I stare at the goat. The goat stares back. “Why…?” I manage.
“Every farm needs a goat,” Eliza says, like this is obvious.
“I don’t have a—” I stop. Take a breath. “How are you all here?”
“Group chat,” Eden says cheerfully. “Esther did the logistics. I handled snacks.” She holds up a cooler. “I brought honey and cookies and that fermented soda you like from the place near the bar.”
“We wanted to see what you’ve been building,” Esther adds, her voice softer now. “And meet the yeti. Where is he?”
The question lands like a punch to the chest. “He’s…” My voice cracks. I try again. “He had to go to New York. For work.”
All four sisters exchange glances. “This morning?” Eden repeats. “Like, just now?”
“This morning.”
“And you’re okay?”
I open my mouth to say, “Yes, I’m fine, everything is fine.” I’m a functional adult who can handle her sort-of-boyfriend leaving for a work emergency the morning after they first slept together and had a weird disagreement.
Instead, I burst into tears. Within seconds, I’m surrounded. Eden has her arms around me. Esther is rubbing my back. Eila is making soothing sounds. Eliza is trying to keep Pepper the goat from eating my shirt.
“It’s okay,” Eden murmurs. “Tell us everything.”
“I’m being ridiculous,” I manage between sobs. “It’s just a work trip. He’s coming back. I shouldn’t be this upset.”
“Could you maybe be overwhelmed with all the changes?” Esther can always cut to the root of the problem. She’s had too much training as a bartender.
“I guess so.” I try not to snot on her shirt.
Esther’s voice shifts into her practical mode. “You left home and met a guy and inherited all this. That’s allowed to be a lot. And you’re still coping with your bio dad dying. You’re not being ridiculous.”
“I just…” I pull back, wiping my face with my sleeve. “I decided to stay. To really commit to this place. And part of that was him, you know? Now I feel dumb involving some guy I just met in my life changes, and what if he doesn’t come back because he needs to stay in the city?”
“Then you’ll be sad,” Eden says gently. “And then you’ll keep building your life here, anyway. You want this, right? The trees? The B&B?”
“I do.”
“Then Asher is a bonus, not the foundation.” She squeezes my shoulders. “You’re not staying for him. You’re staying for you. He’s just a really good perk.”
I let out a wet laugh. “A perk.”
“A grumpy, beardy, apparently very satisfying perk, based on your aura right now.”
“Eden!”
“What? I’m just observing. You used protection, right? Remember when I got a disease because I was too eager?”
Esther clears her throat. “Can we take this inside? I’d like to see what we’re working with before I make judgments.”
“Too late for that,” Eila mutters, and Esther shoots her a look.
We troop inside—me, four sisters, a cooler full of snacks, and Eila’s plant. Eliza situates a bleating Pepper in one of the dilapidated sheds out back. The kitchen feels smaller with all of them in it, but warmer somehow. Fuller.
“Okay,” Esther says, settling into a chair and pulling out her notepad. “Give me the tour and the overview. What’s the plan?”
I take a shaky breath and start talking. I tell them about the maple syrup stuff—the equipment that needs repair, the trees Diego says are healthy, the sugar shack that needs renovation but has good bones. I tell them about the B&B idea—converting the farmhouse into guest rooms, offering maple experiences, maybe partnering with local farms and restaurants.
I tell them about the contractor estimates that came in with a crap ton of zeroes and my offer for a construction loan that should cover most of the renovations.
