Page 22 of Chasing the Sun

I never knew what to do with myself outside of work and wrangling Levi. “I’m going,” I surrendered, hanging the hand towel off the handle of the dishwasher to dry.

By the time I got to my room, I’d decided on a run to clear my head. A run was a good idea. I needed to shake loose the tightness in my chest, the kind that had been building. It had absolutely nothing to do with my chances of snooping on my new neighbor to see what she was up to.

After changing into a white T-shirt and running shorts, I laced up my shoes and headed out the side door. The path that ran between my property and the farm was quiet, and I shoved down the little pang of disappointment when I didn’t see her right away. The cottage was dark inside, with no signs of movement. I pushed myself, running harder than necessary, simply to clear my mind.

It could be yours if you wanted it.

Ever since Stan mentioned, offhand like it was nothing,that he could see me purchasing the land someday, I’d foolishly assumed that was the plan. Sure, it wasn’t official—nothing on paper, no formal offer—but it didn’t need to be. I thought Stan had trusted me. I figured that when he was really ready to step back, I’d be the one to step in.

I could have jumped at the chance to expand, but instead I’d hesitated.

A flush of frustration ran through me.

That land was a piece of this town’s backbone. It wasn’t meant to be somebody’s pet project or another half-baked dream. Stan was well past retirement age—there was no way he could manage a fully operational farm again. If she thought she could waltz in and treat it like some cash-cow side hustle, she had another thing coming.

The old man was at risk of someone taking advantage of him. He was smart, but too kind and trusting. My jaw clenched as I thought about the newcomer pulling one over on Stan.

While she didn’t appear to be the cold, heartless type, I knew looks could be deceiving. It didn’t matter that the woman appeared to be a complicated mixture of cool confidence and warm smiles, wrapping around you like impenetrable sunshine.

It annoyed the fuck out of me.

I strayed from my usual route to swing across the landscape and atop a hill that overlooked the farm. Tucked into the far corner, Stan’s house stood like a testament to the man himself. It had been built in the sixties, and though Stan and Karen had breathed new life into the home, its simple, single-story structure and warm brick exterior remained largely unchanged.

I liked that.

I frowned at the new activity that was underway. Mygut twisted.That should be me out there.Since our talk, I had been waiting for the right moment to speak to Stan about purchasing the farmland—but I’d waited too damn long. Now he appeared fully invested in giving it a facelift because ofher.

In the old pumpkin patch, laborers were hunched over, clearing the unruly area with nothing but hand tools and backbreaking effort. If it were me, I would have taken a plow to the entire area.

Started fresh.

It was strange to see so much activity on the long-forgotten farmland. My quiet corner of Star Harbor, disturbed by a naive woman with a determined glint in her eye.

I scanned the faces of the workers, curious whether she was out there among them.

I scoffed. It wouldn’t have surprised me. She seemed like the bleeding-heart type.

Determined to run her out of my mind, I forced my legs to get moving again. Curiosity piqued, I wasn’t above a little trespassing and ran right through Star Harbor Farm to get a closer look at whatever else she was orchestrating. Outside of attempting to clear the pumpkin patch, everything else looked like the same, neglected farmland.

Holding that knowledge, the last leg of my run was infused with fresh confidence. I pushed harder, ran faster, all with a lightness in each step. There was no way in hell she could pull off whatever scheme she thought she was cooking.

I made a mental note to call my financial planner to discuss my options. Revitalized farm or not, Stan was still getting older and couldn’t hold on to it forever. I needed to get my ducks in a row if I planned a full-on hostile takeoverand to purchase it before she could. Hell, I had no idea whether that was her plan, but money talked. I needed a handle on the situation before that woman ruined everything for me.

My steps faltered when I circled back toward the inn and saw Wes’s truck parked in front of her cottage. Chest heaving, I used my shirt to wipe the sweat from my forehead and scanned the area. Soon the pair came into view and my jaw clenched.

She and Wes walked, side by side, rounding the cottage and coming to a stop in front of the porch steps. She beamed up at him with her bright smile, and something heavy twisted in my gut. Wes was explaining something, his arm sweeping wide to gesture at the cottage.

With her face tipped toward the sun, she reached out to playfully brush her hand against his forearm. Her laughter floated over the lake breeze, sweet and melodic.

I knew it.

A sharp, ugly twist coiled in my gut, like I’d swallowed a mouthful of something sour. I didn’t know what irritated me more—how easy she made everything look, or the fact that Wes seemed to be eating it up.

Her attention snagged on me, standing at the edge of the grass, staring like some unhinged madman. Wes must have noticed, because soon he was turning and looking at me too.

His face split into a wide grin as he raised his hand. “Cal.”

I shook my head, cursing myself for not minding my own business, and walked toward them. I kept my attention on Wes, but I could feel her stare boring into the side of my face.