should find somewhere else to sleep.”
She exhales, long and irritated. “Likewhere, Kyle?”
“I assume you have a place in New York?”
Piper snorts and stands, carrying her empty plate over to the sink. She grabs the sponge and dish soap out of the cabinet underneath, like she’s done it a thousand times before.
“If you’re kicking me out, why’d you bother putting an air conditioner out there?”
I exhale, chiding the foolish part of me that thought she wouldn’t bring it up. “We used to store the overflow somewhere else. I…forgot it’d have to go in the bunkhouse.”
I don’t want to explain that the old storage shed got an expensive makeover into a recording studio that’s sitting unused because that will lead to more questions I don’t want to answer. And I definitely don’t want to discuss the stop I made on the way home from a run to the town dump to pick up another air conditioner or the twenty minutes it took me to install it once I was sure she was already here for dinner.
Piper opens a drawer and pulls out a clean towel to dry her mug. It’s bizarre, seeing her so comfortable in my childhood home. It suggests a familiarity we don’t actually share.
I’vebeen avoidingher. I just didn’t expect her to make it so easy for me.
And I didn’t know she’d be washing dishes instead of bugging me about signing a new contract.
I watch Piper pick the sponge up to suds the plate with rapid, messy movements, battling with myself. Inviting her to stay is a bad idea for a whole bunch of reasons, namely how it’s the last thing I need. But I know the words will come, even before they actually leave my mouth.
“There’s a third bedroom upstairs.”
Piper spins around, foiling my plan for a hasty exit and pinning me in place with an incredulous stare. “You’re inviting me to stay?”
“I told you I wouldn’t kick you out.”
She studies me for an intense, uncomfortable minute. So, I stand and absorb her scrutiny because I’m not sure what else to do.
I’m walking a very fine line here. I’m not encouraging her, not trying to give her false hope when I know my mind is made up. But I’m not going to be a dick to her. It’s not how I like to handle things. And also…it’sher, which makes more of a difference than I’ll let myself consider, let alone admit to Piper.
“Where are you going?” she finally asks.
“I just told you, we’re haying today.”
“You’rehaying?”
There’s a tone of surprise in her voice that’s honestly offensive. What does she think I’ve been doing the past two days while she’s been hanging out in here or the bunkhouse?Relaxing?
“Yep.” My response is curt. “We’ve got four hundred acres to cut and bale. All hands on deck.”
I leave before she can say anything else, letting out a long exhale as soon as I’m on the front porch.
It’s not that hot out—yet. But there’s a whisper of heat in the air that suggests today will be another scorcher. I’d love to put off haying, but the weather for next week is looking iffy. If we skip cutting this week, there’s a chance it’ll be two before the fields dry.
Problem is, I also need to be working on the roof. What little of it currently remains is going to withstand any rain even worse than the fields will.
I exhale as I walk toward the group of guys clustered by the milking shed, rolling my head from side to side in an effort to relieve the tension that’s built up in my shoulders.
Duncan, Luke, Kenny, and Blake are all leaning against either the fencing or the bumper of Luke’s black truck. They’re chatting with easy grins and sleepy eyes, ready for a long day of work. Spanning in age from seventeen to twenty-two, they’ve helped out around here in the summers since they started high school, supplementing the full-time staff I hired as soon as I could afford to. The only one missing is Jamie since he’s tied up with football commitments.
“Morning.” I hand Luke the container of muffins after snagging two for myself.
