Page 13 of Don't Fall for a Grump

6

Jackson

I can feel the sweat trickling down my back as I throw another log on the work bench. It’s getting hot outside, and even with the barn doors flung open, it’s still like a sauna in here.

Of course, Dad’s workshop is not your everyday barn. Once the business started to grow, he took my advice and put the money he earned back into the business. Since, well, I am an investment banker who’s pretty damn good at his job.

First, he bought bigger and better tools. Then he paid for the barn to be completely gutted and refurbished with everything he might need; from power tools, to circular saws, great big vices, and storage shelves. So, while on the outside, the building may look like any other barn in the country, the inside is actually a pretty well kitted out and modern workshop. Everything is clean and neatly organized in its proper place. Dad liked it that way.

“Your workspace reflects your mind,” he had always said.

He had raised us this way, and evidently, his philosophy had stuck. My desk at the office is no different; minimal, and with everything in its proper place. Sometimes, I wonder if I haven’t got a little touch of OCD. I’m sure Cathy, my PA, would say I have.

I’m also pretty tired, but I only have myself to blame for that. If I hadn’t been such an idiot with Bree yesterday evening at the fair, my mind would not have tortured me half the night, making it difficult to sleep. It wasn’t just what had been said between us two, it was the fallout afterward when Sylvie and Daniel had come back from their ride.

“Where’s Bree?” Sylvie had said, noticing that her companion was nowhere to be seen.

“Er, she had to go,” I said with a slight shrug. I didn’t really want to have to explain that it was my fault that she had to go. I already felt bad enough as it was.

“Oh, no,” Sylvie cried, her hand jumping to her mouth. “This is all my fault. I should never have left her alone.”

“She wasn’t alone,” Daniel piped up. “She was with Jackson.”

Daniel had then given me a suspicious look, and since I struggled to hold a passive expression, his eyes narrowed.

“I know, but we came to the fair together. I shouldn’t have left her. She was obviously feeling left out, and now I just feel terrible.”

Daniel still stared at me with a knowing expression, and I began to feel more than a little uncomfortable. I felt guilty already, but listening to Sylvie only made it worse. It was my fault Bree had left, not hers. I simply could not allow her to take the blame for this.

“It wasn’t you leaving her, Sylvie,” I had confessed. “It was me.”

Sylvie then frowned. “What do you mean, it was you?”

I felt a little embarrassed thinking about how to answer her question. I’m several years older than her, and thus, ought to be able to act better. Yet, my actions had hardly reflected my maturity, or the fact that I’m a top-level professional back in the city. I had acted childishly, and on more occasions than one. When Bree had tried to speak to me in the hardware store, I had been less than forthcoming. Dad did not raise us to be rude or inconsiderate, and yet, that’s exactly how I had acted.

By her actions, she had clearly had enough of my petty behavior. And who could blame her?

“Jackson,” Sylvie pressed. “Tell me what you mean.”

I wasn’t going to get into my ridiculous insecurities with Sylvie, even though she would likely understand, given my past. Besides, the baggage I was carrying was no excuse. Bree had not deserved such crappy treatment, and now in hindsight, I wished I could have acted differently. But the damage was done.

“I just haven’t been very accommodating, that’s all.”

Sylvie had crossed her arms, cocked her head to the side, and raised her eyebrows at me. “Really, Jackson? After all this time?”

Evidently, Sylvie was a little more astute than I had given her credit for, and now looked at me like I was the younger of the two of us.

“You can’t take your past out on Bree. That’s just not fair. She hasn’t—”

“I know, Sylvie,” I said, raising a hand in submission. “I’ll speak to her tomorrow and apologize.”

On the way home, Daniel had not raised the issue until we were just about to reach the house.

“What’s going on with you?” he had asked. There was no malice to his question. His tone conveyed genuine curiosity.

“Honestly, man. I don’t really know.”

“Did Bree say something to upset you?”

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