Page 25 of The Billionaire and the Runaway

I’ve learned that she hates cilantro but loves mushrooms. I’ve learned that she’s brilliant and kind. She cares about that stupid fish I gave her as if it’s her child. Even her succulent plants are starting to come back to life.

She’s learned how to care for all the animals. Earl even praised her on operating the tractor the other day. She’s only been here a little over three weeks and I feel like she’s been here forever, like she’s a part of this farm, of this town. Everyone on Main Street knows her. She even put gas in Sheila all on her own the other day.

It’s like watching a flower open, becoming more beautiful and full of life by the day. She still doesn’t talk about her past much. The only time I see a glimmer of something is when she makes a mistake. And it’s not a glimmer I like. She’s afraid to make even a tiny error. I know someone said or did something to make her afraid and it takes all of my being not to demand she tell me who did that to her.

I’m not surprised when I find her in the stall with the lamb. It’s early. Buck and Earl are both working already but Joy isn’t even here yet.

“When are we picking a name?” I ask.

“Soon. I have an idea that I wanted to run by you,” she says.

“Such as?” I ask as I lean on the door to the stall.

“I…want to fix up the farmstand a bit. And then have sort of a grand re-opening party and we can announce the name then,” she explains as she looks up at me. Her big blue eyes look so hopeful that I can’t even fathom saying anything but yes.

“Sounds like a good plan,” I reply.

I watch her eyes light up, and damn it, I think I’d say yes to anything she said just to see them do that again. “Really?” she squeals as she jumps up and throws her arms around me, hugging me. But just as fast she jumps back. “OMG! I’m so sorry. I should not have hugged you…I…well, I’m just really excited.”

Her cheeks are pink and I smile. “It’s OK, Ariana. And I’m glad you’re excited. That old farmstand needs a bit of an overhaul. What do you have in mind?” I want to say that she can hug me anytime or that I liked her hug, but I know she’s embarrassed. Hell, maybe she’s embarrassed to have hugged some older guy. She’s closer in age to Kingsley than to me. I wonder if she views me as a big-brother type.

She grins. “You got a minute?”

“Absolutely,” I reply as I step back and motion for her to lead the way.

She practically skips over to the farmstand. We walk inside and I find Kingsley refilling a bin of vegetables.

“Hey,” he says.

“Hi, Kingsley,” Ariana replies with a wave. Then she looks back at me. “OK, picture this,” she says dramatically while waving her hands wide apart. “First, we add more space. I looked behind here and we don’t need that much storage. Then we add better flow. We start people walking in a circle. Most people naturally will turn to the right when they come in, so we should set up the produce accordingly. Sort of like a grocery store. We also want to add shelves here in between items that they probably want to get, the big sellers, with little things that aren’t as big of a seller but that we can price low and use creative displays to draw their eyes. Then the fridge sections along this wall here since it's easy to access electrical outlets. Some big bins down the middle and then shelves at the end with all the cute little local items. We can expand them with local artisan crafts. Also, I thought maybe we could highlight some local food places. Like, Elisha told me the other day that you sell her apples that she uses in some of her apple breads and apple donuts. What if we had special events where she comes out and sells those here?”

I mull over all her ideas.

“Oh, and we need more color, better lighting, a window on this back wall so folks can see out on the farm. And some recipes that we give away either on pieces of weighted paper or with QR codes where the produce is located. We could even have a recipe of the week. And we can add a cute little photo op location out front with the farm’s name. People love taking selfies and it’s free publicity,” she finishes.

“Wow!” I say after a beat. “That’s…I like that. A lot. But…how much will that cost us?”

“Nothing,” she says.

“Nothing?” I ask with a raised eyebrow.

She places her hands on her hips. “Nothing,” she repeats. “Buck and Earl already said they would help Kingsley and me build some shelves with the spare wood out in the other barn. Your fridge units are alright for now, we can use some metal paints to freshen them up. And I found a local artist willing to do some painting in exchange for being able to sell some of her stuff here. And the rest is just rearranging things and using our printer.”

I’m skeptical it can all be done, but the look in Ariana’s eyes has me nodding with little thought. I want to give her a chance to spread her wings and fly. Her ideas are good ones and it’s more than what we’re doing now. If it doesn’t hurt the bottom line, then I’ll give her free rein.

“OK, do your worst. Go for it,” I state.

“Seriously?” she asks, her voice rising with excitement.

“Seriously. I think you have some really good ideas, and I’m looking forward to seeing the final product,” I admit.

She lets out a breath and smiles. “I won’t disappoint you. I promise. It’s going to be awesome.”

We turn to leave, and she stops me at the barn door with a touch to my arm.

“Eric?” she says.

I pause and look down at her.

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