Page 98 of Wildfire
Honey Acres has been part of my life for longer than it hasn’t been, and I know that being fired means I’ll never be welcomed back here. Really, I should have considered that before I started things with Russ. I can’t lie, I’ve never truly believed that the fraternization rule was enforced, but after being given the cold shoulder earlier, I’m not as confident.
But some risks are worth it, and given the time again, I wouldn’t change it. Russ told me he wouldn’t change anything in the past because he wouldn’t risk not meeting me, so if getting fired from the place I love most in the world is how it goes for me, at least I get to keep the butterflies.
Rapping my knuckles against the door, I know from theMamma Miasoundtrack blasting that Jenna’s in there. I’ve never knocked before entering Jenna’s office, so I don’t know why I’m starting today. Maybe it’s because I know not pissing her off further will help my cause. I knock again a little harder and she finally shouts for me to come in.
Her expression when she realizes it’s me practically cuts me open. I can tell she’s not angry, she’s disappointed.
“Jenna, I’m sorry.”
“Don’t tell me you’re sorry when you’re not, Rory. You knew exactly what you were doing when you broke the rules, and you’ve knowingly put me in a difficult position.”
“Please don’t fire him, Jen,” I say desperately, sitting on the other side of the desk. “He doesn’t deserve to lose his job because I convinced him to break the rules.”
“You’re both adults and you’re both responsible for your actions.” Shit. “When did it start?”
I want to lie. Like maybe if I tell her it was today because I was sad it’ll make it easier for her to process and she won’t be as harsh. But Jenna means a lot to me and I don’t want to betray her even more than I have. “When we had the storm.”
She shakes her head as she leans against her hands. “You fucking horny so-called adults are driving me up the wall. I can’t wait for you all to go back to college and be someone else’s problem. I’m so annoyed with you, Aurora.”
“I’m so sorry, Jenna. I will leave with no drama, I swear. But please don’t fire Russ. He will be crushed if he loses this job. He doesn’t deserve it, I promise.”
“Can you stop with the pity party, please? You’re giving me a headache and my head already hurts after seeing a half-naked man crawling all over you today and then having to look your mother in the eyes.”
“I’m so—”
“Stop apologizing and go do your job, please. No, bring me a lemonade. Then go do your job.” My eyebrows raise in surprise. She huffs, folding her arms across her chest and leaning back in her chair. “What? You think you’re special? If we had to fire every member of staff who fooled around together, we’d have no staff.”
“But I thought…”
“I saw him the night of the storm, Aurora. I knew you’d be scared,so I went back to your cabin. I watched him hover around the steps to your cabin in the rain, presumably arguing with himself, until he finally knocked. That’s when I knew.”
“Knew what?”
“I knew he cared about you.” She sighs. “And I realized you weren’t just doing it to give your middle finger to the rules.”
“I care about him, too.”
“We’re your family, Rory. You will always have a home here, even if you do things that make me want to strangle you. I’m not going to report it like I’m supposed to, but that doesn’t give you a free pass to do what you want until you leave, all right? Keep sneaking around until you are out of my hair. I don’t wanna hear a peep out of either of you.”
Family. “I love you, Jen.”
“And I love you. People don’t always let you get away with things because they don’t care. I let you get away with things because you deserve to be happy. You deserve to feel and believe you are wanted, and enjoy being loved, because so many people love you, Ror.”
“I had a really great heart-to-heart with my mom today. A lot of things make sense now, especially about my dad.”
She stands and walks over to me, wrapping her arms around me. “Dadis a word. It doesn’t mean anything unless there is action and intention behind it. He’s really just an asshole who you happen to share DNA with. That’s it. We don’t need him. You don’t do fine without him, you do better.”
Jenna kisses the top of my head before moving back to sit at her desk. “Okay, heart-to-heart is over. Scram. And so you know, you’re mucking out the horses for the rest of the week. Take lover boy. You’re both pains in my ass.”
This is not at all how I would have predicted this going, and I’m walking out of here feeling totally confused, but thankfully I’m not leaving and neither is Russ. If I have to deal with some horse crapbut Jenna isn’t truly mad at me, I’ll definitely cope. Pulling the office door open, I have one last question before I head out and prepare for the end of visiting day. “Wait, who else has been hooking up?”
She runs her fingers across her lips, zipping them shut. “You’ve lost your gossip privileges. Should have kept your panties on.”
As much as she’s right, I’m glad I didn’t.
Chapter Thirty-TwoRUSS
WE’VE BEEN SITTING ON THISpicnic bench for five minutes and neither of us has spoken yet.
