17. Lucky Bastard

17

LUCKY BASTARD

" W hat are you doing up?" Aster asked the next morning. He'd snuck out of bed as quietly as he could and then slipped into the bathroom to shower and leave without waking Raine.

He should have figured that wouldn't happen even though she'd passed out cold in his arms last night.

Once he knew she was out, he got out of bed and went through the apartment shutting off the lights. It'd been barely nine when they got in bed, but she'd been exhausted.

He'd lain there thinking of everything that had happened the day before.

From meeting her family to talking to his sister about Raine.

The worry his sister had over him volunteering at the fire department and why he hadn't told her.

It was stupid on his part, but why get her upset when there was no need for it?

"I wanted to make you breakfast before you left," Raine said.

He looked at his watch and saw it was six. "It's too early for you to get up. Go back to bed."

"I'm already up and have the food started," she said. She was standing in the kitchen in his T-shirt that he'd had under his button-down shirt yesterday.

There was something deep in his chest that pleased him to see that. Maybe it was sexist, but he didn't care.

"I've been feeding myself for years," he said. "It's your day off. You should be sleeping."

"Nah," she said. "I don't sleep in late. You know that. And I went to bed early last night. Thanks for shutting everything off. I guess it was the combination of all the food and activity when we got home."

He moved closer and put a kiss on her puckered lips. He found her adorable when she did stuff like that.

"See," he said. "I can provide some activities too."

"You know, I love it when you grin like that. It's a boyish smirk, but I say it's a grin. You don't do it often."

He wanted to say he didn't have much to smile about in life, but that would be wrong. He didn't think he had a horrible childhood by any means, just a different one.

The past year, that could have gone a little better, but if anything changed there then he wouldn't have met Raine and he wouldn't give that up for anything.

"I do it when I feel it," he said. "When I'm around people I can let my guard down with." He pulled her in for a quick hug, another kiss and tapped her on the ass, then reached under the shirt and cupped her there.

She giggled and he loved hearing that sound.

"I'm glad I can make you feel it. Sit, the eggs will be done in a minute unless you need to leave?"

"I've got time," he said. He'd planned on grabbing breakfast on the way in and now wouldn't have to. Zane was meeting him there at seven and they were going to try to get some work done early and then call it a day.

Raine cooked breakfast for him efficiently like she did everything in life, it seemed.

The two of them sat at the table and ate quietly.

"Are you working all day?" she asked.

"Probably not," he said. "There isn't a full staff on. Zane and I hoped to be done by early afternoon. I know he wants to spend some time with Willow since she's out of school but needs to get this addition done as fast as he can. We've got new machines coming and have to stay on track. The good thing, most of the holiday products were done and in stock, so no worries there."

"I hear Ivy talk about things like that and it always amazes me how far ahead you've got to plan for it all," she said.

"I'm learning my way around it too but, honestly, I only need to know more in terms of when it's the worst time to have a machine down."

"Do you like the job?" she asked.

No one had ever asked him before about his career choices. "I do," he said.

"We know you do well with plants," she said. "Are you going to care for the flowers outside of Zane's cabin in the spring and summer?"

He laughed. "I told him I would, but he knew it anyway. Yeah, this is a dream job in a way. I'm doing what I know how to do and enjoy doing but get to be around something else in life that I like too. Sort of. It's not like the flowers are at the plant unless they are being used for other things."

But he did enjoy walking around them in the greenhouses. Even talking to Violet too when she was there and they both had time.

Aster finished his breakfast; Raine did too. "Go. You don't need to clean up."

He put his plate in the dishwasher anyway. "What are you doing today?"

"I might do a little shopping," she said. "More online than stores, but we'll see."

"Will you be around later?" he asked. They hadn't made plans yet for the night or the weekend.

"I will be," she said. "Will you come back and see me?"

"Why don't you come to my place tonight and stay," he said.

"I can do that too." He gave her one more kiss and left.

When he got to the plant, Zane was already there. He figured as much.

"How was your holiday with Raine's family?" Zane asked.

"Good. Noisy. I'm not used to family things like that."

"I was," Zane said. "But then you spend years in the service and it all changes and you get used to something else."

"Full house yesterday?" he asked.

"We had it at Poppy's. She's got more space. Lots of extended family this year. It was the three sisters and their families, my parents, Zara, Ren and their two kids, Rose's father-in-law, Tom, and then Reese's brother and his family came up."

"Geez," he said. "I thought it was noisy where I was, but I was wrong."

"It was crazy with all the kids and people but nice too. That doesn't happen often but it played out that way this year. Let's say I was happy to get home with my kids and relax."

"I talked to Daphne last night," he said. "She worked. I feel bad she didn't get to share in what I did."

"I'm sure she's used to it," Zane said. The two of them got to work as they talked. They had a rhythm they were always able to achieve.

Two hours later, Aster was picking up the nail gun with his left hand to put more nails in it and it just fell to the ground.

"Shit," he said. He hadn't even felt it when he tried to grip the thing.

"What was that? Are you okay?" Zane asked.

"Yeah," he said, shaking his hand off to get some feeling back in it. The tingles hit so fast he hadn't realized it. "My finger went numb or something. Must be my elbow was bent funny."

"Are you sure?" Zane asked.

"Positive," he said. "It happens now and again. I'm sure I've got nerve damage in there. They said that was a possibility. Good thing it's my left hand."

Zane lifted his eyebrow but then went back to work.

There wasn't much more he could say and Zane would know he wouldn't want to talk about it. A little tingling in two of his fingers wasn't a big deal. It's not that he didn't feel the nail gun in his hand, it's just he didn't have a good grip on it.

"Hey, can I steal two big strong men?"

He looked up and saw Violet in the doorway. "Sure can," Aster said. "What do you need?"

"Flowers in the back of the van for them to make the oils. Don't worry, I didn't load it. I don't need Trace on my case."

Violet was pregnant. "Who did?" Zane asked.

"Two of my employees are working this morning. I knew I could find someone here to unload it."

"We've got it," Aster said, moving out of the building with Zane and pulling out the beds of flowers that Violet transported over.

"I miss making the oils," Violet said. "Not that I did it much, but it's just so much fun to play with them in all sorts of ways."

He didn't reply. No reason to. Plus if he did, Zane might bust his ass over it in their joking way. "What is Trace doing?" he asked. "Does he need some more help with his book?"

"He's writing away today, but I told him I wouldn't work long. I'm sure he'll be reaching out soon. I heard him mumbling something last night about parts and guns or something breaking."

He laughed. Aster did enjoy talking with Trace and helping him with his books. Luke gave some input on things too, but mostly Trace was on top of it having been in the service too.

"I'm around if he needs me," he said. Talking with people who served with him kept his head still in that part of his life without having this huge hole inserted in so quickly.

When Violet was gone, he and Zane were back to work. "Before I forget, Lily wanted me to tell you she is running an ad for a Director of Operations in the plant and she wants you to sit in on the interviews."

"Huh?" he asked. "Why are you telling me and not Lily? She's my boss."

Though it was laughable because he might be an employee of Blossoms, but he got more of his directions from Zane.

Zane looked at the grin on his face. "Come on now," Zane said. "We know Lily is the boss of both of us."

He laughed. "And you're not complaining in the least, are you?"

"Never," Zane said.

Lucky bastard.