Page 20 of Fruit and Flash

“Did you come all the way out here just to ask me about random country idioms?”

“No, I have an idea,” Kai says, holding his phone up and biting his lower lip. “Can I show you?”

“Sure,” I say and move closer, ducking under the low stand roof. “More content?”

“Well, yes. I think you can help me out in a different way. I’ve made you a social media page for your farm stand.” Kai holds up his other hand almost defensively before going on, “But you don’t have to use it or make posts. I’ll manage it as a place to tag for my own stuff. It’s just…”

Narrowing my eyes, I cross my arms. I don’t want social media, but I do want to help Kai and maybe have an excuse for him to come around my farm more. “Go on.”

Kai’s brown eyes light up the way I’m used to and he starts talking about impressions, click-through-rates, cross-posting reach, and a bunch of other things I don’t really understand. “So I’m thinking we could do a series to market my new brand.”

Needing him to slow down, and get out of the heat, I gesture to his car. “Why don’t you explain what this new brand idea is while we head in for something cold to drink?”

Letting out a big breath he’s been holding while I milled his words over, Kai nods and leads me to his rental. “Sounds like a plan.”

Too busy checking out his ass in those jeans, I almost whack my head into the door frame, knocking my hat askew. The seat needs to go back, and it’s a lot lower than I’m used to to squeeze myself inside.

“You okay there, big guy?” Kai asks as he sits in the driver seat, and I somehow find his teasing glance adorable instead of annoying. Not sure how I can deny my crush, now. “Need help?”

“I’m fine,” I grumble, taking my hat off since the headrest is in the way. “Just haven’t been in a car in a while. Trucks have more head room.”

“I imagine quads have even more headroom,” Kai points out before putting the car into gear and pulling up my driveway through the open gate.

Something he said earlier about content centered on him learning how to fix a place up and new skills, I point past my house to the path next to the barn. “Go up this way until you see a building.”

Kai’s car ambles along the bumpy gravel and dirt path to stop at the old building I mostly ignore. “What’s this shack for?”

Shack is a good word for the single room building my grandfather built over fifty years ago. I open my door and Kai joins, walking up beside me.

“The old caretaker house. It’s bare bones and may or may not have a resident raccoon.”

“Is it cute?” Kai asks, following me into the dark and dirty space.

“The racoon? He’s a nuisance,” I say, swiping a cobweb out of the way so Kai can come in farther to see the old kitchenette. It’s the only thing left of the house that hasn’t had a resident since I was a child. “But I’m pretty sure I scared him off after I caught him stealing eggs.”

“So an annoying trash panda,” Kai nods to himself and I’m lost. “But why are you showing me his former home?”

“Well,” I sweep an arm out to the mostly empty room that needs a good cleaning and a lot of love. “It’s yours to work on. If you want it?”

Chapter thirteen

Kai

InsteadofonlysayingI could kiss Hayes in thanks, I squeal and jump into his arms, laying a smack on his cheek, forgetting to ask in my excitement. “For real?”

“For real.” Hayes chuckles and I lean back to see his face is reddened from blushing. So fucking cute. “I have some tools for fixing things, and lumber laying around, too.”

“You’re amazing. This is perfect!” I turn away to start taking pictures. “I’ll do a video of me seeing it like it’s the first time and showing off everything before I give it a good clean. Can I see your wood?”

Hayes rubs at his mustache to hide his smile at my accidental innuendo. “Sure, they’re in the barn. I turned one stall into a little workshop when my sister took her horses, since her old tack room is where I store feed now.”

We leave the little house and I look back at it with eagerness to get started. Opening the notes app on my phone, I start takingnotes. “I’ll write up a project plan and start sourcing sponsors tonight. Does it have running water or electricity?”

We go into the barn and Hayes opens a door to reveal a stall with no hay on the floor, revealing plain concrete like the middle of the barn where animals don’t live. On the side walls there are workbenches set up and tools hang neatly above. There are saws, hammers, wrenches, and other things I can’t name, but I’m sure they’ll come in handy.

“It should still have the utilities connected, but it’s been at least twenty years since someone lived there, so no clue if rats have chewed through them. I can make sure the power is off when you, we, check it out.”

Hayes switching to ‘we’ makes my own face heat. I like him including me in the discussion, even if it is about a renovation project for social media. Plus, I am going to need his help if I don’t want to be electrocuted from interfering rodents, apparently.