“No cookies today, sorry,” Wyatt said.
Patty smiled. “Well, you’re still my sweet boy and even a lack of baked goods won’t change that.”
Wyatt laughed and bit into the apple. It was sweet and crisp. “I’ll bring something tomorrow!”
“I love you, starshine!” she said happily, ringing the customers up.
The soles of Wyatt’s shoes crunched on the dirt as he headed down the road to the greenhouses and ate his apple. He checked in with Jimmy first—the reason for his visit—to make sure that Jenna had liked the cupcakes. Jimmy assured him that she did, and that she’d loved the palette of pastel colors he’d done the frosting in, and Wyatt was satisfied they were both pleased with what they’d be getting and that he knew exactly what he was doing.
He asked Jimmy if he knew where Justin was.
The second greenhouse was large, with cathedral-like glass walls and ceiling panes, and was warm and damp. A fine mist of water drifted down from the hoses suspended from the ceilings. Underneath them, spinach, peppers, chard, and lettuce burst out of their hydroponic planters in a riot of life and color.
He saw Justin working his way down a row, inspecting the leaves of the chard for bugs or imperfections. Justin didn’t use pesticides, so he inspected everything daily. Bug infestations, although rare, had to be caught very early.
Wyatt peered down the long row. At the far end of the greenhouse, he saw Izzy, andholyshit. Izzy was shirtless. His thin jeans were hanging off his hips, and his skin gleamed damply under the mist as he hefted a box onto his shoulder, muscles shifting and arms cording. Wyatt was too far away to make out his tattoos, but he saw they climbed up his torso. Izzy was with Sam, and whatever Sam said caused Izzy to laugh. He threw his head back, his throat gleaming, and Wyatt felt a pulse of want shoot through him that left him weak-kneed.
He tore his gaze away from Izzy and he approached Justin on shaky legs
“Hey,” Justin said when he looked up and saw Wyatt. “What’s up?”
“Just checking in with Jimmy about the cakes,” Wyatt said, hoping his voice was steadier than the rest of him felt. “I figured I’d visit you while I was here.”
“I was just on my way to lunch,” Justin said. “Want to join me?”
Wyatt hesitated. He didn’t really want to go to the break room right now. It was always crowded and noisy around lunch time.
Justin’s forehead creased with concern. “What’s going on, Wy?”
“Can I ask you something?” Wyatt asked, his heart thumping wildly. He glanced past Justin down the row, but Izzy had vanished somewhere behind a forest of chard growing on a large vertical rack, their silver-green leaves glistening in the damp.
“Of course.”
“When…when you met Dad first, how did you know it was going to last?”
“What’s brought this on?” Justin asked.
Wyatt shrugged and couldn’t meet his gaze.
Justin drew a deep breath and exhaled. “No, I didn’t know it was going to last, and I was terrified.”
“You were?” Wyatt’s chest clenched. “I never heard you say that before.”
“I fell for Del hard and fast,” Justin said. “It was pretty much love at first sight, and that’s the version we tell everyone. And it’s the truth, but there’s more to it than that. Because yeah, I was terrified at the same time, and so was he. Because he fed us, and you kids loved him, and…You don’t remember much about Oregon, do you?”
Wyatt shook his head
Justin smiled, but it was a bitter smile. “It was…Jesus, I had no idea what the hell I was doing, or why the hell I’d ever thought I could do it. If Del hadn’t been there, I don’t know what would have happened. And that’s what scared me the most.” He swallowed. “How much we relied on him. I thought if I screwed up it wouldn’t just be me or Del I’d be hurting, it’d be you kids too. So yeah, I knew from the start that I loved him, but there was so much that could have gone wrong.”
“But it didn’t,” Wyatt said.
“It didn’t,” Justin said. “Doesn’t mean it still wasn’t scary.” He held Wyatt’s gaze, assessing him carefully. “Anything you want to talk about, Wy?”
Wyatt shook his head, his face burning.
Justin put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed. “I’m here, when you do. Me and Del both are. You know that, right?”
“I know.”
