Chapter Twenty
Twenty
The farm was a landscape designer’s dream come true.
Emmy spent her first few minutes on the property taking in the sights, the expansiveness of it all.
The house had traditional charm: architecture that combined rustic sensibility and stately elegance.
There were a few scraggly shrubs that looked well beyond saving, empty flower beds that begged to be filled, and some gorgeous ivy climbing up the northern walls.
Overall, not terrible, but a lot of room for improvement.
Emmy’s fingers itched to start digging right then and there.
Instead, she walked to the front door and rang the bell. Joanna answered with a welcoming smile.
“Emmy! So glad you came. Did you have a chance to look around yet?”
“Yes, a little. I’m going to do more, and take some pictures, but I wanted to stop by to let you know I’m here. Maybe you could give me an idea of what you’re looking to have done?”
“Absolutely. Thank you again for taking the time.”
They walked the extensive grounds and talked.
Emmy saw potential everywhere she looked.
Using her phone, she took pictures and googled different options for plants and rock, gave Joanna some rough price estimates.
They focused on the front of the main house, knowing that would be the biggest draw for potential buyers.
“I can put some half-barrel planters in front of the barn to create a cohesive image,” Emmy suggested as they wrapped up. “We’ll use some of the same flowers as the front of the house, and it will barely bump the price point up because we’ll be buying in bulk.”
“That sounds just perfect. I’m so glad Will found you.” Joanna surprised Emmy by pulling her into a quick one-armed hug. “You’re good for him. I can tell.”
“Ah…”
“Just an observation,” Joanna added, laughing at the look of baffled distress on Emmy’s face. “When do you think you can get started here?”
“As soon as you’re ready. If you’re okay with my estimate, I’ll take twenty percent up front as a down payment, and I’ll start gathering supplies.”
Wow, I sound like a businessperson! Emmy thought excitedly. She fought to keep a friendly yet professional expression on her face, but inside she was squealing and dancing.
“Perfect. I’ll text you after I discuss with Bill. You’re a lifesaver, Emmy. Truly, you are.”
“Tell me that after you see what I do. Besides Will’s house, I haven’t done anything like this before.”
“You’ll do spectacularly.”
“I’ll certainly try,” Emmy said. “I can’t wait to get started. This is going to be fun!”
Trepidations aside, she loved the idea of playing around in this expansive space.
And though she’d never tell Will, she could admit to herself that he was right; there was a certain level of freedom in taking on this job knowing it didn’t have any effect on the real world.
When Joanna went back inside, she sent Will a text to let him know he could come pick her up.
While she waited, she made notes on her phone, documenting ideas, saving images, comparing prices.
She wondered how accurate the pricing information was as compared to the real world.
Considering everything else she’d bought had been exactly as she’d expected, she assumed they were pretty much the same.
Then Will pulled up, and all thoughts of perennials and potting soil flew out the window as she took in his eager smile.
He wore a pair of dark shades that added a bad boy edge to his appearance and made Emmy want very much to hop into the car and climb all over him.
Instead, she buckled up and put her phone away, not wanting to give in to the temptation of googling a route or a destination.
“You ready?” Will asked.
“Sure.” Please don’t disappear, Cobalt. Please!
*
It took them less than two hours to cross the entire state of Massachusetts.
Will had wanted to drive east before heading north.
The ocean was so close, and he thought it would be nice to see the beach as they drove wherever they were going.
Emmy hadn’t seen any reason to disagree.
She had to admit to herself as they sat at Peggy’s Diner, a little privately owned joint they’d discovered on the outskirts of Marblehead, that his instinct had been a good one.
They were enjoying a late breakfast of pancakes, bacon, hash browns, and coffee while watching seagulls wing by out the window, their white bodies contrasting nicely with the vibrant blue of the cloudless sky.
Emmy dabbed a bite of pancake into her syrup cup and wondered when it was that she’d been able to let go of the tension that seemed to have been with her since the moment she’d opened her eyes that morning.
Because Will’s parents lived on the outskirts of town, it had taken no time at all before they’d approached, then passed, the sign indicating they were leaving the nonexistent town of Cobalt, Massachusetts, population 2,944.
Emmy had had to concentrate on keeping her eyes on the road ahead.
If she’d whipped around to look behind them and see if the town disappeared, Will would definitely have noticed and asked what was up.
She’d sat rigidly in the passenger seat, glad at least that she could be sure of his sobriety on this trip, and allowed him to pick the music.
At some point between leaving Will’s parents’ house and stopping at the quaint diner for breakfast, the tension had seeped out of her.
Perhaps it was the idyllic vista outside the car window or the distraction of the radio.
Or she could be honest with herself and admit that it was all Will.
Every now and then in the past couple hours, he’d turned to her and just smiled, or touched her arm to point out a particularly beautiful glimpse of scenery.
He’d made small talk as well, but for the most part, they’d sat back and enjoyed a fast ride down an open highway.
There was a freedom in it, once Emmy got past the worries and fears enough to enjoy it.
“Thinking big thoughts,” Will said, cutting into her quiet reflection.
“Hm?”
He gestured with his fork. “You’ve been staring at that piece of bacon like you expect it to get up and dance.”
Emmy snatched up the bacon in question and bit in. “I was just thinking about how I’ve never been to this part of Massachusetts before, so I couldn’t say if this is an exact replica of the real world or not.”
Will shrugged. “We’ll find our way to some kind of landmark eventually. The point is that this place is here. There is a world outside the town of Cobalt. I was starting to feel… claustrophobic, I guess.”
“I can understand that. I’m sorry for any part I played in your claustrophobia.”
He fixed her with his gaze, and she was immediately lost in the mixture of pain and compassion she saw there. His face was so damn expressive. It was why he pulled at her even when she did everything in her power to fight any and all attraction she felt for him.
“You didn’t play any part in it, Em. I hope I didn’t make you feel like I resented you.”
“You have every reason to. I upended your life.”
Will reached out and took her hand in his. “It needed upending.”
He didn’t lean toward her, didn’t increase their physical contact beyond his hand on hers, but she was reminded of their most recent kiss all the same. Neither of them had brought it up, and she was grateful to him for that.
Will looked on the cusp of doing or saying something, but his phone lit up with a text, and he let go of her hand. The moment was lost. She told herself she was relieved.
“Jared wants to know if we want to grab dinner with him and Bright tonight.”
“Will we get back in time?” Will we get back at all?
“Depends how far we go. We can just drive for another couple hours, then head back. If we time it right, we can meet them at The Drowned Catfish around six or seven.”
“The Drowned Catfish? How do you drown a fish?” Emmy asked.
“Ask Harlan. He owns the place. One of my favorite restaurants. You’re okay with Cajun food?”
“I am very okay with Cajun food,” Emmy assured him.
“Cool. It’s in town, so we won’t have a long drive home after. I know we’ll probably be done with long car rides by then.”
Provided they had a town anymore. “Okay. Sounds good. I like spicy food.”
“Then you’ll do Harlan proud.” He texted Jared back. “Ready to go?”
Emmy drained the rest of her coffee, then they headed to the counter to pay.
They drove up the coast, stopped to dip their toes into the Atlantic, ate lunch at a seaside shanty that boasted handcrafted beers and an ocean view.
Emmy still couldn’t say if anything she saw would be exactly as it was in the real world, but she forgot to care.
Everything was so beautiful and serene. It was an unexpected vacation that she hadn’t known she needed.
They kept going north up I-95—that was a real highway, Emmy knew—and ended up in Maine.
Though lunch was only a couple hours behind them, they couldn’t help but share a lobster roll.
Will had Emmy in fits of giggles as he tried and failed to imitate the distinctive Maine accent, working his mouth around the word “lobster” like he was an alien trying and failing to assimilate smoothly into Earth culture.