Page 10 of Fire in My Heart

When we were finished, Cole handed Colson to me so he could help Daphne set the food on the table.

Colson immediately snagged a strand of my hair in his tight little fist and tugged.

I winced. “Ouch. That hurts, buddy.”

“He loves hair,” Cole observed as he cut the kids’ chicken into small pieces.

“You want to be in your highchair?” Colson wiggled his whole body, so I put him in the chair where there were already a few slices of chicken and potatoes.

“What’s it like living with the Calloways?” Cole asked

“We’re not bad,” Daphne said.

“Most of them are perfectly nice, but Teddy—” I began.

Daphne grimaced. “Teddy’s a bear. He’s all gruff on the outside and soft on the inside.”

“I haven’t seen this warm side you speak of.” I sat next to Colson.

“He had to grow up quickly when Mom died. He felt like he had to take care of us because Dad was busy falling apart.”

I could understand that, but he was a grown man now. You’d think he’d deal with his issues and have more emotional awareness. But he had the personality of a rock.

“He feels like he has to be in charge of the farm and the family,” Cole said carefully.

“I don’t know how I’m going to work with him.”

Daphne poured glasses of water and passed them around the table. “Dad figured you could handle him, or he wouldn’t have hired you.”

“You think so?” I asked Daphne.

She nodded as she leaned over to grab food Colson had flung on the floor. “Dad knows what he’s doing.”

“At least he believes in me.” I was still worried I wouldn’t be able to help. I had ideas, but if Teddy wasn’t on board, I wasn’t sure they would be successful. Last year, I was supposed to offer more holiday events, but Teddy had put a stop to it.

Daphne grinned at me. “You’re going to be great.”

“I want to use my work at the farm to highlight my abilities. I need more jobs to justify continuing with the business. Otherwise, I’d have to go back to a traditional marketing firm.” At my last job, I worked long hours, and it was highly competitive. I frequently had headaches. I didn’t enjoy what I was doing.

We had to create exactly what the client wanted. There was little creativity involved.

Going back to a private firm would put me in Rick’s crosshairs. It was an industry where everyone knew everyone. I wouldn’t be able to hide.

I preferred working with small businesses where I could give advice and have more room to be creative.

“Unfortunately, I don’t need your services. I have more work than I can handle at this point with two kids,” Daphne said apologetically.

“Don’t worry about me.” It was sweet that she was concerned, but she’d built her pie business on her own. Now, she sold to several restaurants in the area, including Violet’s ice cream shop where they collaborated on pie-flavored ice cream. I’d consulted with her several times, but her instincts were good. She didn’t need my help.

Izzy entertained us through dinner with her talk about the upcoming holiday concert at school and everything she wanted for Christmas from Santa.

Colson interjected with flying food. When he was tired of sitting in the highchair, I grabbed a cloth to wipe him down and carried him to the living room to let him play with blocks and cars.

I didn’t get enough time with Colson.

Cole came in a few minutes later and sat on the couch watching us. “You doing okay?”

I know he’d been worried about me since I showed up at his house saying I’d lost my job and my apartment. I hadn’t told him about Rick because he’d been involved with Daphne at the time and dealing with the fallout of our families finding out about their relationship. Then afterward, he’d bought a house and built an outbuilding for Daphne’s pie house.

---