Bet The Farm - Staci Hart Page 0,51

giggle bubbled out of me as I bounced like a little kid. “Thank you, Jake.”

“You know what? Don’t mention it.”

I beamed.

“No, I mean it. Don’t tell anybody—I’ll deny it with my last breath.”

With that little smile on his face, he turned, and this time I let him go.

Because I’d take what I could get.

And now that we’d be working together, he’d given me more than he knew.

15

Pajama Party

OLIVIA

“I’m just saying, based on your social media, farm life looks like it involves a lot of bullshit, literally and otherwise,” my aunt said on the other end of the line.

“Is it weird that I’m enjoying it?” I asked as I folded my laundry.

“Yes. I mean, maybe not the big, hunky bullshit. I could probably find a way to enjoy him.”

“I’m optimistic that we might have turned a corner. More bunny shit than bull. He’s even helping me with our Fourth of July festival.”

“I’ve been watching your Instagram. I’d say I was surprised at how well you’ve done with the farm’s marketing, but there was no way you could fail. This is your domain, and you reign absolute.”

“Trust me, I could have failed. I could still fail. I don’t have long to turn a profit, and if Jake changes his mind again, he could make it impossible.”

“And if you lose, you’ll come back to New York?”

“That’s the deal.”

“I probably shouldn’t root for him.”

“You definitely shouldn’t,” I said on a chuckle.

“Would it be so bad, coming back?”

“Coming back would mean I failed the farm and Pop too. I don’t know how I’d live with myself, Annette.”

A sigh. “You’re missed here. I didn’t realize that you were the glue holding your team together. The last month has been a shitshow and not just at the office. It’s been a long time since I’ve lived alone, since before you came to me. My next phase is cat lady, and I’m not sure if I love that look for me.”

“I don’t know. I could see it. Maybe get one of those hairless cats.”

She made a disgusted noise. “They look like ballsacks with eyes, Livi. I’d never sleep again with one of those things lurking around my house.”

A laugh bubbled out of me.

“What? I’m not an animal person.”

“Oh, I know.”

“Which is why you won’t be surprised I think you should come back. Leave the farm to the farmers and come take a senior marketing position at the firm.”

My hands paused over an open drawer of underwear. “Jill left?”

“She’s moving to Seattle with her new husband, and I’ve got a spot to fill.”

I was stunned silent for a moment. “That’s a big career jump.”

“Well, how else will I lure you back?” she asked on a laugh.

“Annette …”

“Don’t say no. Just think about it, okay? If things don’t work out there, Jill leaves in October. The spot is yours, if you want it.”

I didn’t argue like I wanted to. Instead, I said, “Thank you. I’m honored, really. Jill has my dream job.”

“For now. Just saying. I miss you, kid. You … well, you’re all I have left of Sarah. I didn’t realize just how much you filled your mom’s space in my heart until you were here. I wasn’t ready to let you go. I thought I had more time.”

My heart twisted in my chest. It didn’t matter what I did—I was abandoning someone.

“So did I,” I said quietly. “I miss you too. And New York. And people.” She laughed, and the sound made me smile. “But I’m not coming back unless I lose.”

“I’ll take what I can get. You don’t want to come back right now anyway—it’s a thousand degrees and hasn’t stopped raining for four days. Enjoy California while you’re there. And that big, smelly jerk while you’re at it.”

“The one who hates me?”

“You know what they say—that line between love and hate is thin indeed. Maybe you two need to just bang it out.”

“Oh my God.” I giggled, closing one drawer to deposit some tees into another. “On that note, I have some goats to milk.”

“Please, please record that.”

“It’s the same as milking a cow, and I know how to milk a cow.”

“Somehow, I have a feeling your goats are going to be less willing.”

“Then wish me luck.”

“Good luck! Don’t get kicked in the moneymaker.”

“I love you,” I said, laughing.

“I love you too, peanut. Talk soon.”

We said our goodbyes, and I was left alone in my quiet room, missing my old life. For the first time since I’d come home, I felt the pull back to New