Page 26 of As It Was (Strawberry Springs #1)

MOLLIE

Strawberry Springs Neighborhood Watch

Tammy Jane

When are we gonna talk about the elephant in the room?

Comments:

Marjorie Brown : Who, Kerry?

Kerry Winsor : MARJORIE, YOU TAKE THAT BACK!!!

Jade Clark : Shots fired.

Tammy Jane : NO, Mollie is gone.

Kerry Winsor : You’re right! It’s been a while since she’s been spotted. Did Cain run her off?

Jackie Anne : Seriously? That’s your first thought?

Kerry Winsor : Well, she DOES live with him!

Tammy Jane : Man, I hope she didn’t go back to the city without saying goodbye. I liked her ...

It took me another week to get the last field done, even with Cain helping out when he could. When I wasn’t doing that, I was trying to appear present at work.

The time I spent in front of my laptop was more boring than I could say. It was odd how I could work in fields for hours and love it, but answering emails felt impossible.

Once the fields were done and my day job was all that remained, I realized I desperately needed to do something fun before burnout set in.

But what even was fun ?

I tried googling how to have fun in a small town and only got a ton of country songs that I didn’t want to listen to. And though the animals and fields were fun, they were still technically work.

As far as anything else? I’d hit a wall.

Eventually, I knew there was no way I was going to figure this out on my own.

While working, I’d gotten bad about going into town.

Trevor was on a warpath, giving me extra assignments to make up for my lack of office presence, and I had been spending most of the time I was awake tied to my computer.

He’d also sent more emails about offers for the land, which I deleted every single time.

It was a few weekends later before I had the energy to even get out of the house, and the town square was as busy as usual. People who I was starting to get to know were everywhere, and most of them seemed shocked to see me. I’d said hello to everyone I could before going into Jade’s shop.

“Oh my God!” Jade said. “I thought you’d gone back to the city!”

“What? Why would I do that?”

“You’ve been missing for weeks.”

“I wasn’t missing. I was working.”

“On what? Cain handles the animals at the farm, and anything else doesn’t need work now that it’s cooling off.”

“I also do marketing for my family’s company.”

“Oh, that sounds . . . fun.”

“Trust me, it’s not. That plus the farm keeps me busy.”

“Are you taking it over?”

“Um, no. But I got some strawberries planted.”

Her jaw dropped. “It’s reopening?”

“If the berries look good next year. I got an everbearing kind that should produce a medium harvest its first year.”

“You sound so professional when you talk like that. I love it. And strawberries. Oh! I should make more of the candles for the spring!”

“You should,” I said. “But now I’m just working the day job, which is slowly killing any happiness I have.”

“You sound like you need to do something fun.”

“You took the words right out of my mouth.”

“Are you open to suggestions?”

“Please,” I said. “What does Strawberry Springs do for fun?”

“That’s different depending on who you ask, but me? I go to the bar.”

“A bar? Like, to drink?”

“Some do. I go on nights when my friend comes into town and plays. They set up a dance floor. It’s so fun.”

“I forgot there was a bar.”

“Of course you would. You’re hanging around Cain Smith all the time. Bell’s Brews is the social center of the town. He’s gonna avoid it like the plague.”

It was unfortunately true. I couldn’t see him at a bar.

“When’s the next time the band plays?”

“Next week,” she said. “They used to come more when they still had Gab—” She stopped herself. “When they had another local with them.”

“Another local? ”

She shook her head. “He moved away some time ago, saying he’d never come back. Small-town life wasn’t for him, apparently.”

I raised an eyebrow. There was more of a story there, but judging by the way her shoulders hunched, it was a tough thing for her to talk about.

Everyone here had a story, one that I didn’t know. I wanted to know, though. They all knew everything about one another, and I felt left out just by being in their orbit.

“If you ever wanna talk about it, I’m here.”

She looked up and sighed. “I forget that some people don’t already know. He was my best friend, and the whole town thought we would be more, but ... obviously not.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. He always talked about it. No one thought he would do it. Now he’s happy in California. Made a successful video game too. He’s living his dream. Who can be mad about that?”

“Mad might not be the right word. Sad?”

“Yeah. But it gets easier each year he’s gone.”

“And he’ll never come back?”

She huffed out a laugh. “He hasn’t even visited. He flies his family out occasionally. And with the way we ended things, he doesn’t wanna see me.”

“Have you found anyone else?”

“In town? God, no. I’ve known these people too long. Sometimes, I’ll hook up with a stranger from the bar, but they all need a world map to find my clitoris.”

I laughed. “That must be the female experience. My ex ...” Now it was my turn to trail off. I hadn’t mentioned Trevor since coming here.

“You have an ex?”

I thought about the five years we’d been together, and I’ d only ever had a real orgasm a few times. How he hadn’t tried to get me back once , only sent me emails about work.

“I do, but I’ll leave it at that. He doesn’t deserve any more of my attention.”

“Fair enough. So, the bar?”

“I’m definitely gonna be there. It’s time for me to have fun.”

I was tempted to go back to the farmhouse, but I walked around the square for a bit before running into Jackie. She was outside cleaning the glass door to her shop.

“Oh, hi!” she said with a smile. “I haven’t heard from you in a while.”

“Yeah, sorry.”

“I guess Cain made you so mad you couldn’t help him anymore?”

“No, not that. We were busy in the strawberry fields.”

“ We? ” she asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Yeah, I started, but I couldn’t finish it before it got cold.” I pulled my sweater tighter around me. “So, he had to help.”

“I thought he was gonna do it all.”

“No, it’s my project. Even if I did almost kill myself doing it.”

“I’m glad it’s done. But you do look like you could use a haircut.”

I looked at my reflection in the window of the shop. My hair had been in a bun ever since I’d started working.

“You know what? I think you’re right. Do you have an opening?”

“Yes,” she said with a bright smile. “Come on in.”

She sat me in a chair and bounced around the salon as if I’d told her I was paying off all her bills, not just letting her cut my hair.

“Maybe we can just cut a few inches off.”

Jackie’s mouth twisted. “We could. Or ...” she mused as she grabbed my hair and pulled it back, leaving the length only to my collarbones. “We could do something bold.”

I opened my mouth to tell her I didn’t look good with short hair. Trevor had always hated it. But the second I thought of his name, I immediately wanted to cut it all off.

And the way Jackie held it told me I could look really good if I tried it.

“You’re right. We should do it.”

“It’ll feel so much lighter,” she said. “You don’t need all that weight with the work you’re doing.”

She was right in more ways than one.

“So, what are you doing to celebrate now that you’ve got everything planted?”

“At first, I slept for an entire day,” I replied as she started cutting. “But I just talked to Jade and was thinking about going to the bar.”

“Really? There’s a music night I think you would like.”

“That’s when I was planning on going.”

“I wish Cain did things like that. Ever since he took Eric in, he’s become a homebody. He needs a life.”

“I doubt he’d want to go.”

“I don’t know. Maybe he would if you asked him.”

Blinking, I asked, “Do you really think so?”

“It’s always hard to predict what he’ll do, but I do know that he acts differently around you. And he needs to get to know the people of the town. It’s something he’s avoided ever since he came here.”

“He’ll probably say no since the plan is for the town to see him and Eric together. ”

“Between you and me—” She leaned in close, as if she were about to tell me a secret. “I think the town needs to see him as he is. He’s just as good without Eric as he is with him.”

“You’re right. He is.”

“So, I think you should work your magic on him,” she said with a wink. “And then let me know how it goes.”

I returned to the farmhouse feeling better than when I’d left. I was sporting a fresh haircut, and it felt lighter on my shoulders compared to the long locks that had gone down my back.

When I walked in, Cain was helping Eric with his homework.

Cain did a double take when he saw me. I was sure he wasn’t going to mention the shorter hair, but Eric wasn’t like that.

“Your hair looks pretty!” he yelled.

“Thank you,” I replied. “I needed to do some self-care.”

“One time Cain made me a face mask to relax.”

I looked at Cain, who was going red in the face. “That’s so cute.”

“It helped,” he grumbled.

“And you already have very nice bath salts. You’re a spa guy, aren’t you?”

“He is!” Eric said. “And we have the biggest tub!”

It was true. The bath Cain had drawn for me after I’d spent a whole day in the fields was one of the best ones I’d ever had.

“Is there a reason you’re torturing me today?” Cain asked.

“Of course. It’s a special occasion.”

“And what’s that?”

“It’s a day that ends in y. ”

His eyes narrowed, and I was pretty sure that if it were possible, smoke would be coming out of his ears.

Eric, as usual, thought it was hilarious.

Cain rolled his eyes and went back to the kitchen. I was tempted to follow him and ask about the bar, but figured that was a question for after Eric went to bed.

I kept myself busy by scrolling through forums on Wren’s show until late into the evening. Once I didn’t hear the ambient sound of Eric’s voice, I went to find Cain.

Usually, he was in the living room or kitchen, but this time, he was nowhere to be seen. I eventually went to the door of his room, a place I usually avoided, and knocked.

“Cain?” I whispered.

It slowly opened, but only a crack. “What?”

“Can I talk to you for a second?”

“Don’t tell me you’re planning on bringing back some other crop,” he said as he opened the door fully.

“I—” I stopped. Every part of my brain ground to a halt. “You’re shirtless.”

His golden skin was dotted with hair. Every muscle of his torso was on display, and his shoulders were even more impressive when not hidden.

“I was heading to bed. What do you need?”

I opened and closed my mouth, trying to remember any thought other than how can a man be this hot?

“Uh, plans. Questions! I have questions for you.”

“Questions?”

“A single question. But a big ask. Kinda.”

“Is it about crops? Because I have a feeling you have ideas that’ll make us be outside more.”

“I do, but it’s way too late in the season. This is about our plan to make the entire town like you. ”

“Shit,” he muttered. “Now I see why it’s a big ask.”

“And you haven’t even heard what it is yet.”

He sighed, but gestured for me to sit on the bed. I tried to play it cool, but my stomach tied itself into a knot as I took in everything about his room.

It was painted in the same green as mine, but it had pictures of Eric on the walls and a fluffy white rug on the floor over the hardwood. Two lamps illuminated the space, giving it a cozy and intimate feel.

Neither of which I needed.

“Your silence is terrifying.” Cain’s voice brought me out of my thoughts.

“Oh, sorry.” I shook off my curiosity and focused on him. His face. Not his naked torso. “So, next week, I’m going out to the bar.”

“What does this have to do with me?”

“I was thinking that it could be good for you to go as well.”

“Why?” he asked slowly. I played with my hands in my lap. His eyes were already narrowed. This didn’t mean anything good for me.

“I was talking to Jackie ...”

“And?”

“And she was saying that you need to get out of the house more.”

“I already am. With Eric. Like we agreed.”

“Right,” I replied. “But the people of this town need to know you too.”

“They don’t.”

“Didn’t you say the issue was with you?”

“They’ll think I’m not a good parent if I’m out late at a bar.”

“Say you’re out ... making sure I’m having a good time. That way, I’m not alone in a seedy bar?— ”

“The people aren’t like that here.”

“People could see you for who you are.”

“And who am I, Mollie?”

“A grump with a heart of gold.”

He rolled his eyes, but he didn’t immediately say no. I counted it as a win. “You’ve obviously thought this through, except for the part where I have a child that can’t go to the bar.”

“No, I talked to someone about that.”

“Jackie offered to watch him, didn’t she?”

“You’re good at deduction.”

And good at looking like he wanted to murder me. “So, you two conspired?”

“A little bit.”

“Son of a bitch,” he muttered.

“What? She’s close with you. Why wouldn’t she want you to succeed?”

“She wants us to get together, princess.”

“What?” I shook my head. “Not Jackie. She’s seen us fight.”

“And so has the town.” He crossed his arms. “This is a terrible idea.”

“Could be a good one.” I crossed my legs and cocked my head to the side. “Why don’t you prove me wrong?”

“Really? Now you’re challenging me?”

“Is it working?”

“Unfortunately.”

“Your stubbornness is your downfall.”

“Fine. I’ll go to the bar once , but only because I wanna see you eat your words.”

“ You might be the one eating your words.”

“Get out of my room, princess.” He gestured for me to leave.

My stomach tightened. I didn’t want to go. There was something nice about being in this space with him, where he didn’t wear his ball cap and could take a break from working hard .

I wanted to spend more time with him like this. Just us. In a room.

And that meant things I didn’t want to think about. Things that weren’t good for me.