from actual pain.
Ray’s silence was deafening. God, could I be any more awkward? Blood ran from my thumb under the water until Cori came with the red bag and Mom got the gauze.
“It’s pretty deep,” she said. “You might need stitches.”
“I’m fine,” I said. Whether or not that was true didn’t matter. Did they know how much it took to get this dinner together? I so was not wasting it with my clumsiness.
Mom wrapped up the cut and said, “Cori, I think you should handle the lemons. Ginger, sit down.”
Dad chuckled. “We might be able to spare ourselves an ER visit.”
As I went to the table and sat across from Ray, I caught sight of his smirk.
I kicked him under the table.
Cori set the bowl of cut lemons between us and said, “Ginger’s the brains of the family, not the brawn.”
The smirk on his lips had been replaced with an amused twinkle in his eyes. “I hear you’re quite the basketball player.”
“She is,” Mom agreed, sitting at the table. She called over her shoulder, “Twins, dinner!”
Dad nodded proudly. “They might even make it to the state championship this year.”
Cori held up her two fingers and crossed them. “I hope so.”
Okay, so this was better. Right? Nice and normal. Mom began dishing food, and we passed plates around until each of them was covered in some of Mom’s best cooking.
“This looks delicious, Mrs. Nash,” Ray said.
Mom gave him a pleased smile. “Thank you. It’s all organic.”
My blood drained at the flash of annoyance on Ray’s face, but he quickly covered it. If my parents noticed, they didn’t say so.
“What do your parents do?” Mom asked.
“We have a family ranch,” Ray said.
The fact that he didn’t mention his dad made my heart catch.
My parents weren’t as great at hiding their reactions as Ray had been. Mom paused with her fork in her mouth, but Dad said, “That’s great. Family farms are the backbone of America. It’s these factory farms putting operations like yours out of business.”
I closed my eyes.
Ray let out a quiet breath. “How do you like owning a store?”
I opened my eyes, seeing him in a different light. He cared. About me. Why else wouldn’t he let them know? The ranch and that way of life meant the world to him. Did that mean I could matter that much to him too?
“It’s great,” my mom said. “We can support sustainable farming and good health for our daughters without all the chemicals.”
A vein throbbed in Ray’s temple. “Chemicals?” Ray asked evenly.
I nudged his leg under the table, letting him know I was there for him.
“Antibiotics, hormones,” Mom said. “You know they pump the animals full of them at the big feedlots, just to make an extra buck.”
“Let’s not talk shop,” Cori said, but Ray was already speaking.
“We use antibiotics to prevent disease. Healthy animals grow faster. Organic animals, on the other hand, get sick and have parasites at much higher rates.”
“Most of which don’t affect human health,” Mom argued. “Unlike Ginger’s antibiotic-resistant pneumonia that nearly killed her.”
I put my head in my hands. “Mom, can we not?”
“No,” she said fiercely. “This young man who claims to like you should know what he’s defending. You almost died. They had to put you on a ventilator, and you were laid up for weeks afterward.”
Ray met my eyes. His blue gaze was worn, intense, apologetic, but he didn’t need to be sorry. He had my full support when he wiped his mouth on the napkin and said, “I know what I’m defending. A way of life that keeps food on your table. That makes sure we use as little resources as possible so we can pass the farm down for generations.”
Mom raised her eyebrows. “Good luck doing that with all the toxins you’re pumping into the ground water.”
“Mom,” I admonished. “You have no right.”
She ignored me and continued on her tirade. “What research have you done, Ginger?”
I wanted to defend Ray, to say I’d been at the farm and seen how much they cared for the cattle and the land, but I was mute, torn between the boy who could be my future and the future freedom my parents could so easily rip away. I could feel his eyes on me as I stayed silent.
“Exactly,” she said. “I can tell it’s not going to be a good fit, Ray.”
My mouth fell open, and Cori cried, “Are you kidding me? You have been so rude—”
“You’re welcome to stay for dinner, Ray, but you may not