Claudia lets out a pleased little laugh. “Well, this just keeps getting better!”
Right…
“You should have everything in your inbox now,” she adds. “And I’ll be speaking with Scott this afternoon. I’m sure he’ll be thrilled to hear you’re his new Agricultural Operations Support Specialist.”
I let out a breath that could almost be mistaken for a laugh. Scott’s a great guy, and I know for a fact I will enjoy working with him and his farm.
I’m just not so sure about his son.
“That’s great, Claudia. Thank you.”
“Have a safe trip home, and we’ll chat again soon,” she says cheerily. “Let me know if you have any questions at all.”
“I will. Thanks again,” I say. “Talk soon.”
A deep sigh escapes me the second the call ends, and I gaze out the window, staring at nothing in particular.
What the fuck…
I turn the phone in my hand, then glance down at it, unease rustling under the surface as the reality of this situation sets in. What the fuck am I supposed to do now?
I haven’t talked to Silas in years. Usually, when I’m home visiting, our paths don’t cross at all. And if they do, it’s just us driving past each other on the road with a brief lift of the hand that barely qualifies as a wave.
I hesitate for a moment before I open my contacts and tap his name to bring up our messages. But when the screen loads, and it’s completely blank, my heart sinks and hurt settles right in the middle of my chest. There’s nothing here. No record of the years we spent talking about everything and nothing. Ourlast exchange, just after my graduation three years ago, has disappeared somewhere between new phones, leaving behind a blank space where so much history used to live.
I stare at his name at the top of the screen, and a deep sadness spreads through me, magnifying the hurt as I think back to that day on the beach, and how everything came to an explosive end under words neither of us knew how to take back. The anger I felt then is still here, but it’s different now. Now the anger is not only towards him, but towards myself, and the way we both handled something we didn’t have the tools to protect.
And we don’t need to talk for me to know Silas is still pissed. Because he was my best friend, and I knew everything about him. We ended with anger, confusion, and hurt, and I still carry some of that. So knowing what I know about Silas, I bet he feels it a lot deeper than I do.
With a sigh, I lock my phone and stick it in my pocket, cutting myself off before I spiral any more.
I’m in this now, and the only thing I can do is wait to see what happens. Scott doesn’t know yet that I’m their new hire, so I’m not going to break the news to Silas before his dad even knows. I’ll just wait to hear from Scott and treat this like any other job.
“This is just a job…” I mutter. “I’m going to do ajob. That’s it.”
I look down at Winston stretched out at my feet, watching me as if those words are the least convincing thing I’ve ever said.
“Well, bud,” I say. “Let’s go home.”
SEVENTEEN
“Hey, kid.”
I look up as I step into the garage to see Peter and Rob hunched over one of the farm trucks with the hood popped.
“Hey.” I nod towards the truck as I set my tools down on a workbench. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” Peter says, waving his hand at it dismissively. “Just changing out the air filter and doing an oil change. Get the fan fixed in the shed?”
I nod, walking over to them. “Just a fuse.”
Rob nods. “Good.” Then he jerks his chin at the truck, the corner of his mouth lifting into a sly smirk. “Now you can finish this.”
I huff and shove my hands in my pockets. “I did my work for the day. Not my fault you’re slow.”
Peter barks out a laugh and jerks his thumb at me as he turns to Rob. “Teach him a thing or two, and now he’s a damn expert.”
I smile as they both laugh, and Rob claps me on the back.
