Page 67 of Even if It Hurts

“You didn’t have to come,” Lainey began once I was by her side, tone the same withdrawn hesitation it’d been all week. “I would’ve brought more blueberries with me if you’d told me you were out.”

Before I could settle on the exact reason why I’d loaded Kaia up and driven out here, Lainey offered a bright, “Good morning, Mrs. Taft,” to a woman who was standing a handful of feet in front of us, looking between us in outright discontentment.

The woman forced a smile that only made her judgmental stare that much more apparent as she focused on me for a few seconds before her gaze snapped to Lainey. “Lainey, dear, hello.” Mrs. Taft played with the collar of her shirt before crossing herarms, the feigned adoration of her tone doing nothing to hide her disapproval. “Wow, what a beautiful baby! I hadn’t heard that was the real reason behind you leaving us for all that time. Jackson must’ve been devastated.”

“Oh. N-no?—”

“Introductions please,” she said over Lainey as her stare drifted to me again. “I don’t believe we’ve met. Are you from around the area?”

“This isn’t what—no,” Lainey continued, stumbling over herself as she gestured between Kaia and me with her free hand before placing it on her blush-stained cheek. “Mrs. Taft, I really was away at school. This is my boss, Asher Briggs, and his niece, Kaia. I’m her nanny.”

If I’d thought the woman was judging us before, it was nothing compared to the look she gave us then. You would’ve thought Lainey had just told the older woman something truly scandalous from the way she shifted slightly back.

Just as I started reaching for Lainey to lead her away from a conversation I really wanted no part in, Mrs. Taft let out a laugh that was too loud to be genuine. “Bless your heart, sweet girl; you’ll need to come up with a better story than that. Ananny.” She said the title like an insult. “Your daddy would have a heart attack if you ever did something like that.” She bent a little to inspect Kaia, not seeming to notice when I took a step closer to the girls. “Really, a beautiful baby though.”

I watched the woman go, committing everything about her to memory so I could look her up later, before glancing back at the girl beside me. Standing still as stone, holding onto Kaia like a lifeline, her familiar hollow expression gripping at my chest because I didn’t know how to fix anything I’d done when just working for me was still hurting Lainey.

And then a single line of tears raced down her cheek, and I broke. Reaching for her without thinking as her name fell from me.

“Lainey . . .”

Her head snapped in my direction only to fall just as she met my eyes. Taking a step back, she hastily wiped at the tears and assured me, “I’ve got her,” even though I’d never once worried about Kaia in her arms. “Blueberries.” The word was a breathless laugh as she started forward with purpose.

Roughing a hand through my hair, I held in a sigh and followed after her, figuring it’d be better to wait until we were out of the crowd. But as I easily ate up the small distance she’d placed between us, she started talking about things that had nothing to do with anything I wanted to discuss with her.

“It isn’t normally like this,” she said, waving an arm to encompass the farm. “I mean, it’s busy—picking seasons always are. We get great business. But only opening weekends have the vendor booths and food trucks to kick things off.”

I swallowed the dozen other things I wanted to say and instead asked, “What other seasons?”

“Fall—pumpkins.” She flashed a brief, strained smile my way without ever actually looking at me. “That’s my favorite.”

“Favorite season of the year, or for picking?”

“Both,” she said without hesitation. “Blueberries are great, don’t get me wrong, but pumpkins are just...they bring people joy.”

Like you.

I ground my jaw to keep the words at bay but felt the corners of my mouth tilting up when she continued, her voice getting lighter and more animated as she went on.

“And we grow a really great variety, so we have an amazing selection of sizes, shapes, and colors. It’s also a lot more fun todecorate the farm for. We go all out, making it look so beautiful and festive.”

“More than that?” I asked doubtfully, gesturing behind us.

“Oh, absolutely,” she said sincerely, her stormy eyes flashing to mine and holding for a second before falling away. “I’m surprised Aunt Ada’s never said anything. I mean, I know she doesn’t work on the farm, but she still helps us get ready for opening week, and she’s always there for opening weekend. She’s around here somewhere.”

A humming sound rose in my throat. “I’ve been told I’m not exactly...approachable.”

“You?” she gently teased as we followed more signs directing us where to go now that we were entering the fields.

“Shocking, I know, especially when people call me a jerk...” I let the sentence trail off, nearly making it sound like a question, and watched as her cheeks burned with heat all over again. When her lips parted only to close, I prompted, “I’d like to hear the story behind that name, Miss Pearson.”

“I don’t think I’d enjoy telling it,” she whispered.

Pressing my hand to the small of her back, I brought her to a stop with me and waited as her eyes darted over a contentedly babbling Kaia before settling on me. “Honesty, yeah?” Hesitation initially bled from her, but at the stubborn lift of her chin, I asked, “New or old name?”

“Old.”

The corner of my mouth twitched with amusement. “How old?”

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