“Great. So, I’ll get a shower and I’ll turn up around seven?”
“You know that I’m not going to be picking fruit, right? I’m in the office all day long. You won’t see me at all.”
Somehow that doesn’t matter. I like the idea of meeting her brother and her father. Of seeing the family farm. And I can’t getwhat she said about margins being squeezed out of my head. I wonder if there’s something I could do to help.
“I know,” I say.
“If you want to pick fruit all day, then who am I to stand in your way?”
“And for the record,” I say. “I’m not sure my heart would make it if I get in any deeper with you.”
FIFTEEN
Iris
Getting to my desk felt more difficult today. Not just because of my lack of sleep, but also today I’m so aware of why I’m here. I feel resentful. Resentful that Wilde’s Farm is the reason I had to stay in Colorado.
Of course it wasn’t the farm, it was my brother and father’s need for the business side to be covered that was the problem. But still, this place represents an anchor. Something that’s chained me to one way of life when I wanted another.
I don’t want to have to make that same decision again—the farm over ballet. Star Falls over New York.
I did it before and I know what it cost me. I’m not sure if I’m strong enough to do it again.
“Iris, do you know anything about this Jack guy who just showed up?” my brother yells as he limps into the barn. My stomach flips at the mention of Jack’s name, and I screw my eyes shut tight in a futile effort to stop pictures of naked Jack from last night filling my brain.
Why Bray can’t wait until he gets into my office, I have no idea. My office has been carved out of the barn closest to thehouse. I like the fact I actually have to get off the couch to come to work. There’s a work life and a home life. Yeah, I can see the barn—and my office—from my bedroom window, but there’s some separation.
My brother puts his head around the door and looks at me like he’s waiting for me to reply. “Iris. Who’s this Jack?”
I shrug. “Some guy. Said he was looking to work for the day. Don’t like him, then don’t hire him.” Some guy who made me come last night until my body shook and my mind was blown. But Bray doesn’t need to know any of that. Not that there’s much to know. I keep out of his romantic life and he keeps out of mine. That’s how it’s always been since high school. I guess that’s why I never knew he and Stephanie kissed. For a split second, I think about asking him about it and then I change my mind. If I ask him about Stephanie, he might think he has free rein to ask me about Jack. And I don’t want any more questions about Jack from my brother.
“He’s not stalking you, is he?”
“No,” I reply. If he was stalking me, he wouldn’t have been so surprised to see me at the diner.
“He’s not our normal fruit-picking type,” Bray says.
“I’m busy, Bray. You need to leave me alone. If you don’t want to hire him, don’t.”
“How do you know him?” he asks.
I sigh, my shoulders sagging. “He’s a friend of Byron’s. Lives in New York. I have no clue why he wants to pick fruit, but if you don’t hire him and I hear you complaining that you don’t have enough help again, I’m going to bury you six feet under.”
“Jesus, Iris, you’re touchy this morning. What crawled up your ass?”
I sigh and spin my chair so I’m facing my brother. “Why are you bothering me? I have things to do. Staffing is your job. Not mine.”
Bray shrugs and heads out. He’s right. It is a little strange that Jack wants to pick fruit, but I was a little short on sleep when he suggested the idea this morning. If Bray hires him, I might sneak out and see what JFK doppelganger, Jack Alden, looks like doing a little manual labor.
Plenty of people would pay good money to see his shirtsleeves rolled up.
I jump in my seat as Bray pops his head around the door again. “If he breaks your heart, I will kill him with my bare hands.”
I grin as I roll my eyes. “Good to know.”
“I’ll tell him to his face. If he doesn’t like it, he can go and wash some dishes at the diner if he needs a day’s work.”
I nod, hoping that’s the end of our conversation. But Bray lingers. “I don’t really know what his circumstances are and everything. But I think you deserve a guy who doesn’t need a job from your brother.”
