Page 10 of Shelter from the Storm

Edith continued. “And please don’t worry about not paying enough. You’re a young girl starting a new job in a new town. I’m happy to be able to help you while you find your footing. Maybe one day, sixty or so years down the road, you can pay it forward.”

Gretchen had vowed not to cry in front of anyone, but Edith’s words broke a dam that had already been on shaky foundation. She lowered her head, trying to hide her tears, but Edith didn’t let her get away with it.

She reached out and took Gretchen’s hand. “There, there, child. There’s no need to cry.”

“I’m sorry. It’s just…it’s so nice of you. No one’s ever?—”

She stopped short, refusing to finish that statement.

Not that it mattered. Edith was an astute, observant woman.

“If that’s true, then I’m even happier to have you here with me.”

“Thank you,” Gretchen whispered, wiping her eyes. “Starting fresh is exactly what I need.”

“I can see that,” the wise woman said, her eyes dropping down to Gretchen’s neck.

She acted on instinct, lifting her hand to pull up the neck of her sweater. Before Edith could question her about the bruises, she hastily stood. “If you don’t mind, I think I’ll go up to my room now.” She feigned a yawn. “I’m tired from the trip, and your tea did the trick.”

Edith nodded, then rose as well. “A nice nap will fix you right up.” The woman reached her hand out, and Gretchen slipped hers into it without a thought. “I hope you and I will become very good friends, my dear.”

“Besties,” she murmured, repeating Edith’s earlier assertion.

Edith smiled and gave her hand a squeeze. “Exactly.”

Gretchen left the room, climbing the stairs, feeling lighter than when she’d descended.

For the first time ever, she felt the tiniest kernel of hope for her own future.

Chapter Three

Theo pushed away from his computer and stifled a yawn.

“Fuck this.”

He decided to call it a day. It wasn’t even one on Thursday, but after all the extra hours he’d been pulling, he figured he had earned an early out.

Dammit. There had to be some perks to basically being his own boss.

As Theo, his brothers, and cousins graduated high school, all of them but Sam elected to remain at home, assuming roles tailored to their interests in the various farm businesses. There was an abundance of jobs available because running an operational farm, as well as three—soon to be four—businesses required many, many hands on deck.

They had each carved out their own niche, creating career paths that suited them. Levi farmed; Maverick and Grayson made the best wine in Virginia; Sam and Jace served as brewmasters; Everett, a computer genius, was their IT department; Remi, an avid horsewoman, led trail rides and served at the brewhouse; and Mila did a little bit of everything, serving as cook at the winery and brewery, as well as taking care of the cabin rentals and pitching in at the B&B.

As for him, he—like Nora—had been drawn to one of the managerial roles, putting his organizational and people skills to use, running the brewery and brewhouse.

Every one of the Storms had found a way to make their own mark on this land that had been in their family for four generations, and with the exception of his cousin Lucy, they’d all remained right here in Gracemont.

So if he wanted to play hooky one afternoon, there wasn’t a soul on the place who could tell him no. Not that anyone would. While they all did their own thing on Stormy Weather Farm, every single Storm shared the same trait. They were hard workers, so when any of them took some downtime, it was because it was well earned.

“His office is right down there,” he overheard Billy say from the end of the hall.

Great, Theo thought grumpily.

So much for making a quick escape.

His curiosity was piqued when he heard a female voice say, “Oh, that’s alright. I’ll come back?—”

“No, really,” Billy insisted. “It’s fine.”

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