Page 79 of Fire in My Heart

That made me think of Charlotte. I’d said we’d figure things out. But maybe we should have a conversation about it. I didn’t want to end up in Axel’s situation with my girl moving far away.

I’d missed some of the conversation but tuned in when Wes smacked Axel on the arm. “Did she make you over too? You seem more outgoing, less antisocial since she’s been in the picture.”

I wonder if I’d changed in a similar manner since I started this thing with Charlotte.

“I found him hiding out in his cabin, and now he’s working the farm. So it must be true. I’m sure I didn’t bring this out in him.”

Axel gave me a look. “I wanted to stay busy. There’s nothing wrong with helping out on the farm. At least until I get a job.”

“Is that what you want?” Dad asked.

“I haven’t decided yet. I enjoyed renovating the cabin with Luna, and it changed what I was thinking about.”

I raised a brow. “Didn’t you offer to do it with her?”

“She said she wanted to start the business on her own.”

“Are you going to do the same thing? Get into construction or flipping houses?” I asked him, curious about how far he was willing to change his life for a fling.

“Maybe,” Axel said.

“How did you leave things?” Wes asked.

Irritation flitted over Axel’s face. “She’s going home to start her new business. She was excited to go.”

Would Charlotte need to leave to follow another business venture? Would she be living in a hotel or on someone’s property? How far was she willing to go to to build her business? Was I willing to let her go? The thought made my chest tighten.

Wes winced. “You didn’t talk about your relationship.”

How much had Charlotte and I talked? We spent a lot of time working, painting, and making love. I’d told her I loved her. But what did that mean when we didn’t know where she’d be living and working? Didn’t we need to work out those details just like Axel and Luna?

While my family tried to convince Axel to go to Florida and talk to Luna, I found myself obsessing about my relationship with Charlotte.

But we didn’t have an end date like Axel and Luna. The entire time they were hooking up, Luna knew she was going home for the holidays. But Axel wanted Luna to have the freedom to do whatever she wanted. He didn’t want to hold her back.

Would I be holding Charlotte back by being in a relationship with her? The questions were starting to make my head ache. I wouldn’t know unless we talked.

I finally tuned back into the conversation when we were seated at the table to eat and talk turned to the farm

“I like the changes that Charlotte made, and the customers seemed to as well,” Wes said.

It was our first week with the snack counter and vendortables inside the barn. “Charlotte went shopping for more decor items for inside the barn today.”

“Is that necessary with the season almost over?” Dad asked.

“I think she just wants to make sure we’re set for next year. We won’t have to do it ourselves.” I appreciated that she’d thought about that.

“Are we planning on keeping her on in a consulting capacity at least?” Jameson asked. “Y’all said you liked her changes. But she suggested we hold another festival and do Santa photos next year. Can we do that on our own?”

“I don’t want to plan a festival. She did all the work.” Unease settled in my gut. Could we do this without her? I didn’t want to, but at the same time, Dad couldn’t afford to hire her full-time, especially when our season was only November and December.

Dad set his elbows on the table and rested his chin against his clasped hands. “It would be nice to consult with her each year. We could hire her to work with us just for the season. I don’t know that we’d need her here every day. Especially since she already has a good idea of how we operate. She could keep track of what’s working and what’s not, make little tweaks as we go.”

I was impressed that Dad was all in with this marketing thing. “I think it’s a smart business decision.”

Everyone at the table stilled.

I chewed and swallowed, wondering what I’d said. “What? You don’t think so?”

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