Page 31 of Keeping it Local

“Be right out. Let yourself in!” I grabbed the first pair of jeans in my drawer and pulled them on, quickly buttoning them.

“No worries!”

Walking out to the front room, bare feet padding on the ground, I stopped and looked at her. I’d told her to dress casual. She did, and she looked sexy as hell. She had on those black yoga pants that showed off every curve and a tank top with a zippered sweatshirt over top, and my dick swelled just looking at her.

Looking down, I realized I hadn’t put a shirt or socks on yet, and I was basically on full display to her, her eyes directly on my bare chest.

I looked down at myself and back to her. “I’m glad you came over tonight. Thanks for driving here. I was running late… obviously.” I ran my hand on the side of my torso to indicate I hadn’t yet put a shirt on.

“Thanks for having me. Yeah, this will be good.” She was still looking down at my chest when she said it, gaze slowly raking my body as they dipped lower, but she seemed to catch herself and looked me directly in the eye. “Let’s just knock it out.”

After I got dressed, we ordered pizza from Tony’s for delivery, and once it arrived, we ended up on the floor of my living room with all the individual folders for the donations laid out in front of us.

“Looks like we’re almost done.” Beth leaned on the couch behind her with a beer in hand. “How does this compare to last year?”

“Pretty damn close.” I started counting the piles we had lined up.

“Phew! That’s good. I thought we were behind.”

“Nah,” I said. “I’d like to get a few bigger items though. Have you given it any thought to talking to Mary about the sunset boat tour?”

I had mentioned it to Beth a few weeks ago, and she felt uncomfortable at the time because she was so new to the shop. I understood. I didn’t want to pressure her, but it also made a lot more sense for her to bring it up since she worked there.

“Yeah, I know she’s always said no before, but maybe this will be the year. I’ll ask her.”

“You still liking the shop?”

“I am. I’m actually loving it more than I thought I would. Maybe that sounds kind of odd, but I just thought it’d be a fun thing to fit in between class and helping my parents. It’s quite a business she’s built. I’m learning a lot from her, and she seems to be trusting me with more too.”

“How often are you helping your parents?”

“Eh.” She shook her head side to side. “A little less than I was expecting, but it’s a regular thing. I’m basically always on call with them, and they put me on speaker phone, which is terrible.” She laughed as she said it.

“I know you complain sometimes about things, but it sounds like you have a really strong relationship.” I paused, not sure if I should go further. “I’m just curious though, was it always the plan for you to work on the farm with them? I guess I’m a little confused by the setup.”

Beth was such a talented, smart person, and it felt like she was being kept in the shadows of the family business—always focusing on someone other than herself.

“Not always. I was supposed to go away to business school. Got into the honors program at State. I didn’t tell you that?”

I shook my head.

“My dad got sick. He had a stroke right before I went away. My mom asked me to stay.” She paused, looking to the ground. “It was… too much for her to handle on her own. I had to step up, and from there, I took on the lion’s share of the business. Got my Associates. That Professor Mackey I mentioned? He was one of my first professors and was a huge help in getting resources when I didn’t know what the hell I was doing running a business. It was a rough few years, but my dad is doing better now. Not the same as before, but he takes on more of the business than he used to. It was tough on everyone though. We all had to make sacrifices. This was just mine.”

“Beth, I’m so sorry.” I placed my hand on her knee. “That’s a lot… for anyone, but especially for an eighteen-year-old.” I took a deep breath.

I couldn’t help but feel this connection to her—one I wasn’t expecting. I still wasn’t comfortable sharing everything about Anne with her. I rarely talked about it with anyone except Lane and my brother. But there was something with Beth that put me on the edge and made me want to share with her, even though in the past, I’d usually just shut down when it came up. I knew it was a problem. I just didn’t know how to fix it. My heart clenched as we held each other’s gazes, and I swallowed, trying to push the feelings away that I buried down every day.

“Thanks. I’m glad I stayed though.” She put her hand on mine. “Back when it first happened, I promised my mom I’d stay and help for a while. It was definitely the right decision at the time, and it was only meant to be temporary, but life happens. The next thing I knew, it’d been ten years of living there and working together. I know I make comments and roll my eyes at them, but I love them. I couldn’t imagine it any other way.”

“How’s your dad now? You said he’s not fully back?” I asked.

“He’s better, but it’s just not the same. He drops the ball a lot—forgets things. Even though he can do the day-to-day for the most part, he’s not as sharp as he used to be.” She waved her hands back and forth. “It’s why we’ve hired some additional help that we may not have had if the stroke had never happened.” Her eyes widened. “Myself included. We have another manager who helps with the operations side of thing now too, along with some part-timers. Michael was a huge add when he came on full time. It was weird because we were high school sweethearts back in the day.” She paused. “And dated for a few years in our twenties.”

I nodded, just listening, and I tried to ignore the sharpness in my stomach when she mentioned Michael, but my gut told me not to react when she was opening up. “That’s got to be tough sometimes. And awkward.” I paused. “Is anything still going on with him?” I held my breath waiting for the other shoe to drop.

“No.”

I let out a deep exhale.