Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 97053 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 485(@200wpm)___ 388(@250wpm)___ 324(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97053 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 485(@200wpm)___ 388(@250wpm)___ 324(@300wpm)
“I agree,” I manage to eke out.
“The thing is,” Bray says. I knew there would be a catch. Now Bray’s going to tell me all the reasons why any kind of change will be impossible. “It’s going to take a lot of work. And focus. Dad is…”
“Not getting any younger,” I say. It’s all we need to say.
“Right, and we’d need to travel to visit with other farms. Plus potentially oversee a freezing operation here. Maybe.”
“We could give Marnie more responsibility. If she wants it.”
Bray nods. “Yeah, that’s what I was thinking. She’s capable. Worked this farm longer than me. I think she could take over some stuff, which would free me up a bit. And you could get someone in to help you with the admin. Most of what you do is way above your paygrade.”
I narrow my eyes, waiting for Bray to tell me he’s joking, but he doesn’t. I’m not used to compliments from my brother. “You think we can afford to get someone in?”
“I think we can’t afford not to if we want to level up.” He looks me dead in the eye. “But is that what you want? Do you want to be supervising a freezing operation? Putting it all in place, while I travel to other farms to see if we can invest in them and make them part of the Wilde’s Farm brand?”
“I think it’s a great idea,” I say, not able to get my words out fast enough. He doesn’t need to doubt me.
“But really?” he asks. “Jack is based in New York. I’ve been trying to come up with a solution to losing you to the Big Apple. It’s easier now, when everything is how it’s been for years. If we’re going to try something new, I have to know you’re in. That we’re in this together.”
“New York?” I let out a half laugh. “I’ve never left Colorado.” Bray’s smart. I’ve always known that about him. But I’ve never given him credit for how astute he is. He takes in a lot that he never talks about. I’ve been a fool to underestimate him. “I’m in,” I look him in the eye. “I mean it. I’m not going anywhere.”
Yeah, Jack is the best thing that’s happened to me in a long time, but this last weekend in New York has brought into sharp focus how we’re from two completely different worlds. The space that Jack and I occupy is being squeezed. There’s no way we can survive in the long run. What can survive, what has to survive, is our family and Wilde’s Farm.
“But just because I’m on board doesn’t mean everything’s good. In case you hadn’t noticed, Dad still owns this farm. And he’s not interested in a freezing operation.”
“Yeah,” Bray says. “He likes the status quo.”
“The problem is, the status quo has us on the downslide. If we keep going the way we’re going, I don’t know if Dad will have a business to retire from. Everything’s getting more difficult. And even if we do get paid by Oxburg, buying new cherry pickers isn’t going to help us with margins.”
“We should talk to him,” Bray says. “We don’t need new cherry pickers, despite what he might think.”
“You know what he’s like—stubborn as a mule.”
“We have to find a way to get through to him,” Bray says. “But in the meantime, we can start preparing—researching the fruits, finding farms that produce. Do financial stuff… whatever it is you do.”
“Right,” I say, rolling my eyes. “Financial stuff.”
Bray smiles. “I’m serious. You’re good at that side of things. Then we can go to Dad with more information. More facts. Then if we can get everything prepared before the Oxburg invoices are paid, then maybe we can change his mind before he spends all the money on new cherry pickers.”
Bray’s right. We need to plan. Prepare. Focus on the future. A future here on Wilde’s Farm.
A future without Jack.
TWENTY-SEVEN
Jack
Star Falls feels like safer ground than Manhattan. Pizza Meet Ya, even more so. New York wasn’t a complete disaster, but I hadn’t expected to feel as uncomfortable as I did. It’s not that Iris doesn’t fit in New York, but I’m not used to having her in my world there.
I thought we could recreate that first night we met, when it felt like the two of us were alone in the theater watching the ballet, or we were sharing our souls as we walked around Central Park. But it wasn’t like that. Real life came roaring toward us—first my mother and then seeing everyone at my hotel.
Iris handled everything beautifully. But I didn’t want her to handle things. I wanted to whisk her back to Star Falls, where she’d be comfortable and everyone loves her for who she is.
“You seem deep in thought,” she says, as we take our seats opposite each other at our now regular table for two at Pizza Meet Ya. The mountain stretches up behind us out the window, so high we can’t see the peak from where we’re sitting. Just trees and the sparkle of lights.