‡
“Hey, you. Your reputation sure is making a wicked comeback.”
Joy smiled at Tara’s statement, holding the phone between her ear and shoulder as she rinsed her breakfast plate and juice glass at the sink Saturday morning. “I wasn’t aware it needed to.”
“It didn’t for those of us who matter, but you know how people talked after the whole thing with Luke cheating?”
“Don’t remind me.”
“Well, they’ve got something even better to talk about now.”
She shut off the water and grabbed the phone while leaning a hip against the counter. Her gaze scanned the deserted ranch yard for a tall, lean body to go with the rusty truck parked by the barn. It was technically his day off, but the hay needed to get baled.
“What’s everyone talking about now?” she asked Tara.
“Logan.”
Knowing how he hated being judged by people in town, Joy frowned on his behalf. “Because the sheriff’s sale is now less than a week away?”
“No, because of your supposed engagement, and the fact that he totally stocked up at the pharmacy yesterday.”
The grin in her friend’s voice threw her off. “Stocked up on what?”
“According to Nadine’s cousin’s son, Dylan, Logan bought three big boxes of condoms and had Edna Persky help him carry them to the register while he asked her what kind she thought you’d enjoy.”
“What?”
“Yep. And when she didn’t know, he said he’d buy them all and you guys would try each kind. I must say, for a fake engagement, you sure are getting a lot of action.”
Joy sputtered in disbelief. “I’m not getting any action.”
Not that she didn’t want any. Ever since that steamy scene in the shavings, she fell asleep each night craving his kisses. Problem was, no more than they agreed to quit pretending, the man had up and made himself nearly invisible the past three days. Yes, they’d both been busy, but even a phone call at some point would’ve been nice. Certainly, it would’ve been better than finding out through the town grapevine that he’d bought a large enough supply of protection to get him through a zombie apocalypse.
“Sounds like you should get ready,” Tara teased. “Make sure your legs are shaved.”
She’d already shaved yesterday, just in case. Heat flooded her face, even as her stomach dipped with excitement. Get a grip.
“Stop it.” She argued against the notion as much to convince Tara as keep her own expectations realistic. This was exactly why no one needed to know they were giving things a go for real. If things didn’t work out, she didn’t need that kind of humiliation again. “If this story is even true, and Edna was there, he was probably messing with her. She can be mean to him because of the old land feud between their families.”
“That sounds about right,” her friend agreed. “Dylan thought she’d pass out when Logan asked what you’d like. He said it was frickin’ hilarious to see the look on her face.”
Joy laughed. “I bet it was.” The old witch had probably deserved it, too. She’d never been a fan of Edna or her sister, Millie, and they’d been especially rude with their snide insinuations at the bank while supposedly admiring her ring.
“All right, I’m done teasing,” Tara said. “And since you called me, what’s up?”
“I’m really sorry, but I have to cancel our ride. We got a call today to get Grandma in for a doctor’s appointment last minute, so Grandpa is driving her down to Milwaukee right now.”
“On a Saturday?”
“It’s with a specialist from another state, and he’s fitting in as many patients as he can. With Grandpa gone, that leaves Logan out doing hay by himself, and rain is coming late this afternoon, so we have to get it off the fields. You and Jenny are still welcome to come out and ride, but I really should help him.”
“Do you need our help?”
“Thanks, but we’ll get it baled no problem, and whatever we can’t get put up before the rain can be parked inside until we can get to it. No big deal. I’ll see you guys next week. Promise.?
??
Joy hung up and slipped the phone in her pocket before fixing a couple BLT sandwiches to pack in a cooler with some ice and lemonade. She grabbed a blanket for sitting on the hay wagon while they ate and a pair of work gloves, then headed outside.