There's another dream in the middle of this chapter. I swear there won't be another after this chapter, but I had to give Maisie her share of flashback time. ;)
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Maisie slid the last of the empty produce crates into the back of the pickup truck. She huffed out a long breath as she closed her eyes and wiped her brow on her sleeve. She was exhausted; the summer sun was bright and hot, and her long day had been full of chores on the farm and customers at the Wednesday farmers' market. For what felt like the hundredth time this week, she found herself daydreaming about a soak in her mother's clawfoot tub.
"Boo!" a voice whispered in her ear.
Maisie shrieked as she spun around. "Oh, for goodness sake, Alessandro!" She smacked his chest as she clutched at her own, gasping for air. "You nearly gave me a heart attack. That's the second time today!"
"Sorry, Maisie." He looked as if he were trying to appear contrite, but his quirking lips gave him away. "I just couldn't resist. Remember how I used to creep up behind you in the orchard and scare the shit out of you when we played hide-and-seek as kids?"
She took a few deep breaths, glaring as he bit his lip to stop from laughing. "It's good to know you've grown up since then, Less."
His expression faltered. "I have, Maisie. You know that, right?"
"Um, yeah." She pushed a lock of hair that had fallen from her ponytail out of her face. "I was just teasing, you know?"
"Oh. Right. Of course."
Alessandro smiled, but the gesture didn't match the rest of his face; his lips were pressed together, and his eyes seemed devoid of emotion. Maisie shifted, uncomfortable her words had elicited his forced appearance.
He'd followed the same pattern for the past couple of days, bouncing between friendliness and a brooding sullenness. It unnerved her. He'd always been introspective, but his childhood bouts with a quiet or monosyllabic presence had never left her feeling like she'd done something wrong.
"So, um, have a good day with your family? Are your sisters behaving themselves?"
Alessandro blinked a few times, and Maisie was relieved to see his smile return to normal. "Today's been . . . enlightening, so I guess that means it's been a good day." He winked as he grabbed the sole crate of unsold produce on the table and placed it in the truck. "I take it you had a good day?"
"Yeah, pretty good. I sold everything except for a couple bags of spinach, a few bunches of radishes, and some green garlic. Actually, we did better than we usually do at the Wednesday market." She furrowed her brow. "But why are you here? Your mom stopped by earlier this afternoon and bought a ton of stuff for some dinner party you're having tonight."
"We need more," he said as they began to break down the folding table that'd held the farm's products. "I don't know the details, but apparently my grandmother forgot to mention that she invited some friends down from Camden for supper. Any chance I can snag the radishes and some green garlic? I think my mom wants to roast them. And can I bum a ride home? Carolina and Gemma dropped me off, but they had a bunch of other errands to do in town."
"Sure. Is that all you need? Just radishes and garlic?"
"A couple heads of lettuce for a bigger salad." He looked around the marketplace at the closing stalls. "Anyone here have any left, you think?"
Maisie didn't bother to look before answering. "Doubtful. Lettuce tends to go fast around here. You can have some of the heads that are in the ground at home, though."
"You sure?" He turned back to look at her, concern evident on his face. "I don't want to take away from your Saturday sales."
"We have plenty. We've been pretty lucky with pests so far this year; I think it's all the dry, hot weather we've been having."
"OK, thanks." He glanced at the chalkboard list of prices she'd placed in the truck alongside the folded table. "Do you have change for a twenty?"
Maisie lifted an eyebrow. "Nice try, but you aren't paying."
"Oh, yes I am."
Maisie crossed her arms in front of her as Alessandro pulled a twenty-dollar bill from his wallet.
"No, you're not. You've been picking every day with me, and sneaking off without taking any berries." Alessandro opened his mouth to protest, but she pressed on. "Besides, I'm pretty sure your mother conveniently forgot to take her change with her earlier today when we were busy."
Maisie'd hoped her reasoning would satisfy him, but wasn't surprised to see that he remained unconvinced. They stood facing each other, Maisie with her arms crossed and her chin raised, and Alessandro with his jaw set and the bill crisp in his outstretched hand.
She hissed in frustration when, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that the few farmers still left in the market were watching their standoff with unveiled interest. With her luck there'd soon be a small crowd around them, ready to witness their verbal shootout and eager to retell the tale at the local bars later in the evening.
"Fine. How about this: you don't pay for the produce, but you help me this Friday afternoon in the orchard. I've been tasked with clearing away the vines climbing the back fence; it's a crappy job, and the less of it I have to do, the better. Sound like a deal?"
"Deal," he murmured, folding the bill in his wallet before returning it to his back pocket.
Maisie's smile faltered as she watched his lips curve into a lazy smile. "Great. Ready to go?"
She tried to sound enthusiastic, but what had seemed like a good idea just moments ago—getting help and company for an annoying chore, and finding a way out of their standoff—now seemed like another of her terrible ideas. Something about his smile made her feel uneasy. She could've been imagining things, but his smile had seemed somehow predatory. She felt as if she'd fallen into some sort of trap he'd set.
She gave her head a mental shake; Alessandro had never been one for plans. She was overanalyzing.
They climbed into the old pickup and pulled out of the market, sitting in silence as she navigated the narrow, twisted streets towards the town's busy four-way stop. Alessandro slouched against the truck's bench seat, legs spread in a relaxed pose with one arm draped on the open window as he watched the passing shops and tourists.
Maisie grimaced as they joined the long line of cars at the stop sign waiting to get out of the harbor. Given her own angst, his apparent contentment annoyed her; she needed to break the silence.
"So . . . any awkward autograph requests yet?"
