Page 87 of Sherry and Sunflowers
"That's okay. You are, but why would I have a problem with it? Ollie's his best friend, and I know Charles thinks of him as part of the family."
"Yeah. It seems that way." Delaney studied her. "And I should have known better. You don't strike me as the sort to get jealous over your guy's friends."
Alara thought about it for a long moment. The concept of being jealous of Reaves's relationship with Ollie hadn't even occurred to her. When she noticed Delaney was watching her closely, she shrugged. "I'm just glad to be a part of it. I'd never try to take over anything."
"No. I know." Delaney stood. "And come on—we've done enough gossiping. Why don't we get down to work?"
"I'd love to. Where do you want to start?" She handed Delaney her notebook. "Here's the list of things I can think of, and my initial ideas. If you want to put them in order of priority, we'll go from there."
"Oh my God," said Delaney. "An artist who gets the need to prioritize." She looked up. "I don't suppose there's any chance you'd want to keep working with me after this job is done? You'd be a great asset. And I'd pay you well."
Alara opened her mouth, but nothing came out. She didn't know what to say.
Delaney chuckled. "Let's leave it there for now. We have work to do this morning. But think about it, okay?"
"Okay."
Even as they got down to work, Alara's mind kept circling back to the idea. If she were to work for Delaney, she'd be standing on her own two feet. She wouldn't be relying on anyone for support. She'd be able to pay her own way. It sounded so good in theory. But for some nagging reason, it just didn't sit right.
~ ~ ~
"Hey, little buddy." Reaves turned to Zia when she came running out the front door to join him at the top of the steps. He raised his hand as Ollie's Cullinan pulled away.
"Hi, Prince Daddy!" She waved madly, and Ollie tooted his horn, making her smile. "Grandpa Grape said Sunshine Kingwas here. All three of you were doing business this afternoon, weren't you?"
Reaves chuckled. "We were, yeah."
"Are you going to help Grandpa Grape make his wines now, so that the new men will sell them for him?" Her arms hung loose at her sides, and she tilted her head to look up at him. "Mom's labels will help them sell, you know. They're sparkly. I said she should use glitter, but she said the gold is the closest thing that'll stay on a label."
He held his hands out to her, and she grasped them and somehow managed to climb up his leg until she was sitting in her usual position on his hip.
"I'm not going to make the wines," he told her. "Grandpa Grape's going to keep doing that."
"Good. That's his magic, isn't it?"
"It is."
"Cookie Queen said he's a wizard, you know. The Vine Wizard."
"Cookie Queen?" he asked, confused for a moment.
"You know. Elena. She makes the cookies in the Cornflower Kingdom."
He chuckled. "Ah—yeah, right. Elena. Well, I think a lot of people would say she's right about that."
"I think so. So, he's going to keep making the wine. Mom's going to make the pretty pictures to sell it." She gave him a puzzled look. "What are you going to do?"
"I'm going to take care of the business side of things."
"What does that mean?"
He let out a short laugh. He was only just figuring that out himself. "It means making sure that we produce as much wine as we say we're going to. And that we have it ready when we say we will. It means making sure we get paid what it's worth." He shrugged. "All kinds of things, really."
"It doesn't sound as fun as flying in the sky."
He smiled. "It's a different kind of fun. That's all. And it means more."
"Why?"
