One look at Kayleigh’s proud face and I know the only way to put this encounter behind me is to actually make the purchase she’s expecting me to make. With classes starting next week, the Back-to-School shopping rush is behind us, and The Quick Lick’s shelf is looking pretty bare. So I pick up the only heavy-ass jumbo pack of printer paper they have left and a four-pack of markers. Not exactly what I want to lug with me on a day trip to New York City.
But a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do.
With only ten minutes left until the bus departs, I return my adorable former student to her mom and run my purchases to the checkout. I’m not sure why, but I apologize to Ginny again as she scans my things.
“I didn’t mean to be so harsh before, Gin. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay, Collie. If I was about to lose my farm, I’d probably be acting like a biatch too.”
I take my things from her - a bit rougher than necessary - and place them directly in my backpack. “Please don’t call me Collie. Or biatch,” I say as I pay her. “And we’re not losing the farm.”
“That’s not what The Scuttlebutt says.” Ginny purses her lips and hands me my change.
“Yeah, well, I wouldn’t listen to scuttlebutt if I were you,” I say, my smile as sweet as pie.
“No, The Scuttlebutt.” She shoves a flier at me just as I’m turning to leave. “Read it! I’d like to hear what you think! We’re quickly becoming our town’s most reliable news source!” she shouts as I hustle toward the exit.
When I step into the blistering August sun, the fluorescent flier in my hand blares up at me so brightly I need to shield my eyes. “The Scuttlebutt” is emblazoned across the top in an old-timey font with the subtitle “Ginny Quick Gives You All the Dirt on Fork Lick.”
Dear god.
The town gossip has created her own official gossip magazine. And the entire front page is dedicated to “The Bedd Family Financial Drama.”
Seriously.
Get me out of this freaking town.
Ready for more? Preorder Bringing Home the Bacon now: https://books2read.com/BringingHomeTheBacon
FARM 2 FORKING SERIES
Bedd Fellows Farm is in trouble. Grandad bequeathed the five Bedd siblings a heap of debt, along with a troublesome sheep, and they’re all too stubborn to accept the help they need to dig their way out of the compost pile.
Join authors Lainey Davis, Liz Alden, Karen Grey, Erin Mallon, and Ember Leigh as they share un-baa-lievable tales of love, laughter, and sexy shenanigans, all set in the bucolic fictional town of Fork Lick, New York.
Meddling grandmas, nosy neighbors, and boinking abound in these steamy romantic comedies.
Since You’ve Bean Gone by Lainey Davis
Butter You Up by Liz Alden
For Fork’s Sake by Karen Grey
Bringing Home the Bacon by Erin Mallon
A Fork in the Road by Ember Leigh
MORE FROM THE AUTHORS
Catch up with the Bedds’ neighbors in the Planted and Plowed series by Lainey Davis. Asher Thorne is the hero of Sappy Go Lucky.
Take your romcoms with a side of wanderlust. Kit gets his own story in the upcoming Anywhere But Here series by Liz Alden. In the meantime, check out Aged Like Fine Wine, where four best friends explore Europe and love after forty!
Stayed tuned for a new small town romcom series coming soon from Karen Grey, set down the road from Fork Lick and kicking off with single dad Ben’s story! In the meantime, check out her nostalgic romance at karengrey.com.
As a girl with four brothers, Colleen Bedd knows what it’s like to be “one of the guys.” For more strong heroines who aren’t afraid to go head-to-head with their fellas, dive into The Natural History Series by Erin Mallon.
Jackson’s leading lady hails from Bayshore, a small, lakeside Ohio town that sets the stage for Ember’s other rom-coms. Visit Bayshore now to meet the Daly brothers, and to get ready for the next series launching soon.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I could not have made my way out of the 20th century and into writing contemporary romance without my Farm 2 Forking co-conspirators. Dreaming up Fork Lick, NY and its denizens was not only a blast, but ego- and drama-free thanks to co-writers Liz Alden, Lainey Davis, Ember Leigh and Erin Mallon.
Thanks to Jax Garden for an insightful edit, and to Elizabeth Taylor for the helpful beta read.
Thanks to the real life MT Bottles (@mtbottlescomedy on Instagram), who is responsible for my own trivia night addiction. If you’re ever in Wilmington, NC please check out his comedy shows!
I have to shout out the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. If you’re at all interested in birds, download the Merlin app now (be forewarned, it will not call you if you happen upon an endangered species)!
Final shoutout goes to paws4people®. Based in Wilmington, NC this organization does an amazing job raising, training and placing service dogs with folks who need them. I’ve not only volunteered with them, I learned about career change dogs when my friends Tracey and Chris adopted theirs, Darlington.
Finally, thanks to you, dear reader. I hope you’ve enjoyed getting to know Sam and Diane and the rest of Fork Lick as much as we’ve loved telling their stories, because we couldn’t do it without you.
ALSO BY KAREN GREY
In the summer of 1991, my besties since kindergarten take jobs working at a beachfront hotel so we can spend as much time as possible together after college graduation. One especially busy night, a series of challenges leads to game-changing actions, revelations and decisions, making me wonder... Can five friends grow up without growing apart?
When a fiery redhead and the guy she thought was a one night stand turn out to be rivals, his family feud causes shockwaves bigger than the surf stirred up by the latest hurricane.
In this slow-burn, boss-assistant, entertainment biz romance, a bad cop movie production chief takes on a sexy assistant who challenges her every assumption.
