Chapter 16

CHAPTER 16

SLATE

I had no idea how I'd lost complete control of the situation, but the next thing I knew, I was in a shop at the far end of the market. Sophie, Taggert, and Jess were with me, already examining men's clothes, pulling it off the racks and looking it over before slinging some stuff over their arms and hanging others back up.

There weren't many retailers in town. The main drag seemed to consist of this store, an old bank, a thrift store, a pool hall/bar, a sandwich shop, a hair and nail salon, and a handful of small businesses, like a pet-grooming place and an insurance office.

Several storefronts were empty and had been boarded up, a fact that spelled out Firefly Grove had seen better days. I'd seen this store earlier on our way to the market, noticing that it seemed to be bustling with activity and I'd been right.

There was a constant flow of people in and out, many making a beeline for whatever they'd come to pick up and some others just browsing—and shocker, it was jam packed with denim, plaid, and leather. I couldn't fathom why it would be such a popular store in a town where many other ventures hadn't survived, but to me, it appeared to be the most successful business around.

With the scent of leather, polish, and wool wafting in the air, most people seemed happy to be here, smiles on their faces as they greeted their fellow townsfolk and selected items that might've been straight off the pages of a farming catalog.

Nothing in here was my style at all, and yet, Tag was suddenly next to me, recommending the most comfortable and practical clothing for me to buy for working on the Merrick farm. "You don't want anything heavy or constricting. What you're looking for are the natural fabrics that breathe better and are a little oversized. Flannel always works. It's not a fashion show out there. It don't need to look good. It just needs to allow you to move."

Sophie appeared like the devil on my shoulder, shooing him away and suggesting some of the slightly more refined items. "It's possible to be comfortable while looking good, Tag."

She lifted a collared plaid shirt off her arm and peered at him. "These are a prime example of what men should be wearing while they're working. They're more sophisticated and it's the end of spring. It's really going to start getting hot soon. Why should a guy need to buy flannel?"

He glanced down at his own well-worn Mac jacket and frowned. "This is the most comfortable thing I own. Slate needs one. Trust me."

The jacket in question was a standard red-and-black plaid, with plain plastic buttons running along the center and large square pockets on either side of his chest. It was open right now, the buttons having been undone since we'd run into him, but Sophie might've had a point about the heat.

Not only was the thing I apparently needed reminiscent of something Wolverine would've worn in his time as a lumberjack, but it looked sweaty and hot as hell. Sophie bickered with Tag about updating his own style, and na?vely, I drifted along after them as they made their way through the store.

Before I could tell them that I had no intention of putting any of this atrocious shit on my body, we'd landed at the fitting rooms and I got shoved into one, cursing myself for not realizing this was where they'd been heading.

"Are you ready in there?" Jess asked, amusement thick in her tone. "We know that none of this is really your style, but if you're going to be staying for a few weeks, it'll help if you're comfortable."

I tipped my head back to glare at the neon light above, my hands finding my hips and squeezing. "I'm comfortable in the clothes I have. Why is the curtain closed? I'm still dressed and I'm not going to be getting naked."

I reached for the checkered fabric curtain granting me privacy I didn't need, but someone was holding it shut. Jess chuckled audibly, then whispered something to Sophie, who giggled in response. The curtain opened a crack and her hand appeared, clutching a few hangers with items she'd selected.

"Just try these," she said.

"Please?" Jess added. "You stick out like a sore thumb and your suits are only going to get ruined on the farm anyhow."

That's not a half-bad point.

"Real men wear flannel," Tag chirped from the other side of the curtain, continuing the friendly argument he'd been having with Sophie. "You got to give him four items, so I get to give him the same. Let him choose what he prefers"

Another crack appeared on the other side of the curtain, and this time, it was his hand that stuck through, a Mac Jacket exactly like his on one hanger and a few shirts on the others. I groaned, but took both offerings, shaking my head even though I knew they couldn't see me.

"I'll try it on, but that doesn't mean I'm buying it or wearing it." Despite myself, I switched my casual gray day suit with a crisp white shirt for Levis, a black tee, and a plaid shirt.

I'd rarely worn suits on the rigs. Those guys wouldn't have respected me much if I had, and besides, I'd have looked like a fool, strutting around wearing a suit in the middle of the ocean. I supposed this wasn't such a different situation, but I was still grumbling under my breath as I looked myself up and down in the mirror.

"I'm taking this shit up with Mira when I get back to the city. For fuck's sake." While I'd known I'd be staying in town for a while, none of the rest of this had been part of the deal.

I wasn't supposed to be staying in our clients' home, or helping them get their paperwork in order, or potentially helping on the farm. It seemed she hadn't made my role here clear at all, and while I had been the one who'd agreed to staying there and helping Doug track down the mineral rights, I should never have been in that position.

The jeans and shirt were comfortable, though. I'd give them that. Plus, thanks to Sophie and Jess, I still wasn't dressed like Tag, so at least that was a win. That boy's sense of style seemed to revolve around what was clean.

On the other hand, I've sure been there.

I decided that a new wardrobe might not be the worst thing in the world as long as they kept the flannel away from me. I yanked open the curtain and stepped into the store.

Sophie, Jess, and Tag had been milling around the shelves and racks nearest the fitting room and Sophie spotted me first, bursting into applause as she grinned. "Now that's what I'm talking about."

Tag's head snapped up from the boots he'd been studying, and he looked me over before he gave me a reluctantly approving nod. "Okay, so maybe Soph wasn't completely wrong. You look good, man. The Mac jacket would've been better, but that's not a bad start."

Sophie turned on him once more, pursing her lips and rolling her eyes. Jess wandered over to me. She'd been a little quiet since Sophie had picked us up, a lot less chatty than usual. She'd been hanging back in the corner of the shop while I'd changed, slowly making her way to me from a display of work gloves.

I practically felt her gaze raking over me, taking me in from head to toe before she worked it back up again. When her eyes met mine, she gave me an approving smile and a smattering of applause of her own.

"Bravo," she said. "You really do look good. You'll fit right in if we pick up a few outfits like that for you to wear while you're in town. It's still a lot more modern than what most men around here favor, but it suits you."

"Thanks. I haven't decided if I'm buying it yet, but I may have decided that I'm willing to play ball. The better I fit in, the easier my job will be when I have to deal with the locals."

"Have to?" She scoffed, visibly fighting a smile. "I hate to break it to you, but you were invited out today. You didn't have to say yes."

"I wasn't talking about today," I said easily. "While I'm here, there are bound to be times when I have to go to meetings with your dad about what's happening and it'll be useful if people don't dismiss me out of hand just because I stick out like a sore thumb ."

When I repeated her own words back to her, a pink flush blossomed across her cheeks and I nearly groaned, remembering how they'd done exactly that so many times that night. The blush made her sun-kissed skin look like she was glowing—just like she did after she had an orgasm.

It spoke directly to my dick, making me want to bend her over and take her right there with her tits pressed against the piles of discounted shirts. When her teeth sank into her lower lip, it got even worse, electricity crackling between us—until Tag shattered the moment.

"What do you think, dude? Do you want to try on some of my picks now?"

"No, he doesn't," Sophie insisted. "My picks will make people less likely to talk about him behind his back as a city slicker with a stick up his ass, but they'll also allow him to retain a more modern sense of style."

I frowned. "People have been saying that?"

Jess laughed as she glanced at me and shrugged. "Kinda, yeah. Everyone knows there's a consultant working with us on the oil, and it's not really hard to guess who that person is."

"That's okay." Sophie smiled as she thrust a few more hangers my way. "We're farming you up. After this, people won't know you're the Oil Man. They'll just know that you're not from around these parts."

"Everyone here knows each other," Jess explained. "That's what she meant. They'll know you're not from Firefly Grove, but they won't know who you are."

"Why do we care about people knowing who I am?"

She giggled. "Well, I don't mind, but unless you're open to getting hit up for free advice, I'd think you should mind."

"Why would they hit me up? It's not like I know who else has got oil or even if anyone else does."

Tag clapped me on the shoulder. "Yeah, but they don't know that. Ever since the news broke, everyone has been wondering if they're going to be the next to strike it lucky."

Thinking about it like that, it kind of made sense they'd try to get someone to help find their own proverbial pot of gold. It was no secret that farming was a brutal life with many unknowns and that things could change on a dime.

A butterfly flapped its wings in China, and a farmer here could lose his livelihood. Within that context, I understood why they were eager to find out if they, too, were sitting on what might be a gold mine. I nodded as I grabbed the rest of the clothes from Sophie.

"Fine, let's farm me up, but you should help manage people's expectations," I said to Jess. "There's no guarantee anyone else will make the same discovery you did."

"I know." Jess eyed me as I carried the rest of the clothes into the fitting room. "I've been telling ‘em that, but right now, my priority is protecting you, City Boy."

I wanted to tell her that I didn't need her protection, but I shut my mouth at the very last moment and went to change instead. I kind of liked having her protect me. At least if that meant things would play out the same way they had when she'd been protecting me from Anya.

After collecting most of the items Sophie had chosen from the fitting room, I strode back into the store. The last thing I bought was a pair of boots, and then I was at the register, being rung up while Jess admired a brown leather belt with a gold buckle.

I couldn't make out what the buckle was shaped as. Maybe a ram or a bull. Either way, she left when the others did, glancing at me over her shoulder. "We'll meet you outside."

I waited until the bell above the door had jingled behind her before I grabbed the belt and added it to my stuff. It turned out that the buckle was a mustang, and I smiled for some reason.

It suited her.

Usually, when I bought something for a pretty girl, it was Louboutin heels or Prada bags. This was an interesting change of pace, and even though farm life was never going to be for me, I couldn't say I minded buying something like this for a girl I knew would really, truly appreciate it.