But with any luck, they’d get through the meal quickly and he could escape to the outdoors. To the west edge of the farthest field and the little grove that sheltered his one and only secret.

That is, if Indi ever showed up.

And Sydney Rose—the imposter. He was still annoyed with himself for joking with her upstairs earlier. He should’ve taken the opportunity to politely but firmly suggest she find another farm to invade.

“So, what’s she like?”

Lilian’s whisper cut in from beside him. His sister hadn’t changed out of this morning’s church clothes before heading in to her office this afternoon—she spent too many weekend hours working—and she’d only arrived home minutes ago. Her blue skirt and ruffled shirt made Neil’s usual flannel and denim feel just plain shabby by comparison.

But then, he wasn’t out to impress anyone tonight. Just get through dinner. Eventually Sydney Rose would be a distant memory.

Meanwhile, he had a farm to save. Bad enough he couldn’t figure out how to replace the harvester—no matter how long he peered at the numbers on his budget spreadsheet, they just didn’t work out in his favor—but today Tatum Carter had come sniffing around. The man had tried to pass it off as a neighborly Sunday afternoon visit, but Neil hadn’t missed the hungry gleam in his gaze as he’d eyed the landscape.

Enough to make him wonder if maybe it’d been Carter in that idling car the other night. But no, the man drove a truck.

Anyhow, maybe it wasn’t entirely fair to place the full blame for his current mood on the woman who had yet to show her face in the dining room. A good chunk of it, sure, but not the whole of it.

“Well?” Lilian pushed her short, dark blond hair behind both ears, curiosity swirling in her eyes.

Neil lifted a pitcher from the middle of the table. “Don’t know. Didn’t talk to her for more than two minutes.” And he’d been half-naked and soaking wet at the time, so small talk hadn’t really been his first order of business.

He filled his glass with water, ice clinking, and for the first time since that awkward introduction upstairs, almost smiled. Had to admit, for all his frustration at this situation, seeing that woman about melt from embarrassment, her cheeks flushing redder than her hair, had almost been worth the hassle of her arrival.

Maggie had still been hugging Sydney Rose when he’d escaped into his bedroom at that point, but he’d heard the rest of their short conversation from behind his closed door. They’d exchanged “nice to meet you’s” and Maggie had apologized for her tears and impulsive embrace—and the fact that she’d been sweeping the back steps when they’d arrived, thus why she’d failed to answer Wilder’s knock. She’d told Sydney to make herself comfortable in the spare room at the end of the hall.

“I know this must be overwhelming. Take however long you need to settle in and catch your breath. We’ll have dinner all together later and we can get to know each other better then. I promise the rest of my brood will be fully dressed.”