Book Boyfriends Wanted 3: His Curvy Treat

Colin

Nicky tipped the bucket over, spilling the sap into the gathering tank. The work was backbreaking, but it was necessary.

“Last one,” he said with a groan. He set the bucket back on the spile and stretched. “We should really look into connecting all these to the tubing. I’m too old for this.”

I chuckled and nodded. “I am, too.” I rubbed my own sore back. We took turns emptying the buckets. My grandmother wanted some of the farm to stay the way it was historically with buckets hanging on trees and sap collected by hand daily. Modern farms invested in tube systems that collected the sap and vacuumed it directly to the sugarhouse. Over time, she was transitioning the farm to that, but she still held on to tradition.

“Cleotha loved to get out here and look around, but the hills are much easier to manage,” Nicky said.

I chuckled. “That’s because all we do is drive through there.”

He nodded. “Exactly.”

I shook my head. “I’m hoping we have the money to convert the rest of the farm within a couple of years, but since we haven’t made anything for a few years, I don’t know what surprises we’re going to face. I know this sucks, but we’re almost done for this season.”

Nicky nodded. “I get it, kid. I’m just messing with you.”

I rolled my eyes and grinned. I definitely didn’t feel like a kid, but Nicky saw me as Cleotha’s grandson, and I had a feeling he always would.

“Let’s get this back to the sugarhouse and start working on the next batch,” I said.

Nicky jumped into the truck and closed the door. The drive back to the sugarhouse was short, but we took it slowly. April was a busy time of the year for us, and it brought out a lot of wildlife so everything went a little slowly.

I was almost sad to see the trees giving us less sap day after day. The routine had become familiar and relaxing to me over the last six weeks. I started my day early, checking on the sugarhouse and the sap that was starting to flow as the sun came up. We headed out to the field to check the bucket sections, then went back to the sugarhouse and spent the rest of the day turning the sap into syrup. The reverse osmosis machine did most of the work, but we stayed close by in case there was an issue.

The evaporation cloud typically brought customers to the farm. Sometimes it was tourists visiting the area, and sometimes it was families looking for something to do on a spring afternoon. Whoever showed up, we treated them with fresh syrup samples and maple flavored treats.

When we pulled up to the sugarhouse, Nicky jerked his head toward the barn and the car parked out front. “I’ll head in. You go see who’s come to visit you today.”

He walked away chuckling, but I didn’t find his jokes nearly as funny as he did. After families and tourists, the other group of visitors we had regularly were single women who apparently thought I was fresh meat.

Ramsey tried to warn me, but I thought he was kidding when he said there would be some local women who pounced as soon as they knew where to find me. Since so many people in the area were born and raised there, many of them had exhausted all the possibilities for dates. And a new person in town was prey until one of them caught him.

According to Ramsey.

I didn’t want to be prey.

“Good afternoon,” I said with a smile when I walked into the barn.

Two women stood to the side, looking at the maple products we had. The barn was equipped with a state-of-the-art security system with cameras pointing at everything. Nicky recommended I hire someone to watch the barn when we were out on the farm. I put him off on that the same way I put him off about the tubes. Something was going to break, or die, or happen that was going to require money. I had a little savings, and I had the operating money from the farm, but depending on how bad the disaster was, it wouldn’t be enough. And until I knew I could hire someone and not have to fire them almost immediately, I wasn’t asking for any help.

“Hi,” one of the women said. “We heard you have some great stuff here.”

The sex in her voice did nothing for me. I liked a woman who was more subtle. One who didn’t feel the need to flaunt herself in order to get attention. One who knew she was beautiful, or one who didn’t think she was anything special, but she was.

One like the woman I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about since she told me about George Boldt and how much he loved his wife.

“We do,” I said, forcing a smile for the women in front of me. “We carry a lot of items made by locals. We have some stuff you can only get here. Our goodies section is especially popular.”

“Are you in it?” the other one asked, chewing on her nail.

I smiled and shook my head. “Uh, sorry ladies, but no.”

Their faces sank. “You’re taken? We heard you were single.”

I considered lying, but it wasn’t in my nature to do so, even if it was in my best interest. I shook my head. “I’m not taken, but I’m also not looking for anything serious right now.”

“We don’t have to get serious,” the first one said. Her friend followed right behind her. “We could all just have a little fun together.”

Her friend nodded when I looked at her. Was she seriously…No. It wasn’t possible.

“We don’t mind sharing. Especially a guy like you. I’m sure you could make both of us very, very satisfied,” the second one said. She slid her hand up my chest.

I backed up and found myself against the table. A part of me, the primal male part, said to stay put and enjoy whatever they wanted to do, but the decent part said it wasn’t fair. Not to them and not to me. I didn’t care if people wanted more than one lover, but it wasn’t me. I was a one-woman kind of man, and even considering something else went counter to who I was.

“I’m sorry, ladies, but I don’t have the confidence in my skills that you do. Besides, I’m out of practice. I have a feeling you’d be satisfying each other more than I would be helping out.”

“We’d give you a chance,” one said, pouting as I sidestepped to get away.

The other one turned her friend’s face and kissed her. They got lost in each other for a moment, forgetting entirely that I was there.

The first one broke away from the kiss and smirked at me. The second one kept her focus on her friend.

“How about now?” one said.

The other one finally pulled her adoring gaze from her friend. She found me watching her. Her eyes widened with realization that I knew what she was thinking. She jerked her jaw upward and snapped her gaze away from mine.

“Let’s go, Kris. He’s not worth it.”

“But…” Kris protested.

I smiled at her as her friend dragged her away. I hoped one day Kris would realize how much her friend loved her and give her a chance.

I closed my eyes once they left and drew in a breath. Maybe I did need to hire someone. Soon.

I went back to the sugarhouse and found Nicky unloading the gathering tank from the farm into the storage tank. He drove a forklift like it was an extension of himself. It probably was after all the years he’d been driving the same truck.

He set the tank on the ground and turned off the forklift. He got out with a wide grin that said he knew exactly what happened in the barn.

“How many?” he asked.

“How many what?” I replied.

“How many women were in the barn waiting for you.”

“They weren’t waiting for me.”

“Did they buy anything?”

I shook my head.

“Did they try to leave with something?”

I chuckled at his thinly veiled innuendo.

“I knew it. Man, I tell you, if I were forty years younger, I’d be gone by now. You need to live a little.”

I shook my head. “I don’t think that’s living. Living is enjoying life. It’s doing the things you want to do. Those women were beautiful, but I’m not looking for anything right now.”

“Then why did you download that dating app?”

My cheeks heated. “How did you know about that?”

He chuckled. “You just told me.”

I groaned. I always fell for that one. “I just wanted to…I don’t know.”

Nicky shook his head. “There’s no shame in wanting to spend your life with someone, kid. We all should have someone special. Someone who makes us happy. No one said you have to be single to take this job.”

“You are,” I countered.

He shrugged. “I wasn’t always. I had the love of my life for many years.”

“You did? You never mentioned anyone.”

He smiled sadly. “We talk about her all the time.”

I thought about it and couldn’t come up with anyone. “We talk about work and my grandmother. That’s it.”

He smiled and nodded slowly.

It hit me, and I wondered why I never figured it out. “You and my grandmother. You were together?”

He nodded. “For years. I started working here after your grandfather passed. She loved him, but over time, she was lonely, too. We spent time together as friends, two lonely people who wanted someone else. Eventually, that friendship became more.”

“Why didn’t I know this?” I asked him.

He smiled. “No one did. We didn’t want to tell anyone. What we had was between us. It didn’t involve anyone else, so we kept it between us. Neither of us wanted to get married. We just wanted to love each other for as long as possible.”

“Wow,” I breathed. “I’m sorry, Nicky. I knew you were close, but I didn’t know.”

He smiled again. “I know, kid. And the only reason you know now is because Cleotha would have wanted you happy, too.”

I nodded, wishing I’d known my grandmother better. We hadn’t been in touch much over the years, but she always seemed kind. My father loved her, and he wished he could have handled being at the farm, but it was too painful for him.

Nicky clapped me on the shoulder and padded away. He went about his work, taking care of things like he always did. I tried to wrap my head around all of it and wondered when I’d have time for a woman in my life. And if I was willing to give up something else for one.

That answer was easy. For the right one, I would do anything.

* * *

Everything was busier on the weekend. In my old job, I was off weekends. We would kill ourselves all week to get things done, and mostly be off for the weekend. What I never realized is the owners weren’t.

Now, I was the owner.

Nicky was a huge help. He checked all the taps and made the rounds on Saturday and Sunday mornings while I focused on getting things ready for the guests who would flood in around ten.

I restocked the shelves with customer favorites like the maple candies and ice cream topping, then straightened up items that were on display. We carried a variety of things, all maple themed, from food to clothing to jewelry. Most of it was made by locals, many of them friends of my grandmother’s. I wanted to carry on some of her traditions and help out locals. When you owned a farm, it only made sense to work with others who lived near you and supported your business.

The first customer slid the door open a little before ten, and when I looked up, I couldn’t help but smile. Ramsey was dressed down in jeans and a dark tee and had his daughter tossed over his shoulder in a fireman’s hold. With his other hand, he held his wife’s.

“Morning, guys,” I said as they got closer.

“Morning,” they said together.

“What do we have here?”

“Someone wanted to go check on her tree. I told her she couldn’t go running through the woods without an adult.”

“I told Daddy you said I could go anywhere I wanted, Mr. Colin,” Amber said in her sweet voice. Her red hair covered her face, even when she turned to the side.

I nodded and crossed my arms, giving Ramsey a stern look. “She’s right. I said she can go anywhere she wants. She’s an honorary owner because she helped me tap the first tree.”

Ramsey struggled not to smile. Amber wriggled against him until he slid her down into his arms. She was extra bright in her purple leggings and hot pink sweatshirt against Ramsey’s muted clothes. “Even if you’re an honorary owner and can go anywhere you want, you’re still too little to be running all over the place. There could be bears out there.”

Amber’s eyes got wide. “Really? I want to see a bear!”

I couldn’t stop my chuckle. I tried to cover it with a cough, but Ramsey saw right through that.

“Amber,” Ramsey began, “bears don’t love it when you come into their territory. They get protective, especially if there are babies.”

“Aw, babies! I want to see a baby bear.”

“Let me take her,” Melody said, letting go of Ramsey’s hand and reaching for their daughter. “You’re just making it worse.” She mock-glared at her husband. “Amber, let’s see what’s over here.”

Amber went with Melody, and Ramsey watched them walk to the far side of the barn. The love in his eyes was much better than the pain I saw there when we first met. Day one he told me they were separated and probably headed for divorce. I was more than a little happy they worked it all out.

“She’s a handful,” Ramsey said with a shake of his head.

“Yeah, but you wouldn’t trade her,” I replied.

He chuckled and nodded. “Very true.”

“So, to what do I owe this honor?” I asked. It had been a while since they’d been out to the farm.

“Melody thought I should check on you,” Ramsey said.

I was taken aback a little. “Why?”

Ramsey shook his head and smiled. “She thinks you’re interested in her friend, and she wants me to find out. Checking on you is just a cover for acting like high schoolers.”

I snorted. “She’s funny.”

Ramsey stole a glance at his wife. “She is, but she’s also rarely wrong. Are you after Elise?”

I shook my head, forcing my body not to react. “No.”

“But you think she’s hot?”

“I do. I won’t lie about thinking a woman is attractive. That doesn’t mean I’m after her.”

“Melody seems to think Elise is interested, but I am already too much in the middle of all this. We need to grab a beer and talk about sports or something.”

I chuckled and agreed. “That’s more my speed, too.”

“Good. Next time?”

I nodded. “I did head over there last week. Hudson?”

Ramsey nodded.

“He said you guys left just a little while before I showed up.”

Ramsey nodded again. “Yeah, he told me. Sorry I missed you.”

I shrugged. “My fault. I’m still getting used to the small town life and everything.”

“Like your lawyer inviting you out for a drink?” he said with a grin.

I laughed. “Yeah, pretty much.”

He shrugged. “You’ll learn that everyone here is friends with everyone else. MacKellar Cove is pretty tiny, and we all know each other. If you don’t know someone, chances are you know their family. We don’t have lines between us like a lot of places do. We all look out for each other.”

I grinned. “I think that’s my favorite part about living here. It’s still going to take some getting used to.”

Ramsey clapped me on the back as new customers walked in. “That’s okay. We’ll wear you down eventually.”

I laughed. They already were.

Ramsey rejoined his family, and I greeted the new guests. They looked around and by the time they approached the register, more customers were milling about inside.

It wasn’t long before people were spilling out into the farm. Ramsey and Melody took Amber to see her tree, and stopped by the barn on their way out. The day was busy, but not so busy that I didn’t notice that Elise wasn’t there.

Not that I expected her to be, but wishful thinking never killed anyone.