Lilian sauntered into the barn the next morning, half-expecting to see Davien cleaning something in that annoyingly thorough way he did.

But he wasn't there. As she went about her morning routine, there was no sign of him. He'd taken his bag, and his hat, and had left before dawn like she'd asked him to three days prior. Finally.

It was late morning before Lilian finished her chores before her weekly trip into town for supplies. She gathered up Kral's saddle and slung it over his back, adjusting the straps as he happily munched on an oat cake.

She found it difficult to focus on her tasks that morning, and she blamed it on the fact that the handsome jackass had fucked up her schedule and taken her out of routine. Then she berated herself for still thinking about him.

She attached the large saddlebags and hopped up before directing Kral outside. As the sun washed over her, she squinted and had to blink a few times to try to rid herself of the sight of Davien approaching up the lane.

What the hell? she thought, and brought a hand to block the bright light from her eyes. But it was no illusion—he really was there, heading up the lane, pulling a wagon of all things.

"Afternoon, ma'am," he greeted with a grin.

Lilian ignored her heart absolutely not skipping a beat and scowled at him, urging Kral to trot closer. "No, no. I have things to get in town, and I don't want you traipsin' all over my land while I'm not here. There's plenty of daytime left to bring your shit somewhere else."

"This is your shit," he declared brightly, and set the handle of the wagon down. He pulled a handkerchief from his back pocket and wiped his brow, tilting his hat back on his head. "I got your weekly supplies from town."

She groaned and scrubbed her hands down her face. "How in the fuck did you manage that?"

"I asked the owner of the General Store what you get, and he put it on your tab," Davien explained, pulling back the burlap to reveal a plethora of goods. "Got a few extras, too. Do you like chocolate?"

Lilian glared down at him, chewing the inside of her cheek. There were so many things she wanted to say. Of course I like chocolate, who doesn't? How did you know today was supply day? Why the fuck did you walk all the way to town and back to pick up my things?

Instead, she settled on, "You wasted your time. I had a different list this week." It was a lie, of course.

And from the way he smirked up at her, he knew it, too. "You could just say thank you."

"I could, but I don't need to be inflatin' that ego of yours any more than it already is." She raised her chin and turned away from him, pointing Kral towards the forest path. The horses would still need exercise if they weren't going into town. "Park that wagon in front of the house. You'd better not let any critters get into it before I get back."

He bowed with a flourish. "Of course, ma'am."

She kicked Kral and took off at a full gallop, hoping she properly hid the corners of her mouth threatening to curl.

***

Lilian took a generous bite of her apple, chewing it with more force than was necessary as she watched Davien haul bales of hay back and forth across the paddock. She adjusted her position so that a leg curled under her, balancing perfectly on the far corner of the fence.

"'Lo, Lil," a familiar young voice rang out behind her.

She turned to glance back at the young boy on his approach. "Hi, Finny."

The teen with the shaggy brown hair clambered up to perch next to her, following her gaze at the strange man gleaming with sweat in the sunlight.

"Oh, who's your suitor?" he asked with a lopsided grin.

"No, no, hell no, he ain't my suitor," Lilian replied immediately, grimacing as if the word tasted bad in her mouth. "He's a leech that's refusin' to go away."

Finny swung his legs back and forth, not at all trying to hide the amused grin on his face. "Pretty hard workin' for a leech." He leaned in and lowered his voice. "Plus, since when d'you settle for anyone refusin' anything?"

"Well I ain't one to turn down free work, am I?" She scowled at the young man. "What d'you want, kid? It ain't milk day."

He plucked the apple from her hand, and took a big bite. "Just checkin' in on ya." He shrugged. "Somebody's gotta make sure you're still alive out here."

"How thoughtful of you." She snatched the fruit back, holding it in the other hand to keep it away from him. "If you find me dead one of these days, feel free to have my shit."

He grinned. "Didja write me into your will? Imagine that, me, the youngest landowner in the county."

Lilian chuckled, but innately her chest tightened. She didn't have a will. She didn't have anyone to leave anything to. Maybe she should go get something drawn up, so that there wasn't some kind of big feud over her land when she kicked the bucket.

But how entertaining would that be? She wondered who would suddenly come out of the woodwork, trying to take everything.

"I bet Abby would be knockin' on your door in no time," she teased, and Finny's face immediately flushed crimson.

He jumped down from the fence, giving her a wave. "See ya, Lil," he declared, and then turned to Davien, cupping his hands around his mouth. "She'd make ya leave if she didn't like ya!" he yelled, and then jumped to the side when Lilian threw her apple core at him.

He whistled innocently as he walked off, and she shook her head.

She turned back to the sweating farm hand, who was grinning at her. She had to bite down on the inside of her cheeks to keep her own traitorous mouth from doing the same.