Page 8 of Artfully Wild
“He laid down? So, his head isssssss?” she draws out. I roll my eyes, because she already knows and I don’t want to say it. I just want out of this conversation. After another beat of silence, Charlotte realizes I’m not going to answer her. “It’s in your lap isn’t it?”
More silence.
“Sky!” She squeals louder than the last time, causing Jacob to shift, mumbling in his sleep.
“Dude, seriously, shut up. Yes, his head is in my lap and I didn’t want to wake him just yet, but if you keep squealing you’re going to be responsible for him waking up in pain.”
“Okay, okay, I get it. Sorry. You’re testy this week.”
“No, I’m just stressed, okay? I have a lot to do this week.”
“Right, the new displays to show off for the ski resort?” As much as I don’t want to think about the next step I’m considering, I’ve procrastinated enough with my decision and have gone back and forth about it for months. While Jacob has been pushing me to talk to my dad about everything, I’m nervous about letting him down. Dad even renamed the store toSky’s the Limitto remind me I could still chase my dreams and I’m terrified that if I sell it, he’ll see it as turning my back on him. It was his store to begin with and I took it over when I moved back, both for some income and to make sure my parents could focus all their energy on Sarah. She needed them and they needed me. I don’t know that it’s for me anymore, and I had a recentinquiry from a local resort, Mountain Peak Lodge, about possibly buying it.
The resort is one my family and I are familiar with as we used to go there all the time for family gatherings, and Dad is well acquainted with the owner, Nathaniel Camp. He’s been trying to get Dad to sell the store to him for years. Even though he and Mom considered it multiple times, they never followed through with it.
When Camp finally did contact me about selling, I asked to think about it and I never fully decided, so once I didn’t hear from them again I figured they had moved on. That is, until last week when they sent boxes of equipment for me to put on display to see how they would sell, with a request for pictures of the items to see how their products would look in my store. Either he’s trying to convince me how much better my store would be if he took it over or he’s trying to give me an idea of what he could add to it, I’m not completely sure. They sent along a ton of winter gear for me to create a display in my front window and I haven’t really shifted my focus to get everything ready yet. Camp is anything but cut and dry, even if we did consider ourselves practically family growing up. It’s to the point Camp will literally do anything to get me to sell to him. And he is not above sending free gear, even if he wants to put me to work first.
“Yes. I’ve been putting it off for a few days and I need to stop procrastinating. I have plans with Avery in a few days to shoot some stuff outside and I’m hoping to get the display together at some point tomorrow.”
“Do you need any help?” Probably. But I’m not going to tell her that. This is something I feel like I need to do by myself, because that’s how it’s been over the last few years. Why would it change now?
“Nah, I got it. I just need to focus on Jacob tonight and I’ll getan early start in the morning, but thanks. And thank you for helping with the animals.”
“Like I said, I’m glad to get out. I might call Sophie and see if she’s around to do something. Maybe the four of us can get together this week for a movie night?”
Sophie and I became close friends with Charlotte and Avery over the last six months and we try to have a movie night together at least once a month. It’s been two months since our last one with everyone’s schedules leaving no room for us to fit a night in. School is back in session, so Sophie spends a lot of her free time on lesson planning and general prep. Avery and Charlotte are getting the studio fully finished and now with the possibility of me selling the store, it just feels impossible to work around everyone’s schedule. Having adult friendships is hard, but the effort is worth it when the timeline works out.
“Yeah, let’s plan for it. Maybe Friday night,” I say. We hang up as Jacob shifts and I brush a strand of hair from his forehead, intending to wake him enough to get him inside and into bed where he can hopefully sleep his migraine off. I have no idea how bad this one is, but sometimes all he needs is sleep. Other times, he only needs medication. And then there are ones where he needs a few rounds of medication, a lot of hydration, an ice pack, and total darkness.
He groans and I wince at the sound. I hate waking him when I know all he’s going to wake up to is pain. “C’mon, let’s get you upstairs.”
His body stiffens as his fingers and thumb go to pinch the bridge of his nose. When I open the door, he doesn’t move.
“How bad?” I ask.
“Not the worst I’ve ever had, but I’ll need the hat. And I’ll have a massive hangover tomorrow. I’ll be fine, though.”
As much as I want to tell him he needs to follow up with his doctor, now isn’t the time. Jacob flinches as the bells above the door jingle and we head to the loft upstairs. It’s amazing thatjust a few months ago it was the old office space my dad practically lived in—he used to be hunched over paperwork in the same place where my bed is now, and I made a makeshift desk out of a box and crates.
When I took over the store from my parents, all I had was the RV, so I made a permanent switch to an apartment. A few months ago though, I realized I needed more money to keep the store running and living above the store was an easy way to save. So while Axel worked on getting the RV looking new again, I talked with Elias about turning the attic space up here into something liveable and it turns out, it was doable. And he did it quicker than I had expected. It’s a small space, so it didn’t take much and I have what I need. A working kitchen, a bathroom, and a place to sleep.
At one point in my life, I wanted to take over the store, considering how much time I spent here as a kid. After high school though, I quickly figured out that college life wasn’t for me after one semester, so I decided to travel as much as I could. I sold paintings here and there to get by, and finally came back when my sister was diagnosed with breast cancer.
Painting—and everything else—fell to the side quickly after that. All that mattered was taking care of Sarah and her family, Elias and Ethan, and trying to scrape together anything and everything we could to help with their medical bills. I didn’t want to be a burden on anyone or make them deal with more than they had to.
But, the change didn’t do what I had hoped. I’ve been back for over three years and while I do truly love the store and want it to succeed, I’ve been seriously considering taking a step back from it. What that looks like exactly, I haven’t quite figured out yet.
Jacob lets out a painful sound as we reach the top of the stairs. I manage to get him across the room and onto my bed where he slumps down immediately, covering his head with apillow to block out any light. I lift the pillow and take off his glasses, placing them on the bedside table. Once he’s settled, I grab the migraine hat I keep in the freezer—basically stretchy fabric with small ice packs inside that will fit around your head perfectly for migraine relief. He audibly sighs in relief and replaces the pillow over the top of it.
“Thank you,” he mumbles. I squeeze his arm as I sit next to him and cover him up with the floral quilt his mother made me for a high school graduation gift.
“Is there anything else you need?” I ask. The arm he draped over the side comes to rest on my leg, curling it around my thigh. He hugs it to his chest, the warmth from his skin seeping through the fabric of my leggings.
“Just you,” he whispers before his hand relaxes and his breathing deepens as he drifts back into sleep.
I untangle myself from him and get up to shut off the lights. It’s only 7 p.m. and I should go back downstairs to start working on the display I need to have done, but the idea of leaving Jacob up here alone to suffer by himself, even though he’s asleep, doesn’t feel right. All I want to do is curl up behind him and be there in case he wakes up and needs something. So, I do. I don’t take the time to think about it. We’ve cuddled before and we’ve slept together platonically before, so this shouldn’t be any different.
As soon as I lay down next to him though, itfeelsdifferent. I don’t know when it happened, but something seismic has shifted between the two of us, and I don’t think I mind it.
