Page 4 of Fall for You (Second Chances #7)

Ronnie

“ H ow was it seeing Alana again?”

I looked up at my mother, staring at me across the table with an expectant look on her face. I should have known there was a reason she invited me over to dinner on a weeknight. Usually she liked to have me over for Sunday dinner.

Several years ago I’d moved into a little house on the far side of our farm thanks to a bequest from my grandmother.

It was a good way for me to live on my own but still be close enough to manage the farm.

Or manage it as much as my parents would allow.

Even though I’d worked side by side with them ever since I graduated college with a dual degree in business and agriculture, they still acted like I was some irresponsible kid who didn’t know a corn field from a pumpkin patch.

“It was fine,” I said, taking a bite of my porkchop.

“Did she tell you what happened in New York?” Mom asked.

I shook my head. “We were at the Fall Festival meeting, we talked about the Fall Festival.”

“I thought you’d have some time after…”

I knew then that Aunt Susie told her that we’d stayed in the conference room for twenty minutes after the committee meeting ended. I’m sure Aunt Susie thought she was playing matchmaker, but I wasn’t having it. I’d kept everything strictly business, and Alana got the message real fast.

Over the years I imagined what it would be like to run into her again.

She’d broken my heart as a kid, but until today I honestly thought I was over it.

It wasn’t like we’d still be together all these years later, even if we’d gone away to college together as we planned.

I mean, who actually ended up with their high school girlfriend?

Even though part of me was still angry at Alana for how she’d treated me, that wasn’t why I wanted to keep her at a distance.

The real reason was the way I felt when we first connected eyes in the conference room at City Hall.

The instant I’d locked onto those green orbs I’d felt something settle inside me.

Like something had been missing and now it was fine.

It was like something deep in my soul whispering, mine.

Knowing that she could provoke that reaction in me after all this time was absolutely terrifying.

Alana was only here temporarily. Whatever happened with her old job in New York, I was certain she’d be heading back there soon.

There was no way a city girl like Alana would spend more time in tiny little Hayword than she had to.

People like Alana weren’t meant for small town life. Not like me. I’d never once entertained the idea of moving away from Hayword. I was born on my family’s farm, just like my father and his father before him. We were a part of the land, and that meant something to me.

One thing I was sure of – I didn’t want to end up heartbroken again when Alana inevitably left this town in the dust. We had to work together, but that’s all we had to do. There was no reason to get personal or rekindle our friendship.

“How did she look? When are you going to see her again?” Mom asked.

I had the strangest feeling that she was matchmaking, which was totally weird given that she hadn’t mentioned Alana’s name once since she moved away. I gave her a suspicious look.

“What are you up to, Mom?”

Dad chuckled into his beer.

“Nothing dear, it’s just that… well, you two were so adorable together back then and you’re still single, and word is that Alana is also single, at least as far as her mother knows, so I thought maybe…”

“No.”

“But…”

“No Mom. Even if I wanted to have some kind of relationship with her – which I don’t -- Alana lives in New York City, and I’m sure she’ll be heading back there soon. I’m perfectly happy on my own.”

“Are you though? It would be good to spend time with someone besides your cat.”

I resisted mentioning that I only spent so much time with my parents because we worked together on the farm. It’s not like we hung out together outside of our periodic family dinners. If I had a regular job, I’d probably see them a couple of times a month like a normal adult.

“I have friends you know.”

Of course none of them were particularly close friends, but she didn’t need to know that. I definitely had people I could go out for a beer with when I wanted to.

“Dating friends?” Mom pressed.

“I date,” I said defensively. “Sometimes…”

“When’s the last time you were on a date?” she demanded.

“Do you want to know the last time I was on a date or the last time I had sex?” I asked in exasperation.

My father choked on his potatoes, but Mom wasn’t giving up.

“Either.”

Damn it, now that she asked I couldn’t actually remember. Then it hit me.

“I, uh, hung out with this very nice woman when I drove down to the state fair to show Beatrice.”

Beatrice was one of our cows.

“That was three years ago.” Mom sounded appalled. “Are you saying that you haven’t had sex in that long? You know you have to use the equipment regularly or things start to dry up.”

“Are you suggesting that my vagina is growing cobwebs, Mom?”

There was a clatter as my father stood up, his chair falling to the floor.

“For Christ’s sake,” he grumbled, grabbing his plate and glass and leaving the room without another word. Poor Dad hated it when we talked about anything he deemed personal.

“Now look what you did,” I said pointedly.

Mom shrugged, completely unconcerned.

“All’s I’m saying is this: you can’t spend the rest of your life alone.

I want you to have love. A family,” she said.

“I want you to have what your father and I have, but that’s never going to happen if you don’t put yourself out there.

Life is passing you by, Veronica Marie. If you’re waiting for your Miss Right to wander onto our farm, it’s never going to happen. ”

Mom was getting riled up now, so I reached over and gave her hand a quick squeeze.

“I appreciate that you’re worried about me, Mom, but I’m fine, I promise.”

Mom didn’t look convinced, but she let the subject drop.

I replayed that conversation with my mom over and over again for the next few days. As much as I tried to deny it, the truth was I was lonely. And the tiniest bit horny for something besides my vibrator.

“Maybe I should join one of those dating apps,” I said to my cat Oliver. “There’s got to be some nice women in this part of the state that I could date.”

The fact that I was discussing my dating life with my cat was an indication of how sad my social life had become.

For his part, Oliver licked one of his back legs, completely uninterested.

“Okay, you’re right Oliver. I’m going to sign up right now before I lose my nerve.”

With a sigh, I pulled out my phone and started doing some research. There were a couple of dating apps that catered to LGBTQ singles, so I picked one at random and started filling out a profile, pleased to see that they offered a free trial. It couldn’t hurt to just check it out, right?

After I’d answered all the questions I thumbed through the pictures of any women in a one hundred mile radius with whom I had a ninety percent compatibility or higher. There were more than I thought, twenty-one in total. Then again, I’d set my search parameters to be pretty broad.

I re-set my search to include women within a fifty mile radius, which brought my prospects down to an even ten.

A forty-five year old single mom. A couple of masc women in the nearest small city.

A veterinarian who was recently divorced.

A newly out femme. There was definitely a variety of women to choose from.

I debated messaging a couple of them but then decided I would give it a day and see what happened. It would be easier if someone else messaged me first. Then again, this whole thing was weird, picking out a woman on a app like I was shopping in a catalog went against all my dating instincts.

With a sigh I closed the app and made myself go to bed. We got up early on the farm and I needed to get some things done before lunch since Alana was coming over in the afternoon to do some planning with me for her social media campaign.

I had to give her credit. Based on the email she sent the committee this morning, Alana was jumping into the job. And not all her ideas were terrible.

She’d already set up Instagram and Facebook accounts for the Fall Festival – something no one had done before – and was planning to post pictures at least once a day.

I’d heard through the grapevine, i.e. my mother, that Alana had been taking pictures all over downtown Hayword today to use for the campaign.

Tomorrow it was Patterson Farm’s turn to be in the spotlight and since I’d insisted on being the family’s point person for the Fall Festival, that meant I was the one stuck showing Alana around all afternoon.

Just my luck.