CODY
I was just putting the finishing touches on dinner when I heard the front open and close. This was my favorite part of the day when Blair was finally home. Working at the inn meant that she had crazy hours. It wasn’t a typical nine to five, many days she’d have to go in early or even work an overnight shift to cover gaps in their scheduling. The business was doing great and I secretly hoped that Angela would hire a nighttime manager so her hours would be more consistent. The further she got along in her pregnancy, the less I wanted her to work weird hours and be alone. I couldn’t tell her that though, she’d yell at me for being too controlling.
“What a day!” Blair said as she dropped her things at the front door and fell onto the couch in the living room.
“Is everything okay?” I stopped what I was doing in the kitchen and got her a glass of water while she put her legs up.
“We’re in a bit of a pickle at work. Angela made a bit of an error making reservations for a large group and now we’re running around trying to figure out a solution.”
“Ahh, I see,” I sit next to her and put my arm around her shoulder. “Can I do anything to help you?”
“Doubtful,” she sighs. “We have a huge group of cyclists coming in expecting the full small-town Strawberry experience and she put their reservation in for the wrong date and now we don’t have room for all of them.”
“Oh shit. What are you going to do?”
Her shoulders slump a bit, “No clue at all. We’ve been tossing ideas back and forth all day, but they have just been dead ends.”
“I could talk to Emory and see if we could invite them out to the vineyard, maybe a private tour? It doesn’t help with sleeping accommodations, but they’d at least have another experience that would be positive.”
“You’d do that for me?”
“Of course, Bear. It is the least I could do.”
She kisses my cheek and then slumps back down into my arms. “Now if I could just figure out the sleeping arrangements without sending them to the chain hotels.”
“This might be a crazy idea, so feel free to tell me the shut up if it doesn’t sound good…”
“Cody, Babe, I’m about ready to send these people to the competitor, crazy would be just fine.”
“Alright, so back towards the end of my career, rather than staying in hotels and shit, some of the guys would rent tiny homes. Some companies would let you rent for any period of time. They almost worked like the moving pods where they’d just drop the place off wherever you want it and then pick it up when you were done using it. I don’t know if something like that exists around here, but maybe you could look into it.”
Blair sits up and tilts her head to the side slightly, “You liar!”
“What?” I exclaimed.
“You said your idea was crazy, that isn’t a crazy idea at all, Cody!”
“It isn’t?”
“No! Holy shit, I need to call Angela and tell her about this.” She jumps to her feet and pulls her phone out of her pocket. Right before holding it up to her ear, she looks over her shoulder, “Crap, you made dinner, is it going to be cold if I make this call right now?”
“No, no,” I wave her off. “It can sit in the oven for a bit longer, you take care of business.”
She smiles and heads off to the other room to make her call, I can hear her saying hi to Angela before she heads up the stairs and I make my way into the kitchen to put the salad back in the fridge until she’s ready. I can’t help but chuckle that we’re working our lives around her work schedule when for so long it was always about mine. I kind of like being on this end of things instead, supporting her this time around.
The next morning I arrived at work a bit before Emory did so I started on the to-do list she left for me yesterday. About fifteen minutes later, Emory strolled in with two coffees, handing me one. “I thought I would be nice and get you a drink too.”
“That’s oddly nice of you, thank you.”
“I can be a nice person, Cody, you are just always a bit fat jerk.”
“A big, fat, jerk? What are we, Em, twelve?”
“Maybe,” she huffs. “I looked into this weekend for that private tour you text me about last night and we should be able to fit them in. I’m going to be busy with an event in the reception hall though, do you think you could lead the tour?”
“Shit, it has been forever since I’ve done a tour of this place. I’m not sure I’m the best person for the job.”
“I’m sure you could do it, Cody. How about this afternoon we go through the tour together and you can practice and take notes? It’ll be fun.”
“Fun? Yeah, we have two different definitions of that. I’ve got a call with a couple of hotels at one, but we can go after that.”
“Are you making your way through my list?”
“Yes, boss,” I reply sarcastically.
“Ooo,” she teases, “say that again, I liked the way it sounded.”
I crumble up a piece of scrap paper and toss it at Emory. She ducks out of the way with no problem, the sound of her laughter filling the small office that we share. As much as the two of us talk crap back and forth, I really do love her and I love the time that we get to spend together now. Blair and Hayes weren’t the only people that I missed out on spending time with when I was young and stupid. Being able to repair this relationship with my sister and parents is just as important.
“Hey, Em, do you think you would have a free day coming up that you could drive into the city with me?”
“I’m sure I can figure out something, why?”
“Hold on, before we go further with this conversation, you have to promise that you’ll keep your big mouth shut about what I’m going to tell you.”
Emory acts offended, huffing loudly, “I can’t believe you’d even have to bring it up, Cody. If my brother tells me something in confidence, I would never!”
“We both know you’re full of shit. The second you get a good piece of gossip you’re looking for the closest person to tell. You can’t even tell Mom and Dad.”
“Geez, are you going into witness protection or something?” I glare in her direction and she rolls her eyes, “Fine, Cody. Whatever we talk about will stay between just the two of us.”
I’m partially considering that she might still blab the news to somebody, but it is a risk I’ll probably need to take for her help. “I have this appointment set up this weekend and I thought I could do it on my own, but now I’m starting to second guess my judgment.”
“Uh-huh,” she moves her hands, “continue.”
“It is with Marcus Wellington Jewelry.”
“Cody!” Emory gasps. “Are you getting what I think you’re getting?”
Her response is as giddy as I thought she would be. She’s even clapping her hands and practically jumping in her seat as she waits for my response. “I’m starting to regret asking you to come with me because you’re already too excited. But yes, I’m looking at getting an engagement ring because I want to ask Blair to marry me…again,” I add with a chuckle.
“And you want to ask me to go along with you?”
“That is pretty much the gist of this conversation, Ems. The last engagement ring was from a department store and Blair deserves so much better than that. I know you love all that girly jewelry and you watch all those wedding shows, so I want your input.”
“Wow, Cody. I know we usually kid each other back and forth, but I’m a bit at a loss for words. Blair is going to get anything you pick out for her, but I’ll definitely go with you and make sure you get the best of the 4 Cs.”
“What the fuck are the 4 Cs?”
Emory throws her head back and laughs, “That is exactly why you need me to come along, brother.”
YOU ARE READING
Strawberry Wine (Strawberry Inn Book #2)
RomanceAt just 17, Blair and Cody were high school sweethearts with big dreams. They were both headed to university on athletic scholarships when a positive pregnancy test changes everything. Coming from two traditional families, they get married right aft...
