Page 34 of While the Sun Shines

Drew shifts the throttle even higher, until he can’t hear anything else, and puts the tractor into gear, spinning the steering wheel quick enough the tires dig into the gravel, the entire machine lurching.

But he feels like he can breathe again when he gets out to the field, with the rumble of the tractor around him and the sway of it beneath him. At least out here he doesn’t have to deal with Penny coming downstairs with wet hair, reminding him all over again of her standing naked and wet in that same tiny space he also showers in. No, the fields and fences between him and her are better than being faced with her, because what would he do? Stare at the water dripping from her hair, knowing it had come from his showerhead? Awkward. Embarassing, too. And even more so with Abelardo there, too, probably offering to help Drew, asking him more questions, showing that kind, curious interest in his life.

Maybe he’ll turn that helpfulness to Whit and Cooper today, instead. Leave Drew to his escape to the field.

Though tedding the hay again only takes so long, and far too soon, Drew finishes his last lap over the drying grass. Nothing left to do other than let the sun do its work until they’re ready to bale.

At least when he gets back to the barnyard, the sheep pen is empty and the barn’s quiet. He lets out a breath. Good, that’s one single good thing.

That, and he can slip into the cheese room without running into anyone. Quickly he shuts the door. That’s better. Perfect. Just him and his curds.

And his gnawing, awful jealousy that refuses to subside.

Get over her, he tells himself, like he has for years.

He jerks his work boots off, shoving them against the wall. And then he slumps to brace his hands against the edge of the stainless steel sink. Get your shit together at the very least, he thinks, but it’s a long time before he straightens, looking over the racks of cheese molds and the huge milk vats, and longer still until he reaches for his apron.

When Drew is halfway through folding the rounds of Brie into their squares of waxed paper, Cooper sticks his head in the door.

“No, stop with your filthy shoes. Don’t come another step inside here,” Drew says.

Cooper holds up his hands, balancing on the doorjamb. “Answer your phone.”

“I’m working.”

“And I’m trying to inform your cheesy highness that Whit wants your opinion on the hay.”

Drew straightens, twisting one way to crack his back and then the other. “What time is it?”

“Time to let me try a bite of that.”

Drew folds the paper over the round, creases it, and seals it with a sticker, branded with the Two Pines Farm logo. “We’re on strict cheese rationing until I get this order filled.”

Cooper groans, going limp and falling against the doorframe. “Please, say it isn’t so.”

“Please watch your gross boots on the floor of my cheese room.”

“Please tell Whit if it’s okay to rake the hay. He said he could get it done while you’re in here.”

Drew pauses with another round of Brie in his hand. “I can do it myself. I was going to after—” He looks at the clock. Oh. Oh. He missed lunch. And any hope of both finishing packing this order and the hay. “Shit.”

“It’s fine. Whit knows you’re busy. He’s happy to do it.”

Yeah, but he shouldn’t have to. The cows, the pigs, the chickens—Whit has plenty he’s already taking care of, and this year, this goddamn year, Drew was going to keep his own list under control, not let it seep onto Cooper’s and Whit’s plates.

Slowly, Drew sets the Brie in the center of another square of paper. Folds one corner in, turns it, and folds the next.

“Drew?” Cooper asks.

How humiliating it had been last summer to not even be able to run his own farm. And how very far he hasn’t come, to be back in that same spot yet again. “Whatever Whit thinks is best,” Drew gets out.

“Well, he wants to know what you think. Dude, you okay? Aren’t you excited about maybe getting all that hay baled today? Kinda nice with this weather, that it’s dried so quick.”

“Super excited,” Drew says.

Cooper snorts. “Yeah, you look it. Listen, I can smuggle a drink in here for you if it’d help. I was just giving Penny a hand, practicing—ooh, and I want to get one of those holster things? But for a cocktail shaker?”

“Practice?”