“You’re way off somewhere.” Sierra eyed her, chuckling. “Montana, maybe?”
A flush crept up Claire’s neck. “Nope. Right here.” Maybe on memory lane over at Elmer’s, but definitely not Montana. “It’s time to finalize our first courses here at Green Acres for next season and start advertising. Are we going to start with a cob outbuilding for your clinic, or what? How settled in are you in that town office?”
“I don’t know.” Sierra pursed her lips. “Doreen gave me a great deal on rent, and a few people have made appointments. Mostly they aren’t too sure about a naturopath. A town office may be a colossal waste of my time. Besides, who knows when or if Gabe will return and want his space back.”
This was new. Claire dropped into a seat at the plank table near the computer desk. “Waste of time? How so?”
“Well, if I had my office on the farm, I could do other things between clients. In town, it’s more limited. I mean, I’ve been working on course material for Green Acres, but it’s the middle of summer and I should be here weeding. We can write courses all winter.”
The garden had over-grown a bit while Claire worked for Noel, that was for sure. Being pregnant seemed to suck a lot of energy out of Jo, but she’d tried to keep up. “We do need a mega cleanup soon, before Amber and Shawn’s wedding.”
Sierra nodded. “I’ll close the office for a week and pitch in full time. It’s a tough balance, isn’t it?”
“Hmm?”
“Between making a living now and planning for our future.”
Claire’s breath huffed out. “That’s kind of what I was saying all spring.”
“I was worried there for a bit.”
“About what?”
Sierra shrugged. “That you were going to get married and leave me, like Jo did. I mean, I know she’s still next door...”
“You know better. I’m not going anywhere. Besides, Jo and Zach will be moving into the log cabin soon. They’re here for half their meals anyway.”
“It’s not the same. We’d planned to build our own places eventually. I just didn’t think it would happen this soon for Jo.”
Sierra had dated more guys in college than she and Jo put together. Times ten. No wonder Sierra had assumed she’d be first. “You’re stuck with me for the long haul. We’ll be two old maids living here together, making cookies for Jo’s kids.”
“I’ll leave the cookies up to you. I think I’ll be the crafty auntie.”
Claire chuckled. That sounded about right. Not that she wanted to be an old maid, though. Dear God, please help Noel accept You.
Was that a selfish prayer?
**
It couldn’t all be Noel’s imagination. Jess definitely bounced a little more and took more interest in the tarped-off mess area than she had in Galena Landing. If anything was going on, though, Simon seemed oblivious. He sat out at the tables sharing backslapping stories with Wade and James, guffaws ringing out across the camp.
Noel parked himself in a lawn chair under his trailer’s awning and watched the bustling camp. He should be satisfied. Guys raised tents and backed campers onto rocks to find more level spots. Although everyone but Simon had been in Idaho, the pattern of the camp changed a little as crewmembers had become friends there and shifted their temporary homes to be nearer each other. It always took some time for a new season’s crew to shake down and work together well. He had a good bunch this year.
“Hey, boss.”
Noel glanced up as Jess plunked a lawn chair down nearby. He forced his face not to show amusement that her line of sight included the eating shelter. “What’s up, Jess? Trouble in the ranks?”
Laughter rang out from the tents. Didn’t sound much like problems.
She grinned. “No, not so much.” Her gaze lingered on Simon.
Aha. Noel leaned forward to block her view. Her startled eyes met his. “I’ll have no more of you mocking my love life—or lack thereof.” So Jess wouldn’t mistake his intent, he raised his eyebrows and jerked his head toward the mobile kitchen.
He’d never have guessed the girl had a blush in her. Jess raised her chin. “Oh?”
Noel grinned. “I’ve got two eyes. And I’m not stupid.”
Jess fell back against her chair. “Well, nothing’s going on, so it doesn’t matter.”
“You didn’t believe me when I said that, so why should I believe you now?”
She glared at him. “Because it’s true?”
“Uh huh.” Noel looked over at the guys as they all clambered to their feet, slapping backs.
Simon grabbed a chair and trundled toward Noel’s place as the other two headed to their campers.
“I’m going to enjoy this,” Noel said softly.
Jess’s nasty look didn’t last long.
Simon set his chair down beside Noel’s. “I’ve been wanting to talk to you, man.” He glanced at Jess.
She started to her feet. “Should I leave?”
He shook his head. “Doesn’t matter to me.” Simon leaned forward on his elbows as his hands clenched and unclenched.
Interesting. “What’s up?”
“My dad — well, I got some money from his estate. An inheritance. I got to thinking what I want to do with my life, you know? Here I am, pushing thirty-five, cooking for a forestry camp.”
Noel sucked in a breath. No way did he want to lose Simon. He couldn’t go through all that searching like he’d done in Galena Landing. It took time to find a good chef that loved to work in the backcountry. “I don’t know how I’ll replace you, man.”
He didn’t miss the glance between the other two, or Jess’s eyes narrowing.
“I love it out here, boss. You know I do. I love smelling the pine trees and seeing the chipmunks skitter by. I like making good bucks over the summer and the freedom to ski in the winter. Well, you know. You do, too.”
Noel nodded. So where was this going, then?
“I got no reason to think this, man, but I’ll put it out there anyway, just in case. You thinking about selling Enterprising Reforestation? ‘Cause I’m interested in buying. I got no doubt I could live this life forever. It’s just how I’m meant to be, you know?”
“I, uh, the business isn’t for sale.”
Jess jumped to her feet. “And if it is, I get first dibs. Noel agreed. Right, boss?”
Noel rubbed his forehead. He had a vague memory of something like that. It’d been an ugly night.
“How would you have had this conversation if Noel’s not considering selling?”
“He didn’t say he hadn’t considered it. Just said it’s not for sale. That means now, today.” Jess’s hands had found her hips. “But that could change any time and, if it does, we’ve made an agreement.”
“Wasn’t trying to rile you up, Jess.” Simon’s voice remained easy. “How could I have known you had designs on the company?”
Jess slumped back into her chair. “You couldn’t. Sorry for overreacting.”
“Interesting this has come up recently.” Simon stretched out his long legs as he settled deeper into his chair. “What happened in Idaho to make you think about it, Jess?” He gave her a pained look. “Did someone leave you some money, too?”
“No. I’ve been saving up.” She sighed. “I’m sorry your dad died.”
If Noel hadn’t been watching Jess for the last couple of hours he’d never have guessed she was interested in the chef. At the moment she seemed more inclined to rip him to shreds. But hadn’t Claire overreacted a time or two?
Not him, of course. He never overreacted. He let out a deep sigh.
“Yeah, thanks.” Simon rubbed his head. “It’s been a rough few months. Well, it was only an idea. I need to make some solid decisions for my future, and I like what you’ve done with ER, Noel. From what I can see, you started a solid business from scratch and keep it in the black.”
“Wasn’t always easy.” Noel poked his chin in the direction of the mobile kitchen. “That bus took a couple of years of payment
s, but I couldn’t run this outfit without it.” He took a deep breath. “I don’t know when you’d have time to cook and do all my paperwork. I’ll be honest. Without a good chef, you won’t have a reliable crew, and without an established team, you won’t be able to bid on the best contracts.”
Jess crossed her arms and cast a smug glance at Simon.
“I had a crew in mutiny in Galena Landing when my first cook there didn’t work out. Seriously, it was bad. I can’t afford that kind of problem, especially way out here in the boonies where the crew has no other options.”
Simon frowned. “The kitchen looks in great shape, though. Clean. Well stocked in the basics.”
“Claire Halford came on part way through the season.” Jess glanced at Noel. “She’s a trained chef there in Idaho. You might find the crew a little spoiled, Simon. We’re used to strawberry shortcakes made the old-fashioned way. You know, with real whipped cream and berries ripened on the vine.”
“Food service trucks don’t carry those.” Simon wiped his hands down his khaki shorts.
“She grew them in her own garden. Claire has a pretty sweet garden, doesn’t she, Noel?”
Noel closed his eyes for a second to pray for patience. “She sure does.” Had his voice been noncommittal enough? “I’ve got a few things to set up inside yet. See you guys in the morning.” He stood up, folded his chair, and tucked it under the trailer in case of rain or wind.
Inside, he pulled the blinds shut on Simon and Jess, who seemed in no hurry to leave.
“Anything I ought to know about the boss?” he heard Simon ask.
Noel pressed the button on his mp3 player. He didn’t need to hear Jess’s answer to that one.
Chapter 27
Claire wiped her bangs off her forehead with the back of a garden-gloved hand and squinted at the sky. Unrelenting heat, unseasonable for the second week of July. A faint haze of smoke had settled over the valley since that day she and Noel had been on the mountain. A few more thunderstorms had blown through bringing very little rain and several more small forest fires. None near the farm, though.
If they hadn’t been pouring spring water onto the garden beds, nothing would be growing, not even the weeds. Of course the weeds were happy with plentiful moisture, and so were the raspberries. She’d picked enough for a big batch of jam.
The coolness inside the straw bale house welcomed her. She set the mounded baskets on the counter and rinsed her face with tap water. After pouring a tall glass of iced mint tea from the fridge, she crossed to the computer desk and brought up her email program.
Four emails from Noel? She blinked, and her heartbeat sped. The paper clip symbol showed attachments. What could he be sending her?
Photos. She bit her lip at the beauty of the first to download. Exactly the mood she’d hoped to convey on the website. Several more followed. His words were cryptic: Here are the photos I promised you. Sorry I’m so late.
The last email contained several images with the Green Acres gang in them. Zach and Jo on the swing with Domino at their feet. Claire and Sierra and Amber bent over drawings. Claire in the kitchen.
She stared at the photo then glanced back at the body of the email. Nothing. Just 4/4. No message, nothing personal, but she could tell he’d photoshopped the picture to accent the lighting. He’d spent time on it. After their walk.
Had to be. He wasn’t as impervious to her as he’d been pretending. Well, no, she’d known he wasn’t immune. If he had been, it would have been no big deal to eat her food along with his crew. Being around her wouldn’t have bothered him.
Her hands shook as she clicked the button to download the last batch of images. Was there still hope?
He’d taken a dozen photos of her in the kitchen that day, food for a catered party around her on the peninsula counter. The idea had been to show the personal side, to say, “This is the kind of food and personal attention you’ll get when you sign for an event on Green Acres farm.”
The expression on her face was radiant, but then she’d been looking at Noel. Maybe it was too over-the-top, too revealing for a public website. But possibly the casual searcher would think she loved catering so much that she’d do it all for them with the same smile. And that was true, wasn’t it?
Noel always had the ability to capture her soul in his pictures. What must it have cost him to tweak the highlights and saturation on this one after he’d rejected her so brusquely?
He’d done all she asked for with photos for the website. After finishing the raspberry jam, she’d take the time to update the site. If this didn’t help draw in more quality clients, nothing would. The man was a genius behind the lens.
**
A little creek danced down the mountainside near the tree-planting camp. Noel tossed a handful of pebbles in, but the evidence was gone in less than a blink. A few larger stones had no more effect. He heaved in a boulder.
Finally. It didn’t stop the flowing water, but at least he could see a change. The rock looked like it belonged there. Water streamed over it, around it, bent on finding a downward path to the river below, then on to the ocean. There wasn’t anything conscious about it, yet nothing would stop the flow.
Noel leaped from rock to rock, following the cascade down, his sport sandals providing firm footing. Around a bend, the little creek widened into a small pool. Noel stepped into a patch of weeds, the ground soft beneath his feet.
A sweet smell engulfed him.
Mint.
In an instant he stood beside Claire in the wet woods above Green Acres the day she’d found the mint patch. Her crazy pink boots. Her hesitant smile and the way she’d pulled back from him even then. He’d pursued her like crazy but, right when he was winning, he’d dropped everything and ran.
What was he afraid of? Commitment? Claire herself?
That was dumb.
Emptiness engulfed him as he crouched down and crushed the saw-toothed leaves between his fingers. Mint grew like a weed in these mountains, anywhere a little moisture gave it encouragement. It was tough. Persistent. A guy stepped on it, and it only smelled sweeter than before.
Why had he left her?
Because she wouldn’t leave the farm.
Why hadn’t he stayed?
His business took him elsewhere. Like here, up a hillside that had seen a little more rain than Idaho’s slopes had this summer. That day had been about the end of rain for the season…and the beginning of his infatuation with Claire.
Or was it love? Could it last? He hadn’t thought so. Hadn’t thought he had it in him, but maybe he’d been wrong. Maybe Claire was the one worth opening his heart to fully.
He’d known for a long time he couldn’t miss Amber’s wedding. It wasn’t only for his sister’s sake, though that had come to matter, too. He needed to see Claire. See if she felt it, that tenacity of love—if that’s what it was—as persistent as mint roots.
He’d do it. He’d go. And meanwhile, he’d brew himself some wild mint tea and think about changes in his life.
**
“I can’t believe the nerve of the man!” Eileen stormed into the straw bale house the Thursday before the wedding. Amber dragged their luggage behind her, head hanging low.
“Oh?” Claire, her heart sinking, rushed over to give Amber a hand. Had something happened with Shawn again? Wasn’t it kind of late to cancel a wedding? After all, in forty-eight hours the whole thing would be over.
“My good-for-nothing ex showed up on my doorstep yesterday. Somewhere he heard Amber was getting married, so he assumed — assumed, mind you — that she’d want him at the wedding. Can you believe it? She’s never set eyes on him in her life. Some kind of father he’s been.”
Amber met Claire’s gaze and shook her head. “I didn’t meet him now, either. I was at work.”
Noel had hinted his dad was a mess. More than hinted. He’d cited the man as the reason he couldn’t commit to a marriage. Because his dad had been an idiot. Sounded like he hadn’t overstated that part
, at least.
“And I didn’t call her.” Eileen thrust her handbag at the loveseat. “Bill has no right to see Amber. To pretend he’s done anything for her in her entire life. She’d be crazy to want him at her wedding. And to walk her down the aisle?”
“Mom, relax. You told him I’d asked Noel.”
Claire’s heart skipped a beat. Noel was coming? He hadn’t responded to her Paypal transfer other than to say thanks. He’d given no indication that he was returning to Green Acres.
Eileen swung to face Amber. “And your brother hasn’t confirmed. He’s up some mountain somewhere. That’s fine. I’m perfectly capable of walking you down the aisle myself. And that Shawn had better prove he’s cut from different cloth than the Kenzie men. My goodness gracious, Claire. Bill hasn’t grown up a bit in twenty-five years. You should have seen him. Unkempt and looking at me with those big brown puppy dog eyes. As though he could bat those eyelashes and I’d let him back in my house.”
Claire couldn’t help being interested. “If you didn’t let him in, what did you do with him?”
“Called my pastor. He came by and picked Bill up off my front step. Oh, don’t look so shocked. I poured us each a coffee and sat outside with him. I wanted to know if, by any chance, he’d learned anything in all these years.”
“Had he?”
“Not a bit, from what I could tell. My pastor took him down to the rescue mission for food and a bed. He could preach at Bill some, too. It would do him good to come face to face with God’s call on his life.”
“I’m sure it would.”
Amber cast a desperate look at Claire. If she’d been listening to this kind of tirade all the way from Missoula, no wonder she looked a little frazzled.
“That sounds like a good place for him,” Claire said.
Eileen planted her hands on her hips. “Do you think a person can change, Claire? Really honestly?”
How had she gotten pulled into this family quarrel? “Without God, few can. But with God, all things are possible.” If only Noel leaned on God. Then he’d overcome the chains he felt from his dad’s attitude through his life.
A Farm Fresh Romance Series 1-3 (A Farm Fresh Romance Box Set) Page 47