The first night, I tried sleeping on Ethan’s couch. It was surprisingly comfortable, but hearing my brother and his girlfriend have sex was, unsurprisingly, uncomfortable.

I really didn’t need to know that my big brother whoops like a cowboy when he climaxes.

I could’ve gone my whole life without that knowledge.

The next night from the bed in Alex’s guest room, I unwillingly learned that Alex, despite being the most taciturn of my siblings, does not shut up during sex. All kinds of dirty words come out of that boy’s mouth. Feeling like Goldilocks in a porn movie, I didn’t fall asleep until the wee hours. And then Gomer and Alex’s dog, Trixie, decided it was playtime the second dawn broke.

All that’s to say, I can’t stop yawning when I pick up Carlos for yet another ride along.

“What? I’m that boring?” he asks.

“Sorry, man,” I say over another yawn. “I’m not getting any sleep. I really need my own fucking place.”

After handing over the address to the farm we’re visiting first, he tells me that his cousin has a garage apartment coming available in a couple weeks. “Can you hold out that long?”

I blink, my eyes bleary. “Maybe. If I start mainlining coffee.”

“Careful there, son. We’ve got a lot of addiction issues in the county.”

Not sure if he’s serious or not, I tell him I’ll take the place. I don’t care what it looks like. Maybe some earplugs will get me through the next two weeks.

At the end of the day, I’m so tired I figure I could sleep anywhere, but when Carlos asks if I’m going to Trivia at Tiddy’s, my ears pick up.

“Trivia?” When Diane, aka Cortland1898, blocked me on Trivia Crush, I lost my taste for the app. “I didn’t know Tiddy’s Bar had trivia. When I was growing up, that place was a dump.”

“I’d say it’s graduated from dump to greasy spoon. Trivia started up this spring. Latonya’s nephew Markus does it. He’s pretty funny; calls himself MT Bottles.”

“They have food?”

“They make a decent burger. Excellent onion rings.”

My stomach growls at the idea. “Maybe I will.”

“See you in a few, then,” Carlos says.

I stop by the Quick Lick on my way back to Alex’s. In addition to a farm, the Quick family has owned the place since it was the kind of general store that everyone visited on a daily basis. As I walk in, I notice that it’s had an upgrade too, but the offerings are pretty random. kind of like a hybrid crossing of a Circle K, a Duane Reade, and a deli.

When I ask Ginny Quick, a high school classmate who seems to run the family business these days, if they carry earplugs, she shakes her head. “I could order you some,” she says with a feral smile. The only smile she employs, at least in my experience. “Get here in a couple days.”

“That’ll have to do, I guess.”

“I heard you were back in town,” she says, leaning over the counter and putting her cleavage on display right next to the Slim-Jims and York Peppermint Patties. “We should get together.”

“I’m pretty busy, getting settled in at work and all.”

“Where are you working now?”

“I’ve been with the Cooperative Extension since January, but I just got transferred to this area.”

She sighs dramatically. “I have been trying to get my father to bring the CCE in. We are having a heck of a time with the corn rootworm.”

“We have all kinds of resources.” Backing out because it’s impossible to end a conversation with Ginny, I tell her, “Check the website,” before slipping out the door.

Back in my truck, I check the time and decide to just head straight to Tiddy’s and get dinner for me and Gomer before trivia instead of going back to my brother’s place first. “Maybe if I stay up late enough, I’ll sleep through the night.”

I swear Gomer rolls his eyes at me.

CHAPTER 12DIANE

When Colleen and I pull up to what is problematically called Tiddy’s Bar and I see Samuel sitting with his cute dog at the one picnic table, my heart does that zig-zag thing again—excitement, immediately followed by the need to flee. Unfortunately, there isn’t a seat available inside, so after we get our food, we join him.

He nods at me before turning to his sister. “Think it’d work for me to sleep on Gran’s couch tonight?”

“What happened to staying at Ethan’s?” Colleen tips her head to the side. “Or Alex’s?”

Sam shudders and sets down his sandwich. “I can’t talk about it.”

Colleen stuffs a handful of fries in her mouth and chews for a moment before answering. “I’m sure Gran won’t mind. But that thing’s hard as a rock.”

An awkward silence follows, broken only by Colleen balling up what looks like a half-eaten sandwich into its foil. “I’m going to make sure our team knows we’re here.”

I half-rise. “Oh, should I⁠—”

She waves me down. “Nah. Finish up. I’ll see you inside.”

Great. Alone with Sam. Everything I’ve always wanted stuffed into a grumpy, confusing wrapper.

He’s feeding something to his dog under the table, so I try to just focus on my own food.

“You know,” he finally says, eyes on the dog. “Seed banks are a good idea and all, but they’re not scalable.”

“At least they’re not evil. Like your former employer.”

“I happen to agree with you.” He meets my gaze, his lips pressed together in a flat line.

“Then why did you work for them?”

“I took the job–” He breaks off, pressing his lips together for a few moments. “I took it because it made my grandfather proud. He paid for college, so…”

It’s not like I had college loans. My family paid for every penny. Still, I can’t stop poking the bear. “So… what? Since he paid, he gets to say where you work?”

His mouth twists to the side, making his perfect face ugly for a moment, like that’s how he feels inside. “Pretty much.”

“What made you quit then?”

He looks up, his expression unreadable. “You.”