Page 42 of Call It Love (Sterling Mill #5)

Anna

I’d promised both Chase and Jordan I’d take one more day of taking it easy.

I already felt better rested with no headaches, but if it made them relax, I’d do it for them.

Besides, I was in the middle of a great new book, and I didn’t mind the excuse to get back to it. A car pulled to a stop outside.

“Getting to be Grand Central Station around here,” I commented to Jack.

He cracked open one eye from where he’d been dozing at my feet, but quickly went back to sleep. He seemed to understand I was safe here and wasn’t always on alert like he once was.

A second later, a knock came at the door, and I opened it to find Beth Monroe standing there in scrubs and a tote bag slung over one shoulder.

“Morning,” she said with a smile. “My first appointment was canceled, so I thought I’d swing by for a quick check and make sure my patient hasn’t decided she’s invincible.”

“Not yet,” I said, stepping aside to let her in. “But I’ve been tempted. ”

“Figured as much.” She set her bag on the table with practiced ease. “No one who can put together an event like you did would be content to sit on their hands for very long. Sit. Let’s make sure you’re not faking how good you look this morning. You mind?”

I offered my consent, answering her questions as she poked and examined.

Beth snapped her bag closed and gave me a satisfied nod. “Vitals look good. No warning signs. You’re healing fine—as long as you don’t try to run the farm by lunchtime.”

“I make no promises,” I said, smiling. “But seriously, thanks for checking on me. Just have the clinic invoice me.”

She shook her head. “What if we take it out in trade? I’m obsessed with that soap you put out at the dance. I wash my hands so often they dry out. But even after two days, I swear my skin is softer. I’d love a couple more bars if you have any.”

“I don’t have any now, but I promise you the first bars from the next batch I make.”

“Deal.”

“In the meantime, would you like some coffee? Danish? Chase’s family flooded our kitchen with enough food to last forever, and that’s with a teenager living here.”

Her smile faded a little. “I’d love to, but I have to get to the clinic. Raincheck though? Between moving and working, I haven’t had a lot of time to meet and make many friends.”

I thought of the girls’ night I’d had and how easily they’d enfolded me. “I think I can help with that. I’ll call you soon and we’ll make plans.”

“I’d love that.”

She gave Jack a goodbye scratch and let herself out, leaving the house quiet again.

Chase had left early to check on the Christmas tree fields.

He wanted to make sure Marcus had at least followed through on mowing and trimming the grass around all the trees over the past week.

I still needed to pull my thoughts together to plan something light to serve the committee, something that would show off other parts of Silver Creek Farm as well.

I’d just started making some notes on my tablet when the kitchen door slammed, causing me to jump and Jack to raise his hackles.

Chase stormed in, mud on his boots, jaw clenched, and eyes burning.

I was instantly on alert. “What happened? What’s wrong?”

He yanked off his gloves and tossed them onto the coffee table like he couldn’t stand the feel of them. “The fields are a mess.”

My stomach dropped. “From the rain last night?”

“No,” he bit out. “This was deliberate. Someone drove through them in a truck, spinning the tires and throwing mud everywhere. Ruts deep enough to lose a boot in. Saplings ground into the dirt. They meant to do damage.”

My hands went cold. “The Blossom tree?”

“Amazingly, that lot is untouched, but getting to it is a total mess. I nearly got stuck trying to reach it.”

I stared at him. “Marcus.”

He met my eyes. “Who else would’ve had a reason?” he said, his voice low and sharp. “Who else would know exactly what part of the farm mattered most right now?”

“What does this mean for the committee visit?”

“It means I’m going to spend the next three days trying to clean up something that shouldn’t have happened in the first place. And even then, I don’t know if we’ll be ready.” He scrubbed his hand down his face. “It looks like we hosted a tractor pull in the middle of it.”

My fingers tightened around my tablet until my knuckles turned white.

“This is my fault,” I said hoarsely. “If I hadn’t pulled you away helping me—if I hadn’t?—”

Chase instantly crouched beside me until we were eye to eye.

He took my hand in both of his, steadying me.

“Remember what you told me? To ‘lay it down?’ This is not on you,” he said firmly.

“Marcus made his choices. You didn’t cause this.

” He gave my hand a gentle squeeze. “You’re the best part of this place now. ”

I offered him a wry smile. “You’re right. But what can we do?”

He sighed, his eyes clouding with frustration. “Maybe we should call the whole thing off. Reapply next year.”

“No.”

He blinked, surprised at the sharpness of my voice.

“We are not letting Marcus win,” I said, anger creeping into my voice. “He did this to punish you. To take the award from you. Then he tried to take me away from you. He failed at the second. We will not let him succeed at the first.”

He sat for a few minutes, a slow smile spreading across his face. “Okay.”

“Good. I’m ready to work. Doc Beth came by earlier and said I’m healing fine.”

He reached up and brushed his thumb gently along the edge of my temple, where the bruise was dark green and purple. “You know, most people would’ve curled up and shut down after what you’ve been through. But not you.”

I gave a soft shrug. “Curling up didn’t fix much before.”

“God, I love you, Anna.”

“I love you, too. Now let’s get cracking.”

He shook his head. “Oh, no, Blossom. You can help with ideas, but you still need to take it easy. I’m going to head down to the fields and make sure everything is under control there, then I’ll head back up there and try to organize a plan.”

I scowled, but nodded. The longer he sat here arguing with me, the longer it would take him to get started.

I had too much nervous energy to sit still. No one said I couldn’t go for a walk, and maybe the fresh air would be the best way to clear my head from the events of the past thirty-six hours. I called for Jack and headed for the trail behind the cabin—bear spray tucked in a small pack.

The day was warm but breezy. Just getting out of the house, I already felt more ready to tackle our new challenge.

From what Chase said, there was so much to fix.

Maybe the committee would be more understanding than we gave them credit for, especially if we impressed them in other ways.

Chase explained they would look at more than just the tree that Chase had submitted.

They would consider the farm as a whole.

Besides getting ready for the dance, we’d already made sure the sign at the foot of the driveway was cleaned.

With Jordan’s help, the flower beds around the house were weeded and mulched.

I just needed to finalize how we’d welcome them.

Maybe a little gift bag with something from the farm.

I wished I had more soaps, but not one had been left behind after the barn dance.

Maybe Chase had some seeds for his flowers that I could package nicely, or maybe he had something from the nursery he could spare .

I was halfway around a bend when Jack barked. I scanned the woods and nearly stumbled backwards as a tall figure slowed to a sudden stop in front of me.

Trey.

He bent slightly at the waist, catching his breath, sweat darkening the collar of his T-shirt.

We both stared at each other for a beat, startled. Then, almost in unison, we laughed.

“You know,” I said, my hands landing on my hips, “if we’re going to keep running into each other like this, we might want to set up a schedule.”

Trey straightened, wiping the sweat from his brow with the back of his hand.

“Might save us both a few heart attacks,” he said dryly, but there was a flicker of humor in his usually serious eyes.

Jack circled around his legs once, sniffing at his shoes before deciding he wasn’t a threat and flopping down in the dirt with a huff.

There was a beat of easy silence between us. Then he gestured toward the bruise on the side of my head. “Everything all right with you?”

“Oh, I’m fine. Just trying to clear my head.”

He tipped his chin toward the trail. “That’s why I run. Guess you’ve got a lot to purge after this weekend.”

“Yeah, not just that, though.” I found myself telling him everything. The tree. The committee. The rutted roads. The tight deadline. The sick knot of guilt still coiled tight inside me.

Trey listened without interrupting, his breathing already even after his run. When I finished, he didn’t say anything right away. Just pulled out his phone, thumbed through his contacts, and held it to his ear.

“Mac. Meet me at the farm. One hour.” Not leaving any time for his brother to respond, he hung up and slipped the phone back into his pocket like it was just another part of his day.

He gave me a steady look, full of quiet certainty. “No one’s letting Chase deal with this alone.”

I stared at him, throat tight, overwhelmed by how quickly he moved into action.

“How do you even know what we need?” I asked, half laughing, half choking on the emotion.

Trey shrugged, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly. “That’s why I called in reinforcement. We’ll figure it out. Get it done.” His voice softened from his usual gruffness. “Chase has shown up for a hell of a lot of people in this town. Time someone showed up for him.”

Before I could find the words to thank him, Trey gave a small nod, adjusted the brim of his hat, and loped back into his run, heading the opposite direction. Jack barked once as if to cheer him on.

And for the first time since Chase dropped the bad news earlier, the heaviness in my chest eased.

We weren’t fighting this alone.