Take the Chance (Top Shelf Romance #9) - Brittainy Cherry Page 0,309

was still a city girl, even when she wore her jeans and boots, but dammit, she was my city girl, and I loved her beyond words.

I smiled as I let myself into the chicken coop and slipped my hand into my pocket.

I didn’t like surprises, but Margot did.

I wanted to give her the surprise of her life.

Margot

I woke up and reached for Jack. He’d promised me he’d stay in bed a little longer this morning, since it was kind of a special day—the anniversary of the day we met.

Sometimes we looked back on that day and laughed at the way we’d stood there staring at each other across the kitchen, him broody and mean, me trying to be charming. “Was it love at first sight?” people sometimes asked us.

“Hell, no,” Jack would tease. “I didn’t want any rich city girl hanging around.”

“And I couldn’t stand him,” I’d say. “He was dirty, sweaty, and rude.”

But we belonged together, and it hadn’t taken us that long to figure it out, all things considered. I’d gone back and forth for a while, but I’d been thrilled when he’d asked me to move in. Farm life was a bit of an adjustment at first—the smells, the early mornings, the never-ending list of chores to be done—but I grew to appreciate things about living in the country. I loved the quiet mornings, the lack of traffic, the charm of the small town, the sun rising over the lake and setting over the trees, the skies full of stars at night. When I missed the shops or bars or salons or restaurants, I’d zip down and meet my friends for an afternoon or evening. But I found I didn’t miss city life too much, and I loved being around horses again.

The hardest thing had been leaving Jaime and Claire and our weekly Girls Night Out, but I saw them at least once a month, and they were happy for me. At first, I kept my job at Shine but cut back my hours, spending a lot of time helping Georgia with the new house, preparing to open the Valentini Farms Bed & Breakfast, and making sure the new marketing push went as planned. Once the B & B opened in May, I left Shine and dedicated myself completely to marketing duties at the farm and inn. I also volunteered for the Fair Food Network, reaching out to farmers and families in the region and continuing to help spread the word.

I’d never been happier, which befuddled my parents a little bit, but they seemed content to focus on my father’s political career—he’d won his election—and give me a break.

Jack seemed happy too, and we’d grown infinitely closer since I’d moved in. His moods and silences grew easier to understand, his anxiety easier to manage. His nightmares were infrequent but terrifying, and I always wished there was more I could do for him, but he swore just having me there was enough. He loved me—I felt it, even if he didn’t say it too often.

I sat up in bed and looked around. He’d left the blinds down, so it was still pretty dark in the room, but sun peeked around them. I glanced at the clock, which told me it was just after eight. “Jack?” I called.

Nothing.

There was no way he’d forgotten, because we’d talked about it before going to sleep. It wasn’t like Jack to break a promise. I lay back again and gave it about ten minutes, then I sighed and threw back the covers. Maybe there was an emergency across the street?

I pulled on some jeans and a t-shirt and went downstairs. The front door was open, so I looked out on the porch. No one was there, although I noticed his truck was gone.

What the hell? It’s like he forgot all about me.

Grumpy that a morning in bed was not on the horizon, I went into the kitchen. He hadn’t even made coffee!

Angrily I poured the water and scooped the grounds, then crossed my arms and pouted while it dripped. The dumb old thing took forever, but Jack was funny about letting me replace things around here. Not because he was attached to them, but because he had a hard time letting me buy things for his house. “I live here,” I kept telling him. “Isn’t it my house too?”

He always said yes, of course it was, and hugged me in apology. Recently we’d had a long talk about redoing the kitchen, and when