The trouble was that my crush-crushing strategy worked best if I nipped the problem in the bud, and my feelings for Jacob had snuck up on me and gotten out of control fast. In short, I wasn't so sure this crush was crushable. But Kat was right. If I wanted to know whether my feelings for Greensun were real or hormone-induced, I had to try. Time to begin Operation Crush Crusher. Jacob seemed to sense there was something different going through my head when he picked us up the next day for our inaugural neighbor visit, but other than throwing me a couple of confused glances, he stuck to business. Looking down at his list, he informed us that there were nine neighbors whose properties adjoined Greensun, making this part of Glen's challenge not terribly time consuming. "I figured we'd visit Mr. Thompson first because he's almost family," Jacob explained. "I owe him some deer jerky anyway from last year's hunting season. Want some?" I accepted a handful of the home-dried meat, but Kat rolled her eyes—she was a vegetarian and took the local hunting culture even less in stride than I did. But, luckily, she didn't say anything about the snack. "I call shotgun," was my sister's only response, and she sent me a pointed look as she climbed into the front passenger seat of Jacob's minivan. I got the message—I needed to remember to stick to business and to spend less energy watching the way Jacob's hair glinted in the sun. (Now, what were those negative traits I was supposed to be quashing the visuals with?) Mr.
