Chapter 3
Chapter Three
T heo pushed away from his computer and stifled a yawn.
“Fuck this.”
He decided to call it a day. It wasn’t even one on Thursday, but after all the extra hours he’d been pulling, he figured he had earned an early out.
Dammit. There had to be some perks to basically being his own boss.
As Theo, his brothers, and cousins graduated high school, all of them but Sam elected to remain at home, assuming roles tailored to their interests in the various farm businesses.
There was an abundance of jobs available because running an operational farm, as well as three—soon to be four—businesses required many, many hands on deck.
They had each carved out their own niche, creating career paths that suited them.
Levi farmed; Maverick and Grayson made the best wine in Virginia; Sam and Jace served as brewmasters; Everett, a computer genius, was their IT department; Remi, an avid horsewoman, led trail rides and served at the brewhouse; and Mila did a little bit of everything, serving as cook at the winery and brewery, as well as taking care of the cabin rentals and pitching in at the B mainly, they’d never steered him wrong, and his gut…it had screamed Gretchen was perfect for the job.
“Come on in,” he invited her. He remained where he was because she still looked rather uncomfortable.
“I really should have called first. Given you some warning.” She glanced over her shoulder, clearly intent on leaving.
“Nope. This way is better. I like surprises.”
Gretchen’s brow furrowed in obvious disagreement.
“Not a fan of them?” he asked.
“Never had any surprises that were good,” she said softly.
He wasn’t sure what to make of that, and it was apparent Gretchen hadn’t meant to say something so revealing.
“I mean, um…” she stumbled.
“Sounds like we might have to work on that while you’re here.” He gave her what he hoped was another friendly smile that might set her at ease.
“I was only kidding,” she hastened to add. Given the way her eyes darted away from him as she spoke, he could tell she was lying.
He pointed to the chairs in front on his desk. “Please. Join me. I’m glad you decided to surprise me with a visit.”
Gretchen walked in, sinking down into one of the chairs, though he noticed she remained perched on the edge, ready to bolt at a moment’s notice.
Theo sat down as well, keeping his large desk between them.
“So you made it to Gracemont alright. What do you think of the town so far?”
“I haven’t seen much of it, but it’s very quaint.”
“That’s a nice word for extremely tiny. I assume you took a room with Edith?” Theo had been the one to suggest Millholland House, so he figured it was a safe assumption.
Gretchen nodded. “I did. She’s a wonderful woman. I can’t thank you enough for the recommendation. Her house is amazing. It’s like living in a museum or an antique shop.”
“Yeah, it really is. And I swear she’s got a story for every single stick of furniture.”
“I might have heard a few of those yesterday.”
“Edith is a character, but she’s really great,” Theo added.
“She and my grandma were thick as thieves when they were younger, so she spent a lot of time here on the farm when I was growing up. After my grandmother passed away, Edith sort of stepped in as a surrogate grandma, never forgetting to send birthday cards and stopping by from time to time to see how we’re getting on.
Truth is, there are probably quite a few people in Gracemont who feel the same way about her.
She’s adopted a lot of locals, treating them like family. ”
“Manny mentioned she’s quite popular, and I can see why. She’s a natural at taking people under her wing.”
Theo grinned. “She’s already claiming you as her own, isn’t she?”
Gretchen shrugged. “I don’t know about that, but she used the word ‘roomies’ to describe us.”
Theo barked out a laugh, amused by Edith’s contemporary slang. He’d been told the only other Storm who possessed a more obnoxiously loud laugh than him was his cousin Remi. However, he cut it short due to Gretchen’s reaction.
She jerked—and if he had to guess, he’d say his boisterous laughter startled her.
Shit.