Page 28 of Forbidden to Fall

Frowning, I stole a glance at him.

His jaw was working as he stared ahead. “Things at the farm are worse than I thought they were. Quite a bit worse.”

I didn’t say anything. The only reason he could be surprised about that fact was because he hadn’t been here. That had been his choice—to let his mom handle it all and hope Archer would pick up the slack in the little free time he had.

“I know,” James said. “I should’ve been here.”

I looked away, embarrassed he’d vocalized my exact thoughts. I must be transparent as a jellyfish—and with the same amount of brains.

“I guess I thought Mama would tell me, but that was dumb. She’s too prideful. And she knew I didn’t want to be here, so she acted like things were fine when they weren’t.” He looked at me. “If you could keep this between us…Mama wouldn’t want⁠—”

“Of course,” I hurried to say. “I would never dream of telling anyone.”

His eyes held mine, then he nodded. “I guess what I’m trying to say is that she needs help or the farm will go under.”

My chest tightened. “I promise I’ll do my best.”

He shook his head. “That’s not what I mean. I’m not telling you this to put more of a burden on you, Sadie. This isn’t your responsibility at all.” He stopped, so I did too. He faced me and took a breath. “I think I need to stay.”

No words came from my open mouth.

James was staying in Autumn Ridge.

Or was he asking me if he could stay?

I wasn’t sure.

“I don’t want to make you uncomfortable or put you in a tough position,” he said, “but I need to be here for my mom.” He looked away, blinking so quickly, I wasn’t sure if the sheen I’d seen had been a trick of the light or not. “I know my mom wants to be helpful to you, but she’s…”

“She’s tired,” I offered, pressing the ice to my head.

“Yeah.”

I stared at the ground for a few seconds.

This did complicate things for me. Working for May Carver was already a big deal. Working with James?

Ryan would absolutely hate that. He didn’t even know James was here.

But what was the alternative?

Tell James I couldn’t work with him?

That would mean one of two things: him leaving his mom again or me reneging on my promise to help May.

I’d been judging James for leaving in the first place. I should be happy he was here, taking responsibility, right? Or was I one of those people who would condemn a person for doing something, then refuse to support them changing?

As for the option to renege…I needed this project. I needed it financially, but I also needed it creatively.

“I promise to stay out of your way as much as possible,” he said when my silence continued. “I’d just ask that, if you have something you need to ask my mom about or if you need help with something, you come to me first. Mama’s not very good at admitting when she can’t do something.”

I chuckled softly, and James gave a responsive smile—an acknowledgment that we agreed on that point.

“Right now, I think her body needs rest,” he said.

“I agree.”

His eyes searched my face. “Is it okay with you, then?”