Gam waves when she sees us, her face lighting up with laughter. “There you two are!” She pats Vic’s arm. “Look who I ran into! Vic has been working here since I was a girl, back when your grandmother and I used to hang out! I never thought I’d see him again!”
Vic grins, standing and nodding quickly to her when he sees us approaching. “Well, it was really nice to see you Nora, but I’d better get back to work now that my boss has caught me slacking off.”
Eve goes rigid. “No!” She glances around as if she’s searching for something. “Oh, I know! Why don’t you two go have a cup of tea in the cafe?” She gestures in that direction. “You guys seemed like you were having a nice time catching up, I’d hate to interrupt that.”
Vic glances at Gam as if waiting for her determination, and my heart catches at the hopeful expression on his face.
And I find myself silently begging Gam to please go have a cup of tea with this man.
She shrugs. “Well, alright then,” she says, turning to Eve. “Would you mind keeping my grandson occupied until after our tea?”
And my devilish grandmotherwinks.
Eve pauses, then nods. “Of course. I’ll have him take over for Vic while you guys catch up. I’ve got another hour before my next tour and Ryder seems like he could use a little hard labor.” She elbows me lightly. “So please, take as long as you’d like.”
Vic laughs, standing and offering my grandmother an arm. “Wouldn’t want you to push those hips further than you’re comfortable with,” he explains.
I let out a long breath, relieved that he’s cognizant of her albeit temporary slowness.
She waves him off as she takes his arm and they redirect for the gift shop. “Sure we would.”
Vic’s laughter rings out around us, and while I’m happy she’s rediscovering an old connection, I do my best to push that hip comment out of my mind.
Eve and I watch them until they enter the gift shop, then Eve turns to me, crinkling her nose. “You look so conflicted and it’s absolutely wonderful.” She takes off in the opposite direction, gesturing for me to follow her. “Come on, I can make us some tea at the house and we can sit on the porch.”
20
EVE
With two fresh mugs of tea in our hands—lavender for me, fresh from Lavender Springs, and simple lemon for Ryder—we take a seat on my porch swing. We’re removed from the hustle and bustle here, but we still have a clear view of everyone meandering the farm. And weshouldbe able to see when Vic and Nora are done, assuming they don’t sneak out the back door.
As much as this burgeoning thing with Ryder scares me and makes me want to run for the sunflowers, I’m not one to stand in the way of a love story. Especially one forty-some years in the making.
“You’re far away,” he comments, pushing the swing lightly now that we’ve both settled.
I roll my eyes, inching closer because I really didn’tintendto sit on the opposite side of the swing. It just kind of happened that way.
He snickers as I pull my feet up next to me. “I meant in your head.” He gives me a quick grin. “But you’re welcome to move closer if you’d like.”
I stay put, opting to shoot hima dirty look. “I was just thinking about how much more I like your grandmother than you.”
He shrugs. “Wouldn’t expect any less. She’s a lot more fun than me.”
I grab my tea and lean against the armrest, using the mug to warm my hands as I pull my feet up onto the chair. Exactly the same way I spend my Saturday mornings during the off season. Wrapped up in a warm blanket with a good book, enjoying the peace and quiet of the empty land.
“Why?”
He raises his eyebrows. “Why what?”
“If you really believe that, why?”
He leans back against the bench, his gaze traveling over the ground laid out in front of us—the edge of the barn barely visible in the distance, the stream that winds its way lazily across the property. He runs a hand through his hair, letting out a long breath as he contemplates.
“Honestly? Sometimes I worry that taking over my father’s business is slowly turning me into him. That with every year that passes, I become more and more of a soulless bastard and Gam is the only thing keeping me in check.”
“Is she?”
He shrugs noncommittally. “It’s not like she does it on purpose. She just… calls me home every once in a while, you know? Whether she’s physically dragging me here and reminding me of where I came from or if it’s just a call to see how I’m doing. Or the catalyst for a project that just seems to get more and more unwieldy with every left turn it takes.” He gives me a quick smile like this is an inside joke just between us. “It’s easy to get lost in the day-to-day when I’m just focused on work.”
