“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.”
I cough out a laugh. “You’re kidding, right?”
“I couldn’t be more serious.”
“You quit because of me?”
“Don’t get me wrong, I hated working there. But yeah, listening to your arguments after I’d spewed that bullshit pushed me over the edge.” He balls up what’s left of his food and stands abruptly. “See you inside.”
What is it about me that turns the Bedd siblings’ stomachs?
It doesn’t take long before I’ve got new companions at the picnic table, and by the time Tiddy rings a dinner bell, which apparently means the games are about to begin, I’ve made five new friends. Who needs Sam and his mixed signals? Warning his grandma away from me one minute, claiming he quit his job because of me the next. But when I enter the dim bar and scan the crowd looking for Colleen, my eyes can only find the man I’m trying to pretend I don’t care about.
Sitting at a table with a woman draped all over him.
Of course, he’s got a girlfriend, Di. A man who looks like he does couldn’t stay single for long. Forcing my eyes to continue looking for the person who actually invited me to the bar, I finally find her waving from the back. After meeting the rest of her team, which includes a Big John, a Little John, a Tall Paul, and a Small Paul, none of whom could be under the age of seventy-five, I lean in to ask why she’s sitting with a bunch of grandfather types.
She just whispers, “You’ll see.”
Half an hour later, it’s crystal clear.
