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“Hmm.”
“What? You don’t agree?”
“I can see how it’s a comfort to some. I just like being left alone. There were so many busybodies back home in Idaho, that I felt this unrelenting pressure after Gran died to see everyone, talk to everyone, ya know? Moving out here was my shot at peace.”
“Doesn’t it get lonely though?” I ask, the question a hushed whisper on the air.
“Sometimes. But after Gran’s illness, it’s nice to not be accountable to anyone, or to have anyone depend on me for anything beyond what I want.”
“It sounds like it was a hard time in your life.”
She nods and tips her head back to look at the stars again. “The hardest. I wasn’t mad or resentful toward Gran for getting sick. It’s not like she could help it. But the reminder that I was alone in the world messed me up for a bit before I moved.”
“You’re not alone.” The words emerge between us, and she turns to look at me. Surprise covers her face, and I don’t know if I just took a huge misstep about whatever this is, but I know that she’s not alone.
I plow forward. “You’ve got Sam, Gunnar, Pete, Carol, Jess, and Mike, right? They’re your friends. So you’re not alone.”
“Yeah. I guess not.”
It’s on the tip of my tongue to say that she’s got me too, but I know those words would send her running faster than anything else, so I keep them to myself.
A bright ball of fire streaks across the sky and she points to it. “Quick, make a wish.”
I wish for more of Chip. Anyway I can get her.
CHAPTER 6
Chip
Stars twinkle like diamonds in the sky above the back of the truck, and for once, I fully relax outside of my house, my safe space.
When Warrick asked me to dress warmly for our date, I never could have imagined that he’d bring me out to the middle of nowhere and we’d stargaze.
For a guy who’s kinda a goofball but pursued me intensely, this is a nice change.
“Have you always wanted to take over your father’s business, or did you have other plans?” I ask. After baring my soul to Warrick, I want to know more about him. Seeing as turnabout is fair play and all.
“I always planned to work with Dad, but not sure if I ever planned on taking over the nursery, at least not as soon as I did.”
“That kinda explains the state of the office.”
He groans next to me, the sound kinda hot in the quiet evening. My tummy flips when his shoulder brushes against mine.
“Yes. The office is a mess. It hasn’t been my biggest priority until now.”
“Why now?”
“It’s the first tax season without Dad here to help, and I don’t know how I’m going to handle it.”
“Ah. Now it all makes sense. You’re worried the IRS is gonna come arrest you, huh?”
He nudges me, and instead of answering, says, “Scoot over. I’m freezing out here.”
I cock an eyebrow at him, not that he can see me. “Hands stay to yourself?”
The December chill got the better of me earlier, and I crawled under the thick sleeping bags to stay warm while we looked at the sky.
“Scout’s honor.”
