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 nod. “I’ll grab your things so you can get settled.”
I walk out and go to grab her bags. I could easily get them on my own, but she’s following behind me, and we get it all in one trip. After setting the last bag on one of the chairs, I walk back to the door and don’t even look at her. “I’m going to work. I’ll see you later.”
I don’t stick around for her to say anything. I slam my way out the back door and stalk off toward the trees, determined to get my mind off Madelyn. I barely get past the gate before I start to pace. I should have looked into this further. I should have asked Chief Taylor more questions.
There’s no way this is going to work. She just got here, and already it feels like my world has turned upside down. I’ve been down this road before, and I don’t want to do it again. And even knowing that, I start dissecting the differences between Madelyn and my ex-wife, Janet. It’s crazy to even go there because most days I don’t even think about my ex, but of course today I would. On one level, the similarities are there. Beautiful, rich, happy, determined. They both thought they could make it on a peach farm. All I’m wondering is how long Madelyn will last. I let out a disgusted grunt. A week. I give her a week before she’s so fed up with all this she’ll be gone.
I pull my phone from my pocket and dial Chief Taylor’s number.
He answers on the first ring. “Hey, Asher. How’s your new hire doing? Delilah said she was starting today.”
I grit my teeth. “Yeah, she’s here.”
He pauses for a second. “Uh, well, don’t sound so happy about it.”
I snort out a frustrated laugh. “Right. You played me, Chief.”
He gasps. “Played you? What do you mean? Madelyn Weston is more than qualified to work at the Wild Peach.”
“She’s a child!” I exclaim into the phone.
“She’s twenty-eight. The same age as my Delilah. She’s not a child.”
“She’s… she’s… she’s…” I start to stutter because the thoughts in my head are going a mile a minute. But it seems I don’t have to say anything because Chief thinks he’s got it figured out.
“Smart. Beautiful. Capable.”
Fuck, everything he’s saying is right, but I refuse to agree with him. “She’s rich and drives a Bentley and is not going to fit in here. You should have given me some kind of heads-up—”
The sound of someone clearing their throat has me turning on my heel, and my mouth drops. Madelyn is standing not three feet from me, and by the look on her face, I know she’s heard it all. “Look, Chief. I gotta go.”
I hang up even though I hear Chief Taylor talking into the phone. Seeing the look on Madelyn’s face has me regretting everything I just said. “I’m sorry—” I start.
CHAPTER 5
MADELYN
I hold my hands up to stop him. “Don’t apologize.”
“But—”
I interrupt him. “You’re just saying what you feel. I shouldn’t have been eavesdropping, so I should be the one to say I’m sorry.”
He puts his hand to his chest. “Fuck, please don’t apologize to me, Madelyn. I don’t deserve it. Really, I am sorry. I shouldn’t have said—”
I cut him off. “Don’t feel bad, Asher. You’re not saying anything that I haven’t heard or felt before. I don’t fit in with what my parents expect from me. They want good things for me, but we just have different views on what that is. I don’t fit in with most people, but that’s mostly because I never knew who my real friends were. People have always judged me by my parents, and I’ve had to deal with so many fake people in my life. Honestly, this is refreshing. At least I don’t have to guess where I stand with you. You’ve made it apparent since I got here that you don’t like me, so I don’t have to wonder.”
I try to be flippant about it and act like I don’t care, but I do. What I heard him say on the phone really hurt me, even though I wish it didn’t. I shouldn’t care what this man I just met thinks about me, but for some reason, I do. I want him to like me. It doesn’t help matters that he’s just reiterating what I’ve felt most of my life. I’ve never fit in anywhere. It’s funny to think that driving up to the Wild Peach, I felt a calm come over me, and it felt right, but it seems that even here, I’m not going to fit in. All I can do is what I came here to do. Chief Taylor may have helped me with getting a job, but I’m going to be the reason I get to keep it. There’s no way I can let myself fail now.