Chapter Two
Jayce Owens clapped his rotary parlor manager on the back. “I’ll see you in the morning, Henry,” he said, before leaving the parlor. The elderly man had been with Sterling Hill for nearly forty years and had been supervising the milking of their three thousand cows for most of that time.
As Jayce passed the many barns on the way to the main house, a massive sense of pride filled his chest that he owned one of the largest dairy farms in Nebraska, pushing away the loneliness that always settled in there after a long day of work. He was close to all fifty-seven of his employees, but they couldn’t take the place of family. His parents had been gone for three years, and not a day went by that he didn’t think of them. But it was Susan who had broken his heart when she left last year, and a part of it still hadn’t mended. Maybe it never would. He didn’t blame her for moving back to Lincoln, though. A city girl always stayed a city girl. That’s what his dad had said when he’d told him he wanted to get married. If he’d been smart, he would’ve listened to him. This was a tough life, and it took a tough woman to want it. But he wouldn’t trade it for the world. Still, a wife to come home to sure would be nice. That thought jogged his memory, making him think of Sue’s delicious chili and how the big farmhouse would smell like onions and spices when he opened the front door. Now, it just smelled like old wood and furniture polish most of the time. He had a housekeeper who came once a week to do the cleaning. Jayce had been considering giving her more hours so she could prepare some meals too but hadn’t gotten around to doing that.
With a sigh, he trudged up the steps of the front porch. It looked like tonight he’d have another frozen dinner. While he waited for it to cook, he checked his email on the desktop computer in his office. After Sue left, he’d splurged, replacing the old dinosaur with a new all-in-one PC with a beautiful big touchscreen display. As he scrolled through his mail, nothing looked exciting enough to open until he came to the one from Perfect Match. Henry had talked him into joining the new matchmaking travel agency a couple of weeks ago by explaining that his cousin had had success with a similar site. Jayce knew that plenty of people subscribed to online dating, but he’d always been against such things until recently when his loneliness had become almost too much to bear. Besides, what could it hurt? The likelihood of him meeting someone here in Turner Falls, Nebraska, was slim to none. He’d already used up the slim shot the day Susan walked into his life four and a half years ago. He’d never met another female feed supplier before or after. This was a male-dominated industry, and if he ever wanted another woman in his life, he’d have to meet her outside of this town.
His breath hitched in his throat as he read the letter and then reread it. As part of a promotional campaign, Dawson Yates, owner of the agency, was offering him a free week in Bali with a woman sure to be his perfect match. A week in Bali? His heart nearly stopped beating. Jayce had never left Nebraska, and although the thought of spending seven glorious days on an island was indeed intoxicating, reality hit him square in the face. He couldn’t possibly leave the farm. Dally was due to deliver her calf soon, and a new cooling system was being installed in the barns. It was crazy to even consider accepting the invitation. He needed to write a quick refusal and put it out of his mind. However, the thought of meeting a sweet, down-to-earth country girl—that’s what he’d put on his application as his perfect match—made him hesitate, and when the kitchen timer went off, indicating his dinner was ready, he took that as an omen to hold off a bit longer before refusing the trip.
Jayce grabbed the ledger off the desk that his office manager had given him yesterday to look at, then headed down the hall toward the kitchen. As he waited for the beef stew to cool a little, he thumbed through the pages, but his mind wasn’t on business. It was on Bali and the possibility of falling in love again. If he didn’t go, he might regret it for the rest of his life. But what if something went wrong at the farm while he was away? That was too big a risk to take, yet as he ate his food, the “what ifs” weighed heavy on his mind. This was a huge decision to make alone.
Jayce took his last bite then called Henry and an employee who worked in the maternity barn and asked them to come over. About fifteen minutes later, both men were sitting in his parlor drinking a beer.
“Something’s come up that I could use some advice with,” Jayce said, suddenly feeling stupid to be asking the two men their opinion regarding his love life. But seeing as he’d look even more stupid if he said nothing, he had no choice but to spit it out. Jayce leaned back in the chair, crossed his ankles and said, “I have an opportunity to go to Bali for a week, but I’d have to leave in about two weeks.”
Henry’s bushy brows furrowed, leaving no doubt that he was thoroughly confused. “Bali? That’s a long way from Nebraska. Would you be going alone?”
Jayce took a long swig of his beer. “I’d be flying alone, but meeting someone when I got there.”
His friend’s face brightened some. “Does this have something to do with Perfect Match?”
“You’ve always been perceptive.” Jayce shot him a half smile.
“What’s Perfect Match?” Jimmy, the young maternity barn worker, asked, before chugging down the rest of his beer.
“It’s a matchmaking travel agency,” Henry answered.
Jimmy let out a roar of laughter. “I’ve never heard of such a thing. Of course, I know about dating services and travel agencies, but never the two combined.”
“It’s a new concept,” Henry answered. “It’s good for singles who don’t want to vacation alone. I talked Jayce into joining.”
“And you asked to go to Bali? I never heard you mention wanting to go on vacation.” Jimmy seemed puzzled. “I didn’t think you’d ever left the state.”
Jayce clenched his jaw. “I haven’t, and I didn’t ask to go to Bali. I didn’t plan on going anywhere. I thought I might find a nice country girl from Wisconsin or somewhere who’d like to see Sterling Hill. But the agency is offering six couples a free vacation. The woman picks where to go. I never thought I’d be selected, but I was, and now I have to make a decision.”
“So you want our opinion?” Henry asked.
“It’s crazy to even consider, right? I mean, there’s so much going on here right now, I couldn’t possibly take a week off. There’s Dally, and the new cooling system—”
“Don’t you worry about the calf comin’, I can take care of that just fine. You can’t turn down a trip of a lifetime,” Jimmy said, cutting him off.
“That’s right,” Henry added. “There’s nothin’ here that we can’t handle. You have to do this, Jayce. Besides, you could use a vacation. Nobody could keep up the pace you do and not crash. It will do you a world of good. And maybe you’ll meet that special gal who’ll fill that hole in yer heart.”
Henry’s words hit home. “It’s only a week. Everything’ll be fine here, right?”
“Of course. You worry too much. This is your chance to live a little, and you sure do deserve to. So go accept that invitation and don’t give Sterling Hill another thought.”
Looked like he was going to Bali.
Later that night, as he undressed for bed, he caught a glimpse of himself in the floor length mirror. At thirty, he was in as good shape as he’d been in his twenties. His physique was lean and muscular. Long days of hard physical work attributed to that. And hours in the sun, left him tanned and had lightened his naturally honey blond hair to pale gold. He knew he was a good-looking guy. Plenty of women had told him that, but would his perfect match think so? Would he be her type? It had been a long time since he cared if a woman was attracted to him and it left him feeling weird and uncomfortable to worry about that. But he was going to travel a long way to meet his match and that first impression, that spark of attraction, was crucial. If she didn’t feel it for him, not only would his ego be crushed, but his heart would be too.
Jayce turned away from the glass and flopped onto the bed. Funny how he didn’t worry about being attracted to her. Something deep inside told him it was a given. Maybe it was because he’d been without a woman for so long. Perhaps it was because he’d put a lot of faith in the matchmaking system. Whatever it was, he was anxious to meet his match, and that would make for a long two weeks before he left for Bali.