Total pages in book: 44
Estimated words: 42171 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 211(@200wpm)___ 169(@250wpm)___ 141(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 42171 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 211(@200wpm)___ 169(@250wpm)___ 141(@300wpm)
I tilt my head to look at her. “You know you can take a lunch break, right? Everyone does.”
She unwraps the bar and takes a bite. After chewing and swallowing, she covers her mouth when she talks. “I know, but since I ate a big breakfast, I wouldn’t be able to eat more than a protein bar anyway. This is plenty. But you’re a big guy. You should probably get something to eat. We don’t want you fainting in the Georgia heat.”
I look up at the sky and back at her. “It’s March. It’s not hot.”
She laughs. “Maybe to you. For someone from the North, it’s hot.”
Shit. I didn’t think of that. “Do you have water?”
She points to a sports bottle over on the cart. “Yep.”
I hold my hand out. “Yeah, I’ll take the bar.”
She hands it to me, and I make sure not to let our hands touch. I know I’m tempting fate standing close to her; I don’t need to add to it by touching her too.
As we’re eating the protein bars, she looks at me skeptically. “Can I ask you a question?”
“Uh, sure, what’s up?”
I swear if she asks me to take her right here, right now, I won't be able to tell her no. I won’t want to.
“Well, when I was touring yesterday with Beau, I saw some land on the backside of the property… across the river.”
I nod, unable to stop the way I tense up. That property brings up a lot of memories that I try not to think about.
She notices it because she holds a hand up. “You don’t have to tell me. I was just curious.”
I clear my throat. “Yeah, it’s our land. Well, sort of. It was never able to be cultivated for the trees, and before our parents’ death, they were trying to donate it to the town to use as a park.” I take a deep breath. “But it’s been held up by developers, and so it’s just been sitting there.”
She lowers her eyes to the ground and then back to me. Her eyes search mine and have so much care in them, I swear I can feel it. “I’m sorry about your parents. I read about them when I was researching the Wild Peach. They seem like they were wonderful people.”
“Yeah, they were the best. We didn’t travel and have all the new things growing up, but we never went a day without knowing we were loved.”
She blinks and hesitates. “When did they…?”
Her voice trails off, and I tell her quietly. “They were killed in a car accident 20 years ago.”
She shakes her head side to side. “I’m so sorry, Asher.”
“Thank you. I still miss them, but yeah, the park has sat there for—”
She interrupts me and exclaims. “For twenty years? It’s been empty for twenty years?”
I nod. “Yep. Crazy, right? We tried, but there’s nothing we can do but wait. In the meantime, we do the upkeep on the property. Mom and Dad would want us to do that.”
She starts to walk toward me, and I brace myself. I’m sure she’s coming to hug me, and when she gets a foot away, my phone rings and effectively stops her. I pull it from my pocket. “I gotta take this.”
She nods. “Sure.”
I walk away from where she’s standing and answer the phone.
It’s Bruce, one of our neighbors, asking if he can borrow one of our tractors. He’s going on about all the service and maintenance he’s had to do on his, and while he talks, I’m looking around the orchard. A few of the guys are working a few rows over, but they keep looking toward Madelyn. It’s obvious they’re working their way closer to her.
Madelyn is clueless and is leaning on the tree reaching for a limb to prune. She’s focused on what she’s doing, and I’m focused on the one man that is staring at her as if he has a right to.
“Asher. Did you hear me?”
I completely forgot I was on the phone. “Yeah, Bruce. You can use the tractor, come get it. I gotta go.”
I hang up the phone and stuff it into my pocket. I stomp over to where the men are working and block their view of Madelyn. “Rick, you need me to find you somewhere else to work?”
He shakes his head. “No sir. I was just…”
I lean in. “She is an employee of the Wild Peach. She deserves your respect, and I need you to keep your eyes on the trees and the peaches… that’s all. Have you got that?”
The other men have moved away, acting as if they have no idea what’s going on here. But Rick is nodding his head. “Yes, sir. I got it.”
I tell him, “Get to work.”
I take two steps away before stopping. “Pass it on, too, Rick. If people like working here, they’ll keep their eyes and hands off of her.”