Always a Bridesmaid, Never a Plus-One by Iris Morland

Author:Iris Morland [Morland, Iris]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Blue Violet Press LLC

Chapter Fourteen

Rowan

My mom called me at the crack of dawn on Sunday morning. I let it go to voicemail, only to hear my phone ring a second time. I groaned and grabbed the offending electronic.

"Who died?" I answered. I yawned loudly.

Mom just laughed. "Nobody! Why would you say such a thing? I just haven't talked to you in forever."

I squinted at the clock on my nightstand. "It's six in the morning."

"And don't you have work to do?"

"Which would preclude me from talking to you on the phone."

Mom clucked her tongue. "You know I told you that you had to become a morning person if you wanted to run a farm. You can't farm in the middle of the night. Harold!"

I winced. My mom called my dad's name a second time, and then suddenly I was talking to both of them.

"Harold, it's Rowan. Yes, he's awake. I'll ask him. Rowan, sweetheart, are you alone?" my mom asked.

I groaned. "For God's sake, Mom—"

"Remember when I called and you had company! I don't know why you picked up."

I wanted to drop my phone down the nearest well. "You called me three times. I thought something was wrong!"

"Your voicemail wasn't working."

I could hear Dad say something to Mom, probably something along the lines of, "Why do I have to be here for this?" Dad preferred to lounge in his plush leather lounger and scroll through all the TV channels than jabber on the phone.

"Mom, I do have work this morning," I lied as I rolled back into bed. "Did you need something?"

"Is this about your friend's wedding? You know, Rowan, I'm still not sure that's a great idea," said my mom.

"So you've said. But it's happening. I'm working with their wedding planner and everything."

"Row, you seriously planning weddings now?" This was from my dad. "Is that what you left your job for?"

My dad had never understood why I'd gone into tech, and then when I'd left the industry, he'd been doubly annoyed with me. Dad had always expected that I'd take over the family business. But at the age of eighteen, I'd told Dad straight out that I had zero interest in running a bunch of hardware stores.

Dad had sold the business a year before I'd decided to quit my job. He'd never forgiven me for what he saw as a betrayal. I'd already betrayed him by getting into tech, but to quit that job and start an orange farm? It'd been too much for my old man.

"Weddings are a billion-dollar industry," I said, feeling defensive. "And the wedding planner is sure that my place could become a popular venue. It'd bring in tons of revenue. Money, Dad. Can you really look down on more money?"

"Bunch of frou-frou nonsense," Dad said. I heard him grunt, which was probably Mom smacking his arm.

"We're just worried that you're getting into something that you haven't fully researched," said Mom.

"Just trust me," I said, trying to keep the edge out of my voice. "I'm not going to screw this up.

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