Page 80 of Grit
“Or they can take care of it. Guard it. Help it grow.”
“I guess.”
Joan smiled. “Life is never gonna be safe. You know that. But there’s no reason you can’t find joy. Even after you’ve lost the life you wanted. Let yourself find a new dream. There’s no reason it can’t be just as sweet. But you’ve got to open up a little bit. Trust a little bit.Benda little bit.”
The next day,Melissa left Brian Montoya’s crew working on the bunkhouse and drove to Cary’s office. She didn’t see his truck anywhere, but she drove up and flagged Phil, his foreman, down.
“Hey, Melissa!”
“Hey, Phil.” She looked around. “He in?”
“He’s out at Dapple Ranch looking at the mandarins. We’re set to start picking there next week.”
“That’s early.”
“Yeah, but that little spot hits a real high sugar content early because of the exposure. Lets us space things out a little better and gives us an early start. You contract any crews yet?”
“No interest.”
Phil spread his hands. “You know we could work something out. We’ve got groves all around you.”
If one of your friends needed a hand, you would bend over backward…
Bend. Just a little.
Melissa took a deep breath. “Yeah. I’d appreciate it, Phil. Let’s plan on that. I’m looking at a pretty standard window. Probably late October.”
Phil looked surprised, but he smiled. “Cool! I’ll talk to Cary and Teresa and get the timing worked out. I know we can handle it. Your trees will be fast.”
Part of the knot in her stomach loosened. “Thanks.”
She turned her head when she heard Cary’s truck. He must have spotted her, but he drove right past, dust flying, and parked near the office door in the shade of an avocado tree.
Phil glanced between Melissa and Cary. “So… you the reason he was in a sour mood all morning?”
Melissa grimaced. “Probably.”
“Awesome.” Phil backed away. “I’m gonna get out of your hair. I’ll have Teresa call you. And I’ll make sure no one goes to the office until you leave.”
“Probably a good idea if they want to avoid flying objects.”
She hopped out of the truck and walked over to the large grey Quonset hut where Cary had built his office.
He was already out of his truck and strode inside, not even looking at her.
Melissa followed.
So this should be fun.
When she opened the door, a blast of cool air met her face.
“Close the door! We’re not air-conditioning the whole damn county.”
Oh yeah. He’s in a great mood. This should be super easy.
Melissa closed the door and stepped into the office. There was a reception room of sorts with a long, L-shaped desk. To the left was a meeting room with a conference table, and two offices were built off the right.
“Phil, was Melissa here to—?”
