Karl had his laptop on the table as he watched as if it was his favorite TV show.
Maybe he should have gotten a camera that could pick up sound, but he’d rushed in to set it up so fast when she’d left her door unlocked and he didn’t want to get caught.
Meredith was on the phone. Her kitchen table a mess while she worked. Naughty girl. She needed to be more organized. If she was, maybe things would have worked out sooner. Or better. Yeah, definitely better.
But she’d see the light soon enough. He’d help her as he always did.
6
HOW LIFE TURNED OUT
“Your mother mentioned that everything is set with the wedding planner,” his father told him at work.
“Yeah.” Clay looked up from his computer. He’d rather be out back working on his product than sitting in his office dealing with vendors.
“Everything okay?” his father asked.
He pushed back from his chair. “It is now. I can’t stand this part of the job. I’m glad I’ve got Eva to handle most of it.”
He’d hired Eva six months ago to deal with most of the ordering, billing, payroll and anything else he gave her to do administrative wise that he didn’t want to or have time to do.
He was never so happy to find the money in the budget for it.
Reenie was much better equipped to deal with the marketing and promotion and he had her take over that part.
“It helps with your mother not doing more,” his father said.
“I didn’t want her to,” he argued. “She insisted and I made her show me what she was doing.”
His mother showed him how she managed the books for the orchards so that he could decide if he wanted to continue that way.
“Your mother is wonderful at insisting.”
“Did you need me to help you with anything? I know this weekend starts hayrides and pumpkin picking.”
“I hate to as?—”
“Ask me to do anything. I came back to help on the farm. I’m here,” Clay said.
“Yeah, but I work for you and this isn’t part of your business.”
He bit back the snarl. The last thing he wanted to do was get into another pissing match with his father.
They’d had enough of them when he was a kid.
The fact Clay had no intention of working the farm was the catalyst for them.
Yet look at how life turned out.
“It’s all part of the family business,” he said. “I need to get outside and check on the orchard anyway.”
He and his father managed the apples, nurturing them, then picking with other staff he’d hired for the fall.
Once the trees were picked clean, he’d go back to having all his apples shipped in.
“If that is the case, the tractor is giving me fits. I want to make sure it’s running well for the hayrides,” his father said.
“Let’s check it out. We’re going to need it anyway to haul the apples soon.”
