Page 12 of The Naughty List

There’s a certain level of confidence Elliott Winters possesses. It’s slightly cocky, but not too over the top. The way he carries himself, like walking right up to me at Ivy House earlier this week and fucking winking at me just a moment ago… there’s no way he doesn’t know he’s good looking.

“So, Tillie, is that short for something?” he asks as he turns and then begins walking again like nothing happened.

“It used to be a nickname for Matilda,” I answer, knowing there’s no sense in trying to deny it. A simple search on the internet could tell him just as much. “But my name was legally changed when I was twenty-one. So, no, not anymore. It’s just Tillie.”

“Alright, just Tillie, I have an idea,” he says. “I will do your kissing booth, iffffffff -”

I groan. As soon as he agreed, I knew there had to be some sort of catch here.

“Wait, hear me out,” he chuckles. “I will do your kissing booth,” he repeats and then pauses. “If you do it too.”

“What? No. Absolutely not,” I shake my head. “I can’t. This is my job, Elliott. I can’t.”

“Are you worried about looking unprofessional?” he asks. I don’t say “duh” out loud, but I think the side eye I give him speaks for itself. “What if I ask my mom? If the boss okays it, will you do it? If she says no, I’ll do it anyway. But if Mom says yes, you have to.”

My sister’s voice pops into my head.

“You can’t stop living your life.”

“Okay, fine,” I concede. Elliott shakes his head and does a double take as if he’s trying to see if he heard me correctly. “If your mom is okay with it, I’ll do it. It’s for charity, right?”

My heart slams into my chest as we approach the caribou field. I wish I wasn’t so jaded that I wasn’t standing here questioning Elliott’s motives right now.

Why the sudden change of heart? Why is he being nice to me? What does he want?

I’m not left with my thoughts for very long because Elliott opens his arm wide, as if he’s showcasing the field.

“Welcome to my favorite place in the whole world, Firecracker.”

ELEVEN

TILLIE

Three weeks later, a week and one day before the festival

It turnsout that getting called into the principal’s office at twenty-eight is just as nerve-wracking as it is as a child. It also turns out, I truly have no fucking idea what I’m doing when it comes to aunthood. Getting a call that Sawyer punched a child in the face solidified that fear. I had dropped him off twenty minutes ago. The school day had barely begun. After spending thirty minutes getting lectured by a woman I’ve never met before about the no bully tolerance at school, I’m finally on my way to the farm.

…With Sawyer because he has a three day suspension.

I know he needs to be disciplined, but I don’t even know where to begin. We spent the entire drive to Merry & Bright Farm sitting in complete silence. Not intentionally. I’m not mad. I’m just at a complete loss on what to do. Sawyer has had ten years of a crappy life. I hope one day he looks back and feels everything was better when he came to stay with me, but right now there’s so much work that needs to be done. So much harm caused by his mother and so many countless other people that have let him down.

“So, listen,” I start as I turn into the entrance of Merry & Bright Farm. “Obviously not now, but you and I need to sit down and figure out a better system here. If someone is being mean to you or giving you a hard time, I need you to talk to me, okay? I could have gone to the school and addressed it. You can’t just go around punching people, Sawyer.”

“You wouldn’t understand,” he muttered from the back seat.

My heart breaks for him. He’s still too little for me to trauma dump on him, but I understand more than he knows. His mother learned everything she knows from my mother. Maybe therapy - for both of us - would be a good place to start.

“Try me,” I offer.

Sawyer shakes his head. “I can’t.”

Unbuckling my seatbelt, I sigh. “This conversation isn’t over, but we have a whole day ahead of ourselves. I need you to be on your best behavior here, Saw. This is my job. These people are counting on me.”

“Okay,” is all he says before he unbuckles his own seatbelt and pushes open the door.

I’m not on a set schedule, but by my work standards, I’m late. I had every intention of finding Meri or Bennett and explaining the situation, but I don’t have to look for one of them for long. Just as Sawyer and I are about to step onto the path that leads to the main barn I’ve been working in the last couple weeks, Meri walks up from the path that adjoins the main house.

“Morning!” she greets us, her smile dropping when she glances down at Sawyer. I wish the first time Sawyer saw the farm wasn’t under these circumstances. More than that, I don’t want Meri to get the wrong opinion of my kid. Well, not my kid. The child I have been failing to guardian. “You must be Sawyer.” She extends her arm and then her hand to him. His brows quirk at the sight, but he takes her hand in his and gives it a little shake. “Hi. I’m Meri. I’m one of the owners of the farm. I have to talk to your aunt about something boring, but there’s hot cocoa and donuts in the barn. If you want to go ahead, there’s a pretty, short blonde lady in there. Her name is Clara. She can help you with anything you need.”

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