Adrianne nods. “I appreciate that, and that might be what she thinks. We should all respect that. And I very much appreciate thatyouare respecting that. But I think that you should leave IES because that’s whatyouneed.” She steps closer and reaches out to put her hand on my forearm. “You need to do something for yourself, Everett. You need a chance to see what it’s like to do something that’s totally for yourself. Not because you’re trying to avoid your parents or because you’re trying to stay close to Graham.”
My chest squeezes. “Because of Graham, I’ve gotten close to all of you. I don’t want to lose that. Not working with him every day will change things.”
Adrianne gives me a soft smile. “Yes, things will change. But you’ll always have Graham, Everett. I suspect the changes that will come from severing your business partnership will be even better. You’ll see that you can have relationships, true friendships, people who love you purely just because they love you. It will have nothing to do with a work relationship. It will be just because of who you are. You and Graham will stay close. Maybe even get closer. And you and Ginny will have a relationship that is purely about the two of you, with no worries about any other complications. You’ll be able to get to know Carver and Mason and Lauren simply as Graham and Ginny’s family. You’ll have personal relationships. I really want that for you. I think this is great.”
My chest is so tight, I’m having a hard time taking a deep breath. All of that sounds so tempting. And a little scary. I’ve not done a lot of that. Or maybe any of that.
“Thank you, Adrianne,” I say, my voice a little rough.
She squeezes my arm. “Of course. And I’m so glad that I’m going to get to see you so often.”
“So often?”
“Oh yes.” She laughs. “If you think you’re going to live anywhere but Sapphire Falls, I think you need to reconsider telling my daughter you’re in love with her.”
Live in Sapphire Falls… My chest tightness is now not because of any kind of trepidation, but a mix of excitement and eagerness to see the woman I love.
“I guess that means that I can practice cookie decorating until I getreallygood at it,” I say.
She eyes myveryrealistic housefly cookie and slowly nods. “Yes, I guess it does.”
I laugh.
“And there is one business relationship I’m going to continue with your family,” I tell her.
“There is?”
“We are definitely going to talk about this mail-order option for the bakery.”
She grins. “But you’re going to be right here. You don’t need to order things by mail.”
“No, but my new company is business consulting. And it is my professional opinion that theworldneeds a chance to taste your buttercream.”
CHAPTER 18
GINNY
“This sounds amazing. We’re in.”
I look at the two pretty women across the table from me. Maggie, on the left, is the president of Athena Acres, the small farm operation in Northeast Texas where I am sitting this afternoon. Her sister Krista is the VP.
“I love everything about this,” Krista agrees.
“What do you mean by we’re in?” I ask.
The two sisters and I hit it off immediately, and the meeting has gone well. They’ve seemed interested in everything I’ve said and have asked perfect questions. But this is just a preliminary visit. No one from IAS has talked to them about the structure of the indoor farms, Graham hasn’t presented anything to them about the green-energy part of the project, and Everett hasn’t given them any numbers.
They look at one another, then back to me.
“It means we’re in,” Maggie says. “We’d like to build four buildings. I think we can get the funding in order pretty quickly.”
I stare at her. “Fourbuildings? Really?”
They’re a small-ish operation. They grow fruits and vegetables that they use to make their own line of salsas and sauces, which they sell in local grocery stores. They also supply alocal bakery chain with shops in four cities, as well as an online business.
“Yes. We want to expand. We have big plans. We need to be able to offer a greater variety of foods and a bigger volume.”
“But…” I sit forward. “Do you need to have those contracts in place first?”
