room for the garden center there were desks on the side opposite the kitchenette and table. One with a computer, the other two with lap tops. Four big windows that looked out over the gardens and through which you could see both the greenhouses and beyond that, Emma's house in the distance. Office supplies and a commercial printer sat along one wall and the kitchenette with a dining table and four chairs along another.
If you went down the hall, you would find stairs that led down to storage closets, public restrooms and the entrance to the main retail space. The public could enter through the big open barn doors or through a double door they kept open to the back gardens and greenhouses. One of which was open to the public and one that was not.
Emma turned to introduce Noah to Margo and Paige. Margo was looking at Noah as if he was a snake that had slithered in when they weren't looking. Paige took one look at all that was Noah Hale and bobbled the pots. The coffee grounds fell and splattered on the floor, and while she was fumbling around in a teenage girl awe she nearly dropped the electric tea kettle full of water as well. Emma put Lucy in her bassinet they kept at the office, and ran to help the poor girl cope.
"Margo," Emma said indicating her for Noah's sake, and then she patted Paige. "And Paige, this is Hannah's brother Noah. He's going to be staying at Lavender Farms to visit with Hannah and Lucy for a while. Noah, this is Margo, my Manager, and Paige, who watches Lucy and mans the phones, while Margo is on the floor and I'm in the gardens."
"Really?" Margo said at hearing who he was, her eyes narrowing in broad sweeping accusation. "Well. Where have you been?"
"Margo," Emma snapped. Her eyes warning the other woman.
Margo looked at Emma for only a moment before she turned her suspicious eyes back to Noah. "It's a valid question," she said unapologetically. "One I'd like to put to that whole family."
"And none of your business," Emma shot back making it as clear as she could that Margo needed to back off.
"Nice to meet you," Paige spoke quietly but with some haste, heading off her mother’s tight lipped answer. Her cheeks pinking even more when Noah met her gaze and tipped his chin at the girl. Emma put down the tea kettle she had rescued and stepped over to him, taking the diaper bag and dropping it beside the bassinet. "Noah, is going to help me out around the farm today. I expect," Emma snapped her eyes to Margo pointedly. "You all will make him feel welcome while he's here."
She didn't wait for an answer but grabbed his arm and started pulling him away from the two woman and back towards the door where she slipped off her sneakers and pulled on purple galoshes and an apron with the Lavender Farms logo on it over her standard jeans and t-shirt with the same logo.
"We'll be back in a few so Noah can get some coffee." She smiled at Paige. "Just text me if Lucy gets too fussy."
"She won't," Paige said, then she smiled shyly at Noah and turned back to the coffee pot with enthusiasm. "I'll have the coffee ready when you get back."
Emma headed out into the fields by way of her usual stroll through the retail area. She did not stop to water with Noah at her back, knowing that Margo would take care of it. Abrasive to men she might be, but she was good at knowing when to water and when to hold back, she decorated pots with whimsy and her people skills assured that most customers wanted to come back.
It allowed Emma to do what she loved to do, and that was work the fields, the cottage garden and the greenhouses. Which is where she headed now, anxious and pleased for some reason to be showing it all to Noah. She finally turned back to him when they were inside the sultry heat of the greenhouse and the door was closed.
"There a reason your manager wants to eject me bodily from the place?" Noah asked and had Emma snorting out a laugh at the picture his
If you went down the hall, you would find stairs that led down to storage closets, public restrooms and the entrance to the main retail space. The public could enter through the big open barn doors or through a double door they kept open to the back gardens and greenhouses. One of which was open to the public and one that was not.
Emma turned to introduce Noah to Margo and Paige. Margo was looking at Noah as if he was a snake that had slithered in when they weren't looking. Paige took one look at all that was Noah Hale and bobbled the pots. The coffee grounds fell and splattered on the floor, and while she was fumbling around in a teenage girl awe she nearly dropped the electric tea kettle full of water as well. Emma put Lucy in her bassinet they kept at the office, and ran to help the poor girl cope.
"Margo," Emma said indicating her for Noah's sake, and then she patted Paige. "And Paige, this is Hannah's brother Noah. He's going to be staying at Lavender Farms to visit with Hannah and Lucy for a while. Noah, this is Margo, my Manager, and Paige, who watches Lucy and mans the phones, while Margo is on the floor and I'm in the gardens."
"Really?" Margo said at hearing who he was, her eyes narrowing in broad sweeping accusation. "Well. Where have you been?"
"Margo," Emma snapped. Her eyes warning the other woman.
Margo looked at Emma for only a moment before she turned her suspicious eyes back to Noah. "It's a valid question," she said unapologetically. "One I'd like to put to that whole family."
"And none of your business," Emma shot back making it as clear as she could that Margo needed to back off.
"Nice to meet you," Paige spoke quietly but with some haste, heading off her mother’s tight lipped answer. Her cheeks pinking even more when Noah met her gaze and tipped his chin at the girl. Emma put down the tea kettle she had rescued and stepped over to him, taking the diaper bag and dropping it beside the bassinet. "Noah, is going to help me out around the farm today. I expect," Emma snapped her eyes to Margo pointedly. "You all will make him feel welcome while he's here."
She didn't wait for an answer but grabbed his arm and started pulling him away from the two woman and back towards the door where she slipped off her sneakers and pulled on purple galoshes and an apron with the Lavender Farms logo on it over her standard jeans and t-shirt with the same logo.
"We'll be back in a few so Noah can get some coffee." She smiled at Paige. "Just text me if Lucy gets too fussy."
"She won't," Paige said, then she smiled shyly at Noah and turned back to the coffee pot with enthusiasm. "I'll have the coffee ready when you get back."
Emma headed out into the fields by way of her usual stroll through the retail area. She did not stop to water with Noah at her back, knowing that Margo would take care of it. Abrasive to men she might be, but she was good at knowing when to water and when to hold back, she decorated pots with whimsy and her people skills assured that most customers wanted to come back.
It allowed Emma to do what she loved to do, and that was work the fields, the cottage garden and the greenhouses. Which is where she headed now, anxious and pleased for some reason to be showing it all to Noah. She finally turned back to him when they were inside the sultry heat of the greenhouse and the door was closed.
"There a reason your manager wants to eject me bodily from the place?" Noah asked and had Emma snorting out a laugh at the picture his
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