Page 28 of One Hot Texas Summer (The Prentice Brothers of Sweet Ridge #1)

“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?”

“Both?” she responded. Tate tried to ignore the stab of hurt that she hadn’t made the trek out to the farm just to see him.

“Okay, well, what can I help you with then? The setup is proceeding well and not really causing too much of an upheaval with everything else going on around here.”

“I’ve got some of the urns for the flower arrangements being delivered this afternoon, and so I wanted be sure that someone will be around to make sure nothing happens to them. The committee purchased them for use at future festivals, so it’s important that they’re handled with care.”

“And you can’t stay to make sure that happens?

” he asked. Everyone was dumping their jobs on him.

First Tyler and now Kelly. Well, that wasn’t entirely fair to Kelly—she didn’t know about Tyler, but he kind of felt that the urns and their safe delivery was her responsibility, seeing as they were for her bouquets.

“I asked the company for a staggered delivery so I could be at the town square for the first delivery and then oversee the drop-off here. Only the company informed me that they would both be delivered at the same time at the two different locations.”

Okay, so it wasn’t all her fault. “Right. Well, you’re here now—why don’t you stay and get someone else to oversee the delivery at the town center? Seems pointless to turn around and drive back to town.” Another thought hit him. “Why did you drive out here? Why didn’t you call me?”

A rosy glow bloomed in her cheeks and his heart swelled. “You really came to see me, didn’t you?” he asked, pulling her close to him again.

“Yes,” she whispered and brushed her fingers against his cheek. He loved the soft caress. “I could’ve called you, but I wanted to see you. I’ve missed you.”

God, he wished they were anywhere but in the middle of the orchard. He tightened his hold on her. “I missed you, too; it’s been crazy busy. But seeing you here is making my day so much better.”

Fuck it. He didn’t care if anyone was watching. Framing her face, he placed his lips softly on hers. She moaned and the sound arrowed through his body and his dick hardened against his jeans.

Aware that the timing and location wasn’t ideal, he resisted the need to deepen the kiss. He broke their connection. “As much as I want to keep doing this, you came here because you have an issue and you need help.”

Her sigh radiated through her, and he felt every second of it as well.

He was that in tune with her. “Yeah, I don’t want to cause you any more stress.

You have a lot to do. But I know that if you oversee the delivery, the urns will be unloaded safely and I won’t have to make any last-minute orders. ”

Now it was Tate’s turn to sigh. He hadn’t spent much time with Dad today, and he was worried Dad had managed to slip past the young farmhand he’d assigned to watch him.

“Are you sure you can’t stay here and get someone else to supervise the delivery in the town center?”

“I really wish I could. I’ve got other things related to the festival that I need to do in town, so it’s really not feasible for me to stay here.” She closed the distance between them and grabbed both his hands in hers. “But I’d rather be with you here than in town.”

Irrational anger swelled up inside of him; it was a combination of everything going on around him and not because of Kelly’s request. He shook his hands free and stuffed them in his pocket while taking a few steps back.

The flash of hurt in her eyes cut him deeply, but he refused to show how it affected him.

“Fine.” He ground out the word. “I’ll make sure everything goes smoothly.

Like I do with everything else everyone asks of me.

Oh, and thanks for letting me see the final plans before submitting them?

I guess I’m just your helper, not your partner, aren’t I? Now I need to get back to work.”

He turned and walked away from her knowing in his mind he was acting out of character, but he was just so tired of everyone expecting him to fall in with their plans.

No one ever asked him what he wanted to do.

If he needed help or wanted help. An offer was as meaningful as someone actually following through and taking some of the burden from him.

Problem was, he could acknowledge he’d brought this on himself by doing what everyone asked of him, without putting up too much of a fight.

“Tate, wait.”

He heard Kelly calling his name, but he continued walking. It was better he put distance between them than say something he’d regret later.