Chasing Love by Melissa West (7)

Lila couldn’t stop bouncing, that wild imagination of hers getting away from her. She pictured walking with Charlie as they toured the farm, laughing and talking, and while it was a job, she couldn’t get her heart to slow down. It would be the longest amount of time she’d spent with him since they were kids and maybe the longest amount of time she’d ever spent with him without Lucas around. And she couldn’t wait.

Which was silly and stupid, but there it was.

She had just turned onto the main road that led to Littleton Farm when her phone rang. Quickly, she eyed the call, and all the bubbles in her stomach quickly popped. Her lawyer.

“Steve, hey,” she said, her heart picking up speed now for an entirely different reason.

“How are you liking Crestler’s Key?” he asked.

“It’s good. Nice to be away from things.”

“Right . . .”

“So, Steve, I saw the news. A disappearance? Do you think . . . ?” Lila couldn’t bring herself to say his name, but she couldn’t prevent his face from appearing in her mind. A shudder worked through her.

“Honestly? I don’t know. Authorities are on it; the investigation seems to be top priority, but there isn’t a lot to go on.”

“Okay . . .” Lila tried to breathe, but the air wouldn’t reach her lungs.

“Try not to worry, and remember, you’re far away from all of this. If you need anything, call, okay?”

Lila nodded though he couldn’t see her. “Okay, thanks.”

They hung up, and Lila’s grip tightened around her steering wheel. A girl was missing and they had no idea who was responsible or where she might be. The excitement she’d felt before was replaced with worry, and she wondered if she would ever be able to go an entire day without fear or worry or doubt taking over her joy. But then maybe that was everyone. Maybe every person had something hanging over them, something that threatened to take their joy. She wondered how they pushed it away, how they brought themselves back to center. For a while, she’d taken antidepressants, and they helped, but she never felt like herself when on them. Then she tried yoga and meditation. But her mind refused to settle. That was when Lucas suggested self-defense classes, and finally, she found something that helped. It empowered her, made her feel safe, in control. Alive. And only one other thing made her feel that way—or, rather, one other person. Charlie.

At the thought of him, her heart felt lighter, so when her phone rang again, and she thought it could be Charlie, she almost ran off the road trying to grab it, eager to hear his voice and feel the comfort it brought her. “Hello?”

“Hey!” Lila smiled at Audrey’s voice, forever loud and filled with giddiness. “I just passed you and waved, but I don’t think you saw me. Where are you headed in such a hurry? Hot date?” Audrey asked with a laugh, and Lila realized how laughable the excitement curling and swirling in her stomach was.

This was Charlie. Char-lie. Lucas’s best friend, a boy who watched her grow up through all the embarrassment that was adolescence. There was no way that he thought about her . . . the way she was thinking about him. But that ended today. No more thoughts about Charlie.

“Nowhere. Well, somewhere, but nowhere big. Charlie offered me a job at Littleton Farm as their part-time vet. I’m headed there now to check out the place and see if I want to take the job.”

“Do you want it?” Audrey asked, her voice muffled now.

“Um, why does it sound like you just walked through a cloud?”

“Hold on.” A ruffling sound hit her ears, before Audrey returned. “Sorry, lipstick application. Takes talent to do that while holding the wheel and the phone.” She laughed.

“Lipstick? Maybe I’m the one who should be asking you where you’re going. Since when do you wear lipstick at the salon?”

Audrey announced at age six that she wanted to be a hair stylist and immediately took a pair of scissors to her Barbie dolls’ hair. For the next several years, every doll Audrey owned suffered at Audrey’s hand, but her love for hair never went away, so she went to cosmetology school after she graduated high school, and soon became the most requested stylist in town. A smile crept across Lila’s face at the memory of Audrey on her first day of work. Though they hadn’t seen each other much in the last eight years, they were still the same people in a lot of ways. Audrey still experimenting with hair and makeup and clothes. Lila was still oblivious to all that mess.

“Oh, you know, since I started cutting Brady’s hair. And he has an appointment with me in fifteen minutes.”

“Brady?” Lila wasn’t sure if she should get onto her friend for having interest in the Littleton bad boy or not. The Littletons attracted women like moths to a flame, and of the three Brady was the most likely to burn you. Plus, Audrey was the very opposite of careful when it came to her heart.

Zac and Charlie were the more mature ones, more sensitive and responsible. Brady, while not exactly irresponsible, had never cared about having a relationship. Of course, Lila had only been back in town for two weeks. Maybe he’d changed. She decided to tread carefully.

“You do remember his nickname in school, right?” Brady was in her and Audrey’s grade, so they knew every rumor surrounding him, and while some were sure to be just that, rumors, others . . .

“So?” Audrey said, a hint of aggravation in her voice, and Lila contemplated keeping her mouth shut. For all of two seconds.

“So, that a guy was called Dirty Heartbreaker isn’t concerning to you?”

“That was in high school. He’s changed. We’ve all changed.”

And that was Lila’s cue to mind her own business, which she would do, so long as Brady didn’t try to hurt her friend. Then she’d be in his face faster than he could flash that smirk of his.

“Plus . . .” Audrey said, pausing as she messed with something on her end again.

“More lipstick?”

“Mascara.”

“Ah.” Lila grinned wide. She’d have to allow Audrey to give her a makeover one of these days, but Lila was afraid she’d come away with pink hair and more eye makeup than eyes. “Just promise you’ll be careful.”

“Sure thing, Ms. Littleton Farms. Should be telling yourself that, don’t you think?”

Yes, yes she did, but she would never admit it. “We’re just friends.”

“Sure you are. Anyway, gotta run. Call me later and give me the details of your hot date.”

“It’s a job interview.”

“Riiiight.” She kissed into the phone. “Love you, chat later.” Then she hung up, and Lila dropped her phone into her lap and went to work tapping her steering wheel, her thoughts going back to Charlie and her decade-old crush and how very stupid it seemed to take a job with him, where that crush would be placed under the spotlight again and again. She couldn’t do that to herself, and besides, she wasn’t ready to be close to someone again. Not that Charlie would go there anyway.

She pulled onto the long stretch of road that led into the farm, turned into the small parking lot that Charlie had mentioned to her in a text, and parked her car. “Ugh, this is so frustrating!”

“Um, is this one of those female episodes that require men to retreat slowly for fear of getting their heads chopped off?”

Lila’s cheeks burned as she glanced out her window, which she’d rolled down because she could never resist fresh air, to find Charlie grinning back at her, his light brown hair a ruffled mess, those green eyes flashing with humor. Stubble covered his jaw, and he was tan from working outside and fishing. In short, he was temptation personified, and Lila needed to find a way to resist him before she lost her mind . . . and her heart.

It was high time she come up with a game plan, a means of defense, against Charlie, and that plan began right this second.

She pushed out of her car, not bothering to take her purse or her keys, because this was Crestler’s Key, and not a soul would dare steal from anyone else.

“Just damn Baxter again,” she said, answering Charlie’s questioning stare. She hated to lie, but what was she supposed to say? Sorry, can’t stop thinking about you, and it’s freaking me out? Yeah, no.

“Want me to kick his ass?” Charlie flashed a wicked smile that made Lila’s heart dance, before she could order herself to settle down.

“He’s sixty-eight!”

Charlie shrugged. “Eh, be our little secret.” He winked and Lila’s heart picked up speed again.

Then it occurred to her. Maybe she needed to throw him off his game, give him a taste of his own medicine.

“Tempting,” she said, taking a step toward him, her eyes dropping. “But I can think of better things for you to do with those muscles.” She gripped his bicep, and instantly, a tingly sensation moved over her, a danger sign flashing in her mind.

His mouth fell slack and his eyes darkened, and Lila had to take a step back or she might not let him go, which would be all sorts of awkward. Okay, so maybe the giving him his own medicine thing wouldn’t work here. She started to release him, but her body decided to operate of its own accord, and instead of simply letting go of his arm, she trailed her hand down his bicep, over his forearm before finally separating from him.

Charlie blew out a slow breath and scratched his chin. “You’re trying to kill me, aren’t you?”

“What?” She wasn’t listening to him. She was staring at her hand and wondering why it was so numb now.

“Nothing,” he said, taking a deliberate step away from her. Awesome, now she’d officially freaked him out. “Let’s get started with the tour. Then I was thinking we could do dinner after if you’re up to it. Catch up. It’s been a long time.”

“Sure, that sounds great.” No, no, no. “A girl’s gotta eat, right?” She grinned. Oh my God. First, she stroked his arm like it was a freaking cat, then a girl’s gotta eat? Where was her brain? Clearly, she’d forgotten it in her car.

“Well, I promised Lucas I’d look after you. Though, I’m sure Annie’s shoving more food down your throat than you can handle.”

Wasn’t that the truth. Annie took it as her job to keep Lila’s place stocked with fresh baked goods and casseroles. She said Lila needed to gain ten pounds, but if Lila wasn’t careful, she’d double that in no time under Annie’s roof.

“She does. Too much really, but I’ll deny it if you tell her I said so.”

“Secret’s safe with me.” Their eyes met, and once again a flutter worked through Lila’s chest, refusing to settle down. Charlie’s mouth set and her gaze dropped down, before returning to meet his stare. This was going to be impossible, horrible, and embarrassing, and did she mention impossible? Her brain and body refused to work together around Charlie, and what was left was some mess of a person, who acted very much like a love-struck teen girl. She needed to breathe, to remember that they were friends. Relax. “If I remember correctly, you’re a steak girl, right?” Charlie asked, bringing her back to the moment. “Captain Jack’s makes a mean fillet and lobster. Thought we could eat out over the water.”

“That sounds an awful lot like a date. Are you . . . hitting on me?” Lila asked, a smile on her face.

He stuttered, his eyes diverting. “What? Me? No. I—”

She broke into giggles as she patted his chest. “Easy, sailor. Just joking.”

“That’s how it’s going to be, is it? You’re a doctor now, so why not give a man a heart attack?”

“I’m a vet. Not so much help on a man’s heart.”

He stared at her then, unblinking, his wild hair matching something in his eyes. “Ain’t that the truth.”

Lila swallowed hard, her own heart very noticeable in her chest, the need to say something at odds with the need to remain quiet in hopes that if she didn’t speak, didn’t move, or breathe he’d continue to stare at her as though she were more than his best friend’s little sister.

But then a cowbell ringing brought their attention to the main barn. Though, as they neared, Lila quickly realized it wasn’t used as a barn anymore.

She thought of the last time she’d been to the farm. It was Halloween and the Littletons had set up a massive event. Everyone in Crestler’s Key was there, and even people from neighboring towns were pouring in.

Charlie’s mama had decorated with lanterns and pumpkins. They had the cornfield cut into a maze, and even had s’mores-making stations for the kids. It was magical, a perfect starry night overhead without a single cloud to hide their glow, and Lila had decided that was the day—the day she would finally tell Charlie that she loved him, that she’d loved him since she was eight years old and had any idea what the word meant. Loved him every single moment of every one of the eight years after that realization. Finally, she’d found the courage to tell him.

Because she could feel it, that weird change in him when he saw her. The way he’d light up and then push it back. Until one day they were alone at her house, out back in the old hammock, rocking away, laughing, and all of a sudden, the air became electric, tension snapping between them. The wind whipping through the trees had died down, and dusk had set in, lightning bugs popping all around them. The smell of honeysuckle floated in the distance, so when Lila drew her next breath it wasn’t to take in Charlie, lying so still beside her. It was to smell the honeysuckle, to smell summer. But instead, she’d drawn in his scent, all earthy and so charmingly boyish that her brain had stopped working. She’d reached out a hand toward his, and instead of pushing her away, he took it. Threaded his fingers through hers, something shifting, a new understanding forming between them.

But then she found him that fateful Halloween night. It was only two days later. Two small, barely memorable days. But apparently they’d been enough for him to forget that she existed and shove his tongue down Bella Grant’s throat.

Lila had cried for a week, but the hard thing about it, the part she couldn’t reconcile in her heart yet her brain fully understood, was she couldn’t be angry with him. Not really. So they’d held hands for a second. It wasn’t the first time they’d touched, and he’d made no confession of feelings for her, no falling on his knees and making claims of love.

So why hadn’t that helped the pain?

* * *

“Hey, you okay?” Charlie asked, sensing something change in Lila’s demeanor. Maybe it was just him, but her light flirtation had been replaced by what appeared to be sadness. Yet what could have caused the change? He racked his brain for what he might have said, and then his gaze followed hers to the barn and he felt like an idiot for choosing to start here of all places.

He still remembered the fight he and Lucas had before the Halloween festival. All Charlie had done was hint at his feelings for Lila. It was an innocent statement, nothing overly direct, and yet his best friend for all his life had whirled around on him, and the rage in his eyes made it all perfectly clear: Lila was off limits for a guy like Charlie. A part of him wondered then if he’d been different, the mayor’s son instead of the farmer’s son, if that would have made a difference. Or maybe it had more to do with how different they were on paper—Lila, with her perfect, squeaky-clean record, never making less than an A, never the subject of rumors, never sitting in detention for some stupid shit or another.

In truth, Charlie couldn’t blame Lucas for his reaction. He might have had the same one had Lucas not so nonchalantly asked about his own sister, Kate. But that hadn’t happened and never would because Lucas was always a better person than Charlie.

So, it was with all that crammed into his brain that he walked out of his house, toward the Halloween festival, only to run into Audrey. She hadn’t meant to confess Lila’s plans. It was more that she wanted to warn Charlie not to hurt her, because nowhere in Audrey’s mind was it possible that Charlie would reject Lila. No one would reject Lila. Just look at her. Then it occurred to him that he couldn’t reject her either, not directly. He’d have to show her in a very direct way that he wasn’t the guy for her, not even close.

Bella came along at the right time, tossing her hair, and Charlie took the easy route. It still held the number one spot as the shittiest thing he’d ever done in his life. But as twisted as it seemed, he did it for her, and it had worked.

Within a few weeks, she was dating some college boy in Lexington, and Charlie tucked away that inkling of hope he’d felt that day in the hammock, when no one was around to see him staring down at his best friend’s sister like she and she alone was responsible for the sun rising that day.

And now, all these years later, he still found himself enamored in her presence. And still, all these years later, Lucas would deck him if he had any idea. Which he never would. But this time, Charlie would keep his friend’s trust and avoid hurting Lila in the process.

“Ready to go?” he asked, wishing he could explain everything to her, say he was sorry, but any of that would only let on to the truth, and he could never reveal the truth to her. To anyone.

Her spine tightened, and she started toward the barn. “It looks like that barn’s no longer in use,” she said, changing the subject, even though neither had said anything out loud.

“It’s not. We turned it into a storefront. Sophie’s idea really. She has one at Fresh Foods, and we’re always so busy at the market that it made sense to offer an option both for tours and online orders.”

“Wow, online orders. I never would have guessed you’d be so cutting edge.”

He shrugged. “We’re trying. Surprisingly, we get a fair amount of orders. Even offer a delivery service for locals. It’s working. For now.” Which was always the thing with farming. What worked today may not work next month. Some of that was due to the harvest that season, but some of it was just the mood of consumers.

Lila glanced over at him. “What’s Fresh Foods?”

“I’m surprised she didn’t mention it. Seems to me the woman never shuts up about it. She bought a farm years ago, turned it into an organic farm, and set her sights on ruining our lives. Somewhere along the way, she and Zac took the love path, and the rest is history.”

The small parking lot outside the barn was packed, and Charlie was glad he’d made the decision to have it added. Previously, people parked on the grass or wherever they could find a place, which didn’t feel businesslike. The parking lot, plus the barn renovation and storefront made the whole thing appear very legit. And one thing Charlie had learned with his Instagram experiment—if you look like you know what you’re doing, people believe you. If you look like a hot mess, they believe that, too.

So parking lot went in, the storefront was built, a fancy website was created, and sales took off.

“I . . . I don’t know what’s more surprising—Zac falling for an earthy woman, though I don’t know if you could call Sophie earthy. She’s like Elle in Legally Blonde on the outside and Erin Brockovich on the inside.”

“Exactly,” Charlie said, agreeing.

“But maybe more surprising is you jumping on the bandwagon to do the parking lot and store front and website for online ordering. That plus Southern Dive? When did the reckless boy I once knew become such a smart businessman?”

Charlie’s eyes fell on Lila, and once again he found it difficult to look away. “People change, grow. Part of life, I guess. Ready for this?”

Her eyebrows furrowed, but then he opened the door cut into the barn door, and immediately they were met with shrills.

“Lila Jacobs! Is that you?”

Lila’s face lit and she separated from Charlie to go hug his mom, Julie, who had always loved Lila like one of her own daughters. With three boys, she probably wished once they were all teens she had another daughter to balance out all the testosterone in the house. And they were all completely different. Except for their love for this farm. That much was ingrained in them from the beginning.

Julie Littleton was five foot even and received countless jokes about it from the boys, but she was always the strong mom who wouldn’t put up with much. Today she wore an easy cotton dress with a Littleton Farms apron over it, her white hair styled in a short bob.

Charlie fell back as Lila followed after his mom. Julie Littleton never wore makeup, but she didn’t really need to. Even in her early sixties, she glowed, her cheeks always rosy and her green eyes—the same as Charlie’s—always sparkled. But they were especially bright right now as she walked around and introduced Lila to the rest of the staff who worked the store. Lila seemed to have an impact on everyone they talked to, and even though these people were strangers to her, Lila reached down to hug every one of them. Even Ed, the farm’s refuses-to-retire packager for online orders who never smiled at anyone, maybe had never smiled a day in his life, was grinning like a fool at Lila.

“You look busy,” Lila said, glancing around at the crowded tables, and she was right. They did look busy.

“We just received a massive order, so it’s all hands on deck to get it out on time.” Julie motioned to the people around them, and just like that, Lila walked around to the backside of the table.

“Where do you need me?” she asked.

“Oh, honey, don’t bother yourself. We’ll get it out,” Julie said.

But Lila wasn’t having any part of that. “I’m here and you need help. Let me help.”

Julie smiled. “You always were sweeter than sugar. Well, all right then, you can help fill boxes.”

“I’m on it.”

Charlie crossed his arms and watched her, the way she moved, the way she so effortlessly joined the crew, them instantly trusting her. Resisting this woman might be the greatest challenge of his life.

“What are you staring at?” Lila called to him with a grin. “Afraid to get your hands dirty?”

He laughed. “We’re supposed to be showing you the farm. Or did you forget that, as a vet, your job is to treat animals, not package fruit and vegetables?”

She continued boxing, finding a rhythm. “There’s time for that later, right? Ed said this order has to make the FedEx pickup. Can’t we help? You can hire me later.” She winked and went back to work, and Charlie wondered if he’d ever met someone more selfless and kind in his life.

“Sure, we can stay. Maybe I’ll hire you out here instead. Fifteen dollars an hour work for you?” he asked, jokingly.

Mom waved her hand through the air. “Ignore that boy. You’re with the real boss now. Feel free to tell him to do whatever you want him to do. I give you full permission.” She elbowed Charlie, and he couldn’t help feeling that in two minutes flat he’d gone from having one boss in the room, Mom, to two: Mom and Lila.

“You know, this might not be such a good idea after all. Who’s the order for anyway?”

Ed checked the work ticket, then glanced back at Charlie. “Children’s hospital in Lexington.”

“Oh, I heard about that,” Lila said. “They’re having a parents’ day, where the parents of patients at the hospital get to enjoy a fun day with their children. They’ve hired a lot of entertainment, bands, balloon makers, you name it. This is so sweet of y’all to donate to the cause.”

“Actually, the hospital is paying for this,” Ed said, with obvious distain.

“Not anymore.” Charlie went over to the order, made note of the invoice number on the job, and pulled out a pen and wrote in large letters Paid beside the address and contact information for the address. That would be enough to cause accounting to flag the order, and then he could call them tomorrow to discuss treating the order as a donation instead. He wished he’d known about the order when it was placed; he would have requested they “no charge” it then. It spoke to how separated he was from this side of the business, and he wondered if Zac and Brady were equally distracted. Likely so. Neither of them would take money from the children’s hospital for anything they needed, let alone something like this intended to help the parents who carried more stress and worry daily than most people saw in a lifetime.

Lila met his gaze as he went back to the assembly line they’d created for the project, table after table of boxes and packaging supplies, pre-wrapped fruits and vegetables with labels boasting Littleton Farms. “Where do you want me, boss?” he asked with a smile.

“Right here,” she said. “With me.”