Second Chance at Sunflower Ranch (The Ryan Family #1) by Carolyn Brown

For the second time that day, she was struck speechless when he got out of his SUV. He was wearing a pair of bibbed overalls and a faded T-shirt. He sat down on the back porch, rolled the legs of his overalls up to his knees, and kicked off his flip-flops. Lord, have mercy! In Cricket’s eyes he was even handsomer than he had been in his khaki slacks and white lab coat. One thing for sure—Anna Grace had her work cut out for her if she had any notion of ever turning him into a guy who liked cocktail parties.

“This is great,” he said as he carried a basket to the end of the first row of peas. “I used to go home every single weekend just so I could smell fresh dirt. I got so tired of being cooped up in the library, studying every spare minute.”

“Did you live in the dorm all those years?” Cricket finally found her voice.

“I had a full ride academic scholarship for the first four years,” he answered. “Dorm, food, books, and tuition, but the last four years, I worked for a research lab and went to school to help out with the finances. My grandparents were willing to foot the whole bill, but I didn’t feel right about letting them do that when I was able to work. Besides, I liked doing research. Not as much as I enjoy farming, though.”

“You must’ve been really smart,” Cricket said.

“I just had some good study habits and didn’t want to disappoint my parents or grandparents. They had sacrificed a lot to save up the money for my schooling.” He tossed pea pods into the basket.

“Are they still alive?” Cricket asked.

“Yep, and still living on the family farm. Granddad is almost eighty now, but if you took the garden away from him, he’d probably only last another week. He and Granny take produce to the farmer’s market in Canyon every Saturday. That’s their social outing for the week. He bought me that vehicle out there for my graduation present and gave me the down payment so I could buy the drugstore,” Bryce said as he kept working. “Mama teaches school, and Daddy is a farmer.”

“They must be really proud of you.”

“When I finished my first four years, I got a partial scholarship to pharmacy school in Austin. That’s seven hours from home, and it was a year-round program, so I only got home for holidays. I missed times like this. What about you? Where did you go to school?”

“The University of Hard Knocks,” she answered. “I wasn’t smart enough to get a scholarship, and I’m not so sure I would have gone if I could have. I like living on this little patch of ground, and I love my bookstore. My sister-in-law Jennie Sue bought the store, and we ran it together for a while. Then she had two kids and decided to be a stay-at-home mama.”

“What does your brother do?” Bryce asked.

“He spent time in the military, got injured pretty bad, and was in the hospital for months. Then he was given a discharge and a disability. He was kind of lost for a few years until Jennie Sue came into his life. The farm was like therapy for him, or so he says. These days, he runs the farm for the most part. When he’s home, he takes care of the garden, and he and Jennie Sue go to the farmer’s market on Saturdays,” she answered.

Bryce stood up at the end of the long row and said, “Peas are done. Want to take care of what tomatoes are ripe?”

“Sure thing.” She got two smaller baskets from the back porch and handed one to him. “What does a science geek do for fun?”

“Pretty much the same stuff as a lot of guys: Go fishing, watch football, and I’ve never met a book I didn’t like to read. I’m an eclectic reader. I’ll read anything from Faulkner to the back of the Fruit Loops box.” Bryce gently pulled tomatoes from the stalks and put them into his basket. “I’ll be over to the bookstore to look through your mystery and western sections when I get a chance. I’m kind of on a kick lately with those two genres.”

“Ever read The Great Gatsby?” she asked.

“Sure,” he answered. “I had to read it for a lit class, but it’s been a while.”

“Well, we’ve all read that for our book club this month. We meet next Monday night. You’d be welcome to come if you want,” she said.

“I’d love to. What time?” Bryce asked.

“We usually meet at six thirty. I don’t even leave the store on those nights,” she answered.

“I’ll be there as soon as I close up the drugstore, and I’ll bring a pizza for our supper,” he said.

“I’ll have the sweet tea ready.” She was looking ahead to the evening when they reached the end of the row.

He picked up the basket of peas and tucked the smaller basket of tomatoes under his arm. “Want to get these washed before supper?”

“No, I’ll do them later. You must be hungry.” So this is what it’s like to have a guy friend, she thought. Bryce is much too good of a man for Anna Grace. I kind of even feel sorry for her for only seeing him as a pharmacist and a notch on her social belt.

Bryce set the two baskets on the porch and sat down on the steps. “Mind if I use the garden hose to wash off my feet? I wouldn’t want to track mud into your house.”

Cricket turned on the faucet and handed the hose to him. “When you get done, I’ll do mine, but my kitchen has seen its fair share of dirty feet over the years.”