Page 17 of As It Was (Strawberry Springs #1)

MOLLIE

Strawberry Springs Neighborhood Watch

Kerry Winsor

Saw some fancy car on my way home. People better not start using the highway as some cut through to one of the cities.

Comments:

Tammy Jane : What city? Knoxville? That’s over an hour away!

Kerry Winsor : People commute, Tammy.

Tammy Jane : Not from here, they don’t!

Kerry Winsor : Either way. Just keep a lookout. @SherriffMike Finch , I thought you should know.

SherriffMike Finch : Guys, I have a full-time job. Stop tagging me in everything.

Kerry Winsor : We just want to help as concerned citizens!

The sun was warm on my back as I walked to the tree line.

I’d just left the former berry fields, trying to remember where they’d been.

Though I lived on a farm, I didn’t get outside nearly as much as I wanted to, so whenever work would slow down or Cain had a near meltdown in the living room, I made it my mission to explore.

So far, I’d made it to the cow fields, but the berries still nagged at me. I was deep in trying to remember how many fields Papa Bennie would plant when I received a message.

Trevor

Dad is willing to negotiate the price of the land.

I gritted my teeth and didn’t answer. I hadn’t spoken to him about anything besides work, though I knew he’d been seeing Mom and Dad a lot. Every time they called to try and get me to come home, he would be there silently judging everything I said.

I opened my messages to Wren, needing to tell her everything before I chickened out.

How did I not see what an ass Trevor was when he used to knock on the wall for coffee?

Wren

I’m sorry, he WHAT?

And made me do all the cleaning.

He’s lucky I’m busy right now.

Never let me go back.

I’ll drag you kicking and screaming away from him if I have to. ICK.

His anger was growing, and though he didn’t say anything in meetings or in front of my parents, I knew the second I gave in and spoke to him, he wouldn’t hold back. I told myself I would be safe if I didn’t talk to him .

But the fact that I felt that way at all put my nearly five-year relationship into perspective.

Soon after, my phone rang. I almost ignored it, but I saw that this call was from Mom.

“Why did you call your father about a lawyer, Mollie?” Mom’s voice was exasperated. “Just what is going on out there?”

“It was for a ... friend.” Cain definitely wasn’t a friend, but was Eric? Either way, the less Mom knew, the better. “There’s a child custody battle going on?—”

“Don’t get involved in the day-to-day there. It’s all petty drama.”

I knew for a fact that she loved petty drama in her neighborhood. Often, she was the cause of it when she went after people for having unapproved flowers in their garden.

“It’s fine,” I said. “I’m not too involved. I just wanted to help him.”

She gasped. “ Him? ”

“His gender has nothing to do with this.”

“It has everything to do with this. What does this help turn into? A date or two?”

“It’s not like that,” I said. It never would be. Did I think Cain was hot? Sure. He was a hot man who loved animals and was good with kids. Most women would melt for that.

But it was a problem when he opened his mouth. Or when I opened my mouth.

He’d seemed shocked that I’d done a nice thing for him. But I knew it wasn’t going to change anything. Tomorrow, we would be back at each other’s throats over nothing.

At least I didn’t take shit from him. I felt like the same little girl who would say anything that was on her mind when I was here.

I needed to be her again.

“Well, what am I supposed to think? You’re taking a break from the healthiest relationship I’ve ever seen to go be in the middle of nowhere with a random ma—” She paused. “Please tell me this friend you helped isn’t that farm manager who lives there.”

“Uh, it’s not?”

“You’re lying. Why is this farm manager in a custody battle?”

“I thought you didn’t want me to be involved in petty drama. Now you wanna know?”

She went silent for a long moment. “Fine. I don’t want to know. What I do wanna know is when you’re coming back.”

Cotton made its way to my throat. “Not sure. Soon, maybe.”

She let out a sigh. “I just don’t understand why you’re even there.”

“You really can’t see any reason why I’d like a quiet, small town over the city?”

“No, I can’t.”

“It’s slower here. I can talk to the people who live here.”

“Why would you want to do that?”

My frustration grew, and I had to bite my tongue to keep from saying something I’d regret.

“I need to go,” I said. “I love you, and I’ll talk with you later.”

I hung up the phone, my mood even lower than usual. I didn’t know why talking to my own family made me this way, but it was like I was back in Nashville, miserable with no way out.

Cain came outside not much later, presumably to get Eric from school, so I took that as a sign to get back to work at my computer. Marketing was the last thing I cared about, but I knew Dad would give me another lecture if I missed anything else.

Eric got home around four with Cain, and they started dinner right after. Usually, I left to let them do it alone while I figured out what I would eat, but tonight I didn’t have the energy to move.

Work was draining, especially since Trevor had sent me four emails with things to do, and one with another offer for the house.

He wanted my answer and all of my tasks done same-day, or there would be more emails in my inbox complaining about my remote work.

I finished what I could, but ignored the one about the house, knowing there was no amount of money that would make me sell.

I heard Eric talking to Cain about his day while they worked. Cain got a pot and let Eric watch it while it filled with water. After it was on the stove, Eric added salt. I was sure they were making pasta of some sort, which sounded delicious. I needed to get some at the store next time.

I was typing up another email when Eric ran over to me. I didn’t expect it, and jumped when he asked, “What’s your favorite sauce, Mollie?”

“Sauce?” I repeated, blinking the exhaustion out of my eyes. “For what?”

“For noodles! I like the white one, but Cain likes red.”

“Oh, uh. Usually red.”

“Aw, dang.”

“But white is good too.”

Eric seemed pleased and went back over to Cain. Now I was very hungry. Maybe I could go to the store and cook the same thing once everyone went to bed.

Cain hadn’t so much as looked at me. When he wasn’t actively cooking something, his arms were tightly crossed over his chest, his eyes only on Eric. Luckily, the five-year-old hadn’t picked up on his sour mood, but I knew what was off.

Apparently, Cain was a decent cook, because it smelled delicious. It was tomato rich with a hint of savory herbs. My stomach growled, begging me to have some.

Eric got his food first.

“Can I sit next to you?” he asked.

“Of course,” I said as I eyed his food in jealousy. What brand of sauce was that? I needed to find it.

I dragged my eyes back to work, but the laptop shut in front of me.

Cain stared at me. “No working at the dinner table.”

I glared. “I have things to do.”

“They can wait.”

“Do you have any other rules?” I asked as I rolled my eyes.

“We always eat at the table.”

Was I seriously getting kicked out while they ate? Could he not let me be? I grabbed my laptop, wondering how I could get revenge.

But then the plate in his hand was set down in front of me.

“What is this?”

“Dinner,” was all he said.

“I—what? You said we don’t share food.”

“I’m being nice tonight. As long as you put the laptop away.”

The only reason I listened was because I was starving. I got up and tossed my computer over the back of the couch. When I returned, Cain had his own plate and sat across from me.

Eric was digging in, grabbing long noodles with his hands and shoving them into his mouth. I was tempted to do the same, but I used the fork instead.

It tasted as good as it looked. Better even. There were notes of garlic and onion, as well as perfectly al dente noodles.

When I looked up, Cain was watching me.

“Oh, uh. Thank you for the food.”

“Were you hungry? ”

More so than I wanted to admit. “It was a ... weird day. I forgot to eat.”

He knew it more than I did.

“It’s so good,” Eric said, his mouth full.

“It really is. What brand is this?”

“I make it myself and can it.”

Damn . I didn’t think he could get hotter.

“Let me guess, it’s a family recipe that you share with no one.”

“Not a family recipe, but I probably wouldn’t share it with you.”

“Because I’m annoying?”

“Got it in one go, princess.”

I rolled my eyes, but the rudeness felt familiar, almost like a hug.

“I haven’t had homemade food in forever.”

“What did you eat in the city, Mollie?” Eric asked.

“Sometimes I went out to get food if my—if other people wanted to. And sometimes I cooked something basic, and we would eat on the couch.”

“You didn’t eat at the table?”

I shook my head. “Our apartment was too small for that.”

“Too small for a dining table?” Cain asked.

“Yep.”

“And let me guess, you paid an arm and a leg.”

“Too much,” I said. “We were sandwiched in between smaller buildings, and it was so loud. There was never silence. Not all of Nashville is like that, but where I lived was.”

Trevor had wanted to be close to work. Trevor had wanted an apartment with luxuries.

Had I wanted anything about that place?

“It’s changed,” Cain said. “Before Jackie, I lived there most of my life. And now I see something totally different when I visit.”

“Some people say change is a part of life, but it’s ... a lot. Going back will be an adjustment.”

“How long are you staying?” Eric asked.

“I have no idea. Maybe for a while.”

“Yay! We should eat dinner together as long as you’re here.”

I glanced at Cain, wondering if he would be staring at me like he usually was.

Instead, he was looking at his nephew.

And it hit me that I might be here longer than Eric was. That had to be what Cain was thinking.

Despite us not getting along, I couldn’t help but feel the same way. Eric belonged with Cain. Hopefully, things would stay as they should.

“I won’t impose,” I said. “But maybe sometimes. I’d offer to cook, but I don’t make anything as good as this.”

“I’d try it!” Eric exclaimed before going back for another bite. I did the same, and we all ate in relative silence. Cain immediately started on cleaning up, another point in his favor.

“Need any help?” I asked.

He gave me a flat look, one that was a resounding no.

“Okay, maybe you don’t need it. But do you want it? It’s only fair since you offered dinner.”

“That was a one-time thing. As a thank you for the lawyers.”

I turned to see Eric playing with LEGO bricks in the living room. “Does he know?”

“Some of it. He knows that there’s a lawsuit. I told him on the way home.”

“He seems to be in a good mood regardless.”

“He said he would tell the judge that he doesn’t wanna go. As if it were that simple.” He put a dish in the dishwasher. “I’ll know more when I go to Nashville next week. ”

“I don’t envy you, having to drive there. But I’m glad you called.”

“There’s no wasting time. Even if the traffic might send me to an early grave.”

I laughed. “Don’t let that happen. It’s my job to do that to you.”

He nodded, and I saw a ghost of a smile on his face. My heart skipped a beat. I didn’t even think it was possible for him to do that, much less because of me.

“When we inevitably find something to fight about tomorrow,” I said, “I’ll remember this one good moment we had together.”

“You could overachieve and find something new. What controversial topics do you have?”

I raised my hand. “I plead the Fifth. Unfortunately, I do have more work to do.”

“Does it ever end?”

“Not where Trevor’s concerned,” I muttered. For a man who didn’t want me working, he sure did have a lot for me to do now.

“Who’s Trevor?” he asked. “I’ve heard that name before.”

For a second, I froze. I’d barely told my best friend about some of the things Trevor had done. If Cain found out, he would never let me live it down for being with someone so awful.

I waved my hand. “Don’t worry about it. You don’t have to pretend to care.”

I walked away before he could say anything else, going to my room to work.

But I could have sworn I felt his eyes follow me the entire way. I got to my room and opened my text messages with Wren.

Cain can cook. Who knew?

Wren

Cain???

Hot farmer.

Oh, you’re using first names? Enemies to lovers confirmed!

I hate you.

Uh huh. Do you? Or do you wanna know when the first episode of the show airs?

TELL ME. I’m gnawing at the bars of my enclosure.

I appreciate your love. It’s next Tuesday at seven.