Page 18 of Love Off-Limits
Of course Dad wanted Perry around. If it were up to him, he’d probably want all five of us home all the time. “Right, but—”
“Olivia, he asked me to run Stonebrook. He said specifically that he wantsmeto do it.”
I sank back against the countertop, grateful it was there to hold me up.
Dad wanted Perry in charge. Perry, who had never talked about wanting to work on the farm. Perry, the one brother who I’d always butted heads with the most.
“Right now or for forever?” I asked, my voice thick with hurt. This felt like the worst kind of betrayal. I’d convinced myselfPerrywas the one standing between me and Stonebrook. That he was hovering out of some older-brother need to be in charge. But to hear it was actually Dad’s decision? The world as I knew it had suddenly tilted.
“But...why?”
Perry shrugged. “He didn’t really specify. And it was hard enough for him to communicate, I didn’t want to push him for an explanation.”
“Then venture a guess,” I said, looking from Perry to Mom. “Mom? Do you know anything about this?”
She sashayed forward in her easy, graceful way and put her hands on my shoulders. “I’ll tell you what I know. I know your father loves you and believes in you. But I also know he wasn’t ready to give up the farm when this horrible thing happened. I think what he wants is for things to stay the same.” She looked over her shoulder at Perry. “And that’s what he’s asked Perry to do. Keep things going. Let him recover without having to worry.”
“But he would worry ifIwere the one in charge? I could keep things the same, Mom. I could—”
Mom shut me down with a shake of her head. “It doesn’t matter, sugar. This is what your father wants. So that’s the way things are going to be.”
I took a step backward, slipping out of her embrace. My mind darted back to Perry’s suggestion that I go to Charleston. “Wait, are you... are you wanting me toleave? To not work at Stonebrook at all?”
“Of course not. I want you here. Weneedyou here. I only suggested you get out of town for a bit because I know how antsy you’re feeling. And...Idon’t want you to push Dad for changes before he’s ready.”
Understanding flooded my mind. “Which is why you keep showing up for lunch. You’re babysitting.”
Perry didn’t try to deny it. “You’ve got big ideas, Liv. And I love that about you. But it isn’t what Dad needs right now.”
I shook my head. I’d always thought Dad loved my ideas. True, he was still recovering. But he was stillDad.His words might be slow, but his mind was razor-sharp.
“When were you going to tell me this? Does everyone know except me?”
Perry shook his head. “No one knows except the three of us. And Dad, of course. This is all still so new. And you’ve only been home a few weeks.” He propped his hands on his hips. “For now, we just need to focus on getting Dad better. You’re here. You’re working. That’s all that matters. We can all work together to keep the farm just as Dad likes it while he recovers in peace.”
The subtext was clear enough. Don’t rock the boat. Keep my head down. Be content with the lot I’d been given. Which was all well and good for Perry. He wasn’t the one who had just had his dreams stomped on.
How could Dad choose Perry? When it was me who had walked through the orchards with him hundreds, if not thousands of times? Me, who’d slept in the goat barn to watch over the new kids. Me, who had worked every wedding, every engagement party, every reunion, studying procedures, learning the best ways to effectively create beautiful moments for our guests.
No one was as invested in Stonebrook as I was.
What could this possibly mean?
“I...think I need to go for a walk,” I said. I turned toward Mom but kept my gaze fixed somewhere over her left shoulder. If I looked her in the eye, I was pretty sure I’d start to cry. “Tell Daddy I said goodbye, okay?”
I walked past the gator I’d taken on my way over to Mom’s. I was dressed for the office more than I was for traipsing around the farm—I’d mostly been working on the event side of things since coming back home—but I hardly cared. I wanted to walk. To move. To figure out why I felt like my heart had just been ripped out.
I had a sudden urge to call Lennox. Which was weird, honestly. He wasn’t the brother I was closest to, but he was the brother who knew the most about what I envisioned for the farm.
I glanced at my watch. It was just past two p.m. If he wasn’t working a lunch shift, I might be able to catch Lennox on his way to work. He was a sous chef at a restaurant in Charlotte a couple of hours away.
I quickly called him before I could talk myself out of it.
“Hey, Liv,” Lennox said as he answered the call. “Is everything okay? How’s Dad?”
“Everything’s fine. Dad’s fine,” I quickly assured him. It seemed like it was all any of us talked about lately.
“Good,” Lennox said. “How’s Mom?”
