Page 97 of Touch the Sky

“You could hire someone,” she suggests, “or even get a business partner or something, like us at the inn. That’s worked out well, hasn’t it?”

The edge in Jacinthe’s voice sharpens.

“That’s the inn. This is the farm. I do the farm on my own.”

For the second time this evening, I find myself thinking about that night Jacinthe and I sat at the fire together.

I remember the way she talked about her dad, that rare glint of vulnerability shining through before it hardened into something tougher. Colder.

She’s scared somebody else will leave.

I watch her from the corner of my eye, and it all seems to fall into place.

She’s not just stubborn and independent.

She’s afraid.

She’d rather run herself into the ground than depend on someone else to take care of her home again.

That’s what La Grange Rouge is to her: home. It’s the place she managed to cling to even after she lost her dad and all the things that fell apart in his absence.

Suddenly, helping her with the barn chores in the morning doesn’t just feel like a petty win against her stubborn side.

It feels like an honor, like a gift I didn’t even realize I was receiving.

“Okay, I’ll back off,” Natalie says. “I’m getting ahead of myself. With the inn doing so well, it’s hard not to feel like the business tycoons of La Cloche.”

Brooke gives her an admiring pat on the shoulder, and we move on to discussing Balsam Inn. Natalie and Jacinthe have some anecdotes about a few of the more memorable guests so far, and we all lament the fact that Maddie isn’t here to chip in with some stories of her own.

“We really do need to start interviewing for an evening receptionist,” Natalie says, “or else we’re never going to get all three of us out for drinks again.”

She turns to me with a playful grin.

“What do you say, Tess? Want to join the Balsam Inn team?”

I chuckle along with her.

“Oh trust me, I’m not a behind the desk kind of girl,” I admit. “I’d go stir-crazy on the first shift and scare off all your guests. I don’t think I could ever go back to working inside.”

Natalie waves her beer at me. “You know what? You sound like a perfect business partner for this boarding stable atla grange.”

Jacinthe glowers and takes a deep breath, like she’s about to launch one of her signature strings of swear words straight at Natalie, but Natalie just waves her off.

“I know, I know. I’m sorry,” she cuts in. “I really will knock it off. It’s just nice to see Jacinthe getting along with someone so well.”

Jacinthe puffs out her chest.

“Hey!” she barks. “I get along with people. I get along with people really fucking well. I am a delight!”

Brooke muffles a laugh by taking a swig from her pint glass. Natalie spreads her hands like she’s resting her case.

I can’t stop the grin that spreads across my face. She is a delight, in her own fierce, unapologetic, profanity-spewing way.

“Cheers to that,” I say, raising my glass. “Cheers to the delightful Jacinthe Gauthier-Laframboise.”

Chapter 21

Tess