“Definitely not. This relationship is new, and I’m not gonna do anything but stand at her side and agree.”
He smirks and leaves. Thea is still sitting there, tapping her nails against her thigh.
“You know, Miles, I’ve never seen you date anyone.”
“Never really had the time.” I open the email from Emmett Butterfield, my old college advisor.
“Oh, please. You’d make time if you wanted to,” Thea says, calling my bluff.
“My last girlfriend left me for my cousin,” I tell her dryly.
“What?” Thea actually looks shocked.
I glance at her before I get distracted by the email. “Yeah, both of them are real winners. I guess it’s safe to say I don’t really trust my own judgement on relationships anymore. Besides, between working here and working with my parents’ business, when would I have time to take someone on a date?”
“Well, it would be a lot easier if you lived with them,” she says in a singsong voice as she walks out of the office.
I never took Thea as a matchmaker. In fact, she isn’t a fan of people in general. But the first time Thea met Lucy, when Willa was newly working here, she acted like they’d been long-lost sisters. I’d never seen her giddy before. But Lucy had her giggling. Something I hadn’t known Thea was physically capable of.
This morning has turned out to be interesting—and maybe not in a good way.
I turn my focus back to the email and read what Emmett sent.
He had a huge impact on my life, helping me get through college and graduate school with multiple job offers. He’s recommended business tactics, books, conferences, et cetera ever since I graduated. He’s always pushing me to improve in the area of running businesses, and he loves hearing updates.
My old mentor is proud of the success I have…but I can’t help but think that his approval is starting to feel like a weighted vest.
I’m not sure I have the capacity to be as cutthroat as he wants me to be.
Thea pops back in to tell me about an issue with the county inspector at the Legacy building we’re working on, and then I’m out of the office.
Hallelujah. Sometimes, it feels like the walls of my office are trying to suffocate me.
I breathe in the brisk morning air as I walk to my FJ Cruiser. I’m ready to get back in the hills. It’s time for some hiking and camping.
Unfortunately, I’ve backed myself into a busy work schedule.
Dad calls me at lunchtime. “Are you busy?”
“No, just eating lunch,” I tell him around a mouthful of Italian sandwich.
I hunch over my desk, filling out a stack of forms I’m going to have to take to the county and try to get approved as permits to do more renovations on the Legacy building.
Oregon is notoriously difficult to get permits in. I remember hearing my parents always complaining about it as a kid…and now, I’m following in their footsteps—complaining heartily about the legal red tape.
It’s good to keep tradition alive.
“I sent you an email with a list of products I’m thinking about doing some testing on to see if it’s something we should carry in the store. I was just curious if you would mind giving me your input.”
Dad’s voice brings me back into focus.
My dad and mom started a small outdoor gear store in the tiny half-car garage of their first home. Since then, they’ve become camping vloggers, bloggers, and TikTokers, and are running an awesome outdoor gear store that involves all three of their kids.
It feels like cheating that my mom and dad worked so hard to get to this point, and I get to just step in and be a part of the business they’ve created.
But if I’m honest with myself…it’s my favorite thing I do.
My phone chimes, and it reminds me that I haven’t checked texts all day. I’ll have to remember to read them later.
