Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 78576 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 393(@200wpm)___ 314(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78576 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 393(@200wpm)___ 314(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
“The family said you didn’t have to come home, Bree.”
“And you know how much that pisses me off? Acting like Brianna’s just the youngest of the bunch so we don’t really need her? I hated it.” She pounds a fist to her chest. “This is my family too, and I’m just as much a member as any of the rest of you. So yeah, if you and Brock were needed here, then so was I. That doesn’t change the fact that I hated leaving Jesse. But I’m here. You’re here. And so is Maddie. And I want to know. Do you feel something for her?”
“I don’t know.”
But the words are a lie, and my cousin wastes no time on calling me on it.
“That’s bull,” she says.
“Fine. It’s bull.” I take a deep breath and let it out. “Yes, I’m having feelings. I’ve always liked her and have been attracted to her. I wouldn’t have… You know… If I didn’t.” I shake my head. “You know how weird it is to be talking to my female cousin about this?”
She rolls her eyes. “Get over it. We’re having this talk whether it’s comfortable for you or not.”
At this point, I’m too exhausted to fight with her.
Brianna and Uncle Tal do their share of work inside to run the orchard business, but they’re also used to working the land. Used to the outdoors. Me? This isn’t what I normally do. Sure, I’m in good shape. I keep my muscles up at my home gym, run a few miles every day, but I’m not used to eight hours of hard manual labor.
“Yes,” I finally say. “I’m feeling something. After that near brush with death on the plane, I realized that I didn’t want to lose her.”
She walks up to me and pokes me sharply in my ribs. “Then don’t fuck this up, Dave. Maddie’s been through a lot. Did you know she’s decided to go back to college?”
“Yes.” The thought of her not being here sends waves of sadness through me. Of course, she’ll only be in Grand Junction. That’s not much farther than the trip between our houses. “If she wants to go back to school, of course I support her. This way she’ll be able to finish up her last semester.”
“Yeah, I think it’s a good thing. Angie, Sage, and Gina are home right now, but they’ll be going back to school too. Not tomorrow with Maddie, but probably later in the week. Maybe next week.”
“Our family business screwed everything up,” I say. “But even if it didn’t, we’d all be home to support Uncle Joe.”
Brianna nods. “I hate that this is happening to him. He’s so strong.”
“I know.” I lean in and lower my voice. “I watched my father cry over him. I don’t think I’ve ever seen my father cry.”
“They’re very close,” Brianna agrees. “And I’m sure there are things we don’t even know.”
“God, can there be anything else we don’t know?”
She bites her lip. “I’m afraid there might be. Things seem to crawl out of the woodwork in our family. But all we can do right now is hope and pray that Uncle Joe can get through this.”
“One percent chance, Bree.”
She sighs. “I know. But at least it’s a chance.”
I nod and grab my phone, ready to call Maddie.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Maddie
My heart jumps when I see Dave’s phone call.
Damn it. Why do I have to be so happy to see that it’s him? I can’t believe he blew me off today.
I’m trying to be understanding. His family is going through turmoil, and that’s what I should be focused on. I should do my best to sympathize with what he’s going through.
Still, though, an explanation isn’t an excuse, and the fact remains that he didn’t come through on our lunch plans.
“Hi,” I say into the phone.
“Hey, Maddie.”
“What do you want, Dave?”
“I’m so sorry…”
“About what?” I ask.
I want to hear him say it. See if he’s actually sorry.
“You know what. We were supposed to have lunch, and I forgot.”
I pause a moment, trying to formulate a smart-ass comment, but I come up with nothing.
Eventually, I simply say, “Oh.”
“I don’t really have an excuse, except that I was working with Brianna in the orchards. I felt like I needed a day in the outdoors, you know? A day of hard manual labor. The kind I haven’t had since I was a kid. I just sort of fell into it, I guess. I completely lost track of time, and it wasn’t until the sun was setting that I even realized how long we’d been at it.”
“I see.”
“Do you? I can hear from your tone that you’re not pleased, and I can’t blame you.”
I sigh. “Dave, what’s going on with your family is just shitty. I wish I could do something about it. I truly do. I hate that you’re hurting. I hate that Brianna’s hurting. I hate that my sisters and Jesse are hurting because their fiancés are hurting. It all just sucks, Dave, and I’m so sorry. Especially about Joe.”