All Summer Long (Fool's Gold #9)

“I’m sure you have things to do,” she said at last. “We’ll talk again later.”


The relief in her daughter’s eyes was as painful as her eager escape. Dominique sat with her coffee, grateful the bright sunshine made it reasonable to put on her sunglasses. The fake smile on her lips and the dark glass over her eyes hid the flood of tears she did her best to blink away.

CHAPTER TEN

“SHE MAKES ME insane,” Charlie ranted before digging her fork into Kung Pao Beef on her plate. “She shows up here, with no warning.”

Clay sat across from her at her kitchen table and picked up his beer. The room was cozy, with only a couple of lights on and the curtains pulled.

“This morning, or are you talking about her being in Fool’s Gold?” he asked.

“Either. Both. I’m not picky. But she is. She insulted my house, she practically clucked over my hair. Or maybe my clothes. Then she started talking about makeup. I don’t wear makeup. I don’t get it... I don’t want to. I’m not like her. That’s the real problem. She was hoping to give birth to a miniature version of herself. Instead she got me.”

“Then she was lucky.”

Charlie smiled at him. “Good line. You know, you’re more than a pretty face.”

“Thank you. I try.”

“I wish she wasn’t here.”

“I got that.”

Charlie took a bite, chewed and swallowed. “Even saying that, I feel guilty. She was sick.” She told him about the colon cancer. “But true to form, she complained about everyone talking about her bowels. I guess it wasn’t an elegant enough disease for her.”

Clay grabbed an egg roll. “You’re torn. You don’t want to have anything to do with her, and you’re sorry she had cancer. But thinking about the cancer makes you worry about what she expects from you. It’s a lot.”

He was insightful, she thought. And not just for a guy. “I’m a horrible daughter because I would like her to simply go back to New York or London or wherever she came from and leave me alone.”

“Is that likely?”

“I don’t think so.” She sighed. “Okay, I don’t want to talk about her anymore. Let’s talk about you.”

“My favorite subject.”

She laughed. “I happen to know that’s not true, but we’ll go with it. How’s the Haycation plan coming?”

“I’m making progress.”

She studied him. “The words sound good, but you’re worried. What’s wrong?”

“Self-doubt.”

“It’s a new venture. Of course you’re concerned. Anything specific or just general nerves?”

“I’m a guy, Charlie. I don’t have nerves.”

“My mistake.”

He shrugged. “I hired a farm manager. I had a choice of two and went with the guy who had more experience. Nate.”

“But?”

“My gut wasn’t happy.”

“You should listen to your gut.”

“This time it was wrong.”

“If it was wrong, why aren’t you happy with your decision?”

“I don’t know.”

She scooped more rice onto her plate, thinking he did know the answer, but didn’t want to admit it. “So you have Nate and big farm equipment. That has to make you happy.”

“I’ll feel better when I get my crop in the ground.”

She laughed. “Not a sentence you ever imagined yourself saying?”

“Not really, but it feels good.”

“What is the magic crop?” she asked.

“Fall alfalfa.”

“Which is different from spring or summer alfalfa?”

“It is.”

“Would it make you feel all manly and powerful to explain the difference?”

“I believe it would.”

They continued to talk over dinner.

“Ready to start serious training next week?” she asked.

“You don’t scare me.”

“I’m not sure I want to.” She was more concerned about getting everyone to behave. “You tend to bring out the other men’s spirit of competition.”

“Sometimes. The guys in the group aren’t a problem, but in other situations there can be assumptions.”

“Someone wants to pick a fight simply because of who you are?”

“Sure.”

“Which is why you have a black belt.”

He grinned. “I had to protect the moneymakers.”

She wondered which had been more lucrative. His face or the rest of him.

“What’s that old saying?” she asked. “Men want to be you, women want to have you? Are the women easier to handle?”

“I tend to ignore the invitations. When I was first starting out in the business, I took advantage of the offers. That got old pretty quickly. I grew up, figured out what I wanted and was a lot more particular.”

“Then you were married. Ever tempted to stray?”

He stared directly into her eyes. “Not even once. I don’t have that itch. When I fell in love with Diane, I stayed in love with her. Even when we fought, I never thought about it.” He reached across the table and touched her hand. “I’m not going to see anyone else while we’re doing this.”