“I assumed it was part of its old-world charm.” Brynna smiled.
“You sound like Dad.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“Anyway, even though the house is full, you should be able to wash your clothes okay. Or else I can take your laundry with me and—”
“No way, Sophie. I won’t have you doing my laundry.” Brynna stuck out her chin. “I’ll figure it out. But besides the laundry thing, like I said, I only have camp clothes. Really casual. Just jeans, T-shirts, and shorts. Nothing nice and maybe not too great for the office.”
“Well, that’s okay. We’re pretty casual around here.”
Brynna pointed to Sophie’s floral-print dress. “That doesn’t look too casual. And you wore something nice on Friday too.”
“I’ve been wearing more dresses lately. But only because I’m so big and my maternity pants are too tight.” She made a face. “Today, I dressed up a bit more for church. Not that anyone else does. But my mom always did.”
“You do look very pretty.” Brynna smiled.
“Thanks.”
“Well, I don’t want to offend anyone by appearingtoocasual in the office. I respect it’s a business. And trust me, even teaching third graders, I dress with a bit more style. Maybe I should go shopping . . .”
“I know!” Sophie held up a finger. “Luna!”
“Luna?”
“Yeah. Luna cleaned out her closet during spring break. I’ve been meaning to take her cast-off clothes to Salvation Army, but I keep forgetting. The bags are still in my garage. You want them?”
“I, uh, I don’t know.” Brynna sighed. “I’m not exactly an average size.”
“Don’t worry. Luna’s the shortest of us girls. She might be a little taller than you, but she’s really petite.” Sophie gave her a once-over. “I actually think a lot of her stuff might work for you. And she’s the fashionista of the family, so there could be some pretty nice pieces in there. I’ll drop them by in a little while, and you can go through and see if something works.”
“Okay ... thank you.” Brynna forced a grateful smile, wondering how it would feel to wear Leroy’s daughter’s hand-me-downs.
“And, come to think of it, there are times when you should look more professional in the office,” Sophie told her. “Sometimes a corporate wine buyer will drop by. Or an event planner. And Garth is hoping you’ll be able to help in the tasting room occasionally. Anyway, I’m sure you’ll find something appropriate in Luna’s things.”
“I’ll do my best.”
“Great. I’ll meet you at the office at nine tomorrow to start training you. Garth promised to keep the kids until it’s time toopen the tasting room.” She glanced at her phone, which was chiming. “That’s him now. I’ll explain more to you tomorrow. I’m glad you like the guesthouse.”
“Like it? Iloveit!” Brynna thanked her again for the jam and goodies as she walked her to the door, but instead of following Sophie to the minivan, she waved from the porch. She just didn’t want to see anyone ... or have anyone see her. Not yet anyway. Perhaps by tomorrow.
Chapter 18
After Sophie left, Brynna decided to handwash some of her clothes in an effort to avoid having to use the main house laundry room. But for some reason, maybe it was the old-fashioned guesthouse, it turned into a surprisingly soothing chore. As she wrung out the last soggy T-shirt, she felt almost like a pioneer. She draped most of her garments outside on the porch banister to dry in the sunshine and was just hanging her wet underthings in the bathroom when she heard a loud knock on the front door. Certain it couldn’t be Sophie again, Brynna froze. What if it really was Leroy this time? She was even less ready to see him now!
For a brief, horrifying moment, she stared at her image in the bathroom mirror. Had she ever looked worse? Besides her dirty hair that had been slicked back with a red bandana, she didn’t have a speck of makeup on. She had a zit on her forehead, and her skimpy tank top—the only shirt she hadn’t washed—was something she wore only as an undershirt. Her tattered shorts, really pajama shorts, weren’t anything she’d ever wear in public either. Not on purpose anyway. But the knock came again.
She dashed through the bedroom then, crouching down low to avoid being spotted through the big front window, and crept over to peek through a side window next to the door. A white pickupwas parked in the driveway. Could that belong to Leroy? If so, why would he drive here when he could so easily walk? The knocking came again, even louder this time.
“Bree?” a man’s voice called.
She cowered lower. Had she locked the door? What would she do if Leroy suddenly burst in? Not that he would, but it was his property and he’d already been concerned about her harboring guests here. She felt sick.
“Hey, Bree!” the deep voice yelled again. “I’m Sophie’s husband, and I brought you some things.”
She crawled out from her hiding place, jerked open the door, and, using it to shield herself, peered at the young man she recognized from the tasting room. He had two large black bags in his arms. “Hello?” she muttered nervously.
“Sorry to intrude.” He looked embarrassed. “I realize we haven’t officially met, but Sophie insisted I bring you these.” He held one of the bags toward her. “For you.”
