Chapter 33
Chapter Thirty-Three
‘I ris!’
‘What?’ Iris opened one eye to find Olive’s face frighteningly close to hers.
‘It’s strawberry day!’
Iris groaned. Strawberry day. Dream Harbor’s latest festival. How could she have forgotten? The town had been abuzz with strawberry-themed preparations for weeks. Every business on Main Street was draped with strawberry bunting and displayed Strawberry Festival signs in their windows. Resisting an eye-roll, Iris sighed, this town really did go over the top for any seasonal festival.
‘Iris!’ Small hands shook Iris’s shoulder. ‘Iris, you said you would come with me and Dad, remember? You said. Iris! Remember?’
Iris reached out from her covers and put a hand over Olive’s face. ‘Where’s the snooze button?’
Olive giggled.
‘Liv?’ Archer peeked his head around the door. Iris burrowed further under her blankets. ‘I told you to leave Iris alone. This is her day off. Sorry, Iris.’
Iris pulled down her covers to find both father and daughter staring at her, Archer with concern and Olive with unrestrained impatience.
‘But she said she would come to the strawberry festival with us!’
Unfortunately, that was true. But that was also weeks ago. The promise was made before she’d caught whatever weird bug that Olive must have brought home from school. The little carrier had been fine all week, but Iris had been exhausted and queasy.
She rubbed her face and sat up slowly, letting the wave of nausea pass.
‘She’s right. I did say I would come.’
‘Yay!’ Olive clapped her hands and did a happy dance around Iris’s room. Archer scooped her up in his arms and she squealed.
‘Okay, well let’s at least let Iris get ready in peace.’
‘But the strawberries!’
‘They’ll be there all day, I promise.’ Archer deposited Olive in the hallway and then peeked back into Iris’s room. ‘You okay? I can take Olive alone, if you’d rather stay here.’
She’d much rather stay here, but she’d promised, and with her new tender feelings toward this damn man and his damn kid, she didn’t want to let them down.
‘I’m fine. Just a little off this week. No big deal.’ She forced a smile. ‘I’ll get dressed and be ready soon.’
‘I’ll make you some breakfast.’
Iris couldn’t help her real smile. This man’s need to feed her was one of her favorite things about him. ‘Okay.’
‘Eggs and bacon?’
Except at the moment, food was tricky. Iris’s stomach turned. ‘How about tea and toast?’
Archer frowned. ‘That’s all you want?’
‘That’s all I want, really. Thank you.’
He was still watching her from the doorway in that intense way of his.
‘I promise, I’m fine.’
‘Okay.’ He finally cracked a smile. ‘I’m glad you’re coming with us.’
‘Me too.’ And she meant it, even though she still felt a little bit like she was going to barf. This would be their first outing all together since she and Archer had started sleeping together, since the L word had been spoken between them. It had been going well for the past two weeks. The sex had been incredible, but more importantly, every time he whispered he loved her, his body pressed against hers, his breath warm and fast against her ear, it felt real and true and right. And when she whispered it back, she meant it.
But when they were with Olive, they had to keep their distance. No kisses, no touching, and it was harder than Iris had thought it would be. Especially with a kid who was always watching and listening. It had started to feel like they were lying to her, and Iris didn’t like that feeling. She didn’t want to lie to this kid who trusted her. Not to mention, it was just really hard to keep her hands off of Archer. She wanted to hug him when he got home from work. She wanted to hold his hand and brush the hair from his face. She wanted to feel like they were a real couple and not like she was the hired help fucking her boss. It turned out that fantasy was less hot the longer it went on. And even though they’d agreed they would date and she would stay on as Olive’s nanny, that whole plan was starting to feel worse every day.
So this outing to the first annual springtime Strawberry Fields Forever Festival felt like a big deal. Almost a test to see if they could be a family. A real family, out in public.
If today went well, maybe they would tell Olive.
The idea made Iris’s stomach swoop again and luckily Archer was gone when she leaned over the bed and threw up into her trash can.
* * *
Like most lifelong Dreamers, Iris loved a festival. It was in the DNA of the town. These people just loved a reason to gather. So even though this was only the first year of the Strawberry Fields Forever Festival, the place was packed.
Logan Anders was hosting the event at his farm, and his fields were filled with craft vendors, snack stands, and more strawberry-flavored treats then Iris knew existed. Olive was vibrating with excitement beside her, and Iris had to admit that now that she was out in the fresh air with a nice layer of plain toast in her belly, she was feeling much better.
The air was warm and the sun was shining. It was the perfect June day. Everything felt new and fresh and hopeful. Iris had her eyes closed and face tipped toward the sun like a thirsty flower when Olive’s shriek cut through her peaceful springtime thoughts.
‘Baby animals!’ the little girl squealed. ‘Iris! Baby animals!’
Iris looked down at where Olive was tugging on her hand and her heart surged with affection. Her little rain-boot clad feet were squished down in the mud and she was already wearing the new strawberry hair clips that Archer had bought her at Bernadette’s craft stand, and she looked so damn cute. She stared up at Iris with anticipation in her large brown eyes.
‘Can we go see them?’
‘Of course.’
‘Let’s go.’ Olive started tugging Iris along to the pen with the animals. ‘Dad! Come on!’ she called to Archer, who’d been buying them a giant strawberry lemonade from Jeanie’s stand to share.
‘I’ll catch up with you, but don’t try and sneak any baby bunnies in your pockets.’
Olive laughed but Iris made a note to check her overall pockets before they moved on to the next attraction. Iris did not trust Olive not to try and smuggle out a bunny. She’d caught her a few days ago with carrots and a shoe box in the backyard attempting to rig up some sort of trap.
They made their way across the field, avoiding mud puddles and ruts in the grass to get to the animal pens. Dozens of kids swarmed around the fences to get a better look at the baby goats and piglets. Iris spotted a few familiar faces in the crowd.
‘Look, Olive, Ivy and Cece are here.’ She pointed to where the girls were giggling over a pair of baby goats nibbling on the wire fence.
Olive ran to meet them shouting about her new strawberry hair clips and her love of baby goats the whole way. By the time Iris caught up to her, all three girls were jumping up and down together, with a slightly frazzled Hazel and Noah looking on.
‘It’s possible we’ve given them too many strawberry-themed sweets already,’ Hazel said.
‘Nah,’ Noah said with a grin. ‘They’re just having fun.’
Iris gave him a bemused smile, still too out of breath from her near jog across the field to contribute much else.
‘Uncle Noah’—Cece tugged on Noah’s arm—‘can we have more quarters for the goat food?’
‘You girls wiped me out,’ he said, reaching into his pockets and coming out empty-handed.
‘Olive, ask your mom if she has any,’ Ivy whispered to Olive. Iris watched in horror as Olive’s face transformed from joy to sadness in the blink of an eye.
‘She’s not my mom,’ Olive said, and Iris’s heart splintered.
‘Oh…’ Ivy squinted up at Iris in confusion. ‘Your aunt?’
‘No. She’s just my nanny.’
Just my nanny.
‘Okay,’ Ivy continued with zero regard for how this little conversation was tearing Iris apart and really bumming out Olive. ‘Then ask your nanny if she has any quarters.’
Shit. She definitely didn’t have quarters. Who carried around pockets full of quarters?! Did moms do that?
‘Sorry, kid. I didn’t bring any.’
The disappointment written across Olive’s face cut Iris to the core. This was exactly what she was afraid of. This little girl wanted so much from her and she was bound to disappoint her.
‘I’ve got some more!’ Hazel said, shaking her small purse until quarters rained down and the girls shrieked with joy. Thank God.
Iris blew out a sigh of relief. ‘Thanks, Hazel.’
‘No problem. We made the mistake of taking them to the zoo without quarters once and it was a complete nightmare.’
Noah slung his arm over Hazel’s shoulder. ‘I do appreciate you letting the girls stay over with us.’
Hazel smiled up at him. ‘Of course. They’re little nightmares but I love them.’
Noah grinned, planting a kiss on the tip of Hazel’s nose. They’d make good parents one day, Iris thought, fun and loving. Iris could picture how their house would be filled with books and dance parties and a dad that would do anything for his kids and a mom who would adore them.
Could Iris build something like that with Archer and Olive?
‘Did you know they have bunnies here?’ Cece said to Olive as the baby goats licked the last of the food from their sticky palms.
‘I know!’ She turned to Iris, the earlier infraction of not having quarters already forgotten. ‘Iris, can we go see the bunnies?’
‘Let’s go!’ Cece said, pulling Olive along with Ivy right on their heels, not waiting for a response from any of the adults.
Noah laughed. ‘Well, I guess we better follow.’
‘I don’t think we have a choice,’ Iris said, tracking Olive through the crowd of kids. The girls made it to the bunny hutch and Kira was stationed out front.
‘Hey, ladies.’
‘Hi Kira, can I hold a bunny? I’ll be so careful,’ Olive said.
Kira laughed. ‘Wow, coming in hot this morning, huh, Miss Olive?’
‘Very hot. To hold a bunny. Please.’
Kira laughed again. ‘You got it kid. But you have to sit down and be very quiet so we don’t scare them, okay?’
Olive sat on the nearby bale of hay and nodded her head solemnly. Cece and Ivy followed suit. Iris smiled.
‘At least they have to be quiet for a few minutes,’ Hazel whispered, and Iris laughed.
‘Okay, this one is called Cookie.’ Kira lowered a caramel-colored bunny wrapped in a baby blanket into Olive’s arms. Olive practically glowed with excitement, but she stayed completely still and silent, just staring at the animal in her arms.
Kira lowered a white and black bunny named Alexander into Cece’s arms and a tiny gray one named Stormy into Ivy’s.
‘Well, that’s the cutest freaking thing I’ve seen all day,’ Iris said, and Kira grinned.
‘I know, right?’
‘So, you have bunnies now?’
Kira shrugged. ‘It started with just a couple.’
‘That’s how it goes with bunnies,’ Noah said with a laugh, and Hazel rolled her eyes.
‘Aren’t they cute, though!’ Kira said with a dreamy smile.
‘How do Bennett and the dogs feel about them?’ Iris asked.
‘Very protective of them. The dogs keep watch all day, and I’ve caught Ben checking on them in the middle of the night several times.’
Iris laughed and Olive shushed her. ‘You’re going to scare him,’ she whispered.
‘Sorry,’ Iris whispered back.
‘If you’re very careful you can stroke his little head like this.’ Kira demonstrated and then Olive followed suit, petting the bunny’s head with such gentle love and care that Iris felt the inexplicable urge to cry.
‘You okay?’ Kira asked, looking at her with concern.
Apparently, it wasn’t just an urge. Iris wiped her eyes. ‘It’s been a weird day.’
Kira was still looking at her with a furrow between her brows when Archer found them.
‘God, that’s cute,’ he said when he saw Olive and the bunny.
‘Dangerously cute,’ Iris agreed.
‘We’re not getting a bunny.’
‘Right. We’re not getting a bunny.’
They caught each other’s eye and started laughing. Kira was staring. Luckily, Hazel and Noah were too busy snapping pictures of the girls to notice.
‘What is—’ Kira started.
‘Can I hold a bunny too?’ A young boy with freckles and a strawberry stained mouth tugged on Kira’s apron, distracting her from whatever it was she was going to ask, and Iris was definitely not going to answer. What would she say anyway, ‘Oh, right, I forgot to tell you Kira, I fell in love with this man and his daughter and we’re here trying to pretend we’re a family and I’m not sure if it’s working or not but I can’t look at Olive without wanting to cry and I can’t look at Archer without wanting to fling myself at him, so … yeah … that’s what is going on.’
Kira flashed her one more raised eyebrow, like she’d heard Iris’s thoughts, before turning to the rabbit hutch to pull out the next one needing a snuggle.
Iris took the opportunity to distract herself from her feelings and take in the scope of the festival. It certainly wasn’t as big as say the fall festival or even summer, but it was a good showing for the first year. There were several booths selling strawberry shortcake. Iris noticed Annie’s bakery had multiple varieties of strawberry-flavored cookies and cupcakes for sale. The Pumpkin Spice Café had a booth, too, serving up strawberry lemonades and strawberry smoothies. There were the baby animals, an arts and craft tent, and a bounce house for the kids. And more craft vendors than Iris could count. Not bad at all for year one. She even spotted Logan giving tractor rides, an activity usually reserved for the fall. Jeanie must have talked him into that.
‘So how do we get her away from the bunnies?’ Archer asked after they’d been standing around sipping lemonade and watching Olive snuggle Cookie for far too long. Cece and Ivy had gotten bored and convinced Noah and Hazel to take them to the bounce house, but Olive hadn’t wanted to give up her bunny yet.
‘I saw something about a puppet show starting around noon. Maybe we can lure her away with that.’
They both looked skeptically at Olive. Her face was filled with deep and abiding adoration for this bunny. They were so screwed.
Archer leaned into her, his shoulder warm and solid against hers.
‘You sure you’re okay?’ he asked.
Iris let herself press against him, just a little. ‘Yep.’
His hand brushed against hers, his pinky hooking around hers. A secret touch just between them.
Or it was secret until Olive’s head shot up, her gaze zeroing in on where their hands were linked. Her smile grew. Iris dropped Archer’s pinky in a panic. Maybe she wasn’t ready for this. Maybe it wasn’t time. Just thinking of Olive’s disappointment over the lack of quarters was enough to make Iris want to reconsider this whole experiment. How disappointed would she be if she thought Iris was going to be her new mom and then it didn’t work out?
‘Kira!’ Olive called. ‘I’m done with my bunny!’ She passed Cookie back to Kira and scampered over to Iris and Archer, looking at their hands, frowning in disappointment to see they were separate again.
‘What’s next?’ Archer asked her, and Iris knew he was trying to avoid the inevitable.
‘Dad, were you holding Iris’s hand?’
‘Uh…’ Archer raked a hand through his hair. ‘I was just making sure she didn’t get lost.’
Olive’s nose crinkled. ‘You were?’
‘Yep. It’s crowded today. We have to stick together.’ He grabbed Olive under her arms and lifted her up onto his shoulders. She squealed in delight on her way up.
‘Her boots!’ Iris said, watching in dismay as Olive’s muddy boots got dirt all over Archer’s shirt. But when she looked up, Olive and Archer were grinning at her with matching dimples and the boots didn’t matter, the shirt didn’t matter, her own doubts didn’t matter. Maybe it was time. Maybe she was ready for this.
‘Dad, hold Iris’s hand again so she doesn’t get lost,’ Olive instructed.
He looked at her, the question clear on his face, so Iris nodded and grabbed his hand and they marched off to the puppet show. Together. As a family.