and my dad laughs. “Well, you made it.”
“I did, and now I need a nap.”
He smiles. “You earned it.”
We drive in silence for a couple of minutes before he speaks again. “Do you still have a crush on Casey Bowman?”
“What?” The word comes out of me high and strangled. “Where did that come from?”
“You seemed interested in who he was taking to the fireworks, and I know you two were close when you were younger.”
My face is hot, and I’m glad that my dad is driving so he’s less likely to see how hard I’m blushing right now. “That was a long time ago.”
“Time doesn’t always affect things like that,” he says. “And you never answered the question.”
“No. Of course not. I was engaged until a week ago, Dad.”
He drums his fingers on the steering wheel. “I think we both know now that it might have been over before that. And I’m not convinced by that answer.”
I can’t speak. I cannot believe that I am having this conversation right now.
“I’ve always liked Bowman,” Dad says, casually, as if he didn’t just accuse me of having a crush on him. Which I totally and completely do. “He’s steady. Helped his parents all this time and has made sure that their farm stays afloat. Also takes care of people in the community even though he doesn’t have to. Hell, he could probably be a sure thing for mayor if he ever thought about it.”
I snort. “Since when has Elgin had a mayor?”
We laugh together. The official population of Elgin is about five hundred. What would a town that size even do with a mayor? There wouldn’t be nearly enough to do to make it a full-time job. Things around here—other than the fireworks—basically run themselves. Elgin is more a cluster of people living in proximity rather than anything formal.
We pull off the highway toward home, and my stomach drops as we drive along. Casey is out at his fence line along the road, and it looks like he’s fixing a post. Of course he would appear out of thin air right after my father asked me about him. Of course.
My face heats again. It’s been days since I left him alone in his bed. What does he think? Is he angry at me? Does he think that I used him? I haven’t even ventured toward his property line in the last few days because I have no idea what to say to him. ‘Hey, Casey, thanks for the mind-blowing orgasms you gave me, but you let something slip that really freaked me out and so I ran away?’
Dad slows down the car, and my breath goes shallow. “What are you doing?”
“I’m going to talk to the man. That’s what neighbors round here do, Carley.” He raises one eyebrow at me, and we both know that is definitely not the reason that he’s stopping to talk to Casey, but neither one of us is going to say it out loud.
“Hey, neighbor,” my dad calls.
Casey smiles when he looks up. “Hey Mr. Farrell.”
My dad shakes his head. “How many times do I have to tell you just to call me Jack?”
“At least one more, Mr. Farrell.” He comes down to the car window and sees that I’m in the car. To his never-ending credit, his face never changes. But I see the hitch in his step and the sudden intensity in his eyes when he sees me. Fuck, he’s so gorgeous, and now my mind is torturing me with the memories of that night. The way he covered me in all of him with all those gorgeous, amazing whispered words. The slow, aching, shuddering pleasure that he fucked into me until I couldn’t hold it back anymore.
“Hey Carley,” he says.
“Hi.”
My dad nods, “You getting those cows ready for the fireworks?”
“Yes, sir. At full volume now. Just waiting for the official day.”
I look at my dad. “You know about the music?”
“Sure do. Everyone knows about Casey and his magic with the cattle. How do you know about it?”
Casey leans against the window. “Carley was on a walk and ran into me feeding the cows with the “1812 Overture.” She got to see it up close and personal. We caught up a little bit.”
“Really?” My dad looks over at me. “She hadn’t told me that.”
I shrug, avoiding his gaze. “It didn’t come up.”
“Well, Casey, we’re on our way back from the general store and we have a big lunch planned. Plenty of food to go around