“How long until you move in to the new place?” I ask Byron.
“Six months. Probably means a year given the fit out, factoring in delays.”
“Well, it’s not like you’re slumming it at the Club, is it?”
“No. But I’m looking forward to not being on the grounds. It will be nice to switch off,” he says.
Switch off. That’s what I need to do. Switch off from Iris. I just wish I could find a button that could erase her from my mind. I’ve done everything I can to find her. I even spoke to a private detective who said without more to go on, he couldn’t help me.
She doesn’t want to be found. I have to accept that.
I’ve always been so good at not fighting against things I can’t change. I’ve never wanted to waste my energy. Why am I finding it so difficult this time?
As we get to the bottom of the mountain, the ground flattens out and simple wooden fencing appears on Byron’s side of the vehicle.
“This is a fruit farm,” he says. “The Wildes are a good family. You know they still don’t grow apples because that was my family farm’s fruit.”
“An unspoken agreement?” I ask.
“Yeah. And now we’re getting the orchard back up and running, it won’t be for nothing.”
“You’re getting your family’s orchard up and running?” I ask.
“Not me. Not really. I donated the land to the town, so it’s like a cooperative of the people who want to be involved.”
“That’s a lovely idea,” Worth says from the back seat.
Byron slows down as we pass the entrance to the farm. “Yeah. So the two fruit farms will still exist in harmony.”
Farther up the drive into the farm, there are a couple of vehicles parked and a woman with long blonde hair is putting something in the back of a truck.
I swear, it looks exactly like Iris.
Not that I’ve even ever seen her with her hair down. I turn away from the window and close my eyes. Images of Iris havefollowed me to Star Falls. I’d hoped a change of scene would keep them away.
“Do they supply the Club?” Worth asks from the back.
“Yeah. We use as many local suppliers as possible. Anyway, the fruit from Wilde’s is incredible. If we were having breakfast at the Club, that’s where it would be from.”
I bite back a grin at Byron trying to sell the Club to us, like we don’t know it’s the best, and I keep my gaze straight ahead. I don’t want to catch a glimpse of any more Irises.
Byron made the road sound like some monster truck route without the monster truck, but we’re pulling up outside the diner in no time.
Fisher pulls up right next to us. “Waffles!” he says as he gets out of the car, gazing at the diner like he’s possessed.
Byron tugs at my jacket. “Let’s go see Marv and his owner, Marge, get you some hiking gear, and then join the rest of them.”
I shrug. I don’t have much of an appetite anyway.
“Marge will have you set up in ten minutes. The rest of them can wait to order.”
Byron was right, Marge looked me up and down and the only thing she made me try on was shoes—which fit perfectly. So I pay, and ten minutes after we left them, Byron and I join the rest of the group in the diner.
As we enter, the redheaded waitress who always gives Byron shit has her back to us, talking to someone in front of her. She turns and steps toward us, revealing who she was talking to.
A petite woman with long blonde hair comes into focus.
More images of Iris.
