Olly
“What? I don’t think so.” Jules looked confused by my question. “Did you go to Michigan State? We could’ve met there.”
“Nope, I’ve been here, and my cabin in Traverse City.” I shoved my hands in my pants pockets. “You must just have one of those faces.”
“Maybe.” Jules smiled and stepped away from Stacy to turn in a full circle. “I love what you’ve done here.”
“Thanks.” I tried to act like it was no big deal, but I had spent the last month renovating the place. “It was time for a change.” It was also time to sleep eight hours a night. I had been working so many hours that I couldn’t remember the last time I had a solid night’s sleep.
The previous owner had been stuck in the 70’s with the design elements. I had to rebuild and redo everything to get the place up to code before I could open.
“Did you bring the fresh produce to the market this morning?” Jules spun on her heel to face me.
“I did. I hope that was okay?” I leaned against the wooden table. “When I called, the person who answered said it was fine.” I grabbed some of the produce and took it to the local market for some reason. I had been trying to think about ways to rebuild the clientele.
When I bought the place, I heard from a lot of people that they were happy about the change. Apparently, people had started avoiding the produce stand in the last few years because the guy was so grumpy.
I had even discovered that many of the contracts with local farmers had ended because the guy was too difficult to work with. Not only had I been renovating the place, but I was also rebuilding bridges with the farmers. It was still a work in progress. Thankfully, several of the businesses had agreed to a six-month contract. They would sign a one-year contract if things seemed okay after the six months.
That’s why I decided to take some produce to the local market. It would be a great way to get the products in more hands, and maybe, just maybe, those who bought the produce would visit the stand. I needed the farmers to see that I cared about the community.
Jules smiled, and something stirred inside of me. What the hell was that? I didn’t even know the woman, and my body was already making new decisions without my consent. “It was fine. I was surprised to find it.” She glanced at Stacy and then back toward me. “I need to get back to the market, but you can bring fresh produce anytime. We’ve had customers asking for local produce for a while.”
“Really?” I rested my hand on the sack of potatoes sitting at the edge of the bed of my pickup truck. “I’m surprised you didn’t have some delivered before.”
“Did you meet the previous owner?” She raised her eyebrows and shrugged her shoulders.
“Good point.” It was a good thing the previous owner finally decided to sell. He was 86, grumpy, and ready to retire. At least, that’s what he told me. “Well, here’s to new beginnings.”
I stood rooted to the spot and watched them walk away. Jules was much younger than I imagined.
“Need some help?” Devon, the manager of the produce stand.
“What? No, I’m good.” I quickly wrapped my hands around the sack of potatoes and threw it over my shoulder. “Have you met Jules, the owner of the market before?”
“Yeah. Why?” He seemed confused by my question. “Was she just here or something?”
“Yeah, Stacy, the GM at the market, brought her by to see the renovations.” I took a few steps and placed the bag on the stack sitting out in front of the display with the other vegetables. “I’m surprised I’ve never met her before.”
“She was gone for a few years going to college, maybe that’s why.” He shrugged and headed back over to care for a customer.
It was not like I knew everyone in town. I did know several, though, because I had helped my parents at our family-owned garden center.
Maybe my parents knew her. “Hey Devon, I’ll be back in a few hours.”
AUTHOR NOTE:
Oh, I think he's curious about her. Do you think Jules is curious, too, or should we make him work for her attention?