CHAPTER FOUR

REAGAN

I've always loved farmer's markets. 

They all operated similarly but each one was unique to the town or city that hosts it. The markets were like a sampling of that town's culture, flavors, and residents.

As soon as I began strolling through the Cloverville Farmer's Market that sunny Saturday morning, I knew I made a wise decision to build a new development here. 

The small, two-block strip was packed with locals of all ages, browsing through the stalls of produce, buying ice cream or donut holes with their families, clapping along to the old man playing his guitar, or perusing the local businesses with their doors wide open. 

I stopped into the local coffee shop to buy an espresso and was surprised to find it comparable with my favorite San Francisco roastery. 

Two doors down was a kitschy flower shop with Dahlia's Blooms painted on the window in a golden, flowing script. The doors were open, revealing a bustling crowd of people inside and the entire sidewalk outside the shop was decorated in flower arrangements. 

I stepped around them, careful to not disturb anything as I continued exploring. 

This road needs to be widened definitely, I thought as I sipped my espresso. And if it gets extended past the dead-end, this market can expand to twice its size. More downtown businesses can go up too.

Try as I might, it was nigh on impossible for me to not think of new building projects. I was never satisfied. I always wanted more. 

That was probably the reason why I could never commit to one woman either. 

Just as the thought crossed my mind, my eyes caught a banner that read Sage Organic Produce. 

Wait a minute...

Sure enough, the woman behind the stall was none other than Pepper Sage, the dark, brooding beauty who would've been happy to castrate me with her shotgun yesterday had I pushed her buttons any more.

So naturally, the only thing to do was visit her stall and push them a little more.

Looking ever the farmer in her jeans, cowgirl boots, and red flannel shirt, Pepper was busy bagging peppers for customers and didn't see me approach her stall. She smiled as she tucked her hair behind her ear and it was like time slowed down. Her smile was just as gorgeous, if not more, than her pissed off face. 

"So are these the sweet peppers or the kind that burn your asshole?" I inquired. 

Her eyes snapped over to me and the smile dropped from her face like a rock from the sky. 

"What are you doing here?" she hissed. 

"What's it look like I'm doing?" I spread my hands. "Perusing the local farmer's market and in the mood for some curry tonight so I need some peppers."

Her glare was sexy. My dick stirred in response. I had a feeling she left her trusty shotgun at home, so I felt safer about testing her more this time. 

"These little red ones?" she held up a pepper by the stem. "They're ghost chilis. One of the hottest peppers in the world. Eating them raw will burn a hole through your stomach. You shouldn't even touch them with your bare hands."

"I see," I observed, not taking my eyes away from her face. "So what would be the best way to handle a pepper like that? Give it time to mellow out? Serenade it with sweet words?" 

My teasing was not lost on her. She narrowed her eyes menacingly at me and I'm sure she wished she had her trusty shotgun then.

"You can't," she said in a surprisingly calm tone. "You can either handle the heat or you'll get burned up from the inside." 

Oh, baby. You've already got me burning up. 

I grinned, although I was unsure why I was enjoying myself so much. Maybe because she hated my guts and I took pleasure in proving people wrong about me. 

But it might have also had to do with the blush that crept up her neck when she saw me or the way her chocolate brown eyes dilated. Her banging body wanted me even if her mind didn't. I had to give her props for trying to rise above her instincts. 

I stepped closer until I was completely under the canopy of her tent and only the table of produce separated us. When I leaned forward just slightly, she didn't back away. Rather she jutted her chin out, challenging me. 

"I can handle all kinds of heat, Pepper," I said in a voice so low, she had to lean in to hear me. 

She rolled her eyes and turned away but my words had their intended effect. Her blush deepened and she licked her lips nervously as she tried to appear distracted and busy. But I was the only one at her stall. 

"Look, if you're not gonna buy anything you can just move along," she said as she rearranged apricots in a wooden crate. 

"I do want to buy something." 

She narrowed her eyes at me as she shook out a plastic bag. 

"Well, what would you like?" 

"I already told you," I said with a smirk. "The land."

Her glare returned as she balled the bag up into her fist.

"And I already told you it's not for sale."

"Why not? You're not using it for crops."

"I might in the future," she shot back. "Not that it's any of your business. It's mine. I don't need a reason."  

"We'll build a fence between your orchard and the development," I promised. "No hooligans will be wandering through your property and stealing your products." 

"Way to miss the point," she huffed as she crossed her arms over her chest. "I think we're done here." 

My smile dropped. She was stubborn as a bull and getting really irritated. If I kept pushing she might throw a handful of those peppers into my eyes. The hard sell wasn't working so I had to switch up my strategy. 

"Listen, Pepper," I said, looking at her seriously. "I'm not your enemy. I'm not trying to steamroll over your livelihood. This is just the way things are going." I attempted a smile. "We're going to be neighbors one way or another. So can we try to get along?" 

"No," she said sharply. 

Damn, this girl really was a hard sell. 

"Be someone else's neighbor. I don't want some hipster development going up near my farm."

"Well then," I wrung my hands and gave her a pained expression. "You should have come to the city hall meetings and voiced your opinion. This has been in planning for a year. It didn't just pop up out of nowhere." 

“Do I look like I have time to go to city hall meetings?” she demanded. 

I cocked an eyebrow as the curious thought from yesterday returned to me. 

“Are you seriously running that place all by yourself?” I asked. “I mean, do you get any help?”

“Yes, of course I have help,” she huffed defensively, eyes darting over my shoulder. “Here’s my help coming now.” 

I turned around to see a pretty, blue-eyed blonde approaching with two coffee cups in her hand. 

“Sorry I took so long, Pepper. The coffee shop had a line going out the door,” she said cheerily, setting the cups down next to a crate of cherries. 

“Maddy, watch the stall, please. I’m going to the ladies room.”

“Oh, okay!” 

Pepper took off without a second glance at me, the breeze blowing her dark hair around her face like a luxurious plume of smoke. 

I watched her drift away as if the wind carried her, my curiosity only piqued even more with her insistence to push me away.

Was this really just about the land? Did that warrant her hostility and attitude, as sexy as it may have been?

Of course not. I knew it wasn’t. The whole town knew when and where we were coming. Plans had been drawn. Engineers and architects had been hired. The press covered this development for months. It wasn’t my fault she had her head in the sand and got all pissy when something happened while she wasn’t paying attention. 

She had to realize that. She was a grown-ass woman. 

So why did she seem to be holding this against me personally? 

“Can I help you find anything, sir?” asked the cheerful blonde who took Pepper’s place. 

She was like a blinding ray of sunlight with her wide smile and chirpiness. I much preferred Pepper’s darkness. I wanted to search through that darkness like an explorer and discover the unknown. 

“I think I struck a nerve with your boss,” I told her a bit sheepishly. 

“Oh, don’t worry about Pepper,” she replied. “She’s just stressed. The farm is a lot of work, especially right now at peak season.” 

“Yeah, about that.” I scratched the stubble on my chin pensively. “Are you her only help on that huge place? Does she have anyone else?” 

“Well, it’s seasonal work so she pays per day,” she explained. “Not a whole lot of people want to work out in the sun for extra cash right now, except me and some friends. Everyone else would rather drive for Uber or something.”

I nodded thoughtfully, wondering how I could use this knowledge to my advantage when another customer approached the stall. 

Instinctively, I bristled when he came near. Something about him just turned on my defensive instinct like when I was a young punk running around the streets of Oakland. He didn’t look like your typical small country town resident. 

This guy was broad and strong, almost as well built as me and covered in tattoos from his knuckles to his neck. The little girl who held his hand, mugged me with a glare not unlike Pepper did. 

“How are you, Maddy?” he asked with a charming, boyish grin. “The Missus sent me for apricots. And let me get a couple of those ghost chilis too.” 

“Sure thing, Sol!” If this gangbanger-looking guy set off any alarm bells in Maddy’s head she didn’t show it. She held out a cherry to the little girl that was with him. “How’s school, Ari? Almost done?” 

The girl nodded as she happily popped the cherry into her mouth and started chewing. 

“Remember to spit out the pit,” the tattooed man told her sternly. Then proudly to Maddy, “She’s got straight-As again. I can’t thank you enough for your tutoring her.”

“That’s great!” Maddy held her hand out for the girl to high-five. “Way to go, Ari!” 

The tattooed man noticed me watching their interactions and I’m sure he bristled with the same kind of defensiveness as I did. This guy looked like trouble, even if he didn’t seem like it to anyone but me. 

“How you doin’ man,” he said cautiously as he placed a protective hand on his daughter’s shoulder and held the other one out to me. “I’m Solomon. Welcome to Cloverville.” 

“Reagan,” I said, accepting his hand. “I guess I’m new here. My company is building the new development just outside of town.” 

“Ah, right on.” 

Solomon relaxed but didn’t seem especially interested in talking to me. He leaned across the table as he accepted the produce from Maddy and said in a low whisper, “Hey, is Pepper around?” 

I picked up a watermelon and pretended to inspect it thoroughly as I listened hard. What the hell did this guy want with the hot, angry farmer of Cloverville?

A better question was, why did I give a shit? 

“She just took off to take a break,” Maddy said apologetically. “I’ll tell her you stopped by?”

“Please do,” he said as he handed cash over for the produce. “Let her know I’ll be calling her, if you would.”

“Sure thing!” Maddy smiled sunnily. “Have a good day, Sol! Bye Ari!” 

“What was that about?” I demanded as soon as Solomon was out of earshot. 

I knew full well it was none of my goddamn business but something in me wanted to protect Pepper. And this guy gave me a bad feeling. 

Maddy just shrugged. “He runs his family’s wine cellar here, so Pepper is probably hooking him up with some grape starters. I don’t know, though. Everybody knows each other here and we all work together in some way.” 

She didn’t know it but she gave me a great idea. One that would not only allow my development to continue with Pepper’s good graces, but maybe even shed some light on that darkness inside her.