Chapter Three #2
He throws the work shirt over his head and adjusts it right above his buckle. It’s a smidge short but it’ll do for the few days he’ll be here.
“I dunno…just liked the way it looked, I guess.”
He’s a bad liar.
I finally snap out of it and stop staring at him. “Okay, back to work. Ian will tell you what to do from here on out.”
“Where’re you goin’?” he asks before I can walk away.
“I work mostly in the back with Amaya makin’ soap and doin’ the marketin’ for the business.”
“Who’s Amaya?”
“She works with me. I’m sure you’ll see her ’round.”
“Okay, cool.”
I nod once before walking away but then Silas gently grabs my shoulder. “Posey.”
“What?” I say harshly without realizing it.
Even though there’s chaos surrounding us—people coming and going, goats bleating in the distance, and the noise of milk machines echoing from the other room—the moment my eyes lock with his, it stops.
I don’t know why he has this hold on me, but the silence is deafening when we’re locked into each other.
“Thank you for givin’ me a chance. I know we haven’t talked in a long time, but I promise to work hard, stay out of your way, and do a good job. You’ll hardly know I’m here.”
Doubtful.
I swallow, licking my lips and lowering my gaze to break the spell. “Do you still need a place to stay?”
I hear the words come out of my mouth but I don’t know why or how they do without my permission. Mentally slapping myself, I close my eyes before opening them and finding Silas staring at me.
“Yeah, I do but—”
“You can stay in my spare bedroom, temporarily, until you find your own place.”
“Seriously?”
“You gotta follow my rules or I’ll kick you out.”
He grins. “Of course.”
“We’ll go over ’em later.” I step past the wheelbarrow to walk back to my work area.
“See ya then, roomie!” he calls out, and my back stiffens.
“Most definitely, do not call me that,” I shout over my shoulder and find him laughing.
Oh God. I regret this already.
“Who’s the new hottie?” Amaya asks after watching Silas’s poor attempt at running away from a few goats trying to eat his jeans. We took a quick break to eat before going back to pouring soap.
“Silas. But don’t get any ideas. Work relationships are strictly prohibited,” I tell her while recording a video of her wrapping soap bars for the social media page. The ones with music do the best, so I don’t have to worry about talking or background noise.
Most of our sales come from online orders, but we do wholesale for a few shops in town so the local customers don’t have to worry about shipping. The sample-sized soap goes into the resort self-care welcome basket, so those get separated.
She snorts. “Since when?”
“Since always. Especially when there’s a power imbalance. It’s unprofessional and could lead to termination.”
“You’re makin’ that up.”
“I am not!” I click off the camera and turn toward her. “It’s in the employee handbook for the ranch and resort, which includes the goat farm.”
“I don’t recall signin’ anythin’, so I think he’s free bait.” She waggles her brows, and I snort at her implication.
“Well, you did, and he’s not. Plus, he’s on a week trial. You might never see him again after Friday.”
I wouldn’t be surprised if Silas was interested in her. Amaya’s sweet and gorgeous, and knows how to have a good time. Although we didn’t go to high school together, she’s been a loyal friend and employee ever since we met a few years ago.
Her long brown hair is pulled up into twin space buns with a few loose curls in the front. It’s adorable and cute, which is why I love making videos with her in them. They get the most views versus ones without her.
“In that case…” She seductively bites her lower lip. “He’ll be eligible if you fire him.”
“His engagement just ended. Maybe wait until he’s not heartbroken anymore to hit on him.”
“That’s the best time! Get ’em when they’re freshly wounded and lookin’ for a rebound.”
“Can we get back to work, please?” I ask pointedly. “We have five hundred orders to send out by Thursday and three new scents to make.”
I set my camera aside so it doesn’t get dirty. I do most of the editing at night after I eat dinner and then schedule my posts for the next day or two.
“I thought you were gonna hire more help for the summer season,” she asks, grabbing more molds off the shelves.
Considering it’s mid-August, the summer peak season is almost over.
“I wanted to but I haven’t had time to go through job applications. Silas is only here ’cause he begged for a job, but I wasn’t about to let him work directly with me, which is why he’s now Ian’s problem.”
“Why? You two have history?”
I blow out a breath. “If I say yes, will you drop it for now?”
“Doubtful, but you can try.” She smirks, pouring the liquid mixture into a mold before swirling it around with the other scent. Since it has to cure for four to six weeks, we’re already working on fall-themed scents.
“Yes, okay? He’s Warren’s best friend. I’ve known him for years, but I’ve avoided him for several years now.”
“That sounds juicy…” She cocks a brow. “Keep talkin’.”
“Hard pass.”
I put on my work goggles and gloves so I can add the lye to the frozen goat milk.
It’s one of the first steps we have to do before we melt the oils and mix them together.
Since the soap has to stay in the mold for two to three days before cutting it, we’re always making more batches to stay stocked.
By the time we finish at five, I’m ready to call it a day.
Amaya and I worked nonstop to get things ready to package and ship out orders.
Sometimes we stay a couple extra hours when we’re behind, but I try not to make it a habit.
Adding a third person would help speed up the process, but for now, we have things down to a science.
We maneuver around each other and keep up without getting in each other’s ways.
Training someone new would take more time than we have right now.
“Posey?” Silas calls out.
“Back here.”
“Oh damn, it reeks.” He wrinkles his nose. “What is that?”
“A little bit of everything,” Amaya responds. “Pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon apple cider, and lavender oatmeal.”
Silas coughs, pulling his shirt up to cover his nostrils.
“Seriously?” I deadpan, staring at his muddy boots. “You smell like shit. Literally.”
“Yeah, but I got used to that after a few hours. This is like being hit in the face with ten candles at once.”
“That could be arranged.”
Amaya snorts. “You get used to it.”
He glances at me. “Doubtful.”
“Suck it up ’cause I’m sure my house smells the same.”
“Wait, he’s goin’ to your house?” Amaya asks, and I wince at the slip of my tongue.
“He’s temporarily movin’ into my spare room,” I explain.
“Oh really?” If her grin were any wider, it’d stretch off her face. “You forgot to tell me that little interestin’ tidbit when we were talkin’ about him earlier.”
And now I want to smack her.
“Y’all were talkin’ about me, huh?” Silas smirks.
“Only about how annoyin’ you are, so don’t be flattered,” I say before Amaya puts her foot in my mouth any deeper. “Are you ready to go?”
I already sanitized the work tables and washed up, so I grab my bag and walk toward him.
“Well since she’s not gonna introduce us, I’m Amaya.” She holds out her hand, and he happily accepts it. “Nice to meet you, Silas.”
“The pleasure’s all mine,” he drawls.
I roll my eyes at the way his accent thickens.
“Great, now y’all know each other and we can leave.” I push Silas into the hallway. “See ya tomorrow, Amaya!” I singsong, knowing she’s going to have a million more questions for me.
“My suitcases are at Warren’s, so can I meet you at your house? I should probably clean up first, too.”
“Is that all you have with you?” I ask, walking through the barn and waving goodbye to everyone. There are a couple workers who start later in the day and stay through the evening so the day crew can leave before dinnertime. They also work the weekend shifts so the goats get milked on schedule.
“Yep. All the furniture was Aundrea’s. She didn’t like any of my stuff, so I put some of it in storage and got rid of the rest.”
That’s kinda sad considering he probably spent a lot of money and years buying his own things after moving out of his parents’ house. And now he’s starting over in a house that isn’t even his.
“Okay, I’ll leave the door open for you, so come over whenever you’re ready. I’ll get you a key, too.”
“Sounds good, thank you.”
“Mm-hmm.” I avoid his gaze, uncomfortable at how heartfelt they look through me, then walk to my car.
I’m already dreading being alone with him—especially in my house—but I can’t back out now. So I’ll keep to myself and hope he finds his own place soon enough.