CHAPTER 24
Colt
I look across the table at Darby, who is pouring some ketchup on her plate for her French fries. “Did you have a good time at the game tonight?”
She looks across at me and smiles. “It was awesome. Thank you so much for taking me.”
I had a fabulous time at the state fair with Darby and Linnie yesterday. More than anything, I loved learning about the mother-daughter dynamic between the two of them. It was the most loose and relaxed I had seen the pair since they had moved to Whynot, and I think they both needed that.
But as much as I’m going to include Linnie in my plans with her mother, I also want alone time with Darby. I want to get to know her better and let’s face it, I want to explore the chemistry we seem to have. When I dropped the girls off yesterday at Farrington Farms, I asked Darby out on a date for the very next night. I was a little concerned it would be too soon and that it was Halloween. I knew it was entirely possibly Darby might have plans to take Linnie trick-or-treating. That was okay… I was prepared to ask her out for the following evening if that was the case.
As it turns out, Jake and Laken were going to take Linnie trick-or-treating outside of Whynot, because there aren’t exactly neighborhoods in our area where kids can walk safely down the street. There is the actual town of Whynot, but there’s not a lot of people there. Most of the residents live on the outskirts, off dark and windy country roads that are not conducive for trick-or-treating. Trixie and Ry invited Linnie to come trick-or-treating in their neighborhood, which is about twenty minutes away. It’s a true neighborhood with sidewalks and street lamps to dispel the darkness, and Darby felt that was much safer.
Jake and Laken volunteered to take her and that was that.
When Darby accepted my request for a date, I gave her some options. She could choose which ever one appealed to her the most. The options included going to Clementine’s again for dinner, going to see a college basketball game in Chapel Hill, or letting me make dinner for her at my cabin.
While she didn’t even raise an eyebrow at the suggestion of coming to my house for dinner—which by the way, was done only with the idea in mind that it would just be dinner—she chose the basketball game as she had never been.
After the game, we were both hungry and decided to get a late-night burger. We chat about the game, and I fill her in on more of the rivalry between Duke and Carolina. Lowe had given me the tickets as he’s an alumni of Carolina and didn’t feel like going. Said he had too much work to still do at Millie’s so it would be ready to open by late November.
“How come you never went to college?” Darby asks while waving a French fry in my direction before popping it in her mouth.
Her curiosity is genuine, and I can tell by the tone of her voice she’s not implying my lack of a college education is a negative.
“I knew I would take over the farm,” I explain. “It’s as simple as that.”
Darby circles the tip of her finger over the top of her water glass. “That’s totally legitimate, but you could have gotten some type of degree within the agricultural field to complement things.”
“I guess. I mean, looking back on it, I never was a huge fan of school. I made good grades and stuff, but I had so much working knowledge from being out in the fields planting and harvesting since I was probably twelve, it just seemed like a waste of time and money.”
Darby nods in agreement. “I think you might be right. You’re a smart guy but what more could college teach you that you didn’t already figure out on your own or will continue to figure out on your own? I mean, look at you… You figured out how to set up the vineyard and winery.”
I chuckle and point my finger teasingly at her. “Well, its success still remains to be seen, but I appreciate your belief in me.”
Darby just stares at me a moment, her expression as clear as her eyes are in bright sunlight. She truly does believe in me.
“What about you?” I ask to get the spotlight off of me. “You’ve got degrees all over the place. What was so important about getting them to you?”
Her finger continues to circle the top of her glass, and she gives a careless shrug. “I guess I was always the brainy nerd who wanted to know how things worked on the microscopic level. It made sense to me to want to be involved on the research side of things. Because I came from a farming background with my family, crop sciences just made the most sense to me.”
“So you want to work for a company where you can do research?”
She shrugs again, and her eyes look somewhat troubled. “I thought that’s what I wanted. I mean, that’s exactly why I’m finishing up my PhD. But Colt… this orchard project has me second guessing that.”
“How so?” I ask, putting my forearms on the table and leaning toward her a bit.
She does the same after moving her water glass out of the way. “It kind of feels like my baby. I may not be researching chemical compounds and the makeup of micronutrients, but I am combining those applications to try to figure out how to make a better yield. It’s still research in a way, and it feels more personal to me.”
“More rewarding?” I ask.
“Yeah. More rewarding.”
“So what you’re saying is you’re considering the potential of staying at Farrington Farms rather than going to work for a big company that deals in crop sciences?” I ask.
She smiles and nods. “I still want to finish my PhD and I can’t even begin to finish my thesis for about a year so I can have some good data from what we’ve already planted. But then, I’ll need to make a decision on what to do.”
“You have to lay out the pros and cons,” I tell her. “We’ll get some old-fashioned pen and paper and list it all out one night.”
“It’s a lot to think about,” she says with a sigh. “But I’ve got nothing but time at this point. I don’t have to make the decision any time soon, and I can continue to get settled in at Farrington Farms.”
I sit back and settle into the padded bench of the booth we’re sitting in, clasping my hands on the table. “The world is your oyster, Darby. You can do whatever you want.”
Her pretty face clouds and her eyes darken. She lets her gaze drop to the table. “There was a time in my life that I couldn’t do whatever I wanted.”
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out she’s talking about the years she spent under Mitch’s control. I point out, “You’re out from under him. It’s time to spread your wings.”
She slowly lifts her eyes to mine and tilts her head. “You truly mean that, don’t you?”
“I’m all about the women’s lib, baby,” I tell her with a wink.
Darby laughs and shakes her head. “No, you happen to come from a family that is incredibly loyal and supportive to one another. That’s all I’ve ever seen hanging around any of you Mancinkus people. It’s just in your nature.”
“Well, I’m glad you recognize that, Darby. Because whatever you decide to do or wherever you decide to go, you have my support. Now personally, I’m just going to throw this out there. Selfishly, I’d like you to stay in Whynot and at Farrington Farms. But realistically, you need to go where you have the best opportunity.”
“I know,” she says softly. “And I’ll go ahead and admit to you that one of the main reasons I have considered staying is because of you.”
I blink at her in surprise since Darby tends to keep her feelings about our relationship close to the vest. It’s obvious there’s still a part of her that feels guilty for entering the dating world before she’s even fully divorced.
She seems to be embarrassed by that admission, so I rush in with some reassurances. I reach across the table and take one of her hands in mine, sliding my thumb over the ridges of her knuckles. “I’m glad to hear you say that. Because I really like you a lot, Darby. I want to continue to get to know you. I want to see where this goes because I have this feeling deep in my gut that whatever is waiting at the end for us is going to be something beyond my wildest imagination. But I also know you want to take things slow. This is the South, and everything is done slow. Slow is better. It makes every discovery special, so I’m good with that.”
Darby’s hand tightens around mine. “I’m glad to hear you say those things, but we don’t have to take things that slow.”
Chuckling, I give her a nod. “I’ll keep a nicely moderate pace. How does that sound?”
She laughs. “Sounds perfect to me.”
“Just remember,” I tell her solemnly. “There are no rules we have to follow. So don’t let any preconceived ideas of what’s appropriate with your separation and divorce come into play. You’ve answered the biggest question I have and that’s if you’re truly over your husband and your marriage. I know you are, and that’s all that matters to me.”
Darby sighs and pulls her hand away from me. She uses it to tuck her hair behind her ear before resting her chin in the palm of her hand to stare across the table at me. “I hate we even have to talk about Mitch when we’re talking about our relationship.”
I shrug before once again settling casually back into the bench. “He’s always going to be a part of your life because he’s Linnie’s dad. It just sucks the current context of what we have to discuss about him has nothing to do with his role as a father.”
“I hate he’s making things so difficult.”
I stare at Darby for a moment, weighing the indecision that’s been plaguing me the last few days. I have not told her about my run-in with Mitch on Saturday outside of Millie’s, since I didn’t want to bring up any unnecessary drama regarding her husband. But I also can’t let go of the fact I suspect the guy is slightly unhinged.
“Can I ask you a personal question about your marriage?”
To my relief and satisfaction, Darby immediately answers, “Anything.”
“Did he ever physically hurt you?”
She shakes her head. “No. Mitch was always most vicious with his words.”
“I just want you to be careful around him,” I tell her carefully. “I saw the way he reacted to you standing up to him that day, and he’s not used to that. There’s no telling what he could do.”
Darby nods. “I hear you. And I agree… Mitch can be unpredictable.”
“Have you heard from him?” I ask.
“Nope. But Jake did find me an attorney in Raleigh who’s going to take the case.”
“That’s good.”
Darby sits straight up in her chair and slaps her palms on the table, causing me to jump slightly. She gives me a brilliant smile and declares, “Enough talk about Mitch. Let’s talk about dessert.”
I laugh and look around for our waiter. Dessert is an excellent idea.
I wonder what chocolate will taste like on her lips.