“The owners don’t mind?”
“Nah. These belong to Sierra’s uncle, and I know him personally. He runs a dairy farm up the road. We’re not trespassing, and we’re not bothering anyone.”
The calf runs a circle around her mom, then disappears in the shade of the single tree over a trough of water.
Benny leans on a wooden post and looks at me. “I’m conflicted between apologizing for my grandma’s behavior and siding with her.”
“There’s nothing to apologize for.”
“That’s what I was hoping you’d say. She gets away with a lot, but after her heart surgery, we’ve been anxious about anything that might upset her.”
“And the fainting thing wasn’t concerning?”
“It definitely was. She saw her doctor Monday, and he didn’t seem too worried.”
My shoulders relax. “Good.”
Benny’s head tilts to the side a bit, his attention fully on my face. “You mean that.”
“Of course I do.”
“Okay.”
“What does that mean?”
“I didn’t expect you to?—”
The silence is broken by the young calf mooing not too far away, but I can’t tear my eyes from Benny. “To what? To care?”
“I know you have a tender heart,” he says gently. His phone buzzes, so he pulls it out and rejects the call before sliding it back in his pocket.
“Then what?” And why do I need to know so badly? I take a step closer, challenging him.
“I didn’t expect you to have any…I don’t know, Bree.” He scrubs a hand over his face, agitated. “To grow attached.”
My body goes still. His word choice does something interesting to my chest, because that’s exactly what’s going on here. I’m growing attached to his grandma, and this little town, and his ice-cold ocean.
But really, I’m growing attached tohim.
I bump him with my shoulder. “It’s pretty normal to care about the wellbeing of other people.”
“I know—that’s not…you fit in too well.”
“I’m full of surprises,” I say lightly, even though everything I’m feeling is the exact opposite of light.
He scoffs. “Yeah, I’d say.”
The calf runs up to the fence and moos at us before running away, causing both of us to laugh. I step up next to Benny, my shoulder pressed into his side, and watch the little cow play. “She has no worries in the entire world.”
Silence stretches between us for a moment before I glance up and find him watching me, his attention solemn. “Bodega Bree doesn’t, either.”
“I like the sound of that.”
His phone rings again, and he pulls it out of his pocket. I catch Colby’s name flashing across the screen before Benny silences it and puts it away again.
“Bay Hill Benny has no worries either,” I say.
He laughs. “Sure. Maybe together, Bodega Bree and Bay Hill Benny will get that song finished.”