Page 34 of You Chive Me Crazy

“No argument from me. How many food trucks are possible?”

“A hundred and fifty. Maybe two hundred,” Zoe said without blinking an eye. “And since the franchisees would be required to buy the potatoes from our family farm, the profits multiply pretty fast.”

I had forgotten that her family owned one of the largest potato farms in the United States, in the state of Washington.

“Are your parents still in Moses Lake?”

“I’m surprised you remembered, but yes. You couldn’t drag them away from that place. Most people who were born there will never leave.”

“You did,” I said before I could stop myself.

“Yeah, but that was because of my dreams of becoming a—”

It wasn’t a surprise she didn’t finish the sentence.

Chefwas the word she left out.

The career she’d never had.

Never would have.

Because of me.

The past still brought her a lot of pain, obviously.

If I could fix it, I would. Even though she very often bugged the eternal crap out of me, I vowed to do what I could to make this week a good one for her, to help her achieve her dreams.

Rolando’s words popped into my head at that very moment.

She’ll get over it when she learns the truth.

Tell her.

“We should head in for breakfast,” Zoe said. “I have no idea why I’m so hungry. I ate so much last night, plus it’s still early.”

“I have another question for you,” I blurted out.

“You said I could skip the rest.”

I nodded. “Yes, but this has nothing to do with the doctor’s protocol.”

I opened my mouth to continue, then closed it.

How could I tell her?

Would she even believe me?

It didn’t matter; I wouldn’t have the chance.

My heart raced as Zoe stumbled getting up from the bench.

I jumped up and wrapped my arms around her. “Are you okay?”

She took a few moments to regain her composure, holding on to me tightly, her body covering mine like plastic wrap.

Zoe nodded. “Yeah, thank you. I just lost my balance.” She gestured back to the Serendipity Inn, then hooked her arm around mine, like she wanted my help, but would not come right out and say it. “I need to get some food in my system. My body’s asking for it.”

I slowly led her toward the house. “Then I guess you should listen.”