Page 9 of As It Was (Strawberry Springs #1)

MOLLIE

Strawberry Springs Neighborhood Watch

Tammy Jane

Did anyone hear those popping noises a few minutes ago? What was that?

Comments:

Kerry Winsor : Is everyone okay? @SherriffMike Finch got some info for us?

SherriffMike Finch : Hugh’s car needs to go to a damn mechanic. It’s backfiring like crazy.

Tammy Jane : At this point, I’ll pay for it if I have to. That scared the bejeezus outta me.

Henrietta Brown : I heard that from miles away!

Kerry Winsor : It was THAT loud?

Marjorie Brown : Er, honey, that was me. Sorry. Got tired of the damn can opener and gave it a funeral with a baseball bat.

Henrietta Brown : We will be talking about this later.

Jade Clark : I’ll be giving things baseball-bat funerals from now on. Great idea, Marjorie!

Kerry Winsor : JADE, NO!

Papa Bennie’s room was mostly unchanged. The walls were still light green, and the bed was in the same spot I would run to when I’d had a nightmare so I could crawl into bed with him. I could tell this was a different bed, but the room held the same warmth that it had when I was a little girl.

There was a dresser in the corner and a small closet. I set my purse on the floor before falling onto the mattress.

My heart hadn’t fully calmed down from when I’d heard someone walk in the front door, but instead of looking back on my conversation with Cain with a hint of regret, I felt proud of myself.

Sure, I had been annoying. He didn’t like me, and I probably shouldn’t have insulted what he’d done with the farm, but I’d said things that weren’t simply placating agreements.

I didn’t feel like Mollie, Trevor’s fiancée. I felt like Mollie , the girl who used to spend hours running around here. I didn’t know when I’d become a version of myself I didn’t like, but this felt real.

I highly doubted Cain felt the same way. I could tell that every word I’d uttered had pissed him off.

He had obviously been here for a while. I closed my eyes, trying to think back to the time when Bennie was alive. His final years had been filled with fewer and fewer visits as his health had declined.

“There’s a boy I work with,” he’d said one Christmas. “He’s kinda like you.”

“I highly doubt that,” Mom had said. “And don’t be trying to set her up with anyone. She’s got school to worry about here.”

I wondered if that was Cain. I didn’t know how he was like me, but Bennie had liked him. The kid seemed to like him too. There must be some side of him that was nice. I’d probably never see it with the way I’d barged in here.

The window in the room looked out over the fields. They had been mowed short, but I remembered when they were filled with strawberries. It was a sight I wanted to see again.

I turned on my phone to Google how farms worked, but I was bombarded with messages.

Mom

Where are you?

Dad

Mollie, answer the phone.

Mom

That is enough! We are worried sick.

Mom

If you don’t call us, we’ll go to the police.

That had been only a few minutes ago, along with three more calls. I winced and knew I couldn’t put this off any longer. They needed to know where I was.

“Thank God,” Mom said when she answered on the first ring. “I’ve been worried sick . What’s going on?”

“Where are you?” Dad asked. “We couldn’t see your location since your phone was off.”

“I’m fine. I just needed some space after Trevor and I got into a fight.”

“A fight? You got into a fight?”

I opened my mouth to tell them about it, but another voice answered before me.

“Don’t worry, Maribelle, it was nothing serious. I’ll talk sense into her. ”

My stomach dropped. Was that Trevor? Was he at their house?

“Good,” Dad said back. “Now we just need to know where Mollie is, and we can get this all sorted. Mollie, where are you?”

My throat closed up. Why was Trevor there? I’d run . I didn’t want to hear his voice.

“Mollie?” Mom asked after I heard rustling on the phone and a sigh from Dad. “Are you okay? Why aren’t you answering?”

“I’m fine,” I said slowly. I closed my eyes and knew I’d have to get this out before it went any further. “I needed some space. I’m in Strawberry Springs.”

“What?” Multiple voices asked loudly at the same time. I had to pull the phone away from my ear.

“You should have never gone,” Mom said. “That’s not—the farm is ...”

“Being run by a farm manager? Yeah, I figured that out pretty quickly when I broke into his house. Or, my house, technically.”

“This is why I didn’t want you doing this,” Trevor said. “You could have been hurt.”

Did he really care if I was hurt? I wanted to ask him that, but my usual fear made its way into my stomach.

Apparently, I wasn’t totally cured of being Trevor’s Mollie.

“Nothing happened,” I explained. “He was shocked to see me, and I had questions about the farm. Namely, where the profits went.”

“The profits?” Dad asked. “Why would you worry about that?”

“Because the farm produces income. Where is it?”

“We used it to pay for your college,” Mom said. “And the rest we saved for when you sold it. ”

“So I’ve had an income since I was eighteen and I didn’t know?”

“It’s a farm, Mollie,” Trevor said. “It’s not as much as you think.”

It wasn’t a kind thing to say, but it was far gentler than how he’d been when I was at the apartment this morning.

I squeezed my eyes shut. Sometimes, when I’d talk to my parents about Trevor, I didn’t think we were talking about the same person. To them, he was kind, hardworking, and dedicated.

But to me? He was the exact opposite. And I wondered if I was somehow seeing it all wrong.

“Still,” I said with a sigh. “I should have known it was here. There’s so much I could have done?—”

“On a farm?” Dad asked. “You have a much better job here.”

Everyone kept telling me that. I wasn’t sure it was true, but I also didn’t want to quit either. It felt like giving in to something Trevor wanted.

“Why didn’t you tell me someone lived here?”

“I didn’t think you would disappear and go there, Mollie!” Mom snapped. “It’s three hours away.”

“I had to see it for myself,” I said.

“And now you have. So leave and come home. We’re worried.”

“I need a break.”

“From what?” Trevor asked.

“From everything,” I said. But mostly you , I thought.

“Then come stay with us,” Dad offered.

“I’m staying in Strawberry Springs.”

“Where? There can’t be any reputable hotels out there.”

“I—in the farmhouse.”

“What?” Mom’s voice was climbing. “You can’t?— ”

“I own it.”

“Mollie, you’re not living with a random man.” Trevor’s voice was firm. “As your fiancé, I forbid it.”

“I left the ring behind,” I said. “I thought that made it pretty clear that we aren’t engaged anymore.”

“I don’t accept this.”

I screwed my eyes shut. Fuck. I knew he would do this. It was why I hadn’t wanted to talk to him ever again.

“Wha—what’s going on, Mollie-bear?” Dad tried. “This isn’t like you.”

Nothing I was doing was like me. That was the problem.

“I need a change.”

“What are you gonna do about work?”

“I could take a leave of absence.”

“We need you here.”

I winced. “I could also work remotely. I have my laptop.”

“Absolutely not,” Trevor protested.

Thankfully, Dad didn’t immediately say no, and he was the one who’d make the final choice. “You know I don’t usually allow that.”

“Then I need to take the leave.”

“Fine. You can work remotely. For a week. Maybe two.”

Relief hit me like a truck. I could practically feel Trevor seething on the other end of the line.

“I don’t understand,” Mom moaned. “You have everything you could ever want. A caring partner, the potential to buy the perfect house. None of this makes sense.”

And there it was. What I didn’t need to hear.

I eyed my finger, which had a line of skin lighter than the rest. It felt good not to see the engagement ring there.

“I know it doesn’t, but I need to figure this out.”

“Mollie—”

“ Please. I know you’re all worried, but I need this.”

“You want me to let my daughter live with a random man in the middle of nowhere?” Mom asked.

“Um . . . yes.”

“Mollie—”

“Papa Bennie trusted him. I’m sure he’s safe.”

“This isn’t—what the hell, Mollie,” Dad cut in. “You’re really doing this?”

“Yes.”

“Then you call me if you need anything . And you lock your door. Is there a room for you?”

“There is.”

“If that man does one thing to hurt you, you tell me. Understand?”

“I understand.”

“I can’t believe this,” he muttered. “Stay safe. Please.”

He told me they loved me before hanging up, and I reveled in the silence.

Then I got a text.

Trevor

If you’re staying with a random man, don’t be angry when I do the same with another woman.

We’re not engaged anymore. Do what you want. I don’t care.

And you’ll be fine when the break is over?

It’s not a break. It’s just over.

Big words for someone who couldn’t say it to my face.

If I’d said it to his face, he would have strong-armed me into staying.

And as I looked back out over the fields, I knew I couldn’t have stayed in Nashville. I didn’t feel great , but I did feel closer to who I was.

I was tempted to turn my phone back off, but I opened my text chain with Wren.

So. I dumped Trevor.

Wren

WHAT

And I went to Strawberry Springs.

OH MY GOD

And found out there’s a hot farmer working here, and I’ve chosen to live with him rather than stay miserable in the city.

I’M SCREAMING! If I wasn’t going to film right this second, I would be calling you to get every fucking detail.

First off, FUCK yeah! Your single era. Second off, is the house livable?

Very much so. All original. Kept in great shape.

YESSSS. SEND PICS!

I sent her pictures of the room I was in and the field outside. She screamed about how happy she was for me, and I couldn’t resist the smile that bloomed on my face. At least someone was. Hopefully others would follow suit. Even if they didn’t like it, maybe I could make them accept it.

I was finally brave enough to come out of the room and get my bags from my car an hour later. Cain was nowhere to be found in the dwindling sunlight, and I was grateful for it. I’d pissed everyone off today, and all I wanted to do was hide out for a while.

After getting my bags, I slowly unpacked. I’d grabbed my things in a mad dash to leave the apartment, but as I put everything away, I realized I had mostly Lululemon leggings and slacks.

That wasn’t going to go over well on a farm.

But I didn’t know where to get clothes, or if I would even be able to stay long enough to need them. I set aside a few of the pilling pairs to do the dirtiest of work in and hoped that would last me. After I was unpacked, I needed to use the bathroom.

I went out to the hall, watching for anyone. The door was only slightly down the hallway, and as I got close, I prepared myself to go inside.

I knew not all men were messy, but I also knew the one I’d lived with. If it hadn’t been for me picking up after him, the bathroom would have been covered in clothes, and there would be water stains on every surface.

As far as I knew, Cain was a single man with a kid. Anything could be behind that door.

Slowly, I pushed it open. Instead of seeing clothes piled high, I saw ... a bathroom.

A clean one.

The toilet was clear of any grime. The sink didn’t have any either. The checkered black and white tile was nearly spotless, even behind the toilet.

I opened the curtain to the tub, and it was sparkling clean too.

“Are you looking for something?”

I yelped and turned. Cain stood in the doorway with his arms crossed. He leaned against the jamb and eyed me suspiciously .

Damn. He looked good in this light. His long, brown hair peeked out from under his baseball hat and fell to the nape of his neck. He was buff, way more so than Trevor, probably from all the time he spent working on the farm. His eyes were a shocking blue, like the sky on a warm summer day.

Now that the adrenaline had faded, he was hot. Kind of like the cowboy in my dreams.

I pushed away the thought. I wasn’t even twenty-four hours out from running from my fiancé. I didn’t need to be thinking of anyone at that moment.

“Do you have a maid?” I asked.

“What self-respecting maid would come this far? Sorry, princess, but you’ll be cleaning up after yourself.”

“So this”—I gestured to the bathroom— “is all you?”

“And Eric. Why?”

“No reason, it’s just ... nice.”

He hummed. “Is the room to your liking? Or do you need fresh pillows with a mint on them?”

“Is that a dig at me being from the city? You do know that apartments don’t have those things, right? It’s normal living, but louder. And with less privacy.”

“That sounds like my worst nightmare.”

“And the streets are even worse.”

“I’ve driven through Nashville. Eric likes the science center.”

I tried to imagine him grumbling to himself as he navigated the endless bumper-to-bumper traffic on the roads. It would either be cute or terrifying.

“Stop looking at me,” he ordered.

“What, do you hate being perceived?”

“Only by women who break into my house.”

“Ah, well ... sorry about that. Even if it is my house. I probably shouldn’t have used a credit card on the door. ”

“Even better, you could have stayed in Nashville.”

“Nope. Not that one.” My voice came out harsher than I meant it to. He raised an eyebrow.

I stared him down, wondering if he was going to find some comment to dissolve whatever remaining confidence I had. Instead, he pushed himself off the jamb and turned.

“You’re just walking away?” I asked.

“Yep. Whatever you’ve got going on is none of my business. Have fun in the bathroom. Don’t make a mess. If you need anything ...”

“Call for you?”

“Figure it out yourself.”

And then he was gone.

“Grumpy,” I muttered under my breath. “Would it kill him to smile?”

I shut the door before doing my business. It didn’t hit me until I was done that while Cain was a total ass, I felt safer here than I had back in my apartment in Nashville.