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She was too special for a quick roll in the hay.

Chapter Nine

“Why are youso eager to get out of here?” Tyler asked as he hauled another full box of peaches into the back of the box truck.

When he’d turned up just after lunch, declaring he was here to help, Tate had wondered if Tyler had an ulterior motive with his sudden offer of assistance. But as the afternoon progressed the two of them had worked alongside each other in harmony. Something that had surprised the hell out of him, but he couldn’t deny he liked it.

“No reason. I’m just hot, and all I want is a shower and cold beer.” Plus he wanted to see if Kelly had called or texted him. Normally, he had his phone on him, but he’d forgotten to charge it last night and the battery had died as he’d walked into the house for lunch. With Dad in the rehab center, he’d kicked himself for forgetting something so important. But after Kelly had left the previous evening, he’d been feeling awesome and had gone to bed without doing half of the things he normally did.

He’d called the center and told them to call him on the landline. Before the advent of cell phones, Dad had installed a system that blared telephone calls over the orchard. Today, Tate was grateful that they hadn’t made the decision to get rid of the old technology.

“I put a bottle of my new sauvignon blanc in the refrigerator. I just got it from the winemaker, and I thought we could order in some food and share the bottle.”

Tate rested his elbow on the box he just put in. Now Tyler wanted to have dinner with him and share a bottle of wine? Something was definitely going on. Or he wanted another favor. “Okay, what have you volunteered me for now?”

Tyler held his hands up in mock surrender. “Nothing. I swear.”

“Not sure I believe you.”

“That hurts, bro.”

Tate couldn’t deny if the roles were reversed he’d probably feel a stab of hurt as well. But given Tyler’s track record, he wasn’t out of line telling his brother he was skeptical—he was being truthful with him. “You gotta admit you don’t voluntarily help out. You haven’t in the last couple of years. And when we were younger, Dad always had to drag your ass outside to help.”

“More like Mom promising me biscuits and gravy with dinner.”

“Of course you got your favorite meal in exchange for doing something we all had to do.”

Tyler laughed and punched him in the arm. “Don’t tell me Mom didn’t make your favorite meal once every couple of weeks. I know she did. She also cooked Trey’s.”

Tate couldn’t deny his brother’s words. Mom always knew how to make all of them feel like they were king of the castle. “God, I miss her,” he muttered and closed his eyes on the pang of regret that she couldn’t see all her sons had achieved.

“Yeah, me too,” Tyler said.

For a few moments they were in accord in their shared grief. Without a doubt, Mary Prentice had been the glue that held the family together. She’d probably be most annoyed about the fact that, over the years, instead of getting closer, her boys had drifted further apart.

“The vines have kept me busy. There’s so much riding on them. That’s why it’s important that the festival here is a success.”And I’m counting on you to make sure that happenswasn’t said, but Tate got the message loud and clear.

He knew there was a reason why Tyler was being all helpful. He’d come to check up on what was happening with the planning.

“I’m aware the festival has to be successful, Tyler, and not just for you. This is a big deal for Macy too. It’s her first year as committee chair and she’s changing the dynamics of an event that has worked well for over fifty years. Even Kelly knows how much is riding on it. Her business is going to be highlighted as much as the peach farm and your damn wine.” And just like that the tension between the brothers ratcheted up twenty notches.

Tate stomped over to another box and hefted it up. If anything could cool his temper, it was physical activity, and there were still plenty of boxes that needed to be loaded in the truck before it left.

The crunch of gravel and the low hum of a car engine reached his ears. Turning, he spied Kelly’s car coming down the driveway. A warm glow flared to life in his belly. He hadn’t been expecting her, but he wasn’t about to turn her away.

Quickly, he loaded the box in the truck and made his way to where he figured she’d park, wiping his hands down his jeans in an attempt to get them clean. A task that was kind of impossible. He should’ve worn his gloves, but all he’d wanted to do was get the boxes loaded.

“Hey, I wasn’t expecting you today,” he commented as Kelly got out of the car.

Her hair was pulled into a messy bun on top of her head. Little tendrils of hair had escaped and curled around her face. She looked fresh and natural, and his heart gave a little patter of excitement.

“I know we didn’t have plans, but I had a couple of other ideas for the festival I thought I’d run past you. I know we’re tight on space here so I didn’t want to assume that I could just add a couple of arbors to showcase some flowers.”

“More flowers? Don’t we have enough already?” He thought they’d come to an understanding after the first discussion on decorations.

Behind him, Tyler laughed; Tate clenched and unclenched his fists. Hitting his brother wasn’t a good idea, no matter how tempting the thought was.

Kelly hitched her bag up on her shoulder as she approached. He couldn’t help but enjoy watching the sway of her hips. “I thought you already knew this, Tate. You can never have too many flowers,” she teased.