by Devney Perry
I wanted to argue and tell Bridget that Chad was just an idiot, but she was right. I’d been at the nursery the first time the two had met and when she’d gone to shake his hand, he’d blown her off.
“I’ll call the owner. Either he puts a new salesman on our account, or we’ll just use Cashman’s.”
And pay an extra five percent on every order. I’d been using this smaller nursery for the past year because their products were top-of-the-line and their prices were unbeatable. But I wasn’t going to make Bridget deal with a prick.
“Thank you.” She pushed her chair farther into my office, rolling right up to the edge of my desk. She smiled at the picture of Max and Kali on the corner. “Today is the last day of school, right?”
“Yep. It’s hard to believe my Kali is going to be a middle schooler.”
“It feels like yesterday that she came in here and played in the corner after preschool.”
“The years are going by quicker and quicker.” Not just the years. The days and weeks too. It felt like only hours ago I’d started on Molly’s yard project, but it had already been a week.
“The summers are racing by,” Bridget said. “We can’t keep up.”
I pushed my calendar over to her so she could scope out the lineup. “No, we can’t.”
I’d had to turn away three customers over the past week because we didn’t have the capacity to bid their projects. Our mowing crew was maxed out and the waiting list was twenty-deep. Adding more staff wasn’t possible until maybe next season—there simply wasn’t enough trained labor in town.
The season was just starting and I was already behind on office work. Normally, I’d work late on the nights when Molly had the kids and catch up. But this week, I’d been leaving the office at five on the nose to go to her place and work on the yard. We’d have dinner and hang out with the kids. Then I’d spend the night, getting up early to leave before dawn.
I was sneaking around with my wife.
Ex-wife.
But damn the sex was good. Maybe better than it had ever been. The two of us were having a full-on affair in the house we’d once bought together. And I had no plans to stop, even if it was fucking stupid.
I had more energy now than I’d had in years. I caught myself smiling more throughout the day whenever I thought of her lips on my skin or my hands in her hair. Damn, but I loved her hair. When was the last time I’d gotten so caught up in a woman?
Fifteen years ago.
None of the girlfriends I’d had since Molly had ever given me such a thrill. I’d dated Brenna for a year, and for the last half of it, I’d spent more time avoiding dates than rushing toward them.
The three nights this past week when the kids had been at my place, I’d gone to bed grumpy, wishing it were Molly at my side, not my unopened laptop.
If there had been a way to sneak her over, I would have. Except my kids weren’t stupid and they’d know something was up. I might have the excuse of landscaping to take me to Molly’s. But she hadn’t set foot in my home. Not once. Whenever she dropped off the kids, she said good-bye on the sidewalk, staying back at least ten feet from the front door.
Why was that? I’d invited her in on more than one occasion, but in six years, she hadn’t crossed the threshold. Not even when Max had invited her in to see his room. She’d made an excuse about being late and promised to see it another time—which had never happened.
These were all things we should have talked about instead of stripping one another naked like we had all weekend and last night too.
Sex was easier than talking. It always had been.
Molly and I had spent years communicating physically, learning and perfecting the way we silently came together. As soon as words were involved, things got dicey.
We’d agreed that first night was a mistake. I’d venture a guess she felt the same about the other three. But to hell with it, I was excited to go over there after work tonight.
The front yard was coming along, and it was a blast to have the kids help me out. Molly too. She’d joined us outside last night, wearing her own leather gloves and working for an hour before dinner.
For the first time, the four of us had worked on a project together. Like a family.
Max thought dirt was fascinating. Kali was going to have her own green thumb. And Molly had an eye for design I hadn’t respected enough. The feeling of being next to them, hearing their ideas, had filled me with so much pride, I was tempted to stretch this project out for months because I didn’t want it to end.
Except I couldn’t afford to stretch the project out. I couldn’t afford to spend all those nights at Molly’s. I had to work. The only other option was to make some changes around Alcott.
Bridget was staring with wide eyes at my calendar. I had a separate schedule I used to track the mowing crews, the same system Molly had designed years ago. But this calendar was full of the major projects, the ones where either Bridget or I was assigned to oversee design and execution.
She had two crews who reported to her, each led by a foreman who was on-site and working each day. I had three reporting to me.
We used a color-coded system in the calendar to assign jobs. Her projects were yellow, mine blue.
The month of June was so full, if you squinted at the page, it all swirled green. Maybe it was time to admit we needed some help.
“It’s only been the two of us designing and managing crews for a long time,” I told her.
“It has.” Her spine straightened. “Wait. Are you thinking of hiring someone else?”
“Maybe.” I paused. “Actually, yes. I want to keep growing, but I need more staff.”
Bridget’s jaw tensed. “I can probably take on three more projects a month.”
“I appreciate that, but I don’t want you to get burned out.”
“I’d rather work a little harder than throw someone in the middle of this who will just get in the way. Remember how unorganized things were when Jason worked here? Or that summer you hired She Who Will Not Be Named?”
“Athena.”
She scowled. “What a bitch. She couldn’t show up on time, and she stole ten customers on the mowing route when she left.”
Ten customers I hadn’t been sad to see go. Their homes were scattered all across the Gallatin Valley, and because they hadn’t fit into our normal routes, I’d had to charge them a bit more to cover gas. Athena had gone to work for a competitor, taking them along with a promise of a lower price. It didn’t bother me, but clearly Bridget was still hung up about it even though Athena had quit seven years ago.
And in Athena’s defense, I didn’t really set office hours. It had just always happened that Bridget and I arrived around the same time each morning.
“We haven’t had another architect on staff for seven years,” I told her.
“Because we don’t need one.”
Bridget had been the first architect I’d hired at Alcott Landscaping, so she’d been with me since the beginning, one of my first employees. I’d hired her as a college student to work on the mowing crew in the summers. She’d started as my design apprentice the day after she’d graduated from Montana State with a degree in landscape architecture.
We’d been together so long that our processes were perfectly in sync. Hell, she’d helped create most of them. And she was right. Every time we tried to bring on someone new, shit fell apart.
That didn’t seem like enough reason to keep killing ourselves though. Surely there had to be someone out there who would actually contribute.
“I’m tired of turning clients away,” I admitted. I was tired of always feeling behind. “I’d like to try, and I’d like your help. Maybe instead of hiring an experienced architect, it’s time for you to have an apprentice.”
The blockade she’d put up to the idea of another designer came down an inch. “I’m listening.”
“We’ll put an ad out. You can participate in the interviews. Or if any kids on the mowing crew show some promise,
you could bring them in too. Think about it. Let me know. But it’s time for both of us to cut back.” I pointed to the framed picture of the kids. “Before long, Kali and Max will be leaving home to build their own lives. I don’t want to miss the time I have.”
“Okay.” She blew out a long breath. “Message received. I’ll get on board.”
“Thank you.”
She spun her chair around, pushing it backward out of my office and into her own. Then keys rattled as she appeared in my doorway again, this time standing. “I’m in the field the rest of the day.”
“I’ll call you once I hear back from the nursery.”
Bridget waved then headed down the hallway to the front door. The moment it was quiet, I got on the phone and raised hell. Ten apologies, three half-price Norway spruce saplings and one new salesman staffed to our account later, I went back to my stack of unpaid bills and overflowing inbox.
I’d only managed to get logged into my online banking portal when the front door to the office chimed. I sighed as footsteps came my way. The bills would have to wait.
“Hey, uh, Finn?”
“Come on in.” I waved Jeff in from where he was hovering outside my door.
He stepped into my office hesitantly, glancing at his muddy boots.
“You’re not the first and you won’t be the last guy to bring mud into my office. Have a seat.”
“Thanks.” He crossed the room, taking off the beanie from his head.
Jeff, my newest employee, had started at Alcott two weeks ago. Bridget, my foremen and a few of the others were kept on full-time year-round. They transitioned from landscaping to snow removal in the winters, except for Bridget who could do design work even after the snow flew. But since I needed more laborers in the summers than winters, I filled crews with guys needing seasonal work. April through October, we were fully staffed. Jeff had been a last-minute addition when one of the other new hires was a no-show.
“What can I do for you?” I asked Jeff.
“I, uh . . .” He dropped his head. “I was wondering if I could get a pay advance. I’m having some trouble with my ex-wife and she’s taking me to court to get full custody of my daughter. I need to get a lawyer.”
He seemed too young to have a kid and an ex-wife, but what the hell did I know. At his age, I’d been head over heels for my wife. If someone had told me I’d be divorced from Molly, I would have laughed and told them they were crazy.
Not many men stand at the altar and say I do to their wife thinking someday she’ll be an ex. I certainly hadn’t.
“I wish I could help you, Jeff. But I don’t do pay advances.” I’d done that once when I’d first started out. The guy had taken a thousand-dollar advance and never shown up at the shop again.
“I understand. I just . . . I’m not a deadbeat dad. That’s what she’s calling me. But my little girl is two and she’s my entire world. My ex is a vicious bitch and she’s using Katy to get back at me. I can’t lose my daughter.”
Shit. I liked Jeff and saw some potential there. He was on my best crew and had been pulling his weight, even as the new guy. He worked hard. According to Gerry, my most tenured foreman, Jeff was the first one at the shop each morning and never asked to leave early.
I felt for the guy. I couldn’t imagine going through a nasty divorce.
Neither Molly nor I had gotten vindictive throughout our divorce. We hadn’t squabbled over material things. I’d wanted her to have the house. She’d wanted me to keep Alcott Landscaping.
We’d both been completely dedicated to sharing custody of the kids.
Yeah, I’d been furious with her at the time. I’d been heartbroken over her one-night stand. In truth, I’d been an asshole. But I’d told my lawyer during our first meeting that this wasn’t about revenge. I’d given him an order to treat her fairly. And he’d worked with her attorney to make that happen.
“I’m sorry,” I told Jeff. “I really am. I got divorced a while back and I understand how stressful it is. Especially when you throw kids into the mix. But I have employee policies for a reason, and I can’t give you an advance.”
“All right. I knew you said during my orientation that you guys don’t do overtime. If that changes, would you keep me in mind?”
“I will.”
I wasn’t going to tell Jeff, but I hadn’t paid overtime in five years. Overtime wages were the fastest way to send Alcott’s expenses through the roof. Instead, I managed the crews’ hours and didn’t commit to projects we couldn’t fit into the schedule.
“Thanks, Finn. I’d better get out of here. The guys are waiting.”
“Before you go.” I held up a finger as he stood from his chair. I dove into my desk drawer, taking out a sticky note. I scribbled my lawyer’s name on it and handed it over. “This was my lawyer when I got divorced. He’s not cheap. But he’s good. Really good. If you can swing it, try to get a meeting with him. He does some pro bono work too. Tell him you work for me.”
“Thanks. I really appreciate it.” Jeff nodded, tucking the note in his pocket.
“Anytime.” I stood from my chair and followed him out of the office. One of our navy trucks, emblazoned with a white Alcott Landscaping logo on the door, was idling outside.
Jeff piled inside with two other guys and waved as they pulled away from the office. A quaking aspen was loaded on the flatbed along with some hostas.
As they drove away, I walked down the short gravel road to the shop. It was the heart of Alcott.
We were located on the outskirts of Bozeman on a three-acre plot. For the first couple years Alcott had been in business, Molly and I had rented a shop to store our equipment. We’d run the office from our dining room table at the small apartment we’d moved into after getting married.
But after we’d started to become more profitable, I’d found this property and we’d taken a gamble. It had paid off. We’d put up a small steel shop in the far corner of the property. After a year, we’d had to triple its size to hold the equipment and company trucks. The year after that, it was so crowded that Molly suggested we build an actual office so she could get out of the room we’d set up as an office slash storage locker.
At the entrance to the property, we’d put up a small, separate, two-story building. The offices and small conference room were on the first floor. At the rear, a staircase led to a small lounge on the second floor.
We’d planned to let the office staff use the lounge to relax or hold informal meetings. Molly had wanted a “soft” space for the kids to play whenever we were all there together, along with a bathroom.
Neither of us had planned that the lounge, with the couch and kitchenette, would become my apartment when I moved out. Neither of us had planned that we wouldn’t be working together at Alcott for years to come.
I stepped through one of the open bay doors of the shop and looked around. It was mostly cleared except for some of the larger equipment, like two skid steers that didn’t go out every day. The mowing crews had left hours ago. The last landscaping crew was out in the yard, loading up a tree from yesterday’s nursery delivery.
We used the yard as a staging ground, having all the supplies from our vendors dropped off here instead of individual job sites. There were trees and bushes in one corner. Along the far side of the property, we kept landscaping boulders and piles of pea gravel next to pallets of peat moss and manure.
“Hey, Finn.” One of the guys came out of the shop bathroom, zipping up his pants.
“Hey. Heading out?”
“Yep. We’re about loaded up. See ya.” His footsteps echoed off the metal walls and ceiling before he stepped outside and into the sunshine.
I took a deep breath, savoring the smell of dirt and oil. I didn’t get in here enough. I spent most of my days in the office. But this . . . this was the reason I’d started Alcott. I had to find a way to spend more days in the fresh summer air, not under the vents of my AC.
I spun in a slow circle, taking it all in.
&
nbsp; We’d built so much. I wouldn’t have even thought this was possible without Molly dreaming at my side. She’d supported me completely those early days. She’d stuck it out, working the long hours. It was only when we’d had Kali that she’d taken a step back.
As a breeze from outside rushed into the shop, a doubt came with it.
Did I take this from her? Did Molly feel like I’d shut her out of our business because I’d suggested she stay home with the kids?
I’d thought it would make life easier if she was at home and not working. But as I thought back, I couldn’t remember asking her what she’d wanted. When she hadn’t put up a fight, I’d assumed we wanted the same thing, much like the yard that I’d learned a decade too late she hated.
She loved Alcott—or she used to.
Molly hadn’t been here in years. The last time I remembered seeing her on the property was before the divorce.
Was I missing something? Why hadn’t Molly come inside my house? Why didn’t she come out here?
Divorcees were allowed a reprieve from answering those types of questions. From opening up conversations that would probably only cause pain.
Until they started sleeping together.
Now those questions would be constantly on my mind. They were begging for answers I doubted I’d want to learn. I stepped outside, and for once, the fresh air didn’t offer any kind of peace.
The last truck in the yard pulled out, two guys riding shotgun as Lena, another crew leader, drove away. She smiled as she passed me on the road.
God, I wanted to go with them. To run and hop into the back of that truck and get lost in June for a day. To forget the questions and doubts and just . . . work.
But the office summoned. The bills and schedules couldn’t be ignored. So, I trudged inside, settling for an open window in my office as the only link to the work I actually loved.
I mentally added business manager to my list of potential employees.
Poppy had been brilliant to hire Molly to run the business side of the restaurant. It allowed my sister to be in the kitchen, doing what she loved. I needed a Molly to run Alcott. Except I’d had a Molly to run Alcott and then she’d left.