Page 31 of An Adventure For Aster

But the main plant was going to get more machines delivered to help with increased soaps, lotions, and candles. Bigger machines for the herbal products that Luke’s wife oversaw.

Heather had asked him over to dinner along with Lily too. They wanted to make him feel part of the family, not just on a work level.

He always found an excuse to say no. He didn’t like being a third wheel.

Maybe he also didn’t want to see the things he never had growing up and always wished he did.

Jealousy was a nasty emotion he tried to kick. He’d seen it with his parents enough.

More recently when he’d been given that money. If he hadn’t gotten out of his hometown he knew he’d say things he’d regret. No reason to cut ties with his parents even if he was getting to the point he didn’t like them much anymore.

“Thank God you’re here,” Gabby said. “The bottling machine for the lotions stopped and I reset it this morning and then it stopped again.”

“I’ll take a look,” he said, going to the floor.

Thirty minutes later he saw it was a part that had broken off, and for safety reasons, the machine shut down.

Back at Zane’s barn, he was looking for any part that would work now before the one he ordered could arrive tomorrow. He hated having the machine down until then.

“Trying to glue things together with frosting?”

He turned his head and saw Lily standing there. She had Ryder with her and he was itching to take off in a run. The baby wasn’t around so he was going to assume her daughter was sleeping.

“Not quite frosting,” he said. “I’ve got the part coming in the morning, but if I can get it working now without it, then production won’t be slowed as much.”

“I appreciate that,” Lily said. “Maybe if you think we need to have a few parts on hand, I can order them. Not sure if it’s possible to predict. I always feel like the same things break, but the people who came out to repair them wouldn’t tell me that.”

He snorted. “Not surprising. It’s the same reason they were trying to talk me into having someone come out rather than send the part.”

Sending people from hours away cost a shit ton when he could easily install it. It was stupid and he wanted Lily and her sisters to know they made the right decision hiring him. All he’d done was text Lily an update and she didn’t have to do anything else.

Zane had told him in the past Lily would be on the phone for hours dealing with this and getting the runaround. He imagined some of it had to do with being a woman. He’d put his foot down on the second attempt to send a repairman and the guy on the other end shut up and placed the order after that.

“They always do,” Lily said. “I’ve got all the repair bills in my office if you’d like to see them. I hate to say I can’t make heads or tails of them, but I’m sure you could in terms of what was fixed. It’s a big file on everything in the plant.”

“That would be great,” he said. “And it will give me a good idea of the timelines of what things break so I can check it out myself. Maybe I can prepare prior.”

“That’s what I like to hear,” Lily said. “I’ll either have Ivy give the folder to Jasmine to bring here tomorrow and then Zane can get it to you if you don’t come over, or one of my sisters can deliver it if they are going to the plant.”

He almost always saw either Poppy or Rose at the plant a few times a week, but they didn’t come talk to him much since there hadn’t been a need after he was hired.

Even the machine having an issue today didn’t concern production for either of those sisters.

“Whatever works for you,” he said.

“If I haven’t said it before, I will now,” Lily said. “I can’t thank you enough for taking this job.”

“Thank you,” he said. “It came at a time in my life I needed to refocus.”

“Sounds like you’re getting there now,” Lily said, grinning.

“Obviously Ivy filled you in on some dating information?” he asked.

“Ivy is harmless,” Lily said. “She’s more excited than anything. She has in her mind that everyone should be a couple and hang out together. She does it with her sisters and is excited to maybe be able to do it with her future sister-in-law.”

“I know Brooks is going to want to meet me. River too,” he said. “Raine already told me.”

“Having a younger sister, I’m going to imagine you know what it’s like being a protective brother,” Lily said.

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