“Yeah, but you’re special. He’d be stupid not to put a ring on it.”
“Willow.”
“Jolee.”
We stared at each other, sparing non-verbally as we sometimes did. The contest usually ended with me turning away first, but this time I was surprised to find Jolee breaking eye contact before me.
“Don’t worry about Ford and me. I’m more than happy with the way things are.”
“I know and I’m sorry that I said anything.”
“Don’t be. Anyway, what time do we need to leave?”
Pushing up to my elbows, I glanced at the alarm clock on my nightstand and noted the time. “Now. The flight leaves in two hours and you know how I am about being early.”
It was something I was a bit strict about. My parents were late to everything growing up. Once they were so late to take me to one of my dance recitals, I missed it completely. The day I was able to drive myself anywhere, I made sure to arrive at a minimum of fifteen minutes early. My anxiety was almost too much to control sometimes, which was the only way I knew how. I absolutely loathed that someone may be waiting on me. And just like I had felt as a seven-year-old that had let down her dance team, I never wanted to experience that sense of embarrassment again.
“Well, let’s hit the road. Don’t want you to keep your man waiting.”
“He won’t be waiting. I never told him that I was coming,” I whispered.
“Oh, Willow. Why would you do that?”
“Um. . .self-preservation?” I replied as I pushed myself off the bed and zipped up my suitcase.
Jolee remained quiet during the car ride, something I was grateful for as I contemplated why I hadn’t reached out to Eric to let him know that I was accepting his offer. My teeth nibbled at my lip as I worried that he might have given my internship to someone else. But he had sent the plane tickets, right? He surely would have let me know if I was no longer welcome.
Before I knew it, we arrived at the airport and Jolee parked in front of the departure sign for the airline.
“Call me when you arrive, okay? I’ll worry.” Jolee wasn’t the biggest fan of flying and her parents were a bit unconventional, studying airplane crashes due to suspected aliens. It was a surprise that Jolee was as normal and level-headed as she was.
“Yes, mom,” I joked as I pulled my luggage free from the trunk. I quickly wrapped my free arms around the shoulders and made her promise that she’d take care of my car and apartment while I was gone. My other roommate had traveled back home during the summer.
The flight was as uneventful as a flight could be. Zero turbulence and no rowdy passengers, but my stomach flipped and flopped the entire trek. By the time we landed, I felt as if I had gone six hours straight on a roller coaster. My face must have been a nasty shade of green based on how everyone kept a wide berth around me as I exited the plane.
As much as I wanted to change and refresh myself in the bathroom, I knew that I didn’t have the time. With the darkening clouds outside of the airport, I wanted to get to the small town as quickly as possible.
Glancing around, I followed the signs for luggage retrieval and made my way to the airport's lower level. It didn’t take long for my suitcase to make its way around the conveyor and I quickly grabbed the handle before it passed me by. I headed toward the pick-up area on autopilot before looking around and watched people load into taxies, ride shares, and buses. I wasn’t sure what my next move should be. Reaching into the front pocket of my purse, I grabbed the piece of paper with the cabin rental information Eric had sent to me. There was a fear that I was going to arrive in Carson without anyone the wiser since I hadn’t let him know that I was coming.
“Are you Willow?” a voice said from behind me as I spun on my heels in alarm.
My free hand automatically pressed against my chest to soothe my heart beating erratically.
“Sorry, ma’am. Mr. Sandford asked me to come to retrieve you from the airport. I apologize if you’ve been waiting long.”
Finally, the pounding of my chest slowed at the sound of his slow deep voice. The man must have been around my age with light brown hair that curled beneath his dusty baseball cap and worn denim jeans that hugged his thighs. He was an attractive man who would have caught my attention under any other circumstances, but my mind and heart had one person and one person only on my mind.
“Actually, you have perfect timing. I just finished grabbing my luggage. I’m Willow and you are?” I asked, extending my hand in greeting.
“Sorry, miss. I’m Christopher, but you can call me CJ.”
“Nice to meet you, CJ. Are you here to take me to Carson?”
“Yes, ma’am. Mr. Sandford sends his apologies. He was tied up in the fields, but he wishes that he could be here.”
Nodding in understanding, I followed CJ dutifully as he grabbed my suitcase and made his way across the way to the parking deck. I had expected to find a vehicle that matched CJ’s appearance, a dusty and beat-up pickup truck, but I was surprised to find a brand new Ford F-150 waiting for us. No one knew that I had a thing for pickup trucks and preferred them over sports cars. I had my heart set on purchasing a Ford Raptor one day.
“Nice truck, CJ,” I told him as he assisted me into the cab.
“Thanks. I’ll be sure to tell Mr. Sanford. He let me borrow it, seeing that my own truck was low on gas.”
Of course, the truck belonged to Eric and it helped raise his attractiveness factor ten-fold.
We made small talk on the trip back to Carson, CJ filling most of the conversation with his job tending the grapes and helping Eric with the landscape. CJ seemed to be knowledgeable in the land and town and let me know how excited the townspeople were about a larger venue to host gatherings that was closer than the other winery in the area. They currently used a smaller town pavilion, but the population had been growing steadily and the pavilion could no longer host the larger gatherings. It was good to know that there would be a desire for the locals to use the facilities and we wouldn’t have to rely solely on outside publicity. Though I had no doubts that Eric and his team were prepared to get the venue nationally recognized in a short amount of time.
I had spent the flight researching his various bars and companies and it seemed that Eric and Luke, his business partner, had the Midas touch. Rarely did their ventures and business receive poor reviews, most receiving rave compliments at launch and those appraisals seemed to continue to this day. He knew how to hire the right people to manage the businesses and keep them thriving. Which worried me and my potential with the internship. I had hoped that my internship would eventually turn into a full-time job wherever I ended up, but I’m not sure I was up to par with the rest of Eric’s staff.
The closer we got to the small town, the greater my anxiety grew. I felt unqualified and out of place with this new position and I hadn’t even stepped foot into an office yet. There was no listing of requirements or expectations. All I had was what Eric had described. He had piqued my interest enough that I packed up my life and hopped on the plane, now my fear that he was simply offering me an internship to be nice or to get me close was spiraling to the forefront of my mind.
“You’re awfully quiet over there and I can see that you’re about two seconds away from opening that door and bolting out of the moving truck.”