Page 22 of That Conflicted Feeling

“Itreminds me of all the small farmsIcollect the produce from,” she continues. “Andthe lovely loyal customers whoIdeliver to.”She’spretty damn serious about all this community-spirited stuff. “Oh, and a goat gave birth in the back of it once.”

Well, that’s definitely brought my pulse rate crashing back to normal. “What?”

“Don’tpanic.Notrecently.Thisthing sat in a shed for years before my dad fixed it up.Iused to play in it whenIwas a kid.PretendedIwas driving and camping in all kinds of places.Imust have left the back door open, andLarahopped in and made herself comfy.”

“Who?”

“Lara.Thegoat who gave birth in the back.”

“Oh, right.”

Thisis going off track.Ineed to rememberI’mhere to get the cute farmy girl to accept my offer, call off her protests, and shut up about how awful she thinks aYellowBarnwould be forWarmSprings.

Inbusiness, getting someone to do what you want starts with making a connection.Sincewe obviously have zero in common,Idon’t have much to go on, other than what littleI’velearned about this town.

Ipoint at the floral cover on her driver’s seat. “That’salmost as flowery as myB&Broom.”

Igrab the dash as she takes a corner way too quickly and the bus leans to one side. “Jesus.Didwe just go up on two wheels?”

“Youwanted to talk.Ifyou don’t like it,Ican take you right back to theB&B.”Abroad smile creeps across her face and lights it up, like she deliberately threw us around the bend to make me uncomfortable. “I’msureMrs.Lovewellwould love to see you back early.She’snice.”

Shesticks out her tongue and bites down on it.Theglimpse of the pink tip causes an inconvenient stir in my groin. “Iguess from that expression you know exactly what she’s like.Youcould have warned me.”

“Thatwould have been no fun now, would it?”

Mrs.Lovewellis about seventy.Shelooks like she wakes up with her bright white hair coiffed and lacquered and as if no amount ofB&Bhousekeeping would chip her purple nail polish or smudge her orange lipstick.

“Shedoes love a handsome young man,”Pollyadds.

Myhead snaps to look at her as she realizes what she’s said.Hersmile fades and her freckled cheek apples turn a lovely ripe pink.

“I’mhandsome?”

I’mbuilding a connection.Notflirting.Butit’s definitely not disappointing to learn she likes the wayIlook.

“Isaidshewould think you are.”

“Youdidn’t.Yousaid she loves a handsome young man.Likeit’s a factIam one.”

Thedesire to tease her, to make her cheeks redden and her eyes flicker with the spark to fight back, is completely irresistible.Itseems to cause a fresh rush of blood to my heart that makes me feel a little more alive.

Sheturns her head to look out of the side window, hiding her face from me. “Ijust meant she’s a bit of a flirt with the guys.Mainlyones young enough to be her grandson.That’sall.”

“Well, now that’s a blow to my ego.”Imake an exaggerated pout. “Notonly because you don’t thinkI’mhandsome.Butalso becauseIwas under the impressionMrs.LovewellthoughtIwas special.”

We’realready leaving town behind and heading into farm territory.Ineed to get on with the matter at hand.

Itap the dash. “Betyou’d like to upgrade this thing for something clean and new?Likemaybe aMinior something.Icould see you puttering around town in aMini.”

Sheslams a hand on her heart, likeIknifed her in the chest. “Whythe hell wouldIwant to upgrade this van?Idon’t want something new at all.Ilove this thing.Mydad poured his heart and soul into fixing it up for me.”

Oh, shit.Forgotabout the link toDad, who seems not to be around anymore.

“Okay, maybe notinsteadof this.Butyou could have a normal car as well.Andsave this for, you know, special vegetable-related occasions.”Igesture to the rear of the van. “Oranimal births.”

Asthe traffic thins out, she leans on the gas, forcing my head back against the headrest.

Ipoint at the road ahead. “Thatlooks like a pretty sharp bend.Canwe stay on all four wheels this time?”