Harvest Rest

by Teri Blake

  He didn’t know much about the situation. Only that Toni had started bleeding and cramping too early to have the baby. They’d managed to get her labor, if that was what it truly was, stopped. But she’d had multiple similar episodes since and Toni was getting sicker with each one.

  “I’ll be here for you. You just tell me what needs to happen and it will be done.” Sawyer hoped he could fulfill that promise.

  “I don’t need you to do anything else for me. Just keep doing what you’re doing. I hope I’ll know more in the next few days. Toni has to stay here because they have her on all these monitors. She’s not sleeping and having trouble eating because of stress. That’s not good for her either.” He sighed. “If I’d known having a baby would be so hard on her, I wouldn’t have wanted it so bad.”

  “You couldn’t have known. Have her doctors said this will happen every time or is this just something that happened this time?”

  “I’ve been too afraid to ask. Maybe I’ll get there after this little guy is here and I forget how scared I am at this moment. But that might not be until his first birthday.” Tyrone laughed softly. “I don’t want to be gone too long. I’ll talk to you later, man.”

  “Later.” He hung up and considered calling Karla right back. If she knew just what he’d been dealing with, she might understand where he was coming from. Then again, she had so much on her plate with construction, sister situations like Channyon, and then finding out Davin had been smoking… Why should he put more stress on her? She would worry about Toni when there was nothing she could do.

  He dialed one of his men.

  “Morning Sawyer.”

  “Morning. Where are you today? I have you at the Tidewater.”

  “Can’t touch that yet. I went out there after we shut down for the day yesterday to check on the concrete and it’s still shiny. Too humid. It’s not cured yet.”

  “When will you be out there?” He wanted to give Karla a date. That would make her less worried.

  “Maybe Monday. But everything is there and ready. As soon as it’s set, it won’t take us long to get the framing done. A day, maybe two. It’s pretty simple and this crew is solid.”

  “Good to hear.” Turnover could be high during the summer when people passing through thought they could take a construction job for a few months, then keep moving. The heat and humidity were daunting even for people used to it. Those who weren’t, couldn’t take it.

  “Are you confident enough in that guess that I can pass it on to the homeowner?”

  Bill paused. “Yeah, I’m as sure as I can be. I mean. With 75% humidity, it just takes a while and she lives right on the ocean. It’s even worse than normal. If we get a good breeze over the weekend, that would help.”

  He understood, which was why he’d suggested other means of laying the foundation, but Becker had wanted the concrete and in the end, Sawyer hadn’t had the energy to fight. The concrete would be fine, it would just take time. “Then I’ll let her know. Thanks. Keep me up to date with what you’re doing.”

  “It’ll be in the spreadsheet by tonight.” Bill hung up.

  Calling Karla and apologizing would be the best thing to do but it would also lead him to saying more than he should about Tyrone. That was private and she might think he was trying to make her feel guilty for questioning him when she had every right to, not to mention worry her.

  He just wished he wasn’t so busy to make her have to do it.

  He pressed her number on his cell phone so it wouldn’t tie up his business line. She answered after just a few rings. “Yes.”

  “Karla, I’m sorry about that. I got an emergency call that I had to take.”

  Her response was as stiff as day-old pizza. “That’s fine.”

  “I did call the lead on the crew I have scheduled to work for you. Just as I thought, the cement isn’t ready. He’ll be on site on Monday.”

  “I don’t know how he could know that since no one has been here.”

  He sighed as his business phone started flashing, letting him know there was an incoming call from the front desk, meaning he should take it.

  “He says he came over alone in the evening to look at it. After work hours. To see if it was cured or not. Is it possible you didn’t see him because you were doing other things? I know you, you weren’t just sitting there watching the house all day.”

  “Of course I wasn’t, but I would know.”

  He couldn’t stop her from holding onto her anger, especially since it seemed to have blossomed into something beyond what he’d done. “All right. Well, I hope things will calm down enough around here that I can check in with you again next week. Look for Bill and his crew on Monday. They’re good guys.”

  She hung up on him. What in the world? He stared at his phone wondering if it had dropped her or if she’d really just hung up when he’d told her the guys coming to her house would take care of her?

  He waited for a few minutes to see if she would try to call him back, meaning the call was just disconnected. After five minutes, she hadn’t called back yet. He took care of the other message and reached for his phone again, then halted. If she didn’t want to talk to him right now, fine. He’d work things out with her after Tyrone was back in the office. They’d been through too much to let a little construction project ruin everything.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Her phone had been strangely silent. Channyon picked up her cell phone and checked once again to make sure she hadn’t left it on vibrate. Though, with as close as she’d been watching it, she’d have noticed if the screen lit up.

  “Where is he?” She drummed her fingers, not expecting an answer. Mostly because she hadn’t told her sisters he’d left. In fact, she’d gone out of her way to go out, making it seem like he was still there. Still trying. But was that act in vain?

  If he didn’t call her, did he really still want to get back together? Almost five days had passed since he’d left and he hadn’t sent word. Not even that he’d made it back home. Should she be the one to reach out? Was he worried she was angry? He’d asked her. Certainly that meant she was okay with him going, though she’d worried from the minute he’d walked away.

  They still had so much to overcome. She felt attracted to him, but something held her back from showing it. There was a discomfort that hadn’t been addressed yet, creating an elephant between them that neither could see around nor cross over.

  Talking wasn’t going to be what fixed them because it hadn’t worked so far, but she couldn’t act either. Her internal wall prevented it, leaving them stuck. Not that it mattered. He wasn’t there to talk to so she couldn’t even consider anything more.

  At some point, she would have to tell her sisters that he was gone, and why. He’d left to go help a child. That child had been more important than their reconciliation. She understood why, but her sisters might not. They might question his motives and his heart. If they did, her rocky admiration might falter. Then where would she be?

  She slipped her phone into her back pocket and headed for the Suburban. Karla caught her in the driveway.

  “Channyon, I wanted to ask if I could drop you off at work and use the Suburban today?”

  Sawyer’s car still sat in the driveway, so the request made no sense. “Why? Is something wrong with the car?”

  “No.” She looked a little puckered and sour. “I just don’t want to use his car when we’re not talking.”

  This was news. “Since when?”

  “Last Friday. He hung up on me, then he told me he was sending some good guys over on Monday to work on the house. It reminded me of a conversation I’d just had with Aryn, where she’d said good guys were bad ones in disguise. Gut reaction, I hung up on him. And…I haven’t talked to him since.”

  “Oh…four days. Whatever will we do?” Channyon slapped her palms to her cheeks and made the biggest obnoxious surprise face she could manage. “I’m sure you’ll be back together in no time. You guys have had spats before.”

>   “Together? We are not together.” Karla turned deep red and rolled her eyes, but it didn’t quite have the force she probably intended.

  “I know, you two can’t really be together until you’re divorced. That’s great. But it’s obvious to anyone outside of you two that you are, in fact, together. Neither of you are looking at anyone else and you have no intention to. You have deep conversations together. You work together. It’s just a matter of time.”

  Karla shook her head and glanced away. “I don’t really see it that way. I don’t know that I need any guy.”

  Channyon wanted to laugh because it wasn’t about needing a guy, very few women needed anyone anymore, but having someone love you unconditionally—if that could be found—was priceless. “I don’t think either of you need each other, but you sure go together well and that says something. Especially with how badly Rob messed up the way you think.”

  She headed for the Suburban. “I’m taking the truck. I think you’ll work it out with him and if not, just put gas in his car and return it this weekend.” She slammed the door closed before Karla could argue.

  Sawyer may have done something to make Karla miffed with him, but just as likely they’d both done something and neither wanted to deal with it. It wasn’t like they had a long history to work through with every argument. They’d only known each other for four months.

  A text popped through and she dove for her phone, fumbling it and almost driving off the road. She quickly glanced at the name long enough to see that it wasn’t from Becker. As she pulled over, another text came through from Davin.

  Hey Auntie, Mom is a little crazy and won’t give me my allowance right now. I promise, I’ve been working hard. Can I borrow $20?

  The second text held more excuses.

  She thinks I’m going to order more oils or a new vape. I don’t think she understands that I can’t just buy those. So, can you help?

  Karla might be one of those overbearing parents who were in their kids’ business all the time, but she was also doing a pretty good job of raising the little buggers. If Channyon were in Karla’s shoes, she wouldn’t want anyone else going over her head with her kids.

  She gripped the wheel as a fresh wave of pain hit her. It always came out of the blue, like mourning the loss of someone so close to you they were practically part of you, yet, you never knew their name.

  Sorry, kid. I’m on your mom’s side with this one. Earn back the trust and you’ll earn back the cash.

  She pulled back onto the street and, a few minutes later, parked the truck in the employee lot. Her phone laid there on the seat, waiting for her to make a decision. She picked it up and feverishly typed a message to Becker.

  Hey, miss you. Hope you’re doing okay.

  She made sure it was on silent for work, then shoved it in her back pocket. If he answered, she’d have to wait until after closing to find out.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Karla stood in the kitchen, leaving Sawyer and Tim to talk for a minute without her. Sawyer had called out of the blue after his men had shown up as promised on Monday. Talking to him like nothing had happened would be so nice, but protecting her heart would be nice too.

  Aryn had been hurt by the worst and she’d seen the similarities between Jager and Rob. She’d said Sawyer would be the same and he’d literally hurt her just minutes later. Even though she regretted hanging up on him, she still worried that he would only be nice as long as he had to. The verdict was in—she was incredibly stupid when it came to picking men. Friends or otherwise.

  Now that both men who’d been discussed that day sat at the kitchen table, she wasn’t at all ready to sit down and play nice. Tim wanted to show her the final plans for the backyard, which was now going to be much smaller than it had been before and he’d made additional adjustments since the first set of plans. Originally, she’d planned to build a small house on the back of the property for her and her sisters, but with the addition there wasn’t room.

  “Karla, are you ready to see what Tim has planned?” Sawyer’s eyes were on her, begging her to understand that he was there. Why couldn’t she believe that?

  “Sure.” She pushed away from the counter and left her coffee behind. With her nerves, she’d spill it all over the plans and the caffeine wasn’t needed either.

  Tim turned the large sheet of thick paper toward her. “As you can see, we’re dealing with less space, but if we create zones of entertainment, your guests will never realize how small the area is.”

  She looked over the plan and it didn’t look cluttered, but still small. “I guess I’m having difficulty picturing it with just a drawing.”

  He flipped to the following page, which showed a computer rendered image of her backyard with the new addition completed in the background.

  “See, here we have a small fountain with benches. Over here, we have grass for lawn games or picnics.” He pointed, his excitement rising.

  Aryn strode into the kitchen and froze like she’d been caught stealing a cookie. “Hey. I didn’t realize I was interrupting. I’ll just grab my coffee and go.” She reached for the pot.

  Tim’s voice changed as he spoke to Aryn. “You can come sit. This is your new backyard too.”

  She glanced at Karla, then Tim. She wanted to, it was evident on her face, but would her fear of getting too attached to Tim win or would she play along? Karla didn’t want to see Tim get hurt, and Aryn wouldn’t intentionally do it. But her heart wasn’t going to soften. Maybe not ever. Not after they’d talked about Tim and her future.

  “Sure, why not. You draw up great plans.” She poured her cup and sat down next to him.

  Tim turned the paper to face her. “This is the place for couples. I imagine you’ll have lots of couples wanting to get away.”

  Karla tried to hold in a frown. Her inn had always been about families. Not that couples weren’t welcome, but families with children were her target. She knew them best.

  “Actually, the main goal of the Tidewater is to create a comfortable space for people with families to relax.”

  He smiled and nodded but focused on Aryn again quickly. “This is a flower garden. I’ll show you all about them and how to care for them.”

  Karla felt the whole meeting slipping away. Would he listen if she had issues with his plan? “Do you think that’s a good use of space? Before we had a lawn with surrounding bushes to close in the yard and some flowers up by the house.”

  She glanced at Sawyer to see if he would back her up on this. The plan looked beautiful, but expensive and it would take a lot of effort to maintain. If Aryn scared Tim away, who would do all the work?

  Sawyer looked it over. “It seems to be pretty well in line with what is expected for a property this size. I wouldn’t argue it.”

  Was he agreeing with Tim because he didn’t want to agree with her or because he really felt that way? He wasn’t acting normally, and she hated that she even had to question his thinking.

  Aryn’s voice softened. “It’s really beautiful. You did an amazing job. I can’t wait to see it.”

  “It would’ve been started in a month if we weren’t behind,” Karla pointed out. If Sawyer was going to just sit there and let Tim do as he pleased, why bother having a meeting? No one was listening to her anyway.

  “You’re on schedule. There’s no reason to worry.” He shot back at her.

  Tim glanced nervously between the two. “I can’t plant many of the flowers and shrubs until next spring anyway. It will be too late in the fall by the time it’s done.” Tim turned the paper her way again. “I can get the grass laid though, so it’ll be green soon enough.”

  “You should show us outside where all of this will be.” Aryn stood. “Show me?”

  Sawyer shook his head. “There are about ten guys out there working. We’d get in their way. Karla’s already worried about the schedule. We don’t want to set them back.”

  If Sawyer was going to be against everything she said, then she could just g
o against him too. “Oh, I wouldn’t want to deprive Tim of showing us where his flowers will go. Aryn wants to see, so let’s go over there and look. I’m sure the guys won’t mind.”

  She wasn’t sure at all but until Sawyer decided to be the guy he’d always been before, she wasn’t going to agree with him.

  Tim froze where he sat, obviously afraid to make either person angry. She owned the property, but Sawyer was his boss. Which would he choose? She hated putting him in such a position, but if Sawyer didn’t see his discomfort and fix it, then she’d make Tim decide.

  But it was Aryn who decided for him. “Great, let’s go. Will you plant lavender? I’ve always wanted lavender.”

  “I could add some.” Tim crowded close to Aryn, their heads bent together as they talked herbs and left Sawyer and Karla to follow.

  Without Tim and Aryn there, her argument felt silly. Sawyer looked so tired, so beaten down. He hadn’t told her anything that had been going on in his personal life. Like why his partner had stopped showing up and why he had to work so hard that he never saw her.

  He stood and pushed in his chair. “I don’t think we’re any closer to agreeing, so taking this any further is a waste of my time.” He headed for the door.

  “Sawyer.” She had to know if he meant the backyard plans, or them.

  He stopped but said nothing.

  “I…didn’t mean to hang up on you. I’m sorry. You said something that triggered my bad reaction. I know you’ve got a lot going on, but…I still need you.”

  “Do you? Doesn’t seem like it. We’re back to all of my suggestions being bad and I can’t figure out why? I was gone for a little over one week, dealing with a heavy work load and all of a sudden you treat me like I’m as bad as Rob. I would hope… Never mind. I’ll see you around.”

  He left quietly out the front and a minute later, she heard his truck engine start, then rumble away. While she could manage all on her own, he’d taught her that she didn’t want to. Life had been much easier when he was there to lean on.