8. Chapter 8

"They're here!" I yelled excitedly as Evan plopped down on my bed. We both decided to stay close to home and attend the local university. I did so because I earned a full scholarship and was able to pocket some cash in the deal since there was no need to pay for a dorm room or meal card. Plus, I wasn't ready to leave Jack behind just yet.

"Well, let me see," Evan demanded with his greedy, grabby hands aimed at the package.

That was my cue to rip open the box. We both stared, awestruck at our collective work for a few minutes before Evan leaned in and picked one up.

"Holy shit, Posie! These look… Wow. I know I saw your concept drawings, but this is beyond even my wildest imagination."

The grin on my face was so wide, it was surprising that my head didn't split in two and fall right off. "I can't believe they look so good," I admitted.

"Seriously, who cares about my story because your artwork is what will draw everyone in and keep them there." He thumbed through the pages so gently, as if afraid he'd damage the images. It warmed my heart and filled me with so much pride.

"What are you two doing?" Jack asked from the door. I quickly turned and put my body in front of the box to hide it.

"N-nothing," I stammered like a guilty fool.

Evan laughed hysterically. "Jesus, Captain Obvious, if he wasn't curious before, he will be now."

My panicked eyes found his as I turned my attention back to Evan. There wasn't an explanation for why I didn't' want Jack, or anyone else in the family, knowing what Ev and I had been up to. The fear of being judged was probably the only thing stopping me from handing the box to him and telling the man who had become my father just how happy I was with our accomplishment.

"Petal?" He questioned and my shoulders slumped, knowing I'd have to show him.

"I thought you were proud of our work?" Evan asked, and his hurt tone made me feel even worse.

"I am, Ev. You wrote such a wonderful story. I'm just afraid of what everyone will think of my work." I shrugged. "All I did was draw the pictures."

"Are you kidding me? I knew what was coming and you still blew me away with this. He held up our graphic novel, and before I could even process what he was doing, it was placed into Jack's hands.

"I wrote the story, but all of that artwork is Posie's. She brought my words to life. She did it so well, people may never actually read the words." The pride in Evan's voice made me blush as Jack took in the cover and then lifted his eyes back to meet mine.

"You did this?" He asked.

"I did."

"I knew you drew a lot, but…" He hesitated a minute as he flipped through the pages. "What in the hell are you doing studying agriculture at school when you have all this talent?"

"I wanted to be able to help you with the farm and," I glanced out the window, but couldn't bring myself to remind everyone in the room – me included – that I owned a whole lot of farm acreage as well.

"No, sweet girl. We're going to sit down and talk about getting you a proper staff to run your place. Your focus needs to be on this." Jack walked over and sat down in my desk chair, kicked one ankle up to rest on his other knee, and placed our graphic novel in his lap. Then, he started to read it. Evan came over to me and sat down, clearly just as nervous as me now. My artwork was in your face – the first thing you noticed when looking at the cover. Now, Jack was reading his words and checking out the artwork that went with it.

We waited until he was halfway through before Jack finally raised his head and looked at both of us as if he hadn't ever seen us before. "This is something else. I didn't even realize you were working together so closely."

"We mainly worked on it during our breaks on campus," I admitted.

"This is my first time seeing the finished product on Posie's art," Evan explained. "I only ever saw the initial concept sketches as I developed the story."

"You two are going to keep working together, right?"

We grinned at one another. "That's the plan, Jack."

"Good, because this is truly something else." His eyes drifted back down to the graphic novel in his hands. "Can I have this one?"

"Of course," I said at the same time Evan answered, "It's yours."

"You both need to find a spot to sign it for me."

We looked at one another and grinned again. It would be the first signed copy of our very first graphic novel. As Evan and I signed the back of the book for Jack, his eyes flitted between Evan and me.

"Maybe I kept telling the wrong grandson to get to know you better." He winked at me as Evan smirked.

"We work well together. That's all," I insisted.

"That sounds like a good foundation to me."

It was a bit embarrassing, especially since neither of us felt that way about one another. Evan had his eyes on someone else while my attention had already been diverted to another Carter brother. Maybe, if Jack had pushed earlier, that would have been different, but I doubted it.