Page 126 of The Havenport Collection

Violet

“ W ow. Things look busy around here.” Callum walked through the old barn, where my mother and Mrs. Leary were taking measurements, and Bob and some of the farmhands were power washing the exterior.

I led him up the rickety steps to my dad’s old office, which we had transformed into what Astrid called “the war room.” Whiteboards were propped up on the walls, and a brand-new Keurig coffee maker, courtesy of Nora, sat in the middle of the old table we had found in the barn.

There were file boxes and wedding paraphernalia everywhere in addition to several surge protectors for all our electronics.

Speaking of that, I needed to talk to the electrician about adding more outlets.

I led him through that chaos into the chaos of my office, which, by my extremely low standards, was a mess.

Callum sighed, clearly exasperated by my disorganization. “Okay, what can I help with?”

I piled some papers up on my desk, trying to find my laptop charger to refresh my lagging battery before my next meeting.

“I’m not even sure.” My confidence was lagging. “There is just so much to do.”

“I’m here. Put me to work.” He looked at his watch. “Mac will be here in about twenty minutes. Do you have your punch list ready?”

“Yup. It’s on my laptop, which I need to find the charger for…

” I moved some more papers, trying to find the damn charger.

“I took your suggestion and outlined everything that needs to get done and phased everything out. So, I have the immediate upgrades and repairs that need to happen ASAP and then some of the deferred maintenance we’ve neglected for the spring. ”

“Great. With contractors, you are more likely to get a good price if you show them the promise of future work.”

I nodded and managed to knock over another pile of folders.

I bent down to pick them up. “God, I’m such a mess.

” I was on my hands and knees piling things up when I heard Callum clear his throat.

I looked up and saw him standing there, arms crossed, biceps bulging, a look of intense concentration on his face.

His jaw ticked, and I realized that I was on my hands and knees in front of him, giving him a clear view right down the front of my V-neck dress.

I flushed and clenched my thighs together. What I wouldn’t give to know his thoughts right now. Hopefully they were as dirty or dirtier than mine.

This wasn’t usually the position I preferred. Despite my small stature and easygoing demeanor, I liked to be in charge in the bedroom. But the thought of being on my knees for Cal filled me with all sorts of lusty sensations. I would happily get down on my knees for him anytime.

I watched as he struggled to maintain eye contact, eventually looking away.

“Here,” he mumbled, “let me help you.” He bent down to help me, and I was hit with his manly scent. It was woodsy but refined and made me want to bury my face in his neck and inhale him. I needed to get it together. These were far too crazy feelings for a Saturday afternoon.

He handed me the folder, and our hands touched. I didn’t pull away. Suddenly, he started to move closer, and my pulse quickened. He leaned in closer, his arm brushing my hip. I leaned into him, ready to dive into whatever he wanted, consequences be damned.

He pulled back abruptly, and I sat back on my heels. “Here.” He handed me the laptop charger. “It was under the desk.” I took it out of his outstretched hand, disappointed, confused, and undeniably horny.

The afternoon had flown by. I had walked Mac, Callum’s contractor friend, through my punch list, and he had taken a bunch of photos and notes.

He was going to get back to me with some cost estimates on the barn.

There was a lot to do to get it up to code in time for the wedding.

He seemed slightly concerned about the timeline but promised me he would get it done.

“He’s a good guy. Grew up in West Haven. When I called him, he said his grandparents brought him to the farm as a kid, and he has a lot of happy memories here.”

I smiled. It was a common story. This farm meant so much to so many people over the years. It was stories like this that kept me focused on turning things around, on ensuring that future generations got to enjoy this special place and make memories.

We were sitting in my office, sipping some beers that Cece and Liam had dropped off earlier. My mom had taken the boys out for pizza, so Cal and I worked through the updated farm plans.

“Do you think it’s crazy?” I asked, taking a long sip from my beer.

“Not at all. I admire you, Violet. You jump in with both feet.”

I blushed.

“I mean it. You are smart and creative and have incredible instincts. You have to learn to trust yourself and do things your own way.”

I laughed. “But I don’t trust myself. I am not you. I don’t have a business degree and decades of experience. For Christ’s sake, my résumé reads anthropology degree, bartender, yoga instructor, stay at home mom.”

“Stop putting yourself down.” He seemed angry. “You are so much more than you give yourself credit for. You can’t run this place the way your dad did or the way your grandparents did. You have to do it your way. You’ve already had so many innovative ideas.”

I nodded, unsure of how to respond. Was this really how he saw me? As capable and smart and creative? My heart leapt into my throat.

“Your farm-to-table initiative? Brilliant. Nora told me the local restaurants are going crazy for the idea. And this wedding is just the tip of the iceberg. Events could bring in so much revenue. You already have the land, the rustic barn, the animals, the orchard—all you need to do is find people who want to pay for the privilege of being here.” He got up and gestured out the window toward the orchard, which was looking particularly picturesque at the moment.

“Yeah, yeah…” I waved my hand at him, trying to get him to stop. It was taking every ounce of self-control I had not to jump him.

“Have you made any progress on hiring?”

I sat up in my old chair. “Yes, actually.” My mom had several employees for the farm store, and Bob had his staff that handled the animals and crops.

But in terms of the management, I was a one-woman show.

Callum and Astrid had been bugging me about hiring some help.

I hated to admit it, but it would be nice to have someone to help with all the paperwork and logistics to free me up for more meetings and partnerships.

“Astrid sent me one of her clients from the Havenport Family Crisis Center. Her name is Frankie, and she has admin experience and was thrilled for a part-time position. She has young kids too, so we have a lot in common.”

He smiled. “That is amazing. Now are we going to talk numbers?” He raised one eyebrow at me, and I felt my face flush. He was so damn handsome he could even make spreadsheets sound sexy.

I sighed. “Let’s do it.”

I gave Callum a late tour of most of the property while I walked through the different aspects of the business.

“We had a rough summer last year. Half our peaches contracted leaf curl, and we lost a ton of crops. Peaches are huge for us, and it set us back.”

He nodded, typing notes in his phone as we went line by line through the farm business.

We walked through the petting zoo, the prep barns, and the CSA area. He asked thoughtful questions and always listened carefully to my explanations. Talking to him made me realize just how far I had come in the last year.

I walked him through the improvements and upgrades I wanted to make and our priorities for the winter.

Finally, we made it back to the loft, up the old rickety staircase that would soon be replaced.

More than half the space was the open hayloft that looked down onto the barn floor below.

On the other side was a small bathroom, a small storage room, and two offices.

My dad’s old office was functioning as the temporary wedding war room, but I envisioned turning it into a conference room where I could hold meetings for the farm staff and meet prospective clients and partners.

I had never considered myself a businessperson, but things were starting to take shape in my mind. It would be different, that’s for sure, but every day I felt closer and closer to maybe making it work.

“I’d love to do some work up here, but there is no budget right now.”

“What were you thinking?”

“I would love to upgrade the bathroom and open up the storage room to make a small office in there. Maybe for Frankie, so she could have her own space.”

He nodded. “Good plan.”

“And I’d love to get some storage for my office and a better desk.

And a real table for the conference room.

It would be great to be able to take meetings here.

Obviously I can’t afford to do it now, since getting everything ready for the wedding is my priority.

Who knew that electrical work was so expensive? ” I shrugged.

He chuckled. “Everyone knows that, Vi.” He winked at me.

I stuck my tongue out at him and blew a raspberry as we headed back to my office.

We worked for a while, making lists, reviewing the cost projections for the renovations, and chatting about some of my ideas for other revenue streams.

He scrolled through some spreadsheets on his laptop.

“I am looking through last year’s numbers, and things look solid.

” He had a pencil behind his ear and looked totally adorable.

“I’m not seeing any major issues and definitely not any major losses.

Let me look at all the receipts and tax returns.

I’ll start reconciling everything and make sure I’m not missing anything. ”