“Fresh from California. Heritage oranges.”
“Lucky you,” she said, then got off at her floor.
Pierce went straight to his kitchen to open the box. As always, the fruit was packed with care and was perfectly ripe. As always, there was just a simple note from Midori, wishing him well, and the requisite family picture. It had been taken in the grove while the trees were in bloom, on the kind of sunny fall day he most associated with her. Her grandchildren had grown a lot over the past year, and her family looked both healthy and happy.
He set the picture aside and lifted an orange from the box, removing the tissue that wrapped it. He chose a navel orange first, always his favorite, even though there were two varieties in the box. He weighed it in one hand and squeezed it gently, seeing an echo of his father’s gestures in his own. He peeled and ate it, standing at the counter, closing his eyes at the sweetness of the juice.
It wasn’t usually so potent. He was remembering things he hadn’t thought about in years. The grove. The smell of the orange blossoms. His father’s hands. The sunlight in Midori’s hair. Her quick sidelong smile, the mischievous one. The smell of the earth and the feel of the sun. He remembered it all as clearly as if it had been yesterday.
Pierce thought of all the other twenty-pound boxes of oranges and all the places he’d received them. He thought of the reasons why he received the boxes and sighed.
Jacquie had awakened something in him, and he was glad. He felt more alive and in the moment than he had in a while, more vital and engaged. It was the kind of sharp attention to detail he felt in the middle of a project, and he’d missed that moment when the adrenalin flowed.
Was she right? Was there a way to build himself a future with only the good bits? Without her encouragement, Pierce would never have considered it, but now he did.
He’d told Rodrigo that he didn’t have a team anymore, but he’d had one once.
And he missed them. It felt right to admit that, and even more right to be curious. He liked having the team and working with them. What if he worked with them and not with people like Rodrigo?
He’d learned in therapy how to build barriers but Pierce wondered now whether he’d built them too strong. He’d been invulnerable, as isolated as an island. He’d known what he’d tolerate and how to ensure that his life challenges remained within his limits.
Until Jacquie.
She pushed him to unlock the doors and he was questioning everything now.
Maybe Pierce needed to open the drawbridge, even evict the crocodiles in the moat.
What if he was the running the operation, instead of being hired by someone else? He could turn down work he didn’t want. He could protect his team. He would have more autonomy to run operations the way he saw fit.
Doing so would certainly provide the challenge he was seeking, and it would use his expertise, too.
Plus the idea excited him.
Pierce turned on his laptop and looked up a phone number. Mack was ridiculously easy to find. She was a talker, a force of nature and exuberance. She’d always kept track of everyone, and she’d make it easy for him—she’d talk and he’d just have to listen.
He called her number before he thought about it too much.
“Pierce Aston?” a woman said as she answered, her voice filled with excitement. Mack obviously had caller display. “Is this really Pierce Aston?”
“It is.” Pierce found himself smiling at her familiar enthusiasm. “How are you, Mack?”
“Oh. My. God!” she squealed and someone said something in the background. “It’s my old C.O.”
“I could take offense at that,” Pierce noted.
“Former C.O,” Lisa corrected, a smile in her voice, then spoke to her companion again. “You know, I told you about him a million times.”
“Give or take,” a man said wryly and Mack laughed.
“Pierce! I can’t believe it. Where have you been? What have you been doing? I was looking for you, but Jimmy said you must not want to be found.”
“Something like that.”
“And now?”
“I thought it was time.”
“It’s long past time,” she scolded. “We were talking about you at Christmas.”
“Do you keep in touch with the whole team?”
“Everyone but you, since you disappeared.” She was stern with him. “Where are you?”
“Manhattan.”
“Go on. Jimmy’s coming to New York next week with his wife and kids.”
“For work?”
“No, a vacation. Don’t say I told you but he hates his job.” She hesitated as Mack almost never did. “Do you want...”
“Yes,” Pierce said firmly. He would rebuild the team. He would take that contract with Rodrigo and build his own business, putting his expertise to use. He would need them, but they would need him, too. He’d be connected. The idea had the resonance he trusted. He didn’t say too much until he’d planned it all through—because Mack might start driving east tonight. “Put me in touch with Jimmy, please. It would be great to see him.”
Mack made a little squeal of pleasure. “This is so amazing. Okay, let’s see. Noah went home to Maine and Regan’s in Atlanta.”
“Practically neighbors.”
“How long will you be there?”
“Possibly for good. How are you? You never said.”
“Fine. Amazing. So good. We have four dogs, all rescues. A guinea pig, too. I’m working at a little partnership but it’s really boring. I miss the old days.” She paused. “Are you okay?”
“Fine.”
“You’re not calling because you’re sick?” she asked with suspicion.
“No.”
“Still the man of few words,” she teased. “Wait!” She inhaled sharply as if she could smell them from Colorado. “The oranges.”
“They just came,” Pierce acknowledged. “It got me thinking about all of you.”
“And how we tried to steal them from you.” Mack laughed. “Oh my God, those oranges. I remember how amazing they were,
