Tansy parked the car back at the farm and hopped out.

“Tansy,” Burton said.

“I just need some time alone,” she muttered.

She dashed into the house, hoping he wouldn’t follow.

At least it was well into the regular work day. Sage would be locked up in Grandma Helen’s office by now with the books. And Arden would be out working on the farm with Drago and Riggs.

Tansy could curl up in bed and have a good cry.

“Tansy?” Arden asked from the kitchen.

“Hey,” Tansy said, trying not to show her pain on her face.

She must have done a terrible job.

“Oh, Tansy, what’s wrong?” Arden asked.

“It’s Burton,” Tansy said, tears threatening again at the kindness in her friend’s voice.

“You need sister mode,” Arden sounded so excited that Tansy smiled. “Except that Sage isn’t here, she had to run into town.”

“You can do sister mode,” Tansy said. “I think you’ll be good at it.”

“Stay right where you are,” Arden said, grabbing a pitcher out of the refrigerator.

Tansy watched as Arden poured out two large glasses of lemonade. Her friend had been paying attention when Tansy and Sage went into what they called sister mode to comfort her about guy troubles before Arden had gotten together with Drago.

“Come on,” Arden said, heading back to the living room.

She placed the glasses on the coffee table and pulled two huge cushions onto the floor beside it.

Tansy curled up on one and Arden sat down beside her and handed her a lemonade.

“So, tell me everything,” Arden said.

Tansy took a sip of the sweet, tangy beverage and felt a little better.

“Last night, we… well, we spent some time together,” Tansy said.

“Are you mated?” Arden looked excited at the prospect.

“No,” Tansy said. “But he told me that he chose me.”

“That’s nice,” Arden said with a gentle smile. “But you’re not sure whether to accept him?”

“Well, that wasn’t the issue exactly,” Tansy said. “I was actually feeling open to it. But then today in town…”

“Let me give you a little advice,” Arden said knowingly. “Wherever you go with that man, for the rest of your life, women are going to stare at him, flirt with him, you name it. And he’s always going to be polite to them, because that’s his nature. But if he chose you, he only wants you. The sooner you accept that, the easier it will be to watch women throw themselves at him.”

“That’s not it,” Tansy said. “Though you have a good point.”

“Damn it, I’m not good at sister mode,” Arden said.

“You’re very good at sister mode,” Tansy told her. “It’s just that there is no way you could guess what happened today. He’s been so happy on the farm. You see that, right?”

“Sure,” Arden said lightly.

Tansy wondered why her friend was being noncommittal, but she forged on.

“The minute we got into the village he was going on and on about how much he likes being in a crowd and how he wants to sleep late and stay in fancy hotels,” Tansy said. “I mean, my gosh, he gets one taste of what he considers the ‘city life’ and he doesn’t want to live on a farm anymore.”

“He traveled the universe to learn more about this planet,” Arden said gently. “You can’t blame him for wanting to see more of it.”

“But that’s the problem,” Tansy said. “I have to save this place. I can’t go touring around the country wearing pretty dresses and smiling on TV.”

“I know the farm means a lot to you,” Arden said carefully. “But you could always work in agriculture later in your life. Maybe it’s better to focus on going back to school and looking forward to a career. Burton would probably love to live on campus with you. It would be a perfect compromise.”

“How can you say that?” Tansy asked. “This place means everything to me. I can’t lose it.”

“Isn’t Dolly Strickland interested?” Arden asked. “I’ll bet she would keep things just the way they are. Maybe you could buy it back from her one day.”

It suddenly occurred to Tansy that if Arden knew about Dolly’s offer, she’d been talking to Sage. She probably knew all about Tansy’s student loans, too.

The idea that Arden was privy to her private finances was so mortifying to Tansy that she launched herself off the cushion.

“I should probably do a spot check on the irrigation system,” she said. “I wasted too much time in town today.”

Arden stood and observed Tansy solemnly.

“I’m really sorry I couldn’t make you feel better, Tansy,” Arden said. “I care about you a lot. I hope you know that. And I’m deeply grateful to you and Sage for all you’ve done to help me and Drago and Riggs and Burton.”

“It was our pleasure,” Tansy replied. “And thanks for listening. I’ll be okay. I just need to get back to work. Taking care of the farm always makes me feel better.”

Arden nodded, but she still looked worried.