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“Alright well, we will see you then. Be good to this one Bryce. Don’t need to scare her off.”
With that my sister walked away and Nicole and Cole used the awkward opportunity to leave too.
“We’ll see you two later for the rehearsal dinner. Behave.” Nicole winked as if we were going to go for a roll in the hay. I should have known better. The two of them were devious together. If Cole knew Hannah was single and he just helped me become single, this was all set up before, not just a few minutes ago either.
Hannah pulled at the hem of her shirt, her gaze drifting from the ground to the goats fighting for her attention.
“Bryce, you don’t have to give me a tour.” The soft and unsure tone she held ripped a hole through my gut. The way Claire spoke to her like they knew one another well got under my skin. Before I even let her take another breath I started questioning her.
“You’ve been here before? What meeting do you have with Claire? I don’t know anything about a meeting. They put everything in the calendar. There’s nothing there.”
She held her hand out to the smallest goat that was being shoved back by the rest.
“It’s just about a job, maybe. It’s nothing. I probably won’t even get it. It was a long shot but Claire insisted we talk. I don’t have to. I can tell her I changed my mind. I didn’t realize you’d…” Her words trailed off as she focused harder on the goats. My words came out with a harsh tone I hadn’t intended.
“Not for anything you don’t strike me as a farm girl.”
“I’m a few credits away from my associates in agriculture. It’s more of a desk job looking at numbers and trends with everything you do already. I used to do it for my dad’s company. Looking over paperwork I mean. Luke seemed to think it could be helpful. Even just part time. I don’t need a tour. It's alright. You have a lot going on. I’m just going to head back to my hotel. Really, I shouldn’t have come here. I’m..”
Shit. I didn’t mean to chase her away. It’s the exact opposite of what I wanted right now.
“I was told to give a tour. It’s part of my job.”
“I know. Apparently Evan cuts corners when he does tours, so says Luke at least. I've already seen the place the last time I came. It’s really okay Bryce. Don’t worry about it.”
She turned away, tears in her eyes. How was it I always ruined our time together? Reaching out, my fingers grazed her forearm just enough to elicit a response between us. One that jolted something inside me and made her stop. Did she feel it too?
“Iwantto, Hannah. I’ll show you the stuff you probably haven’t seen. Unless spending time with me isn’t a good idea. I mean I don’t want you to feel forced into something you don’t want to do.”
Hannah shrugged. “I’m sure you have better things to do.”
“Better for my family, yes. Better for the other workers, sure. Better for me, not a chance. I’ll warn you the ride won’t be as nice as your last tour but you’ll see more.”
Offering a gentle smile, she nodded.“If you insist. I’m not going to sit here all day arguing.”
Chapter Nine
Hannah
Keeping our conversations strictly to things regarding the farm was easier than I thought. Bryce brought me around showing me all the different orchards. He explained how they made the decisions to plant things where they were. It was shocking how knowledgeable he was about even the smallest of details. From what I knew he worked the store and not the fields.
It was getting late, and I needed to get back to shower and get ready. The problem was getting the nerve up to tell him that. He had such a big smile on his face I couldn’t imagine telling him I wanted to go.
His last few rides he was off. He did well but something was getting in his head. The way he would walk away each time shaking his head didn’t go unnoticed. There was something distracting him. He wasn’t smiling anymore after his rides either. He was forcing his face to mimic the emotion of happiness. I wasn’t sure how many other people noticed it.
“Shit, it’s getting late. We should head back.”
As if he could read my mind, I exhaled happiness and disappointment at the same time.
“Yeah. Pretty sure Nicole will have our heads if we’re late. This was really nice. Thank you. I know you had other things you could be doing today.”
“Hannah, I already told you, I wanted to do this. I hope your meeting goes well tomorrow. Sorry I was being so rude about it before. Guess it sucks to be out of the loop around here more than I realized.”
My hand brushed against his forearm. I wasn’t even sure why I thought I had any right to touch him; he was in a relationship. My body had a mind of its own at this moment. Remembering the note I wrote him, one I didn’t even know if he go, I opened my mouth.
“You followed your heart. You’ll be back here one day when you’re older and don’t want to get on a bull anymore. Probably raising a family and talking about the good old days.”
A chuckle filtered out of my lips as I pulled back and looked out over the landscape. This place was beautiful.
