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Tate strode throughthe orchards, frustration biting at his heels. The day had started off badly and had steadily worsened until he wanted to pull his hair out. Instead, he pulled off his cowboy hat, slapped some nonexistent dust off it, and jammed it back on. It didn’t make him feel any less frustrated, but it was better than slamming his fist into a tree trunk. Yeah, he didn’t need a broken hand with the festival almost upon them.

His mood could also be because he hadn’t seen Kelly in over a week since their weekend away, both of them so busy with last minute festival arrangements. The most they’d been able to do was text, and they’d had a couple of FaceTime conversations, which he wouldn’t have minded them turning into more. Only he didn’t want to be getting hot and heavy with Kelly only to have Dad call him because he needed something.

His phone buzzed in this pocket and he pulled it out, anticipation leaping in his throat. He might see Kelly’s name scrolling across his screen. Sadly, it was Tyler’s—another cause of his frustration.

“What do you want, Tyler?” So what if his greeting was less than friendly. His brother had pulled another disappearing act and instead of being around to help with some of the setup, he was in Houston speaking to wine representatives to see if they could get his wine into restaurants once it officially launched. While he hoped his brother could achieve his goal, Tyler’s timing could’ve been better. When they’d talked about the festival he’d only mentioned going on one trip, and that was to California. He’d added this Houston one in.

“Bad day, bro?” His chipper and blasé greeting grated on Tate’s already frayed nerves. Instead of yelling at his brother, which he wanted to do with a passion, he took a couple of steadying breaths.

“I wouldn’t push it, Tyler. I’ve got a million things to do because of you, so if you could just cut to the chase and tell me what you want, I’d appreciate it.”

“Fine. I wanted to let you know I should be back in town tomorrow night. I managed to get a last-minute appointment with one of the best wine merchant’s in the city, and I’m also seeing if I can arrange a conference call with the PR firm I’ve been trying to get on board.”

Tate shook his head. All of these things that Tyler was doing should’ve been done a while ago. A wine label and marketing strategy shouldn’t be left to the last minute. If his brother wasn’t careful, his wine release could be a big flop instead of the success he wanted it to be.

Which is why it’s important you help your brother, Tate.

Dammit, his inner voice, which sounded weirdly like his mother, was right. No matter what, the Prentice brothers were a team, a fractured one but still a team, and their success had come because they’d always helped each other. So as mad and annoyed at Tyler as he was, he would do everything to make sure his brother’s wine was a success.

“Okay, fine. I’ll make sure everything is set up and ready for you to man your booth on Friday. You will still be manning your booth, right?” The fact it would add a few extra items to his already packed to-do list was something he’d have to live with.

“Bro, thank you. And, yeah, I definitely will be there to talk up my wine. I know I’ve been a pain with this. I’ve asked a lot of you, and you’ve done it for me. I will repay you, I promise.” Tate wanted to believe he heard sincerity in Tyler’s voice, but until he saw his face, he wouldn’t be convinced.

“Trust me, you’ll pay alright and I can’t guarantee it’s going to be a nice payoff either.”

Tyler laughed. “Bring it. I can take whatever you dish out. Later, bro.”

“See ya.” Tate smiled as he disconnected the call. Sure, he was still annoyed at his brother, but he was glad that his and Tyler’s relationship was getting better with each passing day. Now if Tyler failed to show up, it could be an entirely different story. In the meantime, he had a harvest to get back on track. A festival setup to continue to oversee, all the while making sure his dad stayed inside and out of trouble.

His dad was living up to his stubborn attitude. That attitude helped him a lot on his recovery, but it didn’t help when Tate was trying to make sure his father relaxed and didn’t relapse. If Dad knew that the harvest had taken a sharp left turn off the track, he’d be out here pulling peaches off the trees himself. That was something Tate definitely wasn’t going to allow to happen.

He felt like he was drowning under the weight of it all.

You’ve got this, son. I know you can do it all.

Well, now Mom was his inner voice, giving him a pep talk. That was different. Clearly, he needed to either eat, drink more water, or get a decent night’s sleep.

He closed his eyes and tried to picture his mother’s face smiling down at him. Would she be proud of all that he was doing? He hoped so.

Tate opened his eyes and shook his head, hoping he could dislodge all these confusing thoughts and imaginary voices and return everything to normal. There were things he needed to do, and standing in the middle of the orchard wasn’t going to get them done.

An hour later, it looked like the harvest was back on track; the crew of pickers who had been causing some issues were straightened out and were actually doing what they were supposed to be doing.

The slightly bruised peaches they’d picked earlier could be used in the various displays Kelly had planned at the entrance of the farm and in the carts at various locations around town. They would just have to be placed in a manner that showed their good side, not their bad. He still had some apprehension on using damaged fruit but Kelly had convinced him that the Prentice name wouldn’t be tarnished. He trusted her to keep her promise.

“Tate, hey, how are you?”

He stilled. He couldn’t have heard Kelly; she wasn’t supposed to be at the farm today. Was his mind going back to playing hijinks with him? Turning, relief swept through him when he actually did spy Kelly standing behind him—a vision of gorgeousness among the beauty of his peach trees.

“Kel? What are you doing here?” Without giving thought to who may be watching them, he rushed up to her and pulled her close, burrowing his head into her neck and inhaling her sweet, flowery scent. Kelly stiffened for a second before relaxing into his hold, her arms going around his waist.

Just a simple hug from her and all his frustration and worry seemed to seep away, flowing into the soil and leaving him with a sense of peace.

After a minute she pulled out of his hold, but he made sure he kept hold of one of her hands.

“Is everything okay, Tate? You look a little stressed.”

The last thing he wanted to do was burden Kelly with his troubles. Besides, he’d gotten the major one sorted out so the others weren’t too much of an issue. “It’s been a day, but it’s definitely looking brighter now that you’re here. Are you here to see me, or are you here about the festival?”