All Summer Long (Fool's Gold #9)(77)

“Sorry. I’m not in the mood to yell. Everyone screws up. You found out the truth about Nate and fired him. That’s the right thing. You’ll do better next time.”

“I should have listened to my gut. But I went with experience because I didn’t trust myself. Which means there were two mistakes.”

“We can come up with a whole list of them, if you want. Does that help?”

He managed a faint smile. “Using logic against me? That’s kind of low.”

“I get in my hits where I can.”

He laced his fingers between hers. “Thanks for listening. And kicking me when I’m down. It keeps things in perspective.” He drew in a breath. “Maybe I can’t do this.”

“You can.”

She leaned in and kissed him. Despite everything going on, his mouth was willing. Warm and ready to claim hers. A quality she found she liked in a man. She raised her arms and put them on his shoulders.

“I can think of a few things that will make you feel better,” she said, resting her forehead against his.

“Yeah? Like what?”

“I could take all your clothes off and—”

Someone knocked on her front door.

Charlie glanced up and swore. “If that’s my mother, I’m sending her back to New York. Seriously, I’ll pay for overnight delivery.”

Clay chuckled.

Charlie stood and walked to the door. But when she pulled it open she found an unfamiliar man standing there. He was dressed in a work shirt and jeans, but carried a briefcase.

“I’m Miles Tessler,” he said. “I’m looking for Clay Stryker. His brother said I could find him here.”

Clay appeared at her side. “I’m Clay.”

Miles held out a business card for a seed company. “If I could have a few minutes of your time, Mr. Stryker.”

Charlie led the way in to the living room. Miles glanced around, then looked at them. If she had to pick an emotion, she would say he was both nervous and scared. Neither boded well for his news.

“I understand you’ve already planted your fall alfalfa crop,” he began.

“Last week.”

“Unfortunately, the seed we sent you has developed a problem. It’s technical so I won’t get into the details right now. Suffice it to say that it’s poisoned.”

Charlie blinked. “What?” she asked, bad-seed references running through her head.

Miles kept his gaze on Clay’s suddenly unreadable face. “It has to come out, Mr. Stryker. As soon as it germinates. And not just the seed. The soil, as well. It’s been contaminated. I brought specific instructions with me, along with information about our insurance. We will, of course, cover the cost for removal and returning your farmland to its previous condition. We’re going to get this right. It will just take a little time.”

Charlie leaned against the back of the sofa. “It all has to go?” she asked.

“Yes,” Miles told her. “Along with eight inches of topsoil. I’m very sorry.”

Clay hadn’t said a word. He stood there, not moving. Taking it all in, she thought sadly. Watching his dream be destroyed before it had even begun. First the burial site, then Nate and now this. He must feel like his Haycation dream was cursed.

“Hand it over,” Clay said.

Miles gave him the paperwork and Clay walked him to the door. When the other man was gone, Clay looked back at Charlie.

“I need to go deal with his,” he told her.

“Are you okay? How can I help? I want to do something.”

He looked resigned. The next words came out slow. “I’ll be fine. We’ll get this fixed and then I’ll plant a new crop next spring. It’s not important. Not like I was feeding people.”

“Clay, don’t. You have a great idea. The Haycations are going to work out. This is a setback.”

“A hell of one,” he muttered. He leaned in and kissed her cheek. “I’ll be in touch.”

He left. She didn’t try to stop him—not sure if she should. While she knew that offering comfort was part of the dating relationship, she wasn’t sure about anything beyond that. Should she have insisted he stay and talk? Forced him to verbalize what he was feeling? She was figuring out the girlfriend thing as she went and not doing that great a job, she thought grimly.

She did believe that too much was coming at Clay too fast, which could send him to a bad place. What she didn’t know was how he would act when he got there. Or what it would change about them.

* * *

“I’VE NEVER known anyone who lived in a hotel before,” May admitted. “It seems so decadent.”

Dominique poured tea into the cups and then set down the pot. “If I were to buy a house, I would need staff. Someone to clean and do the cooking. Someone else for the yard. This seemed easier.”

May smiled at her. “You don’t cook?”

“I don’t like to cook. The food here at the Lodge is good, so why not let them take care of the details? With a suite, I have all I need. Meals are delivered and housekeeping takes care of everything else.”

They were seated in Dominique’s suite at Ronan’s Lodge. She’d ordered afternoon tea for herself and her guest. Not just a luxury, she thought with a sigh as she passed over a plate of cucumber sandwiches. A necessary stand in the battle of civilization over chaos.