A chorus of “hell yes, please” echoes around, earning a deep chuckle from Colby. We all plod along behind Colby and Eli. Every now and then Eli turns his face up to grin at Colby and it’s one of the sweetest things I’ve ever witnessed. I wonder if that’s how I look at Beau. I bet it is.
The farm looks so different from the last few times I’ve been here. The pumpkin patch has triple the number of pumpkins as normal. Food trucks are lined up along the pathway leading from the parking lot. Overall, it’s definitely way busier than a weekday. Which sounds about right considering everything Beau has told me to expect.
The coffee cart Colby leads us to is right beside Joey’s food truck. Joey sticks his head out of the window to wave over at us with a cheery grin.
“I’d jump out and say hello, but it’s going to be a crazy day. Want some muffins?”
Jackson’s eyes go big. “What kind of muffins?”
“Pumpkin, blueberry, banana, chocolate banana…” Joey trails off as Jackson wanders over to the window. “Whatdya want, boss?”
“One of each.”
Joey blinks down at Jackson. “For each of you?”
Jackson blinks back. “No. For me.”
Joey is quiet for a beat, then helplessly shrugs his shoulders. “You got it.”
A few seconds later Joey appears with a brown bag. “This has two of each flavor so the other guys can have some too. Can you share, boss?”
“Give me that bag,” Benji says loudly, ripping the bag from Jackson’s hands. He blinks sweetly up at Joey. “Thank you.”
Joey just grins down at the two of them, like he’s dealing with children. “No problem. Back to work. See you later.”
Benji takes a muffin for himself, me, and Eli out of the bag, then hands the still full bag back to Jackson. A struggle ensues for a moment, but ultimately Jackson ends up with the bag, and a half-eaten pumpkin muffin before I can even blink. Jesus. They’re kids. But I love them so much.
“Coffee orders, everyone?” Colby asks, just shy of a yell.
We all proceed to order our coffee. As we wait, we all look around the farm. The place is filling up now that the festival is officially open. My eyes instinctively search for Beau, but he’s nowhere to be found. Colby chuckles beside me.
“He’s not out here. He’s in the sunflower fields making sure we have enough for all the ticketed people today. Worried we’ll get picked out.”
“Ah,” I say stupidly.
“He’ll come find you when he’s done.”
“He told you that?”
Colby shoots me a warm grin. “I just know my cousin. He’ll find you.”
Well, I can’t argue with that. Beau will find me, wherever I am. It’s a truth I know at the very core of me. Colby gives Eli a sweet kiss, a slap on the ass, then wanders off to help his family with the festival.
“How do I get one of these men?” Benji whines around a mouthful of muffin.
“You are always talking with your mouth full,” Jackson points out, his nose wrinkled in distaste.
“Fuck off.”
“Weak comeback.”
“I’ll show you a comeback.” Benji aims a kick at his leg, but Jackson easily sidesteps it.
“Oh! It’s Harper!” Eli says, sounding oddly relieved. Jackson and Benji can be so much together. We all love each other, but Jackson and Benji just rub each other the wrong way sometimes. Usually ending up arguing. I know for a fact one time they thought it was sexual tension, tried to fuck, and that did not go well. So, they’re just friends that argue over every little thing. We’ve all accepted it.
Harper greets us with a shy wave. His service dog blinks at his feet, a vest on to designate she’s working. She’s a gorgeous golden retriever, with big brown eyes focused only on Harper.
Jackson pushes past me to stand beside Harper. “Want a muffin? I have one left.”
