“Sure you are.” I teased.

I looked over at Oliver, ignoring Mark’s eyes on me when my gaze flickered past him.

“You having fun, Oliver?” I asked.

“Yeah, today is the best day of my whole life!” He sat on his knees, wide-eyed, taking in the new environment. Julia’s arm was wrapped around him.

It took less than five minutes for the tractor to come to a stop surrounded by hundreds of pumpkins, large and small.

My camera was in my hands, ready to capture any moment worth remembering. So far I had at least a dozen of Logan from behind. I couldn’t seem to contain myself. The man filled out a pair of jeans in ways that were purely sinful. I walked around and snapped a picture of Oliver and Jax bending down to examine a tall pumpkin. I laughed when Oliver’s face twisted in disgust.

“Yuck!” he shrieked. He kicked the pumpkin over, exposing the rot on the bottom.

“Keep looking. You’ll find the perfect one.” Logan walked up behind him.

Jax took Oliver’s hand, leading him farther down into the field. Logan turned back to me.

“Did you find a pumpkin, sweetheart?”

“Not yet.” I flashed a smile, and then walked away to find the right one. It took a few minutes of searching before I bent down lifting up one that looked to have potential. It was covered in mud on one side but I had a feeling underneath, it would be perfect. With a tissue from my coat pocket, I wiped away the dried gunk and smiled.

Lugging it my arms, I walked back to the wagon, looking forward to cleaning it up and displaying it on my front porch.

“I see you found a lovely one,” Logan said, helping me up into the wagon.

After helping Oliver inside, he climbed in behind us and I burst out laughing at the pumpkin he now had in his arms. It was huge and had to be one of the biggest on the lot.

“I did.” I managed to get out through my laughter as I sat down. I stared between him and his ridiculous pumpkin, stunned he could even lift it. “Okay, I have to ask, why would you want one that big?”

“I told you, I enjoy carving.” He smiled, running his hands over its curves.

“Cassandra, are you going to carve yours, too?” Oliver asked, glancing at my pumpkin.

“Maybe next week. I like it the way it is for now.”

He seemed pleased with my response and turned around, looking back at the field we were leaving behind.

My gaze wandered over to Mark and Julia laughing happily. She was sitting between his legs holding a petite pumpkin, shiny and perfectly round with a long curly stem, Mark’s hands resting on her thighs. Julia looked down at the pumpkin as if it was the finest in the field, much like she looked at her boyfriend.

Mark caught me staring and his eyes locked with mine. We had never talked after the day I moved out. I avoided him at all costs, and living in a small town, that was not an easy task. Hilary had heard his job transferred him to the city for a few months in the spring, which I assumed, was how he met Julia. I shot him a threatening scowl, and then looked away.

What were the chances she would be dating him of all people? I liked Julia, she had that air about her that at times screamed spoiled, yet she was surprisingly friendly and sweet. Unfortunately, I worried her new relationship would put a damper on our friendship.

Once we returned to the farm, Logan helped me, then Oliver, out of the wagon. I walked off to the side, waiting, and rolled my eyes at the scene of Julia and Mark posing for a photo together. His arm was wrapped around her waist, pumpkins resting at their feet, while his lips lingered on her cheek.

What surprised me in that moment more than anything was that I felt no jealousy, only worry for Julia. I hated the idea of her being with a guy that was capable of breaking someone’s heart so easily. Oliver was up on Jax’s shoulders as he and Marissa walked toward me. I smiled, never before did I think I’d see the day that I could look at Mark, cozy with another girl, without feeling violently ill. It felt liberating.

I awoke the next morning with a text from Logan, which was not unusual. It had become one my favorite parts of the morning.

House is bought and paid for. Hope she hates it so I can spend a weekend tormenting u.

I rolled my eyes, hit reply, and began typing.

She’ll love the house and then you’ll be spending a long weekend as my little bitch!

I placed the phone next to my pillow and lay back with a smile, waiting for his response. I knew it would be instant, it always was. My smile grew wider when the familiar ping chimed and I picked up my phone, laughing as I read his text.

I’ll be your little bitch any day, sweetheart! Now get your fine ass up and have a splendid day at school.

It was two weeks later when Oliver and I were playing in my backyard making mud pies. His idea, and I had learned by then, I had trouble telling him no.

“What would happen if you took a bite?” Oliver snickered, packing the soggy dirt into a rusty old muffin tin I found in the tree house.

“Try it and let me know.” I smiled. I used a stick to draw tiny designs on my mud-covered hands.

“No way!”

My back rested against a tree, legs out, wrapped in my winter jacket. The moment was completely tranquil.

“Come on, just one bite?” I taunted, grabbing the plastic spoon and digging into our mess.

“You’re crazy!” He giggled.

“And you’re a mess.”

His shirt was covered in dried mud and grass stains covered his knees. The sun was starting to go down and I still had papers to grade for tomorrow’s class so I stood up, wiping the butt of my jeans.

“Let’s get you home.” I pulled him to his feet.

Oliver helped clean up the litter of bowls and utensils covered in our creations before heading home. I walked over with him, wanting to see him inside safely.

“Daddy’s in his office, you should come say hi,” he said. He opened the glass door on his back porch.

Besides our morning texts, I had only seen Logan in person twice since the day at the farm, so I decided to go say a quick hello. We stepped out of our muddy shoes and I followed him up the steps.

“Daddy’s office is over there,” Oliver said pointing down the hall, then disappeared inside his bedroom.

Staring down the hall, my nerves began buzzing to life. I was alone in Logan’s house and he wasn’t expecting me. God knows what I might walk in on. The hardwood floor, covered in an ornate rug, creaked as I passed multiple doors. I followed a light shining from inside a room with the door partially opened. Logan’s voice boomed from inside. Anxiously shifting my weight, I peeked in to find Logan standing behind a dark-mahogany desk, staring out the window.

He held his cell phone to his ear, his other hand shoved deep in his trouser pocket. He was still in his work clothes, a dark suit, but his white button-down shirt was untucked.

“The answer is no.” Logan’s tone was cold and clipped and I was thankful to have not been on the receiving end of it. “I don’t know who you slept with to get this number, but you better lose it!”

He turned with a growl and I quickly scurried away from the door not wanting to interrupt. I tiptoed back to Oliver’s room, my stomach clenched, ears scorching, and lightly knocked.

He opened, wearing a clean shirt, but still in need of a good scrubbing.

“Your dad’s busy. I’ll say hi another time.” I explained, keeping my voice hushed. “Make sure you get a bath tonight.”