She’s about to take a drink but stops, the mug poised inches from her lips. Her eyes widen, and she reaches for my arm to check the time on my watch, but the damn buckle on the strap came loose, and it fell off before I had time to fix it. I’ve yet to figure out where I lost it.
She frowns for a second and grabs her phone from the nightstand to check the time. “Dammit.”
“What?”
Her eyebrows shoot up. “Why did you let me sleep in?”
“It’s Saturday,” I say.
She laughs almost hysterically. “What does that have to do with anything when you run a farm? We work eight days a week around here.” She takes a fast sip of the coffee and pushes to her feet. My God, she’s practically vibrating with excitement as she scoops her clothes off a nearby chair.
“Let’s go,” she says.
“What’s your hurry? The animals are taken care of, and Beck is working the market this morning.” I look at the clock. “Cindy will be here in a few minutes. Relax.”
“Nope. Let’s go,” she repeats, and the high-pitched squeals of children laughing reaches my ears, but it doesn’t sound like it’s coming from Alyson’s yard; it sounds like it’s coming from mine.
“What’s going on?” I ask, standing to look out her dust-covered window.
She hurries to the bathroom and comes out dressed, but her hair is still a tangled mess. Her eyes are lit with a new kind of excitement as she races down the stairs, and I quickly follow. What the hell is she up to? She’s moving so fast, I can barely keep up, and when we reach my property, I go as still as a stealth soldier, shocked at the sprawling view before me.
“What. The. Fuck?”
Tyler comes over, thumbs in his pockets and a piece of hay between his teeth. “Hey, big bro.”
“Tyler, what is all this?” I ask as I take in the numerous vehicles parked in our driveway. My gaze slides from the cars to the large bouncy castle beside the house. Where the hell did that come from? I catch sight of Beck giving horseback rides, and a few of Tyler’s friends are working a cotton candy stand, not to mention the numerous game stations set up. It’s like a damn carnival.
“This is the grand opening you deserve,” he explains.
I shake my head and try to wrap my brain around all this. “Who did this?”
He laughs and nods toward Alyson, who is bouncing in her boots beside me. “Who do you think?”
I fix my gaze on her and take in her huge smile. “You did this,” I say. My insides squeeze tight, so fucking tight, my next breath takes a great amount of effort. Alyson did this for me? I spent the last five years taking care of everyone else, putting everyone’s needs before my own. When was the last time someone put me first, thought about what was important to me? I take a breath, and then another, my thoughts spinning out of control.
She nods, shrugs, and flops her hands out by her sides. “What can I say? I don’t know much, but I know how to throw a party.”
“Alyson,” I begin, my heart crashing against my chest. I put my hands on her shoulders and squeeze. “You’re so much more than that,” I say, and she beams up at me. I swallow. Hard. “I… I don’t know what to say.”
“I do,” she says.
“What?” I manage to push past a tight throat.
“Get over there and start talking to your customers about sustainability. That’s what this is all about, Jay.” She touches my cheek, softly runs her finger over my scar. “Your brothers helped, too.”
I turn, but Tyler is walking away, to give us our privacy. I always knew he was a smart kid.
“Alyson, this means… I don’t know how to thank you.”
She gives me a sexy wink. “I do, and I’ll let you in on it later tonight in bed.”
I laugh at that, and our knuckles brush. “I can’t wait to hear.”
“Now go.” She gives me a shove, and as she heads back to her market, I steal another glance at her. Dad really would have liked this one. She might come from a different world, but she fits in here, is really trying to be one of us. Not only is she a beautiful woman on the outside, she’s beautiful on the inside. I exhale loudly. Somehow, some way in the last few weeks, this city girl crawled past