Page 33 of Trick or Tease

SAbrINA

I stopped by Granny Mae’s house and delivered the potatoes Lucy’s family had put aside for her.

“What are you doing here?” Granny asked.

“Bringing you potatoes.”

“I thought you’d be up at the Hogan farm.”

“I’m headed there now,” I said. “I had a few chores to take care of.”

“Heard there’s a party.”

“A party?” I asked.

“Well, you know how it is,” she said with a laugh. “Billy needed some help and those men will jump at any chance to play with their big equipment.”

I frowned. “What equipment? Why?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. Marge stopped by here to get a couple loaves of bread. Said she was making sandwiches for the boys.”

The boys could mean the football team or the men. Everyone under the age of fifty was considered a boy to Granny.

I shrugged again. “Do you need anything?”

“No. Thank you for the potatoes. I’ll have the apple butter for them tomorrow.”

I could smell it in the crockpot. “I’ll be back in the morning to pick it up.” I leaned in and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “You’re going to set up this weekend, right?”

“You know it.” She grinned. “This old lady needs Christmas money.”

I laughed. “Do you need any help making candy or anything?”

“No, no.” She shooed off. “You’ve got your hands full with that place. I’ve got a lot left over from the last fair. I’ll be fine.”

“Okay, just holler if you need me.”

“Tell the boys I said hello,” she said.

“Will do.”

When I pulled up to the farm entrance, I had to do a double-take. There, mounted proudly above the gate, was the most gorgeous sign I’d ever seen. “HOGAN’S HAUNTED FARM” stretched across in bold black letters. It looked professional, like something you’d see at a real theme park.

There were some minor details that weren’t perfect, but no one wanted perfect for a farm sign. It would not fit with the rest of the aesthetic.

My heart swelled with pride as I parked and headed toward the group of men standing around admiring their handiwork. I could see Billy grinning from ear to ear, covered in paint splatters, with John Miller and Tom Rodriguez and several other neighbors all looking pretty pleased with themselves.

I didn’t see Garrett. He was probably in the office doing whatever paperwork he did. “Billy, that sign is absolutely perfect! It looks so professional and spooky and amazing!”

“These guys helped us get it up there,” Billy said.

“Good job, guys. Thank you.”

They all nodded and started saying their goodbyes, giving me and Billy some space.

Billy’s grin got even wider as he gestured toward the sign. “Pretty great, right? But don’t thank me. The design was all Garrett’s idea. The whole ‘Hogan’s Haunted Farm’ concept, the blood drips, everything. I just painted what he envisioned.”

I turned to look for Garrett and spotted him standing a little apart from the group, wiping paint off his hands with an old rag. When our eyes met, he gave me that small smile that made my stomach do flips.

Man, he’s so dreamy. I want to have his babies.

The thought hit me so suddenly and completely that I had to look away before I did something embarrassing like blurt it out loud. Where the hell had that come from? I mean, yes, Garrett was gorgeous and smart and incredible in bed, but babies? I was losing my dang mind.

“It’s brilliant,” I managed to say, forcing myself to focus on Billy instead of the way Garrett’s paint-stained shirt clung to his chest. “The whole branding concept is exactly what we needed. It ties everything together.”

“Right?” Billy said enthusiastically. “Garrett’s been full of ideas like this. The LLC paperwork, the insurance stuff, the marketing angle are all impressive. I swear, having him here has been like finding the missing piece of the puzzle we didn’t even know we were missing.”

I nodded eagerly. “He really has transformed this whole operation. I mean, we had the basic idea, but he’s the one who figured out how to make it actually work as a business. And not just the business side—he’s been right there with us doing the physical work too.”

“Exactly,” Billy said, his expression growing more serious. “You know, it’s been really great having him around. Not just for the farm, but I’ve missed my brother, you know? It feels like our family is complete again when he’s here.”

My chest tightened. “It would be amazing if he decided to stay.”

Billy sighed, glancing over at Garrett, who was now helping John load his equipment back onto the trailer.

“I’ve been trying to convince him, but I don’t know what it would actually take.

He’s built this whole life in the city. It’s not easy to turn your back on the last twelve years of your life and move on to something completely different. ”

“But he seems happy here,” I said, watching Garrett laugh at something Tom had said. “Happier than when he first showed up here.”

“I think being home has been good for him,” Billy agreed. “But happy and ready to give up everything you’ve worked for are two different things. His job at that law firm? It’s not just a paycheck for him. It’s his identity, his security, his whole future planned out.”

I felt a familiar ache in my chest. Of course it was more complicated than just wanting to stay.

Garrett had responsibilities, ambitions, a life that didn’t include small-town festivals and corn mazes.

What could Greenleaf possibly offer someone who was used to Manhattan’s excitement and opportunities?

What could I possibly offer someone like that?

“And I don’t know if Garrett is ready to be one of us again,” Billy said.

“The festival is bringing in some money, but not the kind he’s used to.

And is he going to sleep in his childhood room and share a house with me?

And when our parents get back? I don’t see Garrett being cool living with our folks again. ”

I grimaced because everything he was saying was true. If there were two columns for stay or go , the go was pretty damn full.

“All good points,” I said with a sigh.

“What’s the deal with the two of you?” he asked.

“What?” I tried to look innocent.

He chuckled. “I’m not a fancy lawyer but I’m not blind. I know when a cow and a bull are ready to rut.”

I shook my head. “Billy Jebediah Hogan, I better not be the cow in that scenario.”

“Fine, you can be the bull,” he said, chuckling. “But your cow has looked over here twenty times since you walked up.”

I smiled. “Let him look.”

“Oh, I think it’s moo-ved way past looking, judging by that mark on your neck.”

I shoved his shoulder. “It is not polite to point out things like that! You and Lucy are never subtle about getting frisky, and I never say anything.”

He grinned. “Please. You give us shit all the time. What did you say we were doing last time?”

I sighed. “I asked if you were in the cornfield chunkin’ her punkin’.”

Billy laughed. “That’s right. See? You’ve dished it out plenty. Now it’s your turn.”

“Fine,” I said. “Enjoy it while you can. He won’t stick around forever.”

He looked over my shoulder and shook his head. “I know a Hogan with hearts in his eyes when I see one.”

“I should go get the hayride route ready,” I said, needing to escape before my thoughts spiraled any further. I couldn’t let myself hope like that. “I’ll see you around.”

I made my way toward the barn where we kept the tractor and flatbed trailer, my mind spinning with questions I didn’t want to examine too closely.

Would Garrett ever consider staying for something—or someone —in Greenleaf?

Was I crazy to even wonder if I could be enough reason for a man like him to change his entire life?

The rational part of my brain knew it was insane. I was a farm girl who’d never lived anywhere but this tiny town. He was a successful lawyer who belonged in boardrooms and fancy restaurants. We were from different worlds, walking two very different paths.

But as I started checking over the decorations on the trailer, I couldn’t shake the image of Garrett covered in paint, grinning as he handed out cups of apple cider. For just a moment, he looked like he belonged here. Like this could be his world too.

I shook my head, trying to focus on the task at hand. I had ghost figures to position and spooky sound effects to test. There was no point in torturing myself with impossible dreams when I had work to do.

I was bent over a box of decorations, trying to figure out which fake cobwebs would work best in the upstairs windows, when strong arms suddenly wrapped around my waist from behind. I gasped, my heart jumping into my throat before I recognized the familiar scent that clung to Garrett’s skin.

His hard body pressed against my back as he nuzzled into the curve of my neck, his breath warm against my ear. “Hey there, beautiful.”

“You scared me half to death,” I said, but I was already melting back against him, my body responding instantly to his touch.

“Sorry,” he murmured, his lips brushing just below my ear. “I couldn’t resist. You looked so focused over here, and I’ve been wanting to get my hands on you since I saw you drive up.”

His arms tightened around me. I could feel the solid warmth of his chest against my back. God, the man felt good. Like he was made to fit against me perfectly. If I could strap myself to him and just hang on him all day, I would. I loved the feeling of being in his arms.

“How are you feeling today?” he asked, his voice dropping to that low, intimate tone that made my knees weak. “Are you sore?”

Heat flooded my cheeks as memories of last night came rushing back. The hard floor of the old house, his hands gripping my hips, the delicious ache that had followed me into sleep and greeted me when I woke up this morning.

“Yes,” I admitted, turning in his arms to face him. “And I love it.”

His eyes darkened immediately, that familiar hunger flickering to life. “Good,” he said roughly, his hands sliding down to rest on my lower back. “I like knowing you can feel where I’ve been.”

Before I could respond, his mouth was on mine, desperate and demanding. I kissed him back just as eagerly, my hands sliding down his back. He tasted like Marge’s homemade honey mustard and something uniquely him that I was already addicted to.

His tongue swept across my lips and I opened for him with a soft moan. One of his hands tangled in my hair while the other pressed against the small of my back, pulling me closer until there wasn’t an inch of space between us.

“I’ve been thinking about you all morning,” he whispered against my lips between kisses. “About last night. About how you felt in my arms.”

My head spun from the intensity of his touch. The way he was looking at me like I was the only thing that mattered in the world had my heart doing flips that I wasn’t entirely sure was healthy.

He kissed me again, slower this time but no less thorough, like he was trying to memorize the taste of me. When we finally broke apart, we were both breathing hard.

“We should probably get back to work,” I said reluctantly, though I made no move to step away from him.

“Probably,” he agreed, but his hands stayed exactly where they were, his thumbs tracing small circles on my back through my shirt. “In a minute.”

I smiled and grabbed his shoulders. He winced and then I remembered. “I guess I should ask if you’re sore.”

He flashed a cocky grin. “I’m wearing my marks with pride. Every time one of those scratches pulls, it makes me hard. I think about being inside you when you made those marks.”

His dirty talk had me practically panting. The clean, buttoned-up lawyer had quite a mouth on him, literally and figuratively.

“We have to get to work,” I groaned. “I do not want to get busted rolling in the hay.”

He laughed and slapped my ass. “Fine but just know I’m going to be thinking about you all night. Your taste. Your moans. That tight?—”

“Garrett!”

He chuckled and stepped back, winking at me before he walked out of the barn.