Page 34 of Still Love You

She laughs. "Nobody said she was naughty."

"I know this girl, and trust me, she can be very naughty." I swat her ass then walk away.

At the end of the work day, as everyone's packing to leave, I go up to Carl. "Willow was asking me questions today about why Candace has a job and why you guys redecorated."

"What did you tell her?"

"Not much. I didn't know what to say. Why don't you just tell her?"

"Because I'm still hoping I can save it. If we sell the house that'll free up a lot of cash."

"Which you'll have to use for rent. And how are you going to explain to Willow why you're selling the house?"

"We'll come up with something." He rubs his hand over his jaw.

"If you don't tell her, she'll put the pieces together herself."

He sighs heavily. "I'm sorry, Silas, but her mother and I just aren't ready to tell her about this. She just got home and we don't want to ruin her summer. We have enough money to keep the farm going a few more months."

"And then what? What if you end up having to take her college money? Are you going to pull her out of school in the middle of the semester?"

"Taking her college money is a last resort. We're not at that point yet and I'm hoping we never will be."

"You have a lot of debt. If you can't make the payments, you'll have to take money from her account."

He sets his hand on my shoulder. "Listen, Silas, I know you're concerned about Willow, but telling her this isn't going to make anything better. The best thing you can do right now is just be her friend."

"I'm trying to."

"Well, you must be doing something right because I haven't seen her smile this much since you two were dating. Are you seeing her tonight?"

"Yeah, she's going to help me with accounting. I have a quiz this week."

"I think it's great you're taking that class. You should be taking more instead of working here for free."

"Don't start. We've been through this a million times. I'm helping you whether you like it or not."

He nods. "Well, if you decide to get that business degree, maybe I'll end up working for you someday."

"I don't think so. If anything, I'll be going to you for advice. You've learned more working here than I could ever learn in college."

He frowns. "I'm afraid all I could teach you is how to run a business into the ground."

"That's not true. This wasn't your fault. There were forces you couldn't control." I look at the fields, then back at Carl. "Did you give any thought about what you're going to plant in that open part of the field?"

"Probably some pumpkins for the fall."

"They take forever to grow and take up a lot of space. What about flowers instead?"

He laughs. "You and your flowers. You sound just like Candace."

"I'm not kidding. Flowers grow fast and you can charge a lot for them."

"People can buy flowers anywhere."

"Yes, but they like buying them at farmers' markets. I don't know why. They just do. You always see people walking around with flowers. Would you just let me try it?"

He smiles. "Fine. Go ahead and plant your flowers. Take the seed catalog home and figure out what you want. I'll put the order in this week."

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