Page 17 of Take My Love

“Ian’s the farm supervisor, so you’ll report to him. He’s the only one who calls me that. He thinks it’s funny.” I shake my head. “Technically, my father is the boss since he pays the employees. I manage the goat soap business.”

“Got it.” Silas smirks, yanking off his T-shirt and giving me a full view of his chest.

His full tattoo sleeve of flowers and vines spread across his shoulder and down his pec, merging into a compass surrounded by roses and trees. It’s breathtaking.

“When did you get that?” I blurt, unable to take my eyes off it.

His chest was bare the last time I saw him shirtless.

He follows my gaze, looking down. “About five or six years ago. After I finished my arm, I wanted somethin’ larger on my chest.”

“It’s a compass.”

My eyes snap to his. He knows I have a thing for compasses ever since my great-grandmother passed hers down to me when I was in high school. Her house was covered in compass-themed decor. Every time I see one, I think about her and how much of an impact she had on my childhood, which is why I got my own compass tattoo.

I was her first great-granddaughter, so she spent a lot of timespoiling me and teaching me random things about life. Her husband died before I was born, so I never met him, but she loved talking about him.

The night we hooked up, we talked a little about his tattoos, and I confessed I wanted one, but since then, he hadn’t seen it.

“Do you like it?” he asks when I grow silent.

I hate it.

It’s too similar to mine.

“What made you get that, Silas?”

He throws the work shirt over his head and adjusts it right above his buckle. It’s a smidge short but it’ll do for the few days he’ll be here.

“I dunno…just liked the way it looked, I guess.”

He’s a bad liar.

I finally snap out of it and stop staring at him. “Okay, back to work. Ian will tell you what to do from here on out.”

“Where’re you goin’?” he asks before I can walk away.

“I work mostly in the back with Amaya makin’ soap and doin’ the marketin’ for the business.”

“Who’s Amaya?”

“She works with me. I’m sure you’ll see her ’round.”

“Okay, cool.”

I nod once before walking away but then Silas gently grabs my shoulder. “Posey.”

“What?” I say harshly without realizing it.

Even though there’s chaos surrounding us—people coming and going, goats bleating in the distance, and the noise of milk machines echoing from the other room—the moment my eyes lock with his, it stops. I don’t know why he has this hold on me, but the silence is deafening when we’re locked into each other.

“Thank you for givin’ me a chance. I know we haven’t talked in a long time, but I promise to work hard, stay out of your way, and do a good job. You’ll hardly know I’m here.”

Doubtful.

I swallow, licking my lips and lowering my gaze to break the spell. “Do you still need a place to stay?”

I hear the words come out of my mouth but I don’t know why or how they do without my permission. Mentally slapping myself, I close my eyes before opening them and finding Silas staring at me.