Page 21 of The Marriage Auction 2: Part 2

I left Jack to his gazing and checked out the numbers on the plants we’d named after Autumn.

“Damn, that is high. Get it!” I joked and snorted as my Dad chuckled. Sure, my pot jokes were lame but still funny to me.

“It’s doing exceedingly well with our practical tester group too. Looks like adding the moon water and adjusting the soil as you suggested worked exactly as you’d hoped.”

Pride filled my chest, and I beamed with the knowledge that I had been right. A lot of the time, success came with trial and error and maybe a little boost from the Universe. Letting the moon charge jug after jug of water when it was at its fullest, then adding that to each plant for a little boost was my sister’s idea.

“Don’t tell Autumn about this or she’ll think it was her. She demanded we go skyclad as we filled the water jugs. We did some manifesting during the spring equinox, which was also her idea, so…”

He laughed more exuberantly. “My theory is that the soil adjustment was most likely the source of the outcome.”

I opened my mouth to argue the natural and spiritual benefits of moon water, especially when it fell right on a full moon,andduring the spring equinox, but my father held up a hand to stop me from arguing.

“Though I am also not averse to admitting the possibility that the Universe might also have given it a solid nudge as well.” Oh, the man knew better after thirty years with my mother.

“Damn straight,” I narrowed my gaze as I heard the door from the lab to the indoor farm open and close. I’d become so caught up in the data my father was sharing, I had left Jack on his own. Apparently, he got tired of waiting for me.

I watched through the glass as Jack clasped his hands behind his neck and scanned the long lines of plants.

“This is really great news, Dad. We’ll have to work with our marketing team to figure out the best way to announce that thisparticular product has the highest THC percentage to date. Our locals are going to go wild but so will our vendors all the way up and down the West Coast. We can even encourage mentioning we used actual moon water in the growing process.”

“Absolutely. It’s going to be a high profit year for sure, Sunny.” He sat down and focused on his computer, instantly lost to his data per usual.

“If that’s all, I’m going to show Jack around.”

Dad nodded, his gaze never leaving his screen. He was already in another world. One where numbers, math, and science reigned supreme and everything else was just background noise.

I pushed through the door to the indoor farm and came up behind Jack. He didn’t so much as flinch when I wrapped my arms around his middle and snuggled against him. “Pretty cool, huh?”

“Cool?” The single word rolled off his tongue as though it were a curse. “Am I seeing what I think I’m seeing?” His tone was jagged, not at all what I would have expected. My plants were absolutely stunning. Each aisle contained a different shade of green with each individual plant having gobs of sticky flowering buds on them. The smell was intoxicating and made me want to hit my vape so I could feel connected and at one with the atmosphere.

“If you think you’re seeing the finest indoor cannabis farm in all of the US, then you are correct.” I let go of him and moved around so I could see his face.

His expression was like marble. Stone cold.

I frowned and tilted my head. “What’s the nasty vibe I’m feeling coming from you all of a sudden?”

He slowly blinked and then looked down at me.

“You farm marijuana?” His voice was scrupulous and the question rhetorical because it was blatantly obvious now that hecould see thousands upon thousands of plants in varying stages of growth running in every direction. Our indoor facility was the size of multiple football fields. And this was only the indoor plants. We had acres upon acres of sun-grown varieties.

“Ye-aaah,” I stretched out the word while trying to figure out the nuance in his statement.

“This is legal here?” he gasped, flabbergasted.

“Uh, yeah. For almost a decade, dude. I wouldn’t be in the business of selling illegal anything.”

“It’s absolutelynotin Norway, nor in most if not all of Europe. Although from what I read recently, most countries have decriminalized it but are nowhere near close to recreational use, let alone medicinal. I had no idea when you stated you were in the plant business that yours would be one that was illegal in most countries besides your own.” He ran his hand through his hair. “I’m not even sure how I feel about regular use of the substance myself.”

I put my hand to my hip and glared at him, feeling that icky vibe turning into a vortex of ugliness. “Well, you better figure out those feelings real quick, buddy, seeing as you’re supposedly marrying the biggest seller of cannabis in the United States.”

“I-I…” His words fell away as he stared out at the sea of plants. “This could be really bad for Johansen Brewing.” He closed his eyes and scowled. “Shit, this could end up a PR nightmare. I need to think about all of this. Talk to my second-in-command, get my team on this before anyone finds out we’re engaged.” His jaw firmed and a muscle in his cheek started to flicker. “I need to speak to Erik too.” Then he cursed under his breath in Norwegian. “Erik’s on his honeymoon.” He inhaled like a fire-breathing dragon about to burn down the world as I knew it.

Then he ripped my chest open and stabbed me straight through the heart with his next outburst.

“This is bad. This could ruin everything we’ve built. What the hell have I gotten myself into?”

Episode 38

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