Page 41 of A Shared Mind

Clay put a small bandage on my temple and helped me from the floor. “Dizzy?”

“No... Yeah... Maybe? I just saw my father, and Ramon Blanco was with him.”

I expected Clay to give me the look that said I was losing my mind, but instead, he led me out to the bed and helped me sit down on the side, kneeling in front of me. “Is he back inside you?”

“No, but Dad encouraged me to help him. I fear I have PTSD from that whole experience.” That was no lie.

“Okay. If we needed a sign, that certainly seemed to be one. Let’s go to Mama’s with the groceries. I’ll call Mr. Glendale and ask if he’ll come harvest my sorghum, and we can leave in the morning for St. Louis.”

I didn’t want him to change his plans for me. “No, Clay. You don’t have to go to any trouble. Everything will still be there when we get to St. Louis. Waiting two days won’t change anything.”

“You’re sure?” The man was so sincere.

I leaned closer, placing my hands on his shoulders. “I’m positive, you wonderful man. My dad said I had an amazing man in my corner, and I agree one hundred percent.” I pressed my lips to his and the bullshit from earlier melted away.

Our tongues swirled together as his hands settled on my hips before he abruptly pulled back. “Shit! In all of the crap with the groceries, I forgot to get condoms.”

I cracked up. My cock was gaining steam, which would be embarrassing since we were going to Miss Pansy’s house for me to meet her. “Oh, god. I think we’ll be okay.”

He blew out a long breath. “Okay. If you’re still sure. I’ve never gone without.”

That was a surprise. “Never? Not even with...”

“No. Hunter and I never went bareback. He thought it was too messy.”

I kept my thoughts to myself. Hunter must have been a bit of an asshole, but I’d never say it to Clay. I could tell Clay still loved him, and I’d never disrespect Hunter’s memory in his mind.

“We better get goin’ before Mama’s ice cream turns into a milk shake.” He pulled me from the bed and kissed me gently before taking my hand to lead me out of the bedroom.

I wasn’t sure how things were going to go, but the fact he wanted us to meet gave me a confidence boost I sorely needed.

Chapter Twenty

Clay

I decided to drive us to Mama’s instead of us walking all the groceries over. Once we were settled in the truck, I reached for Justin’s hand and put it on my thigh because it felt important for us to be connected as I showed him my pride and joy—the farm. Before Pop died, Hunter and I had discussed getting a place of our own, but looking back now, it was a blessing we never found anything. I couldn’t maintain two places on my own.

In the back of my mind, I wondered if Justin would ever consider giving up his life in Kansas City to live on the farm with me. What would he do for a living? After Pop died, Mom turned over the accounts to me, and I knew for a fact I hadn’t kept up with things as I should have. Would Justin consider helping with that since he was a numbers guy?

Could he still work for Korr Financial from Sterling City part of the week? Would we have to do the long-distance thing for a while? All questions for another time.

I patted his hand. “Okay, over there,” I pointed to the left, “was this year’s hay field. After I get the sorghum in, I’ll plow all of them under, and next year, I won’t plant anything there.”

“Is that how it works? You rotate them every year?”

I glanced to see Justin taking in the view, which made my heart sing. “Yeah. I’ll add nutrients to the soil and give it a year off. I have a whole rotation schedule that I use. I have a quarter of the fields empty every year to give the soil time to revitalize. I keep my field sizes to two-hundred and fifty acres, which is easiest for me to harvest by myself. We keep two-hundred and fifty acres empty each year, so I’m only farming seven-hundred and fifty acres at a time, but I get a better yield that way. The sorghum field is on the other side of the hay field, down a little incline.”

I was rambling because I didn’t want him to focus on what we were about to do and get nervous. Mama was one of the kindest women I knew so she’d be friendly from the get-go, but when Justin got into his head, he got nervous real quick. I didn’t want that for him.

“Do you plant things together? Like hay fields are all together and sorghum fields are together? Are they fenced into smaller sections?”

“Good question. When Pop started farming this land, he used to fence the fields into smaller acreage with a gate for easier access and to keep critters out, but that’s a lot of fence line to maintain, as he learned. He took down the internal fences and now I just maintain the perimeter fencing, which isn’t usually too bad because we don’t have any animals.

“The land I lease across the road is more of a pain in the ass to maintain because Old Man Wagner has a couple of horses that break through the fence on occasion. I only leased the land to help him out and I cut wood over there so there’s nothing they can destroy, but it’s not safe for them because Wagner has broken down equipment rusting there. I’ve tried to get him to let me haul that shit out, but for some reason he refuses every time I ask. I hope I don’t get like that when I get old.”

Justin laughed as we drove by the machine shed. “That’s where I keep the farm equipment I use. When it’s time for the corn to be harvested, I hire a guy to help me out and drive the dump truck. I only raise grain corn for livestock, not sweet corn for humans. That’s a more arduous process.”

Thankfully, I pulled into Mama’s driveway so I could stop boring him with mundane farm facts because I was boring myself. I got out and grabbed Mama’s bags, and Justin helped me carry them inside. I opened the door and called out, “Mama? It’s Justin and me.”