Page 28 of Apple of My Eye

Chapter Twenty-One

Eloise

Things About Myself I Am Embracing This Fall

– I am my father’s daughter—I have his grit (never mind that we are both lacking in the charm department)

– I am a damn good farmer

– I am a petty person, who always wants to prove my worth and avenge my wrongs

– If I can teach little kids how to plant a baby seedling without squishing it, then I can do pretty much anything

Lily: Hi cutie peach, I miss you! JW but is that video of the Parkers’ pig? Apparently it’s trending. That guy is SOOOO cute. You should totally meet him.

Lily: OK wait .?.?. this is DEFINITELY Buttercup. Get your ass to the Fall celebration thingy STAT!

Lily: Can you respond to me please. I have friends over and we are INVESTED.

Two hours later:

Lily: Hello???

Me: Hi!!! What are you talking about LOL

Me: Also, miss you too.

Lily: Lily Shared a TikTok!

I click on the group chat with Evan and Shari:

Evan: .?.?. ELOISE ARE YOU THERE *sent with slam effect*

Shari: What am I, chopped liver?

Evan: *Paté

Evan: I can’t be bothered to care as much about you while you’re in Italy. I’m too jealous.

Shari: Jealousy is the best compliment!

Evan: That isn’t a saying.

Me: Evan stop texting me from the bathroom when you’re IN my house. Shari, we miss you.

Evan: Thank GOD. I was waiting for you to be active in this chat to send.

Evan: Shared a TikTok.

Shari: OMG IS THAT Nick?

Evan: Shouldn’t you be sleeping?

Shari: SHUTUP

Me: Evan, if I have to see this video again I will claw my own eyes out.

I am frozen with reluctance at the kitchen table when I press play.

A glass of iced tea sweats on the counter in front of me.

Mom is stirring at something on the stove.

Dad is in his office. We’re supposed to be heading back out for the Fall Festival Carnival in two hours.

It’s the first break I’ve had all day. We’re all beat.

Sure enough, when I click on the video Lily sent me, Nick’s face fills the screen. And he looks .?.?. incredible. His jaw seems even stronger, the light is hitting him just right, and he’s wearing a plaid button-down I’ve never seen, but one that hugs his arms perfectly.

The only thing out of place is the piece of wheat he’s stuck between his teeth.

Anger roils in the pit of my stomach. He can’t be serious. Is this about to be a video caricature of farmers? I hate men.

I press play.

‘Howdy, y’all!’

Dread blooms in my gut. No no no no no no .

This can’t be happening. I cannot have fallen for this .

.?. I move my finger to navigate away from the page to text Evan and say I told you so!

Why do you think I hate this guy now? Nobody takes f*cking farmers seriously!

!! but before I can, Nick’s laughter fills the room.

He takes the piece of wheat away from his lips.

‘I’m kidding!’ he exclaims. ‘I’ve been here two weeks and haven’t seen one person chewing on wheat.

I think I’ve been lied to my whole life.

’ Nick laughs again. It’s different from how he laughs when we’re together. On video it’s louder, less charismatic.

‘Thanks for all the love you’ve sent the Parkers this past week. They love you too! While you’ve been doting on our favorite grandparents, I’ve been prepping something special for you guys. The big announcement .?.?.’ Nick trails off, and a picture of Buttercup the pig fills the screen.

Mom stops stirring and turns around. ‘What are you watching?’

I motion for her to come over and she does so, wrapping an arm around my shoulder for balance and leaning even closer to the phone.

‘Is that .?.?.’

‘Yep.’

I press play again.

‘I’ll be at the Carnation Fall Festival farmers’ market this weekend!

Come and see us, we’ll be ringing in fall in this beautiful weather.

’ Footage of the rolling hills around Carnation fill the screen.

I’m pretty sure the footage was taken from a spot on our property, the dip in the hills between the Parkers’ farm and ours. Anger pulses in my veins.

The video continues. ‘This fall, I have the pleasure of working on the Parker family’s farm .

.?. and the pleasure of meeting this cutie.

’ The frame switches to a video of Nick and Buttercup together.

She’s a soft pale pink with a perfectly cute snout.

She’s adorable. I’ve always loved Buttercup.

Nick’s done a good job, I have to give him that.

He reaches a muscled arm around Buttercup. ‘This little lady is going to be at our farmers’ market stand this weekend,’ Nick narrates. ‘And if you come see us, you can get a picture with her. She loves people, isn’t that right?’ He turns to Buttercup who snorts right on cue.

‘Is this why they had so many people at their stand?’ Mom asks.

I press on the screen to see how many people viewed the video, a knot forming in my stomach. The video was posted two days ago and already has over six hundred thousand views.

My jaw drops open.

Evan and I make it back to the carnival in just enough time to check the results of the apple pie contest before settling on a picnic blanket.

Mom was awarded first place, and the huge smile on her face took some sting out of the day.

We wave goodbye to her, ducking out of the gaggle of bakers wanting to know her secret, heading to grab barbecue sandwiches before the fireworks start.

‘I’ll get us beers,’ Evan says, while I lay out a picnic blanket.

I press a twenty into his hand. ‘Please let me pay,’ I say. ‘I’m so happy you’re here. I don’t know what I would have done without you today.’

‘I’ll listen to you complain about a hot farm boy any day.’ Evan winks, before walking towards the alcohol tent. Fireflies are flickering and the field smells like freshly mowed grass. I sit down on the blanket, sinking into the soft earth, and let out a long sigh.

I get everything set up on the blanket—our sandwiches, napkins, and the apple pie Mom packed us for dessert—but Evan still hasn’t returned.

I scan the crowd, looking for his mop of blond-tinged hair by the alcohol tent.

My body goes rigid when I spot Evan and recognize the head he’s leaning towards—Nick.

As if he can see me, just then he whips around and gives me a cheery wave, instantly heading in my direction.

Nick disappears the other way, fading into the crowd.

‘What were you talking about?’ I ask Evan suspiciously when he reaches earshot.

‘Nothing!’ Evan chirps. ‘I know you’re mad at him. And, like, I get it. But he’s really hot. And nice.’

I glower at Evan. ‘I’m not thinking about that anymore. He does not exist to me except to ruin.’

Evan laughs so hard he snorts into his beer. ‘Except to ruin? What are you—a heroine of a romantasy series?’

‘It’s not funny. He cannot succeed.’

Evan softens. ‘I know. I’ll help you plan.’

‘Good, I need it.’

‘Eloise, your petty ass probably does not need help planning. But I think it’s fun, so I’ll do it anyways.’ He grins, and we tuck into our food. A full belly and an hour of fireworks later and I’m feeling a little better. I can outsmart Nick with Evan at my back .?.?. I think.

I dream about Nick. We’re sitting together at a picnic table out back.

His profile is lit by the setting sun, showcasing his Cupid’s bow just so.

His eyelashes flutter when he looks at me.

I’m thinking about how smart and thoughtful he is, and how much my parents like him.

He’s ambitious. He’s sexy and interesting.

I can’t help but think about how much I want to sleep with him.

Just as I’m thinking it, as if he can read my mind, he leans in to kiss me.

I’m so eager for it to happen again, I lean forward, closing my eyes.

And right in that moment I wake up with a start.

Nick. Nick. Stupid motherfucking Nick. What if his plan works. And what if he’s the reason my plan doesn’t.

I toss and turn the whole night through.

When I wake up in the morning, my sheets are twisted but my thoughts are clear. I will not let Nick take my family farm down.

‘Evan?’ I call down the hallway as soon as I hear his door creak open. ‘We have some planning to do.’

Thirty minutes and two full cups of hot and strong coffee later and I’m pacing back and forth in my room, walking through the puddle of light that pools through the stained-glass window and back again. Every time my shadow crosses it I get more and more annoyed. I’m practically stomping.

‘Eloise,’ Evan demands from his spot on my bed. ‘Can you please stop doing that. It’s driving me insane. You’re walking around like an elephant.’ He pauses, smirking at his phone. ‘Also, you need to stop doing that because I’m ready to show you my plan.’

Evan’s Plan

· Do better than his TikTok. Educate people. You’d be surprised, but some people find that more interesting. Those people are your people. Find them. The only thing people like better than a hot man is a hot girl. I don’t want to objectify you, but if you got it, flaunt it.

· Make the better farmers’ market stand every Sunday. Get there early. Get the best spot. Leverage things people will want to take a picture in front of. Think ‘perfect Instagram background’ and set your tent up that way. Then offer to take pictures of the girls walking to Nick’s tent.

· Buy a pig. Or a baby animal of any kind. Take to farmers’ market.

· Put the stuff Nick uses for the farmers’ market on Craigslist next Friday so he’s distracted fending off pickups and can’t focus.

· Steal the pigs. Or let them loose. Check if this is animal cruelty?

· Win every competition. Hazel winning the apple pie competition was a great start. Next is applesauce, right? Win that too. Use it to advertise.

· Advertise U-Pick season like crazy. Double what you usually do. I’ll help. Add a photo backdrop to your U-Pick layout and say you’ll help people take Holiday Card photos.

· Do you know how the Potato Farm makes that popcorn so good? Maybe you should sell it.

· Lean into what Nick doesn’t have. Real farming experience.

· Nick maybe looks like a god, but we both know he can’t fix soil in two months. You got this.