It Was Always You

A Long Day’s Work

…Oli’s POV…

We finished the 2nd orchard quickly. Lucas explained that it was an easy one since not all of the trees are in season far harvesting, I thought it was because distinguishing between ripeness of the citrus fruits was much easier than the stone fruits had been. I carefully watched as Lucas lifted the crates into the trailer. Every muscle in his body moving together, putting the mental image I used this morning to shame.

“Like what you see?” he joked, as he caught me staring at him.

“Maybe a little too much.” I said, making it obvious I was referring to what happened this morning. We had to address it and move past it if we were going to be working together every day.

“Yeah, I am really sorry about that. It was an inside thought that probably should have stayed there.” he said, rubbing his forehead.

I felt a burst of confidence and before I could stop myself, I asked “But did you mean it?” I asked, as we got ourselves situated back in the gator to head in for lunch.

…Lucas’ POV…

I let the question sit in the air for a moment as I debated pouring my heart out to her only a few hours after I had told myself I would be there for her as a friend, but I decided that now wasn’t the best time. “I don’t really want to have this conversation as we’re pulling up to your brother’s house, Oli.” half out of truth, half because I wasn’t sure what I would say or when the best time to have it would be.

“Ouch. So no?” she asked, and I could feel the disappointment radiating from her words. It shouldn’t have, but it gave me a little bit of hope.

“That’s not what I said, Olive. I’m not sure how this conversation should be handled or how long it would take. Hell, I’m not too sure I even know which direction it would go in. The only thing I know for a fact is that Owen would probably murder me in my sleep if he over heard any version of that conversation.”

I saw her look in the direction of the house and back at me. “Fine, but we will be having this conversation later. If we’re going to be working together like this every day and living so close to each other, then we need to address it.” She said with resolve. I nodded in agreement as we pulled up to the house. The tension between us was so thick that I just knew Owen would be able to feel it, something I had hoped to avoid by delaying the conversation. I saw him walking up from the barn, with his wagon full of eggs and braced myself for what was surely going to be a long lunch.

Olive greeted her brother with a smile before breaking the silence “I’m hoping to clean up before we sit down to eat. Owen, can i use your restroom?”

“Sure. you know where it is. Did you guys have a good time this morning? Everything go smoothly?” he asked, sensing the tension in the air.

“Yeah! It wasn’t too bad. I’m pretty sure a monkey could to it.” She answered, with a quick wink in my direction before heading into the house, leaving me with Owen.

“What was that about?” He asked me in a serious tone.

“It was nothing. She was nervous about messing up earlier and I told her that I could probably train a monkey to sort the fruits if I had to. I was just trying to reassure her.” He seemed to accept my answer with little skepticism.

“She seems like she’s feeling better today. Did you guys get the back orchard done? I know you were kinda worried that you wouldn’t be able to get all of the orchards done and sorted today since you’re having to teach as you go.” I relaxed with this question, hoping that the conversation would go smoothly and avoid any kind of discussion about my feelings for her.

“Yeah, I found her in good spirits this morning. She’s a natural dude, we got the stone fruits and the citrus done and loaded into the trailer. Half way done before lunch! not too bad. Definitely not something I could have done alone with a 10am start time.” He nodded at my response.

“I knew she’d be good here.” He said, the pride in his voice was evident.

I smiled in agreement “I’m gonna wash up, I’ll meet you at the table!” I finished the conversation and headed to my cabin. As I walked through the door I immediately felt relief wash over me by getting away from him. Owen was my best friend and I really didn’t want to betray his trust. My feelings for Olive really put me in a less than desirable place with Owen, but in my heart I knew she was worth it. I just had to figure out how to get Owen on the same page.

…Olive’s POV…

As I washed my hands in the bathroom sink, I looked at myself in the mirror. What was I thinking?! Insisting on getting an answer from Lucas. This was insane. There was no right answer. If he said he meant it, then what could possibly be the next step? Owen would be furious, and the whole point of me living here was that it wasn’t about a romantic relationship. It was about working on the farm and rebuilding myself.

On the other hand, if he said no, I’m pretty sure the awkward would be almost impossible to get past. I sighed as I dried my hands on the towel hanging by the sink and walked out of the bathroom. Sofia was standing in the kitchen around the corner. I could hear her soft voice asking if I’d mind telling the guys it was time for lunch. I said it would be no trouble at all and walked out to the porch. As I opened the door, there was a heavy silence. I looked over to find Owen sitting by himself on one of the wooden chairs.

“Hey! Lunch is ready.” I said, obviously scaring him as he jumped up.

“Thanks. Hey Olive, are you okay? Like is this something you see working out for you?” He asked, catching me off guard this time.

“Yeah, I really really enjoyed this morning. I can easily see this being a good fit. I’m happy to help you guys out and I’m so thankful to have a place to stay. Really, don’t worry about me!” I said, with an honest smile. His next question sounded hesitant.

“And everything with Tyler? Have you heard from him at all?”

“I haven’t and I prefer it that way. I don’t know why I would? That’s done. Completely.” I answered.

“I just want to make sure you’re okay.” He said with a side hug. I heard a door open behind me and I turned to see Lucas walking out of his home.

“Lunch is ready inside!” I repeated as I turned to walk inside, with the boys following behind.

We filled our plates and sat down at the small round table. The boys fell into conversation easily. I just picked at my food, trying not to meet Lucas’s eyes across the table. I went off into my own little world until I heard Owen say “Don’t forget the market this weekend.”

“Oh! This soon?” I asked, obviously excited.

“Yeah! We have 5 days to get prepped, but we should be good!” Lucas replied, sounding almost as excited as I was.