Page 18 of Lovewell Lane (Honeyfield Dreamers #1)

Derek

Throwing parties was not what I signed up for when I took over Weston Farms. Then again, I never really signed up for it in the first place, but needless to say, it was my least favorite job.

When Calli was still living with us, I handed most of it over to her and her friends since they all loved parties, but for the last few years of her being in college, I was on my own.

It was seven in the damn morning, and I was holding streamers and bouquets of flowers.

A knock on my door nearly went unnoticed through my pacing, and Tessa’s yapping about how excited she was.

But I had a sixth sense when it came to Margo and turned just in time to see her waving through my back window.

I walked over and yanked open the door. Cheddar Jack lazily strolled outside into the crisp morning air. “Need something?”

Margo rubbed her eyes a little and laughed. “No, but it looks like you do.”

I stepped away from the door to continue packing the things we needed. Scissors. Tape. Cups. Plates. Where the hell did that plastic silverware go? Tessa had on her ‘fanciest dress’ and wouldn’t stop twirling.

“I can help,” Margo said. She put a hand on my shoulder, and it slipped off as I stood up straight from where I was crouched.

“We need silverware.”

“Got it.” She strolled over to the other side of the kitchen where the box was clearly just sitting on the counter.

“Thanks,” I grumbled.

“Wow, you are really stressed,” Margo said with a hint of amusement in her voice. “Are we setting up camp in the backyard?”

“No. At the barn.”

“Is it okay if I tag along to set up?”

“Yes!” Tessa cheered.

“Do whatever you want.” I didn’t have time to think about it. Dozens of people were going to be camping out on my property in a few hours. Who cared if Margo joined a little early?

Through the reflection in the mirror, I watched Margo give Tessa a look. Tessa giggled and reached for Margo’s outstretched hand. I lifted the bag of supplies and my cooler to pack it in the truck. Margo stepped over to grab the remaining box, and we all headed outside.

“What’s your wish for summer, Margo?”

Margo bit her lip while thinking. “My wish?”

“Mhm, everyone gets one!” Tessa said.

“Is this a seed party thing or a fairy thing?” Margo asked. Her head tilting my way told me she was directing the question toward me.

“Seedling Party. It’s tradition to make a wish for the summer ahead as you plant the first seed.”

“In that case, maybe, my wish is that the Honey Festival will go on? That happens in the summertime, right?” I clenched my fists around the steering wheel. Of course, she would say that. She always knew the perfect thing to say.

“That’s my wish too,” Tessa agreed solemnly. “Daddy, do you think it will happen?”

“You’ll have to make your wish and see, honey.”

We all pitched in to decorate. I made sure Margo had decorations that didn’t require any ladders, which meant my job was hanging up the streamers.

The barn was where we typically had work meetings and stored our farm equipment.

Today, its primary purpose was a celebration, so we needed to dress up the weathered wood into something more cheerful.

I overheard Tessa excitedly telling Margo all about the Seedling Party traditions. Margo seemed just as enthused about the prospect of bringing luck to the farm as Tessa was. It was all just to bring people together, really. The traditions didn’t actually mean anything.

I finished hanging streamers and climbed down to find Margo braiding Tessa’s hair. Margo looked up at me guiltily. “Sorry, we’ll get back to work, this will just take a second.”

My heart warmed at the sight of Tessa sitting happily for Margo. She hated it when I did her hair most mornings. Apparently, I was too heavy-handed despite my efforts to brush as softly as possible.

“Don’t worry about it. We’re almost finished,” I soothed.

Spending the morning like that with just the three of us did a lot to calm my nerves. Margo mostly spoke with Tessa. She kept her entertained while I finished preparing food and drinks, and they both helped me carry it all back to the barn.

Maybe having someone else around this one time wasn’t so bad.

People started arriving, and my peace quickly disappeared. Sam arrived with Lila and Sienna in tow, the latter ditched us to run up to Tessa immediately. I was happy Tess had a best friend, I don’t know what I would’ve done growing up without Andy.

“It looks great,” Sam said. “We came a little early to help set up, but it looks like you have it covered.”

“Margo helped,” Tessa said proudly. She ran over, pulling Sienna’s hand with her, to give Sam a hug. “Our wish is for the Honey Festival to happen this summer.”

Sam shot me a look. I was grateful he pushed so hard to make sure we gave it one last effort. Though, next year, I wasn’t sure how I’d break it to her that her wish wouldn’t change anything.

Lila handed me a basket of rolls. “Thanks for inviting us, Sienna has been so excited.”

“Of course, you’re always welcome,” I gruffed. Small talk wasn’t my best skill. I knew it wasn’t Lila’s either, which worked to our benefit. She was the only person outside of my family that I trusted with Tessa, we had an unspoken friendship because of our kids.

More people arrived, and my confidence waned. I think around the twentieth handshake, I was done. I retreated to the corner of the barn to pretend to do something on my phone. Which was a dead giveaway I was hiding, because I hated my phone.

Margo walked up to me. “Looks like everything is going well.”

“Uhuh,” I muttered. Looking around, people had started setting up lawn chairs all around the barn and outside. The fold-out tables that I set up were surrounded by people ready to plant the first seeds of the year.

“Should we make an announcement… that the seed planting can begin? I’m new to this stuff.”

“Right.” I’d completely forgotten. Usually, my dad would give that sort of speech, but this year he was noticeably absent. I stood up to go find him. “Seen Slick anywhere?”

“No,” Margo said. “Want me to look?”

“It’s fine. You can stay close by. Maybe it will fend off Mrs. Nelson.”

She raised her eyebrows. “Do tell.”

“She’s a menace, will talk for an hour without letting you get a word in edgewise. Plus, I think she has a thing for me.”

“Pretty conceited, Weston.”

I shot her a look. She returned my look with a playful smirk.

We found my dad a few minutes later with a beer in his hand and a crowd hanging onto his every word.

There was a reason he was banned from visiting the farm during the workday.

It took about five times for Sam or I to walk down to the fields to find all of our workers laughing at one of Slick’s stories from his youth instead of working.

“Hey, are you going to give your speech?” I interrupted his story.

“I thought I’d let you do it this year, son. You are in charge after all,” he said with a good-natured grin. I knew him too well for that though, the glint in his eye told me he knew how much I despised giving speeches.

“Is this because I told you I was the old man of the family? That was just a joke.”

“No, it’s because I’m getting old. And you are in charge.”

I could tell he wasn’t going to back down. I walked away to get it over with, leaving my dad and Margo to finish the rest of his story and chat amongst themselves.

“Hey everyone,” I cleared my throat. Most people here worked for me or had a spouse working for me.

They probably thought I was an asshole, and knew I wasn’t one for pleasantries, so they shut up quickly.

“In front of you are seeds, dirt, and water. Let’s get these planted and start off the season right. ”

I raised my beer and everyone else raised their drink along with me. Then I nodded. And that was it. Done. Easy.

I walked away from the head of the table shortly after and found all of my siblings plus Lila and Margo standing together. Giving Calli a quick hug, I joined their circle. Most of them were laughing or doing an awful job of hiding it.

“What?”

Sam burst out laughing at that. He almost doubled over. I shot Margo a confused look, and she started laughing silently. Her cheeks pinkened, and I immediately wanted to know what caused it.

“What is it?”

“You sound like a caveman,” she explained. Then she lowered her voice to make an awful impression of me with one of the worst Southern accents I’d ever heard. “Dirt. Seed. Water. Make plant grow. Do. Now.”

Everyone broke out into a flurry of laughter again.

I stood there, trying to hide a smile while glaring at the beautiful woman standing in front of me.

She was so painfully charming. I stole her away to introduce her to a few of the other families that were there.

They would be potential customers for her, after all.

And selfishly, it made the experience less painful knowing she was next to me to smooth over any awkward conversation.

“Do you want me to show you how to plant your first seedling?” I asked during a lull in between people coming up to us.

Margo looked at me, shocked. “Oh, yeah that’d be nice. I need to make sure to get my wish in.”

I nodded and gently grazed my hand against her lower back to lead her over to the tables in the center of the barn.

She sneaked a glance at me while we walked and I thought I caught a hint of a blush on her cheek.

Once we were in front of an empty section of the table, I started grabbing the things we needed.

“I’ll try not to sound like a caveman this time,” I grumbled.

She laughed in my ear and it was the sweetest sound I’d ever heard. “I’m ready for my very thorough explanation,” she teased.

I rolled my eyes and stood closer to her, so I could shove what she needed into her hands. Grabbing an empty aluminum tray first, I pushed a Sharpie into her other hand. “So we need to label the tray. What seeds out of these do you want to plant?”

“I think basil.”