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It was coming together beautifully.
They had fresh-cut flowers and beautiful-looking produce. They had hazelnuts and almonds and walnuts, all taken from the farm.
They had meat from the Kings and the Garretts. But they had taken chicken and lamb from some other places that were local, and pork, as well.
And there was a little display in the corner of processed foods, John’s stock, and it aesthetically did not go with the store at all, but if anybody passed through and they wanted a bag of chips, they could buy that, and the money would go back to John.
The care and thoughtfulness that the sisters had taken to include the community really was something.
He was...proud of Quinn.
He couldn’t deny that.
The grand opening was coming up quick, and more often than not, Quinn slept at his place.
That was strange, too.
He had been domestic all of his life, but not with a woman. And somehow, it felt different. Different from the life he had been shoved into at eighteen. A life he hadn’t been certain he had the ability to keep going.
Yes, it felt pretty damn different.
Being with Quinn in the house that he had built was something entirely different from being with his siblings in a house that his parents had built and decorated and put together.
The new house, which, of course, they’d been in now for a few years, was something that he and his siblings had designed together, but mainly, it had been something that he wanted, because he’d known that he would be the one that stayed.
It felt...chosen. This life. Waking up with Quinn every morning and going to bed with her every night.
Well, almost every night.
She’d worked late at the farm store last night and hadn’t come to his place. She did remind him sometimes that she had to go and get new clothes, even though he had insisted she did not need to wear clothes when she was at his house.
The house felt empty now, and not in a good way.
What a strange thing. He had been looking forward to the emptiness. It was something he’d felt like he’d earned, and yet now he didn’t enjoy it all that much. Because not only did it mean his siblings were gone, but that Quinn was, as well.
He picked up the phone and called Damien without thinking, as he sat there at the kitchen table all by himself with his cup of coffee.
“Hey,” he said.
“Hey, yourself.”
“Is Jessie there?”
“Yeah.”
“Do you think either of you would like to come down here for the grand opening of the Sullivan sisters’ farm store?”
“What?” Damien asked.
“The Sullivan sisters are opening up a farm store...”
“I got that, but are you there to spray-paint it with invectives? Because you aren’t really a huge fan of the Sullivan family.”
And this was the problem with not being the kind of guy who shared what was going on in his life. His best friend was confused, and rightfully so.
“Well, it’s just that she’s started up this farm store and I agreed to let them use my land to take the cars through, and I dug a road and...” He realized there was still no context, and his explanation didn’t make any sense.
“Yeah, I’m confused,” said Damien. “Who is she? And why does she matter?”
