“Sounds good,” I say and pull off a tray from the pile. I end up with pea and ham soup, a chicken burrito, and a pear. There’s more of a selection than Bray made out at first. There are chips, snacks, nuts. It’s not some makeshift operation.
“I can get this,” I say. “Where do we pay?”
Bray chuckles and rolls his eyes. “It’s on me.” He leads us out of the barn on the other side, where there’re some picnic tables set out. He chooses one that’s empty and I sit across from him.
“You don’t charge any of the staff?” I ask as I open my water.
“I need them well fed. They all do very physical work. They don’t eat properly at lunchtime and it means they’re not as productive in the afternoon.”
Smart, I think to myself. “I bet there are plenty of employers that wouldn’t think that way.”
“What can I say? There are a lot of dumbasses out there. But also, we’re paying minimum wage to a lot of the staff. Some of them aren’t going to have the money to have a good, healthy meal. It’s the right thing to do.”
The right thing to do. Feed your employees. Treat them right. I like the Wilde’s Farm philosophy.
“So business is good?” I ask.
“Business is fine,” he says dismissively. “Tell me how you know my sister.”
I pull in a breath. Iris and I haven’t discussed what we tell people about how we met. I’m pretty sure she’s not going to want me to tell her brother I met her at the ballet in New York, seeing as she goes to great lengths to hide the fact that she goes off to Manhattan once a year.
“I’m friends with Byron Miller. You know him?”
“Kinda,” Bray says. “But Iris doesn’t really know him.”
“I think we were in Grizzly’s the first time… Was that it? Then we ran into each other in the diner and?—”
I have to stop myself from laughing. How ironic that I came here to get away from New York because I was seeing Iris everywhere. And now here I am, with Iris.
“So you’re staying up the mountain at the Colorado Club?” he asks.
“Yeah. I get a good deal there.” I grin, but Bray doesn’t seem amused.
“Not many people from up there come down the mountain looking for work.”
“No, I guess not.” There’s not much I can say to that. He’s asking why I’m here and I’m not sure I have the answer. I had nothing much else to do and I’d rather be near Iris than anywhere else.
“So, you’re dating Iris or what?” he asks. He’s straight to the point. I can’t do anything but respect that about him.
“I’dliketo be dating your sister,” I say honestly. I’m not sure if what Iris and I are doing counts as dating? I’m trying to spend as much time as possible with her.
“She’s not so keen?” Bray asks.
“I think she’s… she’s good at seeing the downside.”
“What does that mean?”
I pull in a breath. “She’s looking ahead, and because I live in New York and she lives here, she assumes it’s not going to work.”
“She’s finding obstacles,” Bray says. “And you don’t think that’s because she doesn’t like you? Or doesn’t like youenough?”
I chuckle at his honest question. “I’ve definitely considered that as a possibility, but no, I think she likes me. I think she’s scared of what that means for her.”
“She drives me bananas on a regular basis,” Bray says. “But she’s the most loyal, caring, thoughtful human on the planet.”
I nod in agreement. “I know that. She’s very special.”
He looks me dead in the eye. “If you hurt her, I’ll kill you.”
