“You know someday when you find the right person, you’ll change your sad, sucky tune.”

He reached for another bag. “Don’t count on it.”

“Seriously, Reid, you need an attitude adjustment. You’ve been a grump all week. I was afraid for you to get anywhere near the kids.”

He shrugged.

Sara paused long enough for Reid to brace himself. Her pauses meant she was gathering up ammunition. “I thought you might want to see Addison.”

“You thought wrong,” Reid answered tightly. Of course, that was a big-ass lie. But after their little agreement, Reid had steered clear of the cute wedding planner. As much as he wanted to be with her, he needed to give her time to think her proposition over before going through with it. He’d spotted her once when she’d come out to the farm to meet with Jason and Sara about the barn renovations, but he’d turned his tractor in the opposite direction. His keeping-his-distance plan had obviously worked. Addison hadn’t contacted him. She’d probably thought better of the whole no-strings-attached scenario that was doomed for an epic fail, anyway.

There was only one problem: Reid couldn’t stop thinking about her. And it was making him a little bit testy.

“Open house only lasts until seven, Reid. Just stop in for a little while, you know, to be polite, and then we can all go to Sully’s afterward.”

“No, thank you.”

“Why are you being so stubborn?”

“Hanging out at Wedding Row isn’t my kind of Saturday night.”

“We’re going into business with Addison Monroe, Reid. It’s polite to show our support.”

“You are going into business with her, Sara. And do I have to remind you that I’m still not convinced that this is a smart venture? Renovations like this are notorious for going way over budget. Instead of avoiding bankruptcy, you just might throw yourself into it.” Reid tossed another bag of feed to the ground, making dust fly. His muscles no longer protested at the manual labor and, in truth, he’d felt healthier working outdoors instead of sitting behind a desk all day long.

“All right.”

Reid looked at Sara’s hands on her hips and jutting chin. He knew that stance all too well. “What do you mean, all right?”

“Nothing.” She gave him a slight shrug but the chin stayed in place, meaning this was war. “I’ll make other plans, then.”

Reid propped his boot up against the tailgate of the truck and leaned his forearm on his knee. “What kind of plans?” he asked slowly.

“Cody’s friend will agree to come out with us tonight. He has this . . . thing for Addison.”

“Thing?”

“Yeah, Zack met Addison at Wine and Diner when she and I went out to dinner a couple of nights ago. Zack has been bugging Cody to get her number from me ever since. I’m sure he’ll come out with us tonight. You remember Zack, right? A couple of years ahead of us in school.”

“Yeah, I do. I remember he was an asshat.”

“Why? Because you wanted his spot on the baseball team?”

“Yeah, well. I took it, remember?”

“After he broke his arm.”

“A minor detail. Come on, really, Sara. Zack Martin?”

She turned on her heel.

Dammit! Reid clenched his fists. “Sara!”

She slowly turned around. “Yes?” she asked sweetly.

“You told me that Zack has a different girl on his arm every week. He’s a player. Why would you do that to Addison?”

“I already warned her and she was cool with it. She said that after this week of getting the shop ready she needs a night of fun. And since you aren’t available . . .”

“You know that jackass is going to try to get in her pants.” But wasn’t he also a jackass who wanted to get in her pants?

“Addison is a big girl, Reid. She can handle Zack. And, besides, Cody and I will be there.” She paused for a second. “But if you’re so worried about Addison, you can go out with us instead.”

Reid knew he was being played by his twin sister. She knew him better than anyone, even after years apart. She shoved her hands in her jeans pockets and rocked back on her heels. To her credit, she didn’t grin, even though she knew she’d won. “All right. But I’ll drive separately and meet you at the boutique. I want to spend as little time in a damned bridal shop as possible,” he grumbled.

“Okay.” Except for a little twitch in her bottom lip she remained deadpan.

He had to grin. “And, by the way, well played.”

“It was pretty easy.” Sara grinned back but then tilted her head in question. “Look, it’s obvious that you care about Addison. Why are you fighting it tooth and nail?”

“Addison is coming off a broken engagement and starting a new business. I’m trying to figure out whether I want to go back to investment finance or maybe move back to Cricket Creek. Not to mention that I’m a country boy and she’s from Cali. We are worlds apart.” He positioned his hands wide to demonstrate.

“So, you’re considering moving back?” she asked hopefully.

“The operative word here is considering,” he slowly pronounced every syllable. “Sara, I’m not sure what I’m going to do. How would that be fair to Addison?”

Sara walked over and hoisted herself up onto the open tailgate. “Keep going.”

Reid leaned one hip against the edge. “That’s not enough?”

“Nope.”

Reid sighed. “That so-called ivory tower I was living in wasn’t such a great place, Sara. Being in finance while the country was in a recession really sucked for me. I know I never came home all that much, but, Sara, I didn’t do much of anything but try to find ways to keep clients from losing their hard-earned money. And I pretty much failed.”

“None of that was your fault.”

“It sure as hell felt like it.”

“I’m sorry, Reid. I had no idea what you were going through.”

Reid grimaced. “That was my fault too. I should have reached out, but instead I sort of retreated into a shell like a damned turtle.”

“And here I thought you had turned your back on us when we needed you most.”

“I’m sure that’s how it appeared. But I worried every night about the fate of this farm. I worried about Jeff tossing everything away for a music career. I agreed with Mom that he should stay on the farm and help, and that Braden should stay in school. What I should have done was encouraged everyone to go after their dreams, but I didn’t. I’m doing the same damn thing to you now.” He swallowed hard and looked away.

Sara reached over and covered his hand with hers. “It’s because you care.”

Reid gave her a small smile. “After coming back here to the farm I’m not so sure that I want to go back to Lexington and work in an office. In other words, I don’t know which end is up anymore. I shouldn’t get involved with anyone until I get my own life straightened out.” He raised his eyebrows. “Enough now?”

“Look, I know that you want everything to fit into timelines, graphs, and charts. But life isn’t like that. Sometimes you have to reinvent yourself. I loved teaching and I love this farm. Now I get to combine those two things every day. Dad has a blast with the kids and it’s helped his health. You know that Mom preaches that everything happens for a reason. I’m not so sure I buy into that . . . more like when life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” She grinned. “And add some vodka for good measure. Sometimes you just have to make life your own personal cocktail.”

Reid laughed. “Yeah, well, if you’d put my life on a timeline there are more valleys than peaks. My plan was to invest and make enough money to help Mom and Dad keep this place. For a while my plan was working really well. I invested my own money with more risk than I advise with clients, and the payoff was big . . . until the stock market crashed and I lost my ass. Then the loss was bigger.”

Sara frowned. “Are you in financial trouble, Reid?”

He scrubbed a hand down his face. This part was hard to admit. “No, but I was for a while. Over the past couple of years I’ve recouped most of my loss but I’m nowhere near where I’d thought I’d be at this stage of the game.”

Sara tilted her head and smiled. “Well, baby brother, the good news is that you have a lot of life left to live. It’s time to get out of the valley and start climbing that big ole mountain again.” Her smile faded a bit. “Hey, I reached rock bottom when Blake broke my heart by cheating on me. But Cody came along and he’s such a good man. I’m so much better off and I love him to pieces. Your time will come but you have to be open to it and keep that big head of yours poked out of your shell, because it might come when you least want it to or expect it. So toss your timeline out the window and take a leap of faith.”

He chuckled. “And what if I land on my ass with a big fat splat?”

“Are you referring to the time when I promised you the tree branch would hold you?”

“Yeah, to rescue that damned cat of yours. The branch broke.”

“But you saved the cat.”

“And your point, teacher?”

“You got a little bit bruised.”

“And scratched by the cat.”

Sara winced. “Maybe I shouldn’t have used that example.”

Reid gave her shoulder a brotherly shove. “I’m pulling your chain. I might have hated that cat, but you loved it and so a few scratches and bruises were worth it.”

“See, now we’re on the same page. Look, I don’t know if Addison is the right one for you. But don’t shut yourself off from the possibility. It’s obvious that you’re attracted to her and you care about her too. That’s a pretty good start.”

“Yeah . . .” He flicked his gaze away from her and fell silent.

“Okay, what aren’t you telling me?”