“Why, has it gone missing?” The silence stretched for a couple of seconds. “Sorry, I couldn’t help myself. What about it?”
She chuckled . . . a little late. “It’s just that I’m decent at CSS, but a lousy photographer. And our site looks kind of lame.”
“Uh huh.” He could see where this was going, but she’d have to work for it.
“We just had a board meeting and decided we needed some good quality photographs. I thought of you.”
“I’m honored.” And he was, but that didn’t mean he should get involved. What was with him? Half the time he was convinced she’d come around if only he pushed a little and at other times, he held back. Here she was, asking him. Why wasn’t he jumping?
“You did such a beautiful job of those you showed me the other day.”
The day he’d have kissed Claire, given the slightest encouragement. Noel glanced at the grub line. Nearly his turn, or go hungry. Jess had collected her plate and was chowing down with a table of their rookies.
Claire’s voice turned crisper. “Anyway, we’re willing to pay you, of course. But I’m hoping you might have some good ideas of what photos would make the farm its most attractive.”
“Any one with you in it.” The words flew out of his mouth before he could hold them back. Should’ve bitten his tongue.
He could imagine the red creeping up her face. Still, it was the truth. “Claire? Maybe we can talk over coffee. Can I pick you up after dinner?”
The pasta looked even less appetizing than it had ten minutes ago, but he couldn’t very well tell her hiring Polly had been a mistake.
“Or you could come over here and talk with the whole group.”
Not while she wanted something from him. “That’s the next step. First, just you and me.”
She gave a nervous chuckle. “Sounds like you’re threatening me.”
“Nah.” He lowered his voice. “Just want to spend a bit of time with you. You have nothing to fear.” Sadly, that was probably true. But he might—like falling in love for the first time ever. She was right. A group was best. He opened his mouth to say so.
“Instead of going to town for coffee, why don’t we walk the property and I can show you around?”
A miniature war took place in Noel’s head. “That’s a good idea.” He’d ask her for that coffee another time. “What time’s good? I’m free in about half an hour.” Or in two minutes. Did he have to eat what Polly prepared?
**
“I disagree.” Sierra drummed her fingernails on the table. “We need more than an improved website.”
“I didn’t say that was all we needed.” Claire bit back a sigh. “It’s a good start, though. Making it more attractive and also more clear about what services we include and what we don’t.”
“Music?” Jo frowned. “I can’t carry a tune in a bucket and can’t play an instrument.”
Claire leaned forward. “Honestly, I think it’s okay if we don’t provide everything. I think this wedding business is getting out of hand.”
“I don’t know what your problem is.” Sierra swung to face Claire. “We’re here to make some money and bring this farm into the black, right? That was your worry.”
Jo shook her head. “We do need to find some ideas for the farm to pay its own way. But weddings may not be the best choice.”
“What we need are some events that require less coordination,” Claire said. “Like retirement parties or something.”
“I think we’re missing something important,” Jo cut in. “What’s our mandate?”
Trust Jo to harp on that.
“Staying on top of our mortgage payments?” suggested Claire.
“Teaching people about sustainable methods to live.” Jo held up her hand. “I’m not against running some weddings or other events, but I think we need to focus on the long-term stuff. And that’s hands-on training for young farmers.”
“A work program,” Claire stated. “Where they pay us for the privilege of learning from us.”
Sierra frowned. “That will take much more time to get off the ground. I thought we’d agreed to try other things in the interim.”
Claire’s mind raced with possibilities. “But Jo’s right. We need to start out as we mean to go on.”
“We can’t cancel these weddings.”
“Not planning to.”
A 3/4-ton pickup rumbled into the yard, and Noel swung out.
Claire scrambled to her feet. “I’ve got to go.” The girls didn’t need to notice how uncomfortable Noel made her. “If I’m not back before dark, send the troops after me.”
Sierra chuckled. “Don’t get lost out in the pasture.”
Claire grabbed a hoodie off its hook. If Sierra really knew, she’d be more concerned about Claire getting lost in Noel’s eyes. But she could handle this. She had to. For the good of Green Acres.
Not because she wanted to.
Chapter 10
“The farm is greening up nicely since I first saw it,” Noel commented as they climbed through the rail fence. “How much land do you have here?”
“Forty acres. It used to belong to Zach’s grandmother. She’s in the old folks’ home in town, where Jo works.” Claire spread her hands to the sky. “We love it here.”
“I can see why.” And he could. He thrived on tree-covered hillsides like the one along the length of Green Acres. His crew planted the plot behind the same mountain.
“It’s almost the end of the Earth.” Claire leaned back against the rails. “Except for Canada.”
What a shot that would make with her silhouetted against the evening sky. Would she get angry? She couldn’t — not when she’d particularly asked him to take photos. Noel took a few steps back, focused his camera, and snapped off several shots. She didn’t seem to notice, she was so wrapped up in staring into the distance.
He squatted and plucked a stem of grass. “There are places closer to the end of the world. Terra del Fuego, for instance.”
Claire’s eyebrows pulled together. “Where?”
“An island off the tip of South America, part of Patagonia. It’s their answer to the Canadian Shield, only with mountains. Not much grows that far south but it’s awesomely beautiful. It’s one of my favorite places on the planet.”
She looked at him like he’d grown another set of ears.
She didn’t want to see the world? But there were so many cool places. “One of the most fun things I’ve done is hiked the Pacaya Volcano in Guatemala. Nothing beats the rush of watching lava flow right beside you. One of my buddies melted the bottoms of his sneakers.”
The animation drained from Claire’s face.
“Oh, we weren’t in any real danger. Someday I’d like to go to Hawaii. I’d skip most of the touristy stuff, but man, I’d like to climb Kilauea. They say you can lean right over the edge and see into a deep vat of boiling lava. Wouldn’t that be spectacular?”
Claire shuddered and her eyes glazed over for a moment. Then she shook herself. “I’m sure it’s very nice.”
Didn’t sound like she believed it, though.
She pushed away from the fence and pointed at the dark furrows, currently bare of vegetation. “Zach plowed this small field under last fall and will be planting wheat here soon.”
Guess she didn’t want to talk about travel or volcanoes for some reason. Whatever. He could switch with the best of them. “Is there a good market for wheat?”
There she went with that perplexed expression again. The question didn’t seem that hard to Noel. He waited.
“We aren’t selling it.”
His turn to be confused. “Then why grow it?”
“To make into flour and eat the results ourselves?”
Now there was a concept. “Isn’t it a lot of extra work? Can’t you just buy flour?” Galena Landing had a supermarket. It carried flour. He knew that for a fact.
“Sure we could, but that goes against everything we’re trying to do with Green Acres.”
/> Noel scratched his head. “Which is to host weddings?” However that related to homegrown wheat.
“No, no. That’s just a means of paying the bills. Our goal is to live sustainably. That means growing as much of our own food as we can and making the least possible impact on the environment. It’s why the house is made of straw bales and why we have solar panels on the roof.”
Oh, great. She’d kind of hinted at that food-growing thing during their interview last month. Somehow he hadn’t quite picked up on how deep her obsession ran. Wasn’t that the right word? Noel pointed at the neat rows. “Looks like that was done by a tractor to me. That’s impactful, isn’t it? I keep hearing panicked-out rumors of peak oil.”
“We’re buying a pair of horses as soon as possible.” Claire’s chin came up a little and she looked him in the eye. “They’ll be my job. I’ll learn to manage the team.”
If he let her words sink in, he’d be far less tempted to pursue this woman than if he just looked at her. Today her lean body was hidden under a baggy San Juan Islands hoodie. Those preposterous pink boots held in the hems of her jeans. And her face — rapidly changing emotions flitted across it as she watched him from her dark brown eyes. What was she thinking?
Belatedly he remembered he hadn’t answered her. “Horses?”
Claire nodded. “Norwegian Fjords. The pair we want are still too young and untrained, but we’re hoping they’ll be ready by next spring.”
She was absolutely serious.
“I, uh, like horses, too. Did some riding last time I was in Australia. Ever seen The Man from Snowy River?”
She let out a long breath. “Old movie. Yeah, I’ve seen it, but it’s not precisely what I’m talking about.”
“Little House on the Prairie?” If he kept guessing, he’d either make her laugh or get it correct. Sooner or later.
Claire shook her head.
Bugged him he couldn’t read her mind.
“Anyway, that’s what we’re doing with this field.” She pointed toward the next fence, closer to the mountain. “We’re cutting hay in that one for a cash crop. In August we’ll till it and replant with spring wheat. It makes the best bread flour ever. Then Zach will plant pasture grass in this one when the crop comes off.”
Noel scratched his head. “Sounds busy and complicated. I guess I don’t get why you’re doing all this. Not really.”
She shot him a look. “You mentioned peak oil a few minutes ago. That’s one reason.”
“Oh, come on. You believe in that stuff?” As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he regretted them.
Claire’s lips set in a straight line. “Sure do,” she ground out. “Someday we’ll have pulled all the oil out of this rock ball and then what will people do?”
He’d never given it much thought. “It won’t be in my lifetime.”
Her eyebrows shot up. “You don’t know that. It’s a finite amount, whatever it is. And even if it lasts our lifetime — which I doubt — do you want to send your kids and grandkids into such an uncertain future?”
“I don’t have any kids.” Maybe the wrong answer, by the fire in her eyes. “Yet. I haven’t met the right woman.” Until now. Crazy thought.
Claire stared at him for a moment, lips pressed tightly together, then turned away.
It seemed like a cloud covered the sun and triggered a chill.
“This will never work,” she mumbled.
“Claire?” He jumped in front of her and touched her arm. “You asked me to take photos. We don’t need to agree on everything for me to do that.”
“Fine.” Her eyes sparked. Maybe that cloud harbored a thunderstorm, lightning included. “The back property line is the barbed-wire fence down at the end. Widthwise, it goes from that fence —” she pointed toward the Nemesek farmhouse “— to a little way up the hillside. Just past Jo and Zach’s cabin in roughly a straight line back to the road.” She pulled her arm away. “I don’t think you can get lost.”
“Claire, wait.”
She narrowed her gaze. “Why?”
He’d regret this big time. “Because I can’t stand it when you’re mad at me.” Which seemed all the time, except when discussing Amber’s wedding in a group setting.
“I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”
Right. He was supposed to believe that? He softened his voice. “Claire, I know you don’t believe we have much in common, but I think we do. And, well, I’m really attracted to you.”
She shook her head. “Nice try. All we have in common is your sister.”
“You love nature.” Noel waved his hand across the field. “You see the beauty in my photography.”
“Let me make one thing perfectly clear. I love nature. That’s true. But I love the nature that is right here. Not in Australia. Not in South America. Not in some . . . volcano somewhere. I’m sure it’s very pretty other places, but I’m not interested in going. If I never leave this valley again as long as I live, I’ll die content.” She spun on her heel and stalked off down the fence line. “If you have photos to show me later, let me know,” she tossed over her shoulder. “If not, that’s fine, too.”
**
The nerve of the man. Claire ducked through the fence and strode across the field, not daring to look back. He thought — he seemed to think — never mind. The whole idea was preposterous. A guy that got a kick out of wandering around lava and fire was not a guy she wanted to know. She shuddered. Anything but fire.
It didn’t stop her hands from wanting to touch the light stubble on his cheeks and trace his dimple. It didn’t stop her body from trembling in his presence. And it didn’t stop her mouth from yearning to be kissed by Noel Kenzie.
Problem was, he’d be willing to do it. Love ’em and leave ’em was probably his motto. She certainly wasn’t going anywhere with him. Even if he asked, which of course he hadn’t, and now he wouldn’t.
A teensy part of her died inside. Had she been too hasty? Too blunt? No.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than yours.
Yeah, well, Claire’s thoughts had been given by God. He didn’t change His mind. What was the verse? Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. That was more like it. Besides, didn’t the New Testament trump the old every single time?
“Where’s Noel?”
Claire blinked and saw Jo, practically in the middle of her path. She’d nearly run her best friend over. “Back there somewhere.” She waved a hand without turning.
Seemed Jo hid a smirk.
Claire scowled. “Why? What’s the matter?”
Jo’s chin jutted toward the rail fence. “You must’ve had a fight or something.”
She couldn’t help but look. Noel was only about ten paces back, his camera raised. She heard the click. “I’m going to kill him.”
“Why, did you forget to smile?”
Claire turned her back on Noel again. “You are so not funny.”
“Actually, I think it’s hilarious.”
No comment, because if she made one, Noel was now close enough to overhear.
“Good evening, Noel. You finding lots of material for photos?”
Claire closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Why, God? Why did Jo have to meddle? Claire didn’t do that to Jo last year. Well, maybe a couple of times, but not like this.
Click.
Taking pictures of her back? Or of what? Claire huffed out her breath and turned.
Click.
She could hate a guy like this. Seriously. She stared Noel down until he lowered the camera slightly. What was going on inside his head? He was practically stalking her.
“Uh oh,” breathed Jo.
Claire grasped her friend’s arm and propelled her away from Noel. “That’s enough out of you,” she whispered fiercely.
“Me? Or him?”
That didn’t even deserve an answer. “Both of you
.”
“Claire?” Noel called.
She bit her lip hard and turned around. There better be no shutter action or someone would pay. “What?”
He glanced at Jo then back to her. “Can we talk for a minute?”
Isn’t that what they had been doing before he’d become a total jerk?
“Hey, I can take a hint.” Jo patted Claire’s arm and leaned closer. “Fill me in later.” She waved at Noel and disappeared up the path to the log cabin.
How did Claire get stuck talking to him again? She planted her hands on her hips. “What?”
“Look, I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to offend you.”
Normally it was a lot harder to upset her. Noel seemed to have a special knack for it. “I’m not sure what you want me to say.” She wasn’t changing for him, that’s for sure. And he had his own way of living. At his age — must be close to thirty — she couldn’t expect him to be the one to give up everything. Why didn’t he just graciously bow out of her life and let her carry on?
Oh, right. She’d invited him over.
He moved so close she could smell tree sap on his clothes. The honest scent of a hardworking man. He reached out and touched her cheek.
Claire shifted enough to break contact.
It didn’t make any difference, as his hand followed her. “Can we call a truce?”
A delightful shiver ran the length of her body. A truce had nothing to do with him touching her in this sensuous way. He was bad news. “A-a truce?”
“I’ll try not to make you angry, and you’ll try not to stalk away from me.” Somehow both his hands now cradled her face.
She jerked back. “Touching me is not how to keep me from getting mad.”
Noel’s hands slid to his side. “I’m sorry.”
“Stop saying that!”
“You’re just so . . . beautiful.”
He was only using those words to fluster her.
“I mean it. Do you want to see how you look to me?”
To him? “I-I don’t understand.” Did she want to?
Noel tilted the camera screen toward her and pressed a couple of buttons. He scrolled through over a dozen images of her, some where she’d been aware of him and others where she hadn’t. Smiles, scowls, reflections. He’d captured the entire gamut of her emotions during their walk.
A Farm Fresh Romance Series 1-3 (A Farm Fresh Romance Box Set) Page 34