“What?” she shouts, appearing from the sunflowers a moment later, her hair plastered to her face just like Eve’s and her clothes soaked through.
“Go home! We’re calling it! The roads are getting too dangerous. Do you need a ride home?”
She shakes her head. “I’ve got the Jeep. You sure you don’t want more help? The Jeep can take a little flooding.”
I swear Eve’s neck snaps with how quickly she turns on her best friend.
“You are not putting your life at risk for the sake of selling some sunflowers. Go home now or I’ll physically remove you.”
Izzy rolls her eyes. “Dramatic, much?” She pulls Eve in for a quick hug and gives her a kiss on the head. “You’re going to head inside, right? I’m not worried about driving through a little water, but Iamworried about you going hypothermic.”
Eve brushes her off. “I’m fine. Text me when you’re home, okay?”
Izzy nods, then turns to me. “You make sure she stops, okay?”
I nod, having already accepted this will be my duty for the day.
She grabs Eve’s hand. “Take care of yourself.”
“I will, Izzy. Don’t worry about me.”
And with that, Izzy darts along the dirt road to her Jeep, parked right in front of the bungalow like that’s her reserved parking spot as the wind pushes her to either side.
Eve deposits the flowers she was holding into the bucket, then turns back to the field.
“Eve,” I say, grabbing her arm to stop her. She swipes at her nose again, and I notice just how pink her face is gone, the mud coating her forehead and tangled in her hair. “Maybe it’s time to head inside.”
And then a truck bounces entirely too fast along the dirt road, coming to a screeching stop just as Izzy’s Jeep passes in the opposite direction.
“Eve! I definitely could have made it! I just wanted you to call the vendor to tell them we’d belate—I wouldn’t have called if I had known you were going to threaten to fire me!” Abby shouts over the whistling wind, dropping down from the driver’s side and stalking toward us.
“You arestupidif you are trying to drive through a flood on these roads! It’ll wash you out to the river and kill you, Abby!” she spits, brushing her hood out of her face when the wind throws it around. “I don’t care about the truck, but you realize I can’t send you out if you’re proving to me your judgment is shit, right?”
Abby rears back, apparently not expecting this level of vitriol from Eve.
I didn’t either, to be fair.
“Harsh, Eve. I’m trying tohelpyou!”
Eve shrugs. “I love you, Abby. You’re my favorite employee for any number of reasons. But you’re doing it wrong if you’re going to take risks like that and I’m mad at you for even considering it!”
“I wasn’t going to drivethroughthe flood, I was going to drivearoundit!”
“Go home, Abby!” Eve yells, her fists bunching—as much as they can—and then slightly softer, continues, “Do you need a ride? Ryder can take you in my car if you do.”
Abby shakes her head, rolling her eyes as she turns toward the parking lot. “No, I have my brother’s truck. I’ll be fine,” she mumbles.
Eve grimaces. “Fuck,” she mutters. “I’m sorry, Abby!”
Abby only waves at her over her shoulder, stomping her way along the dirt road.
Eve’s shoulders slump as she runs her hands over her face. “It’s okay,” she says, her voice low. “It’s okay. We’ll be okay.”
“Eve,” I say, reaching out for her hand. Her eyes jump to mine, her brow furrowed as the wind pushes her jacket around. “Let’s go inside.”
She shakes her head. “No, I should get the flowers from the truck inside so I can dry them. And there are a bunch of seeds I can still collect.”
I keep hold of her hand even as she turns back to the field, her eyes searching, searching, searching for the next sunflower. “I can’t stop until?—”
