have to. Plus, you’ve got the wrong head—a flat head would be easier.”
“Jesus.” I stomped my foot into my boot. “Are you enjoying yourself?”
“I’m not getting onto you. I’m trying to help.”
“Don’t ever go into teaching. There are much easier ways to make kids cry.”
He folded his big arms over his chest. That chest I’d been ogling was streaked with mud, as were his jeans and hands and forearms. He had a little mud on his face that I should have told him about but didn’t.
“So you did all this and nearly got yourself trampled for a stupid video?”
I folded my arms right back at him. “These stupid videos are going to bring people to the farm, so don’t knock it. No one’s asking you to make a fool out of yourself on film. What do you care what I do?”
“If you weren’t being irresponsible, I wouldn’t care.”
I snorted a laugh. “The shop isn’t irresponsible, and you’d rather eat glass than leave me to it.”
“The money it’s costing is irresponsible.”
“Well, Mr. Fixit, what’s your big idea to turn the farm around? Because I haven’t heard any suggestions, just more of the same.”
A shadow fell across his face. “I’ve been in charge for a week. How the hell should I know? I barely know whether or not I’m doing this right, never mind how to change things.”
I paused, cowed. “Isn’t this what you’ve always done?”
With a huff, he dragged a hand through his hair, groaning when he remembered it was muddy. “Some of it, sure. I shadowed Frank enough to know what I’m dealing with, but only in the loosest terms. I … I haven’t done it, not without help. Not without his guidance. So forgive me for not finding the time to put together a business proposal for a job I didn’t even know I’d have.”
My gaze dropped to my shoes, my eyes pricking with tears. Pop would have known what to do. We were adrift without him.
And if we didn’t help each other, we’d both drown.
“Can I make a suggestion?”
“If it has anything to do with the fucking internet, I swear to God—”
“What about local deliveries?”
He scowled.
I eyed him. “Are you mad because of the idea or because it’s me who suggested it?”
“You don’t want me to answer. Tell me your big idea.”
“Well,” I started, perking up, “we’re selling milk to local stores, and the surplus is sold for distribution. What if we distributed less wholesale in favor of a local milk delivery service? We could make so much more selling it for retail prices rather than the market value of wholesale milk. And it wouldn’t be hard. We’re already bottling and packaging for the stores. We wouldn’t even need a special transport for now, just a cooler solution for the back of a truck. I could set it up on the website so people could order from us online. We can put up fliers, and I can advertise on the you-know-where.”
He was still scowling, but it was a different kind of scowl. This one I had a feeling was a direct result of me being right.
“Get something together that we can take to Ed and the team. If it’s viable financially, it might work.”
I tried not to smile too big. “Is that a yes?”
“It’s a we’ll see.” He watched me for a beat. “How come you can’t come up with more ideas that don’t cost an arm and a leg?”
“I’ll look through my diary and see if I can dig something up,” I joked.
A quiet chuckle through his nose. “You should probably go shower—you smell like shit.”
“You’re no better. You’re the one with actual shit all over your big, naked mantitties.”
Full-blown laughter barked out of him.
“I mean, you’re wearing jeans but no shirt? It’s like turning on the heater with the windows down.”
“You try shucking hay in shorts and tell me how it feels.”
“Maybe I will,” I said smartly, heading for the shovel to finish cleaning up.
“And maybe next time, think about sunscreen. That’s gonna hurt in a couple hours.”
“But I’ve only been out here a—” I glanced at my shoulder and huffed. “Son of a bitch.”
Jake laughed, petting the albino’s head as he passed her to vault over the fence with such ease, I wondered if he really was some sort of wild beast.
“Do me a favor and stay out of trouble,” he called over his shoulder.
“I can’t promise that,” I shouted after him, enjoying the view until he picked up his hay fork again.
Once I put