Page 77 of Cabin Fever

When she glanced up, the black fringe from her bangs covered most of her eyes. "I don't think it's a good idea to have a customer down on his hands and knees scrubbing the floor. Especially one in a cast." She pointed to my arm. "If I'm not already fired, I will be if Debbie finds out you're helping me clean."

"I used to help her sweep the floors when I was a kid. I'm sure she'll be fine with it." I extended my hand. She took it and got up from the floor.

"If you are sure about this? I really can't afford to lose this job. If you can't already tell, this is my first job. Well, my first job outside of a farm."

I was taking the rag from her and stopped midair. "Farm? What type of farm?"

"Cows mostly. But my family also had some chickens and a few horses. My dad expanded into corn for a few years but went back to animals only. My mom used to joke that he was trying to cover all the bases." She snorted at her family joke.

"There are some farms scattered around this area. Why don't you find work on one of them?"

She shrugged, tilting her head forward until all her hair fell into her face. "There aren't a lot of animal farms around here. The ones I found deal with maple and honey. I did try at an alpaca farm, but they didn't need any help. So, here I am."

Olivia popped into my head. I knew she wouldn't stay on the farm forever, and I'd gotten a lot more done with her around. It would be a big help if I could hire someone to help out once Olivia was gone.

That thought made me both happy and sad. Despite what she told me last week about wanting to stay, I knew enough about this life to understand that the excitement would wear off after some time. When I was a kid and my dad first brought me here, I thought we'd found paradise. After the first year, I longed to move back to DC. That's when my father told me we could never go back.

I was about to invite Emily up to the farm to check it out when I heard the bell over the door. Olivia was laughing as she entered with Tyler right behind her. I clenched my jaw and stared at him. The guy was one big flirt, and I wouldn't be surprised if this was his way of hitting on Olivia. Wasn't it convenient his assistant went on maternity leave last week? A little too convenient if you asked me.

"I'll be back with the mop. Thanks for the help," Emily said.

I got down on my knees and soaked up what I could before wringing the rag out in the bucket.

"Forget your wallet at home, Carter?" Tyler said.

I shifted and looked up at him standing over me. "What?"

"Need to work off the bill?" Tyler smiled and began to laugh at his lame joke.

"No. Just helping the new waitress."

"Wow. That's so nice of you." I stiffened at the surprise in his voice.

I may not be a very social person, but I'd lend a helping hand to anyone when needed.

"I got the mop. I think I can take it from here."

I threw the rag in the bucket and rose from the floor.

"I got us a table," I turned my back to Tyler and guided Olivia over to the booth, "and ordered you hot chocolate."

She clasped her hands. "Look at you being the perfect gentleman today." Olivia stood on her tiptoes and kissed my cheek.

"I'm going to wash my hands."

I turned and glared at Tyler, hoping he got the hint that he wasn't invited to join us. I hadn't needed to worry as he was already flirting with Emily, demonstrating his amazing talent at mopping.

When I finished in the restroom and came back to the booth, Tyler was gone and Emily was hauling the bucket and mop away.

"How was work today?" I slid into the opposite side of the booth.

Olivia had the menu open in front of her, blocking the view of her face.

"Really good." She lowered the laminated menu to display her beautiful smile. "I got to help with spaying a cat. I mean, I only handed him some of the instruments and then sat with the cat while she was sedated, but I learned so much."

"That's wonderful. I'm glad you enjoy working there. You know, the cast comes off soon, so you don't need to stick around if you don't want to . . ."

My heart was beating wildly in my chest. I had overheard her with her sister on the phone. She confessed how family came first and that she couldn't let a man destroy her family. Her sister must have told her about my past.

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