“That you’ve been conning people for years, Dad was a drunk, Mom died with a needle in her arm, and your baby sister is in jail?”
“Yeah. That.”
“Just brag about Jason a bit first.”
I give her a lopsided smile. “I already have. It doesn’t matter. He won’t understand where we came from, and more importantly, I’m not going to sleep with my boss.”
“You’re in love with him.”
“No. I don’t believe in love.” The words escape my lips and feel like a lie. I didn’t believe in love, but now I’m not so sure. Being in love meant having a heart, and I convinced myself mine stopped working long ago.
But now when I close my eyes and the world becomes still, I feel it fluttering back to life.20Scarlet“What about this one?” Jackson races forward to the biggest pumpkin he can find.
“I think that might be a little too heavy,” I laugh. It’s late Monday morning, and Jackson and I are at the pumpkin patch with Quinn, Archer, and Emma. “How about this one?” I point to a round, white pumpkin.
“It lost all its color!” Jackson’s eye widen in shock, making both Quinn and I laugh.
“It’s supposed to be like that,” Quinn explains, adjusting Emma in the baby carrier she’s wearing. “Ohh, a cat!”
“Don’t even think about it,” Archer says, slipping his arm around Quinn’s waist. “Pretty sure it belongs to the orchard.”
“I didn’t say I was going to take it.”
Archer gives her side a squeeze. They’re gag-worthy cute together, but Quinn is quickly becoming a friend so it doesn’t bother me like it normally would. “I know the way your mind works.”
“Look at this one! It’s all bumpy!” Jackson laughs, looking at the pumpkin with a look of disgust on his face.
“You don’t like it?” I ask.
“It has warts!”
“It does?” I make a move to touch it and Jackson grabs my hand, laughing.
“You’ll get warts too!”
I take Jackson’s hand and lead him to another row of pumpkins. He goes to a large, oval-shaped one that has to be heavy.
“I like this one!”
“I think it’s perfect,” I tell him.
Archer picks up the heavy pumpkin for us and puts it on the wagon he’s pulling. We make it through the rest of pumpkins, grabbing a few more little ones along the way. Jackson and I grabbed pumpkins from the store not long ago, but this is way more fun. I’ve never been to a pumpkin patch like this before. We go into a big barn to pay for our pumpkins and to get apple cider. The sun is out in full force today, making the fifty-degree air comfortable.
I’m having fun, and while I’m working it doesn’t feel like it. I really care about Jackson and seeing him light up and have fun makes me happy. We get our cider and take it outside, enjoying what could very likely be one of the last warm days this fall. Archer’s loading the pumpkins into the back of the SUV when Quinn’s phone rings.
“It’s Wes,” she says, brows coming together. Weston is at work today, and his call isn’t expected. “Hey, Wes. What’s up?” She waits a moment, listening to her brother. “Oh no. Yeah, yeah, we’ll be right there.” Another pause. “Archer’s with me, I’ll let him know.”
Archer, having heard his name, looks up. Once he sees the worry on Quinn’s face, he comes over. “What’s wrong?”
Quinn shakes her head. “Thanks, Wes. Just, uh, keep him calm if you can. We’ll be right there.” She ends the call and readjusts Emma on her chest. “It’s Bobby.”
Archer’s face falls. “Is he…is he…”
“He’s alive,” Quinn answers and starts to take Emma out of the carrier. “Wes has him.”
“Where is he?” Archer asks, fumbling with the last pumpkin. Obviously, something is going on and Bobby has significance to both Quinn and Archer.
“Wes has him.”
“Jackson,” I call, taking his hand and leading him over to Quinn and Archer. “Is everything okay?” I ask Quinn.
“No, it’s Archer’s brother, Bobby. He’s an addict and Wes found him passed out in the park. He’s been clean for the last few months.” She lets out a sigh and shakes her head. “I guess he relapsed.”
“Oh my God, I’m so sorry.”
Quinn frowns, looking at Archer as he hurries to put the wagon away. “He’d been doing so well.”
I swallow hard. That’s something I know all about, and the disappointment that crashes down on you hard.
“How long had he been clean?”
“A couple months, which is the longest ever.” Quinn starts to take Emma out of her carrier. “Archer really thought it was for real this time.”
“It’s hard,” I say with too much emotion. Quinn catches on and tips her head slightly, flicking her eyes to mine. “You said Wes has him…did you mean in jail?”
“No, and thank God it was my brother who responded to the call about a drunk in the park. He took him to a cafe that’s like five minutes away and got him coffee instead of taking him to the station.”