Chapter Text
Katerina’s eyes squinted as they met the harsh afternoon light thrown off by the sun starting its descent toward the horizon. Blinded, she stepped forward and subsequently found her foot squishing into a patch of mud. She sighed. Ambling through the acres of overgrown land that was suddenly her’s, her feet had become well acquainted with the wet dirt.
So much for keeping these new running shoes white , she thought. She’d have to invest in some hefty boots sooner rather than later.
Ahead, the brush appeared to thin out in anticipation of a shoreline, and Katerina quickened her step. “Come on, Caramel,” she called, and lmost as if understanding her words, a small orange cat appeared from behind a fallen log and meowed. Obedient little creature Caramel was, for being a cat.
Katerina smiled at her shadow and reached down to lift the cat up. It came easily, scrambling up onto the woman’s shoulder. “You’re a diva queen, you know that?” she asked. “You’re a city rat through and through. Can’t even handle a bit of mud.” Caramel purred in response.
Smiling fondly at the cat now perched like a bird atop her shoulder, Katerina pushed through the last bit of undergrowth and emerged on the shore of a large pond. A ragged-looking bench sat down amongst the rocks, water lapping only feet away. It looked lonely and old and neglected, but Katerina grinned when she spotted it. That very bench had been the home of countless play-pretend games when she was a child, often serving as the meeting point between she and her brother, who had imagined themselves as rulers of warring kingdoms. Sweet memories, and depressingly oh so distant.
Katerina took a seat on the bench. As she did so, Caramel leapt down from her perch and curled up on the bench beside her. “Lazy little thing,” Katerina laughed. Her right hand brushed over Caramel’s soft fur as her left pulled a crumpled paper from the back of her jean pocket. She smoothed it out atop her thighs and let her eyes drift over the words as if reading, though she knew them all by heart.
My dearest Katerina , it started in the beautiful looping cursive of her grandfather. If you’re reading this, you must be in dire need of a change.
The same thing happened to me, long ago. I’d lost sight of what mattered most in life - real connections with other people and nature. So I dropped everything and moved to the place I truly belong.
I’ve enclosed the deed to that place, my pride and joy: Two Rivers Farm. Some of my most cherished memories here are of you and your brother running around this valley as children. I hope those memories are as beloved to you. It’s the perfect place to start your new life.
This was my most precious gift of all, and now it’s yours. I know that you’ll honor the family name, my dear.
Love, Grandpa
P.S. I would like to come visit you and your brother in the city this winter. It’s been far too long since you’ve visited Pelican Town and an old man misses his grandchildren.
Katerina’s chest clenched with grief and guilt as she looked away from the letter. Her grandfather had never gotten the chance to visit Katerina and her twin brother as he had suggested, passing away in his sleep not two weeks ago. Before the letter had even found its way into their mailbox. The death had been sudden for everyone in the family, but Katerina supposed her grandfather had felt the pull of eternal slumber coming for him.
Blinking her eyes and clearing her throat to ward off approaching tears, Katerina stuffed the letter back into her pocket and sighed. He had been right - Katerina loved this farm, this valley, and all its little quirks. But that had been when she was a girl, when her only duty had been caring for the window garden of herbs that flourished with a meager weekly watering. The Two Rivers Farm she had known had been one of leisure and play, not of the hard work her grandfather had put into its upkeep. Did she have the skill, the drive, to run a farm half a well as he had been able to?
Her grandfather seemed to think so, but Katerina was doubtful. Since graduating from university, she had grown accustomed to her cushy office job. Sure, she was active, loved to run, but running was much different than slaving away in a field for hours, day on end. There would be no weekends, really, nor the excuse to neglect a day due to poor weather. Running could afford a day off, farming could not.
And yet, in her heart, Katerina also recalled the way that she would bound her way into the kitchen on those lazy summer mornings to inspect her herbs. To pluck dying leaves from the stems and whisper encouraging words when she thought no one could hear her. She knew, by watching her grandfather’s proud eyes when local store owners came to pick up boxes of his produce, the satisfaction of seeing hours of hard labor come to fruition. And she knew that she would do what he asked of her. She loved this land as dearly as he had suggested, and she loved him even more. It had been her grandfather’s dying wish that Katerina would take over his farm, and she intended to fulfill that wish.
And so with a deep sigh and another tap on her cat to wake her up, Katerina stood and began making her way back toward the farmhouse. That, at least, had been well cared for even as the land around it was left to retreat back into nature’s grasp. She opened the door to let Caramel inside to explore her new home and grabbed the keys to her grandfather’s pickup truck. They hung by the door, as they had for as long as she could remember.
Ten minutes later found her rumbling down a dirt road in the beat up truck, turning onto pavement that surely must lead to town. Her hunch had been right, and soon enough quaint little buildings began to appear around her, forming - in conjunction with carefully kept front lawns - a picturesque shoreside town. Tendrils of wind danced around quivering leaves, and the sun filtered down like a hazy glow, and Katerina thought this was a scene that painters could easily romanticize. She didn’t know what her destination was, but when a sign announcing a general store came up on her left, she pulled into its lot. Seemed good enough a place to start.
It was nestled between what appeared to be a medical clinic and a row of residential buildings. Down the road, a woman with silver hair bent over a wicker basket, pulling out laundry to hang on the line. Katerina smiled at the charming scene before entering the store. She was greeted by a bell jingling and the scent of citrus, wafting from where a purple-haired woman was carefully piling oranges onto a display rack.
“Well hello there,” the woman said. “You’re new.”
Katerina raised her eyebrows. Of course a small town would be nothing like the city, but the speed with which Katerina was labelled an outsider surprised her. Back in the city it was more unusual to visit a place enough that the workers knew your name and your face, not to enter a store and immediately be flagged as new.
“I am,” she responded after recovering from her moment of surprise. “My grandfather owned the farm up the road - uh, Two Rivers?”
The purple-haired woman’s eyes light with recognition. “Oh! Yes, I’m so sorry for your loss. Mr. Hann was a wonderful man.” Katerina nodded, but before she could reply the woman spoke again. “I’m Abigail, by the way. My dad owns this place.” She gestured out the window toward the sign that had caught Katerina’s eye in the first place, the one reading in bright red letters Pierre’s General Store .
“I’m Katerina. It’s nice to meet you - I’m sure we’ll get to know each other.”
“Oh, yeah? So you’re here to stay?”
“I suppose so. My grandfather left me his farm after his passing and I’ve decided to take it up.” Plain and simple. No mention of the envelope that held Grandpa’s letter which had read When you need a sign . No mention of the fact that Katerina had resigned the day she received it. She shrugged.
Abigail grinned as she set the final orange atop the precarious pyramid she’d created. “I’m glad to hear that. I really am. If you have half as much charm as your grandfather had, folks will love you, and it seems like you do.”
Katerina ducked her head, feeling a blush creeping up over her cheeks. “I sure hope so.”
She looked around the store, taking it all in for the first time. Several other varieties of fruit laid stacked identical to the oranges on different display shelves, as well as what looked to be some type of summer squash. Medicine bottles lined the far wall of the store, organized as immaculately as the produce. Katerina supposed that Abigail must have had years to perfect it if she had grown up working here. Along the other walls were displayed everything from candy to plant fertilizer to windshield fluid. Truly a general store. A renaissance store, if you will.
Katerina approached one of the pyramids of fruit and plucked the apple from the top. “Homegrown?” she asked.
“You got it,” Abigail said with a smile. “Your grandfather’s produce was the best, of course, but Miss Anderson runs a lovely orchard alongside her ranch.”
“Ah.” Katerina tossed the apple in the air and caught it. “So I see I’ve got competition.”
When the woman laughed at that Katerina found it was quite endearing, her nose scrunching up and hand coming to cover her mouth. Katerina wanted to laugh herself watching it. “Or an ally. I suppose it depends how you play your cards.”
Katerina nodded her head in acknowledgement, then raised the apple in her hand. “How much do I owe you?”
“Take it, call it my family’s welcoming gift to you. Plus I’m too lazy to go open up the register.”
Katerina smiled. “Fair enough. And thank you, really.” She crunched into the apple and was happy to find it tasted just as sweet as the apples her grandfather used to give her as a treat after a hard day of play-pretend. Wiping the juice that had dripped down onto her chin, Katerina spoke again. “Have any suggestions of what to check out? Any people to get to know for my business ventures? Hot spots for people our age to do around here?”
Abigail raised her eyebrows as she retreated a few steps further into the store to grab a broom leaning against the wall. “Fun? People our age? Can’t say I know what you’re talking about.”
“Oh, it can’t be that bad.” Could it? The valley had been nothing but magical wonder not a decade ago.
“I guess it’s not as bad as I make it seem,” Abigail shrugged. “It can be boring, but we like to make our own fun. My friends and I usually grab some drinks at the saloon just across the street on Friday nights. You should come, they’d love to meet a new face.” The woman’s eyes twinkled as they looked up to meet Katerina’s. “A pretty one, at that.”
Another blush crept up over Katerina’s face as she let out a self-conscious laugh. Curse her pale skin and its betrayal of her embarrassment. Hopefully a year of laboring out in the sun would cure her of this wretched disease. “I’d love to. What time?”
“Eight or so.”
“Looking forward to it. Thank you for the invite.” Katerina turned to leave, pausing only when she heard Abigail call her name.
“Hey, Katerina? Welcome to Pelican Town.”
---
Back when Katerina moved away for college, she had picked up a thirst for adventure and a tight schedule that left her with all too little time to explore. It just so happened that running had been the fastest method to get to see all there was to see around her, and so it became a habit that when Katerina found herself wanting to explore, she laced up her running shoes.
That’s exactly how, a few mornings later, Katerina found herself running down the same dirt road that led into town. She had left her earbuds back at the farmhouse, opting instead to listen to the sounds of the valley awakening. Birds calling shrill tunes to one another, distant water gurling, insects making their way lazily to breakfast at the wildflowers, their wings sending audible vibrations through the air. Not a sound of another human to be found, and Katerina couldn’t say she missed it.
That was, until she made her way further into town. An engine turned somewhere nearby and as she ran by a well kept-looking rowhouse, a kitchen pot clanged from inside.
Katerina breathed deeply and smiled. Maybe it was the adrenaline entering her bloodstream, but while running she had always found herself falling in love with places that had seemed only ordinary at a walking pace. Falling in love with people, sometimes, if only strangers.
As she ran past the general store, she swung her head to look for Abigail, but the store was dim. It was early, after all, but Katerina still found herself a bit sad to have no one to talk to. Further down the road, she spotted the same silver-haired woman that had been putting out laundry yesterday. Aha. Her next victim.
As Katerina slowed to a halt where the woman was knelt digging in a flowerbed, she raised her head to meet Katerina’s eyes and smiled. “Good morning. You’re a new face.”
“Indeed.” Katerina extended her hand for a shake when the woman rose to stand. “Katerina Hann. My grandfather owned the Two Rivers Farm up the road.”
The woman’s face fell, clearly reminded of what must have been grief. But it stayed for only a moment before she smiled again and gently shook Katerina’s hand. “It’s so wonderful to meet you, dear. My name is Evelyn. Your grandfather was a dear, dear friend to my husband and I.”
“He was a great man,” Katerina agreed. “I just wanted to stop and say hello. Your flowers look lovely.”
Evelyn bashfully waved her hands at the garden. “Oh, they grow like weeds. I like to pretend they need me.”
“Well, your secret’s safe with me.” Katerina pressed her hand to her chest and nodded with earnest, earning a laugh from the old woman. It was cut short when something behind her caught the woman’s eye and she waved to what must have been another person approaching. Katerina turned, eager to introduce herself to a new name, but whatever words had been brewing died before they left her lips. A man, dead still in the middle of the road, staring at her. Staring at her distastefully .
Katerina snorted inwardly, instantly offended. He looks like he’s smelled roadkill!
She suddenly found herself intensely aware of the spandex running shorts hugging her thighs, oversized shirt be damned. On the defensive, she clutched the ends of the shirt as the man looked her once up and down, his eyes moving painfully slow.
Katerina opened her mouth to say something, to object to how he just looked at her like a piece of meat, but before she could form any words his gaze had slid past her.
“Looking youthful as ever, my darling,” he cooed. His voice grated on her ears. “How is George doing this morning? Good? Oh, how wonderful. Yes, I did think to myself when I woke that it is too beautiful a day to be doing poorly.” Unnamed Creep moved forward to enter Evelyn’s front yard, and while he took every care so as to not let he or any part of his emerald green suit brush against Katerina, he avoided even the smallest glance in her direction. As if she was invisible. Her jaw actually dropped looking after him.
He petted Evelyn’s back as if she were an animal he was particularly fond of and leaned down to press a kiss to her cheek. The old woman positively beamed at that, though Katerina could not understand for the life of her. Letting herself be led into the house by Creepo, Evelyn turned almost as if an afterthought, and called to Katerina, “Do come by for lunch sometime, my dear!”
And with that, the pair disappeared through the front door, leaving Katerina gaping on the sidewalk. She could almost feel his eyes still crawling over her body. It hadn’t been lustful, not sexual in nature, but full of judgement all the same. Like he was weighing the worth of her existence by a single glance and had subsequently decided a piece of gum stuck to the bottom of his spotlessly shined shoe deserved more attention than she.
“Who the fuck was that ?” she muttered to herself, finally breaking free from her shock. Sure, small towns had their fair share of freaks just as the city, but that had to take the cake as one of her strangest interactions to date. She took off down the road at nearly a sprint, wishing she had brought her earbuds along after all. What she would give to blast some angry screaming music right now.
And if she was exhausted by the time she made it back to the farmhouse, her fast pace fueled by anger and racing thoughts and what she refused to acknowledge as curiosity, well - no one had to know.
---
By evening, Katerina was completely and utterly sunburnt. No take backsies. The skin on her shoulders and cheeks was bright pink, tight and hot to the touch. She winced as she eyed her naked body in the mirror outside the bathroom, silently cursing herself for being so foolish.
She really, really did not want to shower. Subjecting herself to the seventh circle of hell seemed more appealing than letting those tiny little bullets of water pelt her burnt skin. But, well, she had things to do. Places to be, people to charm. And charming was, as it happened to be, much easier when you didn’t smell like dirt and body odor.
Katerina nearly howled with pain the whole time she was showering. But, standing in front of the mirror eyeing her refreshed appearance, she decided it had been well worth it. Her dark hair was drying in its neat curls down to where it cut off at her chin and the sundress she had found stuffed at the bottom of a still-not-unpacked suitcase hugged the curve of her waist snugly. And most importantly, her armpits did not smell like sweat. She had to admit that she felt particularly good about herself.
Giving her reflection one last satisfied glance, Katerina turned away and began searching for Caramel. She found the cat huddled beneath the kitchen island, dozing peacefully. Katerina poked her.
“Hey, lazy bones.” Caramel mewled, irritated at being disturbed. “Hey! Mommy’s leaving. If I’m not back by midnight...I don’t know, call the cat police or something.” Caramel swatted at her and turned away. Katerina decided that was good enough and headed out the front door. She paused momentarily, considering grabbing the keys which hung on their rightful hook, then decided against it. She was heading to a saloon, after all. And besides, the night was clear and she didn’t mind walking.
What she hadn’t accounted for, however, was that walking was, y’know, exercise, and by the time she strolled through the front door of the saloon, she was desperately wiping sweat from her temples before it had a chance to do any damage.
Not finding a single strand of purple hair in sight, Katerina made her way to the bar. A woman around her age with bright hair as blue as Abigail’s was purple eyed her curiously as she filled a pint from a keg dispenser, but it was a plump middle-aged man who approached her.
“Well hello there to ya.” His voice was warm and cheerful. “Welcome to the Stardrop Saloon. You won’t find a better beer in town.”
Blue Hair snorted. “You can’t find another beer in town.” She shrugged nonchalantly and grinned when the man shot her a glare.
He turned back to Katerina as she was lowering herself painfully onto a barstool (turned out the sunburn had managed to find its way to the back of her thighs, as well). “So what can I get ya? Name’s Gus, by the way, and she’s Emily. You’re new here?”
“Yeah. I’m the new owner of the Two Rivers Farm - my grandfather left it to me when he passed. And I’ll have a pint of your strongest.” Her sunburn was still aching, aloe cream be damned.
“Ah.” Gus nodded while he pulled her a pint, an expression on his face that Katerina might have described as wistful. “This one’s on the house. Good man.”
“Good man,” Katerina agreed before taking a large gulp of the foamy beer - the walk from the farm had been thirsty work. She wasn’t quite halfway done when a hand suddenly clasping her shoulder made her gasp and sputter beer all over the counter, burnt skin screeching. When she turned in her seat, Abigail was wincing apologetically.
“I’m so sorry!”
“Oh, it’s alright.” She grimaced, though hoped it came across as a reassuring smile.
Abigail nodded. “Well anyway, these are my friends. Katerina, meet Sam and Sebastian. Boys, this is the new farmer in town.”
The blonde man (Sam?) extended a hand, which Katerina shook. She thought privately that his spiked-up hair looked very crunchy. “Hey, it’s good to meet you. We don’t see a lot of new faces around here.”
“So I’ve heard. I’m happy to be the exhibition of the month.”
All three laughed, although Abigail pushed on Sam’s shoulder like he’d said something wrong.
“We usually play a bit of pool. Would you-?”
Katerina cut her off with a laugh, and all three of them stared at her questioningly. “Oh, sorry. It’s just that I’m a bit shit at pool.”
The man garbed in all black waved his hand. “Don’t worry about it, so are they. Come on, it’ll be fun.”
And so Katerina picked up the remainder of her drink and followed the trio to a side room off of the main bar. Within it sat two brown sofas, a pool table, a vending machine stocked with Joja Cola, some plants, and a jukebox pumping out oldies tunes.
“Team?” Sebastian offered, and Katerina accepted by taking the cue stick from his hand. As Sam made the first move, sending balls flying across the table in every which direction, Katerina’s head stayed on a swivel, drinking in every detail of her surroundings.
“So this is it?” she asked. The saloon looked pitifully devoid of something she couldn’t quite place her finger on. A middle-aged couple danced enthusiastically together in the space between two tables, the mayor (who had been there to greet her upon her arrival) leaned in to converse with the kind-faced woman who sat opposite from him, and a grizzly old man waved a pint glass in the air, beer sloshing around, while he chattered to a suave-looking fella with cascading locks that put Katerina’s to shame. A decent sized crowd for the intimate size of the saloon, sure, but still. She felt like there was something missing.
“Oh, Katerina. You have much to learn.”
Glancing over at Abigail, she shrugged. “I didn’t mean to insult or anything. I guess it’s just not what I’m used to.”
“No insult taken,” Sam said. “You’re up.”
Katerina shimmied up to the table and cracked her knuckles dramatically. “Y’all ready for this?” She took her time lining her move up, then sent a ball flying into one of the pockets. She, Abigail, and Sam all whooped with glee. Sebastian moaned miserably.
“We’re stripes, not solid!”
The grin slid off Katerina’s face as she let the cue stick fall dramatically to the floor, smacking her forehead with her now freed hand.
With Katerina a proud member, Team Sebastian took a spectacular loss, but he seemed to take it in stride even while Abigail and Sam cheered and jeered at the pair playfully. Katerina laughed and defended herself with a “I warned you I was shit!”
She handed her cue stick off to Sebastian. “Hey guys, I’ll be back in a jiff. I just wanna introduce myself.”
And with that she began to make her rounds around the saloon, shaking every hand that was offered to her and forcing a smile so wide that her cheeks began to ache. The middle-aged couple, she discovered, were in fact Sebastian’s parents and lived north of Katerina’s farm. Robin ran a carpentry shop from their property and Demetrius, who taught at a university in Zuzu City, was studying the local flora and fauna of the valley. The weathered old mariner and long-haired man both lived down by the beach, one running a bait-and-tackle shop and the other working on his debut novel; they were both friendly and welcomed Katerina effortlessly into their odd little friendship. She even chatted long enough for Willy (the fisherman) to order her a pint. Eventually she moved on and let the mayor introduce her to Marnie, who owned the ranch south of the farm.
“I’ve heard about you! You better watch out, I’m coming for you.” Katerina winked conspiratorially at her, which Marnie responded to with a good-natured chuckle.
“Dear, if whatever talent your grandfather had runs in the family, I don’t stand a chance.”
Katerina was just about to move on to the scowling woman at the far end of the bar whose hairsprayed hair, she swore, could have withstood a sonic boom, when Marnie and Lewis both looked past her and raised their hands to wave in unison. The bell above the door jingled as the door slammed shut, and Katerina turned.
There, sticking out like a sore thumb, was the man from that morning. He had changed into a salmon suit and his dark hair sat artfully disheveled atop his head - but there was no mistaking that pretentious expression or those creepily empty eyes. For several moments, every pair of eyes in the saloon trained on him, he stood motionless.
And then it passed, a wide grin appearing on his face, and he swept forward to the very table Katerina was stood at. Leaning down, he planted a kiss on a cheek that tilted up to accept it. “Aunt Marnie,” he cooed. Another kiss. “Mayor Lewis.”
Katerina’s eyes narrowed as he straightened, eyes flicking up to meet her’s. She was once again struck by how devoid of emotion they seemed.
He extended a hand. “I do believe we have yet to meet.”
“Uh, o-okay-” The manners Katerina’s mother had drilled into her won in the war over her desire to shake him by the shoulders and demand why he acted this way - why was he so weird? - and she clasped her hand in his. A single firm shake, then separation.
Marnie smiled between them, clearly not noticing the confusion and awkwardness rolling off of Katerina in waves. “Katerina, this is my nephew, Shane. Shane, this is the farmer that just moved in north of us.”
“Ah.” He eyed her for a few seconds longer - and she could have sworn she saw his eyes flicker to look at her tiny gold hoop earrings - before departing in the direction of the bar without another word. Katerina heard him cry out the names of the bartenders and pictured him pressing kisses to their cheeks.
“Don’t mind him,” Marnie said around a mouthful of housemade fries. “He can be a bit eccentric.”
Eccentric? Katerina wanted to shout. You think? But she only smiled, nodded, and made her way back to Abigail and Co.
The rest of the night was spent moving between the pool table, smacking balls around in a manner that Sebastian described as “willy nilly”, and the bar to get more drinks. On what must have been the fourth or fifth round, she noticed Marnie’s nephew - she refused to acknowledge his name if he refused to acknowledge her’s - hunched over the bar. She watched as Gus deposited a row of five shots in front of him and as he threw each one back in succession. In about three seconds flat.
She was almost impressed with it, but the ease with which he downed them, clearly not noticing the burn of hard liquor, suggested he was well-practiced.
“Hey, Gus! One more round before the night ends?” Gus gestured Emily over to Katerina with his head, and the blue-haired woman came over to pull her another pint.
“Having fun?” she asked.
Katerina glanced over towards the side room, where the trio was chatting around the pool table awaiting her return. “Yeah. Having fun.” She took the beer glass that Emily had slid over to her in her hands, then hesitated. “Hey, what’s with him?” She dipped her head in the direction of Marnie’s nephew, who was now nursing a frothing beer not unlike her own and staring impassively at a spot on the wall. Sans that manic-looking grin plastered on, his face matched the blankness of his eyes.
“Shane?” Emily asked. Katerina wanted to tell her to keep her voice down. “Oh, he’s a regular. He can be brash but Gus and I like him. I can sense a kind heart under that facade he puts up. It’s just...”
“What?” Katerina encouraged, leaning in.
“I sense that his aura is troubled.”
Katerina’s eyebrows shot up her forehead. Huh .
Some time later, after pool had grown boring and Katerina joined Abigail and Co. on the sofas for a nice chat, Emily entered the room and smiled apologetically at them. The trio seemed to know what this meant as they all stood and began gathering their belongings. Inferring, and remembering how Gus had made last call nearly half an hour ago, Katerina rose and began smoothing out her dress in lieu of gathering possessions that she hadn’t brought.
After the group had filtered out the front door, Abigail caught her wrist. “Hey, it was fun having you around tonight. We’d love to see you around again.” Sebastian and Sam nodded their assent.
After agreeing to join the group again next Friday (same time, same place), Katerina made off in the opposite direction back towards the farm. The night had grown cold in the hours since the sun had set, and Katerina had to rub her hands up and down her arms to stave off the chill. As she walked, however, her body warmed up and she made a pitstop about halfway back to the farm to take in the scenery. Moonlight shimmered down through the trees to cast leaf-shaped jigsaw puzzles down onto the hard-packed earth. Surely asleep in their nests, the woods was free from the sounds of birds calling to one another, and Katerina noted with an air of disbelief that she had never experienced this level of silence before. In the city, things were always go go go . People running after busses, hurrying up and down the sidewalks, chattering if not to one another than to whoever was on the other end of their phone. There had been anonymity in the ever-changing crowds, and Katerina had loved it. But after only a few days in Pelican Town she was beginning to wonder if she could also fall for the intimacy of small town life.
She was just turning to leave, yawning, when a low voice spoke only inches from her ear.
“Isn’t it beautiful?”
She jumped, city girl instincts gearing up to either defend herself or take off running. But when she turned, it was Marnie’s nephew standing there. His hands were clasped behind his back, salmon jacket thrown over one shoulder to reveal a white button-up shirt, and he stared down at her with blank features. Katerina cursed her dwarven height and his gargantuan one.
“You scared the shit out of me.”
The man sniffed. “Your lips are far too beautiful to stain with cussing.”
“Yeah, whatever. Fuck off .” What had gotten into her? Her strategy for rude people had always been smile and ignore, but...He was a different breed of rude. Not throwing her a cuss and a middle finger for cutting them off in traffic, or a glare for taking the last loaf of bread in the supermarket. He had a way of carrying himself that said I’m better than you and there’s nothing you can do about it , and that’s what bothered her.
Silent and pointedly ignoring the insult, the man continued to stare down at her.
“You’re sunburnt.”
“No shit.”
“Unprotected sun exposure is cancer-causing.”
“Well aware, thanks.”
Suddenly too strong to ignore, the promise of privacy within the farmhouse and under her covers beckoned Katerina home, and she began to walk back towards the main path. She groaned inwardly when the man followed and whipped around to face him again.
“Look, what do you want from me? You gonna walk me home or something?”
The man blinked at her with those dead eyes of his. “Of course not,” he said, and with that he turned and was gone, heeled shoes clicking on the cobblestone road.
Well, then. That’s that.
---
Katerina awoke on the third Saturday of her new life with a raging hangover. She hadn't had that much to drink last night, relatively, but she also hadn’t drank that heavily in months and her tolerance was near the floor. She should’ve known better.
After gulping down glass after glass of water and nibbling on a piece of plain toast in attempt to settle her lurching stomach, Katerina dressed herself and headed outside to begin her workday. Two days ago she had made a withdrawal from the business account Grandpa had signed over in her name and purchased a hefty amount of seeds from Pierre’s.
The majority of her morning was spent hammering trellises into an empty plot of land near the pond that she had been working on clearing. The bundles of strawberry seeds that she planned on growing there sat a few feet away, flattened to the ground thanks to Caramel having found them and made them into a temporary bed.
Around two in the afternoon, Katerina decided to take a break and headed inside for lunch. She was halfway through her sandwich when she spotted Mayor Lewis approaching from the dirt road that led into town. She shoved the rest of the food in her mouth and went outside to meet him.
“Katerina!” he greeted. “Hard at work, I see.”
Katerina smiled. “I’m working on getting my first round of spring crops in. It won’t be a big harvest this year - I’m just experimenting, and the underbrush has grown in a lot since my grandfather last cut it back.”
“It’s great to hear. You’re doing your grandfather proud.” His eyes swept out over the acres of visible land. As for now, it was ragged and overgrown, but Katerina had visions of rolling fields and shady fruit orchards. “The reason I came is to invite you to the festival tomorrow.”
“Festival?” Katerina asked, eyebrow quirking.
“Indeed. We hold it every year to welcome the warmer weather and to celebrate the prosperity of the land. I’m sure next year your produce will be a major contributor to the festivities.” He gave her a smile. “There’s an egg hunt for the children at ten, and Gus is preparing a meal to be served at three. I hope to see you there.”
Later that night, after a day full of digging and planting and hacking and sawing, Katerina lay in bed and heaved a deep sigh. Every muscle on her body seemed taut with soreness, unacquainted with ten straight hours of manual labor. She dropped off to sleep within minutes of crawling under the sheets, mind blissfully devoid of its usual racing thoughts.
---
The morning of the Egg Festival rolled in on a gentle wind bearing clear skies and warm weather. A single lonesome cloud drifted across the sky while Katerina bent over in the field, pulling weeds that had seemed to sprout overnight and dousing her beloved strawberry plants in a generous splash of water. Still traumatized by the sunburn fiasco a few weeks prior, and with sweat dripping off her face and soaking her clothes, Katerina cursed the beautiful weather.
Luckily, the crops didn’t need much attention that day. They had germinated as perfectly as she could have hoped for a few weeks prior, and now they were shooting out of the earth and unfurling new leaves at the speed of light. Some had even started to put out small beginnings of fruit. Within a few weeks, she would have her first harvest, if only a small one. She swelled with pride.
After finishing up in the fields, Katerina made her way inside to shovel down a breakfast and get herself ready for the festival. She absolutely, positively did not have anyone to impress, but still. She wanted to look presentable.
It took nearly twenty minutes of tearing through her closet to finally settle on an outfit: a baby blue sundress with tiny yellow tulips embroidered around the cinched waist. Her brother had given her this dress for her (their) birthday a few years back, and it still looked just as beautiful as the day she first got it. The puffy sleeves, which came halfway down her arms, drew attention to the curve of her waist and the neckline dipped just low enough to still be considered perfectly modest by the more conservative members of town.
Katerina hesitated, eyeing her reflection with uncertainty. Why did she care so much? The festival was nothing more than an excuse to gather together and tuck into an indulgent meal - and for children to have their seasonal fun. No attention would be on her to look any nicer than usual, and anyway, there were no promises who would or wouldn’t show up. What did she care about who showed up anyway?
Deep inside her (or maybe not so deep), Katerina knew why. That stupid man, that stupid infuriating fascinating man would not ruin her fun today. He could take his faux confidence and shove it. And she would not lend a single thought to unraveling the web of mystery that was his entire existence.
Sighing, Katerina made peace with her appearance and begrudgingly began to lather sun lotion over every inch of exposed skin on her body, a feeling like dread slowly beginning to build in her stomach.
Every single weekend since her arrival Katerina had joined her new friends to socialize at the Stardrop Saloon. And every single weekend, without fail, the night went the same. Shane, his breath tinged with the burning scent of vodka, would attempt to ensnare her in his cloud of backhanded compliments and sensual allure. It may have succeeded on what seemed to her, every other individual in town, but Katerina knew better. It astounded her how no one else could see how fake he was. Perhaps that’s why Shane came back weekend after weekend to try again when they both knew it would end the same way it always did: snarky insults, one-ups, death glares, and an even more aggressive manifestation of that persona he put on after she inevitably broke it. If only for a second. She was a challenge for him, a toy a little tougher than the other’s to chew apart, and she knew it. It made her resist him even harder.
So, yeah. The Stardrop Saloon was one thing. Their interactions there were familiar, if not pleasant, and Katerina always had the satisfying buzz of alcohol to help her cope. But the festival? Yeah, this was new territory. Surely there’d be no alcohol there - and even if there was, it wouldn’t be acceptable for her to approach anywhere near the level of drunk she achieved on the weekends.
Really, this is embarrassing , she thought to herself. One single person - a person she couldn’t give a damn about, at that - should not have this much of an effect on her. She always had more control over her temper when sober, and perhaps the cheerfulness of the event would infect her cold little heart enough to give her the strength to bite her tongue.
“It’s been decided,” Katerina said aloud to the empty farmhouse. “I’m going to be nice to him.”
That’ll do the trick. The self-absorbed prick thrives off the attention. Well get a dose of your own medicine, asshole.
She huffed assertively and nodded at her reflection.
This time, she did decide to take the truck into town. She fretted for a few moments over the prospect of finding parking, as the entire square would be decked out with festivities, but then decided she could always leave the truck a few minutes away and walk.
That’s exactly what she did, and as the sky climbed higher in the sky, approaching noon, Katerina finally strolled into the town square. People bustled this way and that, arms crammed full of candies and eggs and giant stuffed animals. Katerina didn’t recognize a number of them - presumably, people had come from neighboring towns to celebrate the day. Absorbed in admiration of the strands of colorful paper chickens tied between two lamp posts, Katerina walked straight past a familiar face. It was only when Emily tapped her on that back that Katerina spun to face her, grinning.
“Hello!”
Looking a bit startled, Emily laughed. “You enjoying yourself?”
“Oh, I’ve only just got here.” Katerina shrugged, but she was. She was absolutely entranced by this little springtime festival.
“This is my sister, Haley,” Emily said, nodding to the attractive blonde woman standing across from her. “Or have you two met-?”
Katerina shook her head. “I’m afraid not.” She exchanged introductions with Haley and tried to keep up with the babble of conversation flowing from the woman’s mouth, but got lost somewhere around where Katerina had the perfect look for this photoshoot she’s been wanting to do, and oh, couldn’t you find an afternoon to take off the farm and spend it with me - I’ll even pay you! Oh god, had she just agreed to be a model ?
And that’s when she saw him. Sat on a bench on the edge of the square, head ducking so as to avoid a flock of colorful two-dimensional hens. Bouncing a toddler on his knee.
It took every bit of power within her not to gape at the scene.
Excusing herself as fast as what could be accepted as polite, Katerina hurried across the square to where a familiar purple-headed woman was tossing darts at a row of pinned-up balloons.
“Hey!” she greeted, just as Abigail sunk a dart straight into a yellow balloon.
“Hey! I thought I sensed something beautiful sneaking up behind me,” Abigail said, winking.
Although she knew by now that Abigail’s playful flirtation made its rounds to all her friends, Katerina couldn’t help the blush that crept up over her face. “I see you’ve bested scam game number one.”
“Oh, this? I mean, I’ve been sneaking out every night for the past three years to practice knife throwing with Seb, so this was easy-peasy.”
Katerina eyed her warily. “Really?”
“Nah, I’m fucking with you. C’mon, let’s have some fun.”
Abigail dragged her around to the remaining stands, Katerina dishing out more money than she had intended to spend when she woke up that morning. Caught in a flurry of festive joy, she even purchased a bouquet of sunflowers from Pierre’s stand, imagining how lovely they would look as a centerpiece on her recently repolished dinner table. An hour later they settled onto a bench, Katerina clutching her sunflowers and Abigail three stuffed bears of varying sizes.
“So.” Katerina took a sip of a garishly-colored orange punch. “How’s that girl you’ve been talking to? The one doing her masters at Ferngill U?”
Abigail colored. “Good. She wants me to come visit her sometime soon.”
“Oh yeah? Look at you go, prince charming.”
“Shut up,” Abigail mumbled, hiding her face in her cup of punch. For all her offhanded flirtation, Abigail could be remarkably shy when it came to her love life. “What about you? No secret lover mourning your separation back in the city?”
“Unfortunately, most men in the city managed to repulse me as much as the stench of Marnie’s horse stable.”
“Fair enough. How about here, then? Any charming Pelican Town bachelors manage to sweep you off your feet yet?”
“I wouldn’t say that, no.”
Eyes gleaming, Abigail looked over at her. “You know, I’ve always thought Seb is pretty cute. Even if I don’t swing that way.”
Katerina laughed, and then the pair fell silent, watching as parents ran after their excited children and couples ambled around flirting. How to breach the next topic without seeming suspicious?
Ah, fuck it .
“Did you see Shane with that baby?”
Abigail nodded. “His goddaughter.”
“No shit? I thought he just charmed some naive mother into handing over her kid for a photo opp.”
“Nah, her name’s Jas. She plays with Sam’s little brother so we’ve watched her a couple times. Sweet little girl.”
Katerina bit her lip, thoughtful. “So what’s their...story? How’d he land himself a kid?”
Abigail looked over at her and shook her head. “Honestly, I don’t really know. All I know they moved here from the city a couple months back and his aunt took them in to help on her ranch. Rumor has it he inherited a fat lump of money from some dead relative, but rumors spread like wildfire around here, so I don’t know how much I believe it.”
“I mean, I can’t say it would surprise me. Small town life doesn’t seem to suit him.”
Abigail laughed, but when she spoke there was no amusement in her voice. “He’s different, that’s for sure. But he’s kind and respectful, so people have accepted him as ‘the quirky one.’”
Katerina holds in a snort. “Really? I don’t think I’ve ever met a faker person. You’re telling me people can’t see through that?”
“No - I mean, yeah, I can tell he puts up a front. But the three of us mostly just feel bad for the guy. Someone who tries that hard to hide whatever it is he is clearly doesn’t want people to pry, so we don’t.”
As if discussion of him had acted as some sort of seance, Katerina looked up in thought to find the devil himself approaching. Powder blue suit stretched over his long limbs, dark hair styled in that I-didn’t-do-my-hair look, baby in tow. “Well don’t you look ravishing,” he drawled, voice nauseatingly sweet. “But I’m afraid one of us is going to have to change.” He stooped to plant a signature kiss on Abigail’s cheek. “Abigail, my love, the springtime air suits you.”
Reaching out to take hold of the toddler who was making grabby hands at her, Abigail laughed. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Secrets are only fun when they’re not shared, aren’t they?” Hands suddenly free of their child-shaped burden, Shane crossed his arms. Katerina watched as he gazed fondly down at his goddaughter, who was babbling some story about ‘chickens’ and ‘falling’ to Abigail. Desperately, Katerina tried to blow out the spark of curiosity that had reignited with a ferocious stubbornness within her.
“That’s Miss Katerina! Can you say Katerina?” Abigail repositioned Jas in her arms so she could face her. The girl’s eyes were wide with the wonder of meeting a new person, and Katerina smiled as she offered her finger for the child to grab. In her periphery, Shane stood motionless.
“I can’t say I’ve ever had any luck teaching babies my name.”
“She’s a smart girl,” Shane’s voice said from above her.
“Oh, I’m sure. Takes after you I’d presume.” The words had been sarcastic, but her tone was joking. Katerina’s head twisted to look up at him. The sun had begun to set and she had to squint to make out his features, but she could see his jaw clenching.
“Right.”
Abigail fawned over the baby for another couple of minutes before Jas began to fuss and demanded to be back in the arms of her godfather. Katerina watched the way the tension melted off the girl’s body nearly the second his hands wrapped around her small figure. Suddenly, something Emily had said to her that first night at the saloon rang a little doorbell in her memory, demanding to be let in.
A kind heart under it all, huh?
She swallowed her distaste for him and tried her best at a welcoming smile. “Why don’t you hang around for a bit? Abigail and I don’t bite.” Beside her, Abigail nodded.
Almost imperceptibly, his eyes narrowed. For several beats her invitation was met with only silence. Their eyes locked and clung - vaguely Katerina was aware of Abigail’s eyes also on her but, fuck, if she couldn’t look away - and she watched in real time as smoothed his features into their usual blankness. Manually, like a pilot flicking switches in preparation for takeoff.
“Thank you, but I’ve already accepted the presence of far more interesting company.” Leaving Katerina stunned, he turned and departed as abruptly as he had come. When the insult had finally settled in, Shane already lost in the crowd, Katerina let out a loud groan. She wanted to jump off the bench to run and find him. She wanted to yell in his face and slap him and demand to know why he had decided weeks ago to treat her with as much respect as a stray piece of trash drifting in the wind.
But all she did was clench her hands into fist and pound them on her thighs once. “God!” she exclaimed angrily. “That man makes me fucking irate . How can you take that?” she demanded, turning to Abigail.
The woman shrugged. “Honestly, I got the vibe that was all directed at you, sister.” She smirked. “What did you do to him?”
And fuck if that wasn’t a good question.
It took several minutes for Katerina to calm herself, ranting to a nonplussed Abigail that tried to convince her more than once that Shane may be prickly but he would warm up to her eventually. Only after being sated with the development of a theoretical plan to egg his place of residence did Katerina let Abigail drag her over to the snack table.
“Food,” she said, stuffing a pastry into Katerina’s mouth, “solves all woes.”
Manning his station proudly, Gus nodded his agreement. “Wise words, young lady.”
Katerina resisted at first, her tendency to wallow in bad moods making itself known, but after a time she had to admit that Abigail had been right. Gus offered them a sample of each dish he had prepared, listing off the names of the local farms where each ingredient had been sourced from. That piqued Katerina’s interest more than anything and she made a mental note to take a day to drive around and introduce herself to all the farmers in the valley. Keep your friends close and enemies closer, or so the saying went.
As much as she loathed to admit it, a short time later Katerina found herself with a full stomach and a lighter mood. The sun had reunited once again with the horizon, bathing the town in its dusky red glow. Katerina’s sunflowers had begun to wither ever so slightly and she picked at a dry petal.
“Shit,” Abigail sighed. “I told my dad I’d help him clean up the stall. I guess I’ll see you later - Friday?”
“I can help. It’s not like I’ve got anything to do but twiddle my thumbs anyway.”
Abigail protested but was convinced quite easily, and after saying their goodbyes to Gus the pair made its way over towards Pierre’s stall. Katerina regretted her insistence to help the second she drew close enough to see a familiar dark-haired figure standing near the flowers. Gritting her teeth, she shoved everything she wanted to say to him down into a manhole of unspoken thoughts, then threw a cinder block on top for good measure. If her senses seemed to heighten as she helped Abigail pack up unsold bundles of flowers, then it was only because Shane commanded such confidence that it was impossible not to notice him - even if she did everything in her power not to. The thought of my poor blood pressure drifted across her mind more than once.
“You’ve no more sunflowers?” she heard Shane ask. In the corner of her eye, Pierre shook his head.
“I’m afraid not. If I make another order you’ll be the first to know, though.”
Kneeling over a wooden palette, Katerina bit her lip, considering.
“A shame. Sunflowers are Jas’ favorite.”
And then she decided to do something stupid.
Moving with a speed that made both Pierre and Abigail jump, Katerina snatched up her bouquet from where she had tossed it on the ground. She plucked a single flower from the bundle and, stomping over to the man, offered it to him with a fully extended arm. “A flower for the little girl,” she said through clenched teeth.
If they had been at the saloon, Katerina would have been proud of the stunned expression that appeared on his face. Sober Katerina just wanted to get it over with.
“I can’t accept tha-”
“You just said it’s her favorite. Just take it.”
“Look, I really don’t think-”
“ Just take the damn thing ,” Katerina snapped. Adrenaline spiking from her outburst and with a sense of satisfaction that she was the one leaving him in the dust this time, she stalked away in the direction of the farm.
Operation kindness: failed.