After that conversation, the last thing Dawson wanted was to sit down and eat dinner with Layla and his family, pretending like nothing was wrong. Like his blood wasn't still boiling. 

He opted instead to head over to the bar with Lee and Frank--two of the orchard hands who he'd been friends with since high school. They'd been working at McAden Orchard since before his parents retired, and it seemed to Dawson like they'd probably be there until it was time for them to retire themselves. 

Lee and his high school sweetheart Catherine had a baby girl on the way, and were settled in a nice house by the river, not too far from Dawson's parents. Frank was seeing a woman who worked at one of the wineries nearby, and it sounded like things were getting pretty serious. Between that and his volunteer work coaching the middle school softball team, plus the fact that his whole family still lived in Red View, Dawson got the feeling his roots were planted pretty deep.

Even surrounded by good company--good company who could've been spending the night with the women they loved--Dawson couldn't bring himself to do much other than nurse a beer and mindlessly watch the baseball game on the TV above the bartender. That only soured his mood even more, because he felt like an idiot for inviting his friends out only to act like such a buzzkill.

Frank and Lee questioned why his mood was so low, but he brushed it off and said he was tired, that maybe he was coming down with something. The truth was that all he could think about was what Layla said.

It took a hell of a lot of nerve. And it meant she was even smarter than he realized, because she was right on the money and he hadn't even known it himself until she said it.

He'd given up on love, and was trying to stop someone else from going down the lonely road instead of contemplating if he should get off of it. So there was the question that was now eating at him: should he? Should he stop letting heartbreak from years ago keep him away from commitment and the chance of getting hurt again?

Even the next morning, he was still aggravated that she could make him question his beliefs. That one simple sentence from her could send his mind spiraling. The scenic sunrise went practically unnoticed by him, even with its brilliant golds and pinks. When he was done surveying the grounds and moved on to organizing apples in the shed, not even the steady hum of the grading machine could drown out his thoughts.

After a frustrating thirty minutes he gave up hope and headed over to the store, hoping for some mindless conversation about Adam's latest fling while on his lunch break. Anything to get the argument and all the questions that came with it out of his head.

He was surprised to find Kenzie and his mother in the store as well, and was annoyed when he realized he wanted to ask how her workout had gone. He wanted to ask if Layla seemed tense, distracted, or half as confused as he was. Instead he greeted them with a nod and let Kenzie stroll over to him as he stopped at the register.

"Jack finally hired the new social media manager," she said. "She's coming to dinner, just so you know. Me and mom invited her."

"Great." Dawson's voice was filled with biting sarcasm as he turned to mindlessly organize some of the candies on display next to the register. "Are we gonna put her up in one of the guest rooms, too? You know, I'm getting pretty damn tired of there being so many people around here all the time."

He felt the harsh thud to his bicep as Kenzie smacked his arm, followed by the stern voice of his mother.

"Dawson McAden," she said it so he knew he was in trouble, and even at twenty-seven it made him squirm. "I think you'd better apologize."

He looked over, not sure why his mother was so offended by the statement until he finally noticed the lanky blonde woman standing next to her with downcast eyes and a red face.

"Oh," was all he could manage at first, embarrassment blooming in his gut. How had he not seen her standing there? His brain must've written her off as a customer. "I... sorry. I didn't—"

"This is Annie Edwards," Lillie Mae introduced, eyes fiery as she glared at him. The plain-faced blonde looked up, blue eyes wide as she adjusted her thin-rimmed glasses, like she was afraid he might be set off again.

"Dawson," he said, stepping forward to shake Annie's hand. She accepted the handshake with a delicate grasp. "I'm sorry about... I didn't mean that, what I said. I'm in a bad mood today, not that that's much of an excuse. It'd be great if you stayed for dinner. Please, do."

"It's alright," she said softly, only meeting his eyes for a second and offering a soft smile. He could sense her timidity from a mile away, and it only made him feel worse for his outburst. Like he'd shot a defenseless deer.

"I should get back to work," he excused himself, no longer feeling like a break. With a final nod to Annie and a look of apology to his mother, he headed through the back again, out into the blinding sunshine. Kenzie was hot on his heels, and he knew it even before she grabbed his shoulder to whirl him around.

"What the hell is your problem?" she asked, wide brown eyes staring up at him.

He tried not to let his annoyance boil over again. "Look, I honestly didn't see her there, alright? I'm sorry. You think I don't already feel like an ass without you rubbing it in?"

"I mean what set you off in the first place? What's got you walking around here ready to blow up at any second?"

He let out a tense laugh as he started to walk away. "Ask your trainer."

Kenzie's eyes went wide before he turned, but he heard her footsteps behind him again a few seconds later. "Dawson! No."

He stopped, turning to her. "No what?"

"You're into her!" Kenzie ran a hand through her curly hair, seemingly oblivious to the panic that those words created inside him. He reeled, heart pausing as she continued, "I can't believe you're into her. I mean I can," she corrected, "but I can't."

"Wh— I— I'm not. We had a disagreement."

"You are, Dawson. You are and it's pretty damn obvious, so I don't know how I didn't see it sooner." She shook her head. "And to think this whole time, I thought you were joining the workouts to support me and Marshall."

"That is why." 

He glared down at her, but she was clearly unmoved by the gesture, giving him a look that told him she was seeing straight through that. With a roll of his eyes, he surrendered. 

"There's allowed to be more than one reason," he mumbled, jerking away when she made to smack his shoulder again.

Her mouth hung open in disbelief, brows knit together. "Oh my god! So you are into her!"

Leave it to her to trick him into admitting it. He shrugged, but the movement felt stiff. "She's an attractive woman, if that's what you mean." Talk about the understatement of the year. She made him damn near lose his mind every time he looked at her.

"Oh, don't give me that. You're arguing with her, you're letting her get you in one of your bad moods. Adam just thinks she's hot. This," she gestured to him vaguely, "has stepped over the boundary of physical attraction. Do I need to remind you she's engaged, Dawson? That she's getting married?"

He crossed his arms, looking out at the orchard instead of at his sister. He could tell the truth right now and justify it all. Kenzie would take his side, he knew that. She was the biggest believer in fairy-tales and happy-ever-after's that he knew of. If she found out Layla didn't love Colin, she'd be right there with him trying to convince her not to marry him.

Hell, she might even try to get him to be the one to try to change Layla's mind. To offer her things that would make it easy to turn her back on the merger. Things that would make him have to flip his own world and everything he thought he knew about love and relationships upside down, too. Somehow he was beginning to think it just might be worth it.

"No, you don't," he said instead. It was technically the truth. Layla's engagement was on his mind more often than he cared to admit.

"Good. I think it'd be best if you try not to forget that. For your sake more than hers."

With that she turned and headed back into the store, the door shutting behind her. She might have a point there, he thought. The question was if it still mattered to him or not.

I'm so sorry I forgot to post this yesterday!! I spent all day cleaning my room (and basically posting half my closet on poshmark LOL, new year new me I guess??) and was so tired by the end of it that I just crashed 😅

So Kenzie knows now 😳 AND there's a new face at the orchard 😉