I can’t help my smile. “Good job, Ryder.”
He grins.
“Once everyone has taken their pick, we transition to blooming sunflowers. I’ll pick and dry the leaves and store them over winter, so they do have to be in reasonable condition to start with. We’re going to have to leave sunflowers behind, so only look for the best of the best once we get to those.”
He squeezes his shears together quickly in confirmation. “Got it, boss.” He nods toward the sunflower field where Vic disappeared. “I’m going to go play in the flowers.”
Before he wanders off, I spot the mesh bags we use to harvest stuffed into the bottom of one of the buckets. “Oh wait!”
I grab one for him and push it into his hands. “You’ll be able to carry a lot more with this. There’s a small bag in there too that you can use for sunflower seeds if the heads don’t look great but the seeds are easy to brush. Just don’t spend much time doing that—I always get stuck trying to get every last seed out of one flower when I have thousands around me.”
“Gotcha. Can’t wait to get to work.” He throws the handle over one arm and pulls the bag away from his bodyto see the size and then pulls out the smaller seed bag. “Anything else?”
I shake my head. “Just… thank you.”
His smile is so genuine that I want to melt on the spot.
“Of course.”
By the endof the day, the buckets have been filled, emptied, washed, and filled again dozens of times. The girls have come and taken their pick of sunflowers, and a number of cars have stopped to pick up a bouquet before the storm. We sent out deliveries to a few local-ish flower shops as well, now that we’ve amassed a pile of chopped sunflowers so large it’s hard to maneuver between the sunflower field and my house.
But we haven’t even hit half of the sunflower field. The wildflowers and sunflower look-alikes will die off and grow back next year, so I’m not too worried about them. But I hate leaving product on the table just for the hurricane to wipe it all out.
I send everyone home when night falls and the temperature drops. The rain has grown heavier over the day, and although the wind hasn’t reached concerning levels yet, I know we’re operating on borrowed time. Vic looks exhausted but takes a bouquet home with him—one that I hope is for Nora—and I get a variety of goodbyes as the farm slowly clears out.
And then it’s just Ryder and me, stomping through fields that are growing soggier and soggier by the minute.
“Why don’t you head home? You’ve been here all day, and I haven’t seen you eat or drink much.”
He snorts, chopping another sunflower and expertly positioning it in his bag. He stops after a few paces to quickly swipe some seeds from a somewhat sad-looking sunflower.
“I had two sandwiches, half a pizza and enough sunflower seeds that I wouldn’t be surprised if they started sprouting from my ears.”
“You ate them straight from the sunflowers?”
He shrugs. “Sorry, hope that doesn’t get me in trouble.”
I shake my head. “We won’t be able to get to them all anyway. It’s just… veryfarmerof you. They’re tough before they’re roasted.”
He nods. “Yeah, my mouth hurts a little.”
I resist the urge to offer to kiss it better.
“Well, thank you for helping today. I really, really appreciate it.”
“Of course. I’m here for you, Evie.”
And something about those words hits me right where I don’t want to feel them. My chest tightens, and I feel that now-familiar urge to press myself against him like I can melt right into his arms.
“You should head home. Rest. It’s been a long day.”
“Areyougoing to rest?” he asks, as he chops another sunflower and arranges it in his bag.
“I’ll be out here for a while yet. I’d love to have everything ready to load up first thing tomorrow so the rest of the day can be spent on seeds and dried leaves.” I glance at the sky—as if I can see anything other than dark gray—and turn back to him, swiping a number of seeds into my own bag. “I’m a little worried about what tomorrow is going to look like once the winds pick up.”
He’s quiet for a moment. “I’m not done until you’re done.”
“You want to be out here all night in the rain and cold?”
