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I wasn’t mad at her. My feelings were mine alone, and it wasn’t her fault that I was having trouble controlling them. To cope with my torturous, frustrated emotions, I threw myself even deeper into work, micromanaging every aspect of the July U-pick berry season until I thought Cisco was going to lose his mind.
As if merely thinking of her conjured her into existence, a new text from Sylvie lit up my screen.
Daryl Hall
Do you think drinking on the job is a fireable offense?
I would think so.
Damn.
Rough day?
Kind of. Just a thousand tiny annoyances, I guess.
Want to talk about it?
Not really. I’d rather hear about your day. What’s going on around the farm?
It had become easy to shoulder the weight of being the sole decision-maker at Sullivan Farms. But there was something about Sylvie that changed me. Iwantedto let her in. My fingers twitched with hesitation, but I finally decided to share a piece of myself with her I had been holding back.
Things should be slowing down in the next few weeks, but I also got word that a new family will be working with us.
Daryl Hall
I’m not really sure how all of that works. Is that a good thing?
I considered.
I think so. It’s good for them. Good for the kids. I should be able to help them get enrolled and started in a few of the Head Start classes before the school year officially begins.
Sounds like you like having them around. Who knew that grouchy old Duke Sullivan was really a softie? Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me.
I smiled down at my phone, something I caught myself doing more and more and usually only when I was texting her or thinking about her, or getting a glimpse of her walking down the street.
I scrubbed a hand over my face.Jesus. Wyatt was right. I am so fucked.
I’m not a softie. I just think some of our kids are pretty cute.
Our kids?
Shit.
I mean the kids that live here on the farm. Not like *our* kids.
Immediately an image of a gaggle of children with my mother’s smile and Sylvie’s honey-flecked eyes and blonde hair flooded my brain. Maybe they’d love life like my brother Lee or be determined and headstrong like Kate, or have natural leadership ability like Wyatt. Maybe one would even want to follow in my footsteps one day, and I could teach our son or daughter all about what it means to be a responsible farmer and to take care of the people who worked for you.
The sound of an incoming text pulled me from my irrational spiraling thoughts.
Daryl Hall
Have you ever thought about having your own kids?
I stared down at her question before typing back the most honest answer I could muster.
Kids aren’t in the cards for me.
I let out a frustrated breath. I didn’t want to think about that and put myself in a shittier mood. Texting with Sylvie always felt good. It was the best part of my day, and I didn’t want to ruin that by killing the mood and being mopey on her.
