by MJ Duncan
“Perfect. It’s going to be a good crop.”
“I hope so.” Bryn ran a hand through her hair. “Where are you thinking we’ll start?”
“With the Pinot. Should take three, maybe four days to get that done since it’s our smallest crop, then I’ll split the crew between the Cabernet and Merlot fields.”
The line beeped twice—long then short—and Bryn pressed the pound key to open the gate. “Excellent. Dawn?”
“Of course.”
“I’ll see you then,” Bryn said.
“Perfect,” Gerald replied before hanging up. He was a man of few words, he preferred the silence of the vineyard and the hum of the processing plant to conversation, which was one of the reasons they had developed such a good working relationship over the years.
“What’s going on at dawn? You’re not planning something illegal, are you?” Anna asked playfully as Bryn set the phone back onto the coffee table.
Bryn shook her head and smiled. “No. That was Gerald. We’ll start harvesting in the morning. And dinner is here. The driver should be at the door in a minute or two.”
“Excellent.” Anna looked down at herself and grinned. “I’m just gonna go clean up real fast.” She shifted and pulled her shorts away from her crotch. “And maybe change.”
“Feel free to raid my closet again.” Bryn dropped a quick kiss to Anna’s lips and smiled. “I’ll just wash up in the powder room, sign for the food, and then I’ll be doing the same thing.”
“Mmm, just remember who started it,” Anna purred, winking at Bryn as she began backing out of the room.
“You did, with your breasts looking so good in that shirt and you not wearing any panties,” Bryn retorted, surprising herself with her candor.
“These things?” Anna teased, grabbing herself. “You like them?”
“Very much,” Bryn admitted, pleased that only the lightest blush tinted her cheeks.
“I like yours too.”
“I’m glad,” Bryn chuckled, shaking her head. “This is the most ridiculous conversation I believe I have ever had. Go get changed.” She sighed as the doorbell rang. “I need to wash up and you’re being a distraction.”
“A good distraction though, right?” Anna sassed from the edge of the hallway.
Bryn nodded and waved a hand toward her bedroom as she crossed the foyer. “The best. Now, go. I need to get our dinner so you can keep your energy up for later.”
Anna grinned. “I like the sound of that.”
“I thought you might,” Bryn said with a smile as she ducked into the powder room to wash her hands. She studied her reflection in the mirror as she ran her hands under the warm water, and was blown away by what she saw. She looked relaxed, her smile was indelible, the lines at the corners of her eyes were barely noticeable, and her golden-hued eyes shone with happiness. “She looks good on you, Nakamura,” She told herself, nodding for emphasis as she dried her hands on a towel and hurried for the door.
Dawn would come soon enough, but for now she was more than content to focus all of her attention on Anna Fitzpatrick.
Thirty-Five
Bryn walked out of her bathroom the next day before dawn in a pair of fitted jeans and a black fleece pullover, giddy with anticipation like a kid on Christmas morning. An entire year’s worth of work and worry would finally come to fruition, and she was practically vibrating with excitement for the beginning of the harvest. She paused beside the bed to look at Anna, who was curled around the pillow she had abandoned half an hour earlier. Anna looked so beautiful and peaceful that she hated the idea of waking her, and she sighed as she sat carefully on the edge of the bed beside her as she ran a gentle hand over her shoulder.
“Hey, you,” she whispered as she pressed a tender kiss to Anna’s cheek . “I’m getting ready to head out. Do you still want to go with me?” Anna had said the night before that she did, but Bryn would not fault her for staying in bed instead.
“Yeah. O’course,” Anna mumbled sleepily, rolling onto her back and rubbing her hands over her face. “Wha time issit?”
Bryn looked at the alarm clock on the nightstand behind her. “Five-oh-seven.”
“Shit,” Anna groaned. Her hands flopped loudly onto the bed and she gave Bryn a tired smile. “You’re lucky I like you.”
“I am well aware of that fact,” Bryn assured her. “You can borrow whatever extra clothes you might need. It’ll be chilly until the sun comes up, so you’ll probably want a coat or something, and…” She frowned and looked at the lumps that were Anna’s feet beneath the blanket. She had planned on riding Morgana out into the fields that morning, but she had only seen Anna’s running shoes in the foyer. “You wouldn’t happen to have your boots with you, would you?”
“Yep. Keep ‘em in my trunk so that I always have ‘em when I’m out here in case we decide to go for a ride,” Anna rambled as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. “How much time do I have?”
“Twenty? Twenty-five?” It would make things tight, but Bryn knew Gerald would wait for her to arrive before setting the crew loose on the fields.
“Got it. Think you could make me some coffee?”
Bryn smiled and nodded. “It’ll cost you a kiss, though.”
“Ah, well…” Anna grinned and pushed herself up into a sitting position. She ran her fingers over Bryn’s jaw and whispered, “Lucky for me, that’s a price I’m more than willing to pay.”
“Smooth, Fitzpatrick,” Bryn teased in a low murmur.
Anna winked. “You know it. C’mere.”
The sweet taste of Anna’s lips and the feeling of so much warm, soft skin under her fingers made the idea of shucking her clothes and climbing back into bed so very tempting, but Bryn somehow found the strength to pull away. She let her eyes drag slowly over Anna’s body, lingering for an extended moment on her breasts, before she sighed and shook her head. “Later,” she declared, the single word a promise for them both.
“Absolutely,” Anna agreed, darting forward to press one last kiss to Bryn’s lips before she slid out of the bed.
Bryn watched Anna saunter around the foot of the bed toward the bathroom, and smiled at the way the extra sway she put in her hips that made her breasts bounce with every step. Anna looked back at her with an impish grin when she reached the doorway to the bathroom, clearly pleased that she had captured Bryn’s full attention, and Bryn arched a brow in playful challenge as she stared at Anna’s chest and dragged her tongue slowly over her lips.
Anna laughed and pointed an accusing finger at Bryn. “That’s just mean.”
Bryn tilted her head to the side and smiled. “And the little show you’re giving me right now isn’t?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Anna sassed as she set her hands on her hips. “Now, if you could just stop ogling me for five seconds, I could get dressed while you go make us some coffee.”
Bryn chuckled and gave a small bow before she followed Anna’s path around the foot of the bed. Her pulse raced at the way Anna’s eyes followed her, and she gave her a thorough once-over as she stopped in front of her, still unused to feeling such desire for another woman’s body. She smirked as she leaned forward, lifting her chin so that their lips were only a hair’s breadth apart, and a thrill shot through her at the sound of Anna’s breath catching. She knew that they did not have time for these kinds of games, but she could not resist. There had always been something about Anna Fitzpatrick that she just could not back down from—even when it was in her own best interest.
“Bryn,” Anna whispered huskily, her gaze dropping to Bryn’s lips.
The rough timbre of Anna’s voice swept over Bryn’s body like a caress, and she smiled as she rocked back on her heels. “I’ll go make the coffee.”
“You’re mean,” Anna whined.
“How about this—” Bryn cradled Anna’s right breast in her hand and stroked her thumb over her nipple, loving the way it swelled beneath her touch, “—after we’re done in the fields, we c
an come back here, maybe share a nice, hot shower, and…”
The rest of her proposal was cut off by Anna’s lips crashing against her own. She smiled and reached down with her free hand to grab Anna’s ass and pull her in closer. Her stomach clenched at the low growl that rumbled in Anna’s throat as their bodies pressed together, and she wasted no time pinning Anna against the doorframe as she took control of the kiss. Where their earlier kiss had been soft and sweet, a tender good-morning caress full of gentle affection, this one was hot, deep, wet, and bruising, leaving Bryn completely lightheaded by the time they broke apart.
“Deal,” Anna murmured, nipping at Bryn’s lower lip and giving it a promising tug that made Bryn’s knees go weak.
Bryn took a deep breath as she ran her hands along Anna’s sides one last time before shoving them in her pockets so she would not reach for Anna again, and she shook her head to try and clear it as she took a step away from the enchanting warmth of Anna’s body that called to her in all of its naked glory, begging to be touched and stroked and kissed. “Okay.”
“Good.” Anna smiled. “I’ll be out in a few.”
Bryn nodded and watched Anna disappear into the bathroom. Once she was alone in the bedroom, she groaned and ran her hands through her hair. She had been so sure that she had won their little tête-à-tête, and then Anna had to go and usurp her victory with her soft lips and even softer breasts and… Bryn shook her head.
Not now, Nakamura, she told herself sternly.
She grabbed a lightweight coat from her closet, and wandered down that hall toward the kitchen. The air in the great room and kitchen area was chilly, and she shivered as she dropped her coat onto the back of one of the island barstools and made a mental note to turn up the heat later. She turned on the coffee machine, and then set about trying to find something for them to eat while it was warming up. Pickings were slim because she had not gone grocery shopping in about two weeks because of the Harvest Festival and then her trip to Boston. There was cereal and instant oatmeal in the pantry, but they needed something that could be eaten on the fly, so she pulled four bagel halves from the freezer and popped them in the toaster oven. She was out of cream cheese, but it was early and they just needed calories, and she figured that butter and jam would suffice.
She slipped on her coat as the bagels cooked and the coffee machine finished heating up, and then busied herself with checking the emails she had ignored the day before in the small moments between making coffee and preparing the food. Once she had two travel mugs of coffee and two bagels wrapped in paper towels, she sat leaned against the island to type out a quick reply to the most pressing emails waiting for her. She was so engrossed in the email she was reading on her phone that she did not see Anna amble into the kitchen about fifteen minutes later in the jeans and sweatshirt she had worn over Friday night, with one of Bryn’s coats clutched in her hand.
Bryn jumped in surprise at the feeling of Anna’s lips brushing over her cheek, and smiled sheepishly as she looked up at her. “Hi.”
“Hey,” Anna chuckled. She looked at the travel mugs and wrapped bagels on the counter beside Bryn. “We good to go?”
“We are.” Bryn turned off her phone and placed it into the chest pocket of her coat as she looked down at Anna’s sock-clad feet. “Boots?”
“I’ll grab them on our way out.” Anna slipped the coat on and left it hanging open over her sweatshirt.
“Then let’s go.” Bryn slid off the barstool and grabbed their drinks and breakfast. “I’ll hold these while you go get your boots.”
Bryn followed Anna into the foyer, and stood in the open door as Anna hurried to the trunk of her car. She laughed at the way Anna hopped back up the steps to the porch and into the house, muttering “cold, cold, cold” every time her feet hit the ground.
Anna shivered dramatically as she closed the front door. “It’s a little chilly out there.”
“I gathered as much,” Bryn said, smiling as she handed Anna one of the travel mugs. “Here. This’ll warm you up. You can just put your boots on in the mudroom so that dirt doesn’t get tracked through the house.”
“Thanks,” Anna said, taking the mug and wrapping her hands around it for warmth. “You have any extra gloves or something?”
Bryn nodded. “There are a few pairs in the Ranger. I’ll give you some before we drive down.”
It did not take them long to pull on their boots, and Bryn set her coffee and their bagels onto the dash of the UTV so she could dig through the driver’s side locker for the gloves she had promised Anna. She pulled out two pairs and tossed one set at Anna, who was sitting in the passenger’s seat taking an impossibly huge bite out of her bagel, and laughed at the playful glare Anna shot her after they hit her in the face. “What?”
“Nothing,” Anna muttered, shaking her head. “You’re just lucky you’re cute.”
“I am not cute,” Bryn pointed out with a smile. “Puppies are cute. I’m just…”
“Beautiful.”
Bryn laughed. “That is not what I was going to say.”
“Ah, but I will. You are beautiful. Gorgeous. And incredibly fucking sexy.” Anna glanced at her watch. “And you’re going to be late, too, if you don’t get that fine ass of yours into this thing and drive us down to the barn.”
Bryn sighed and climbed behind the wheel, and nodded gratefully as she took the coffee Anna held out for her. “Thank you.”
“You’re the one who made the coffee…”
“That’s not what I’m talking about, and you know it.”
“I know.” Anna smiled and leaned over to kiss Bryn softly. “But I meant all of it.”
Bryn smiled and, not knowing how to respond, nodded once before she reached up and hit the button on the remote for the garage door. She started the UTV’s engine as the small garage door rolled up and out of the way, and reached over to give Anna’s thigh a light squeeze of thanks, hoping that the gesture would convey all the things she did not know how to put into words.
Anna’s hand covering her own assured her that it did, and she was once again grateful for the fact that Anna understood her so well.
The Ranger’s headlights illuminated the dirt road that wound around the western side of the hill her house sat upon and down to the main farm road that would lead to the barn. The air was cool, but not nearly as bad as Anna had made it seem, and Bryn took off her gloves as she pulled to a stop in her usual spot by the barn.
“What’s up there?” Anna asked, pointing to a large square window on the second floor that was burning with a soft, yellow glow.
Bryn smiled. “That’s the stable manager’s apartment. I keep forgetting that you haven’t met Eva before.”
“Huh. So she lives up there?”
“She does. It’s part of her compensation for managing the barn.”
“Good gig.”
“I like to think so, yes,” Bryn agreed. She climbed out of the Ranger and waved a hand at the door to the barn. “Shall we?”
“We shall,” Anna declared, hooking her arm in Bryn’s and steering them toward the door.
Morgana and Figment had heard their approach, and they stood eagerly at the doors to their stalls waiting for them. Bryn laughed at the way Morgana seemed to glare at her for a moment—no doubt admonishing her for being gone for so long—but a soft stroke of her hand down the mare’s forehead seemed to calm her ire. It did not take them long to get their horses saddled and ready to go, and Bryn smiled when she caught sight of Eva entering the barn from the door to the stairs that led to her apartment.
Eva was a striking woman, standing just under six feet tall with rich, olive-toned skin and wild, platinum curls. Once up on a time, she had dominated the eventing circuit, but a nasty fall that left her right side weak forced her from competition. Bryn had heard about the accident through some people she knew from her own competition days, and had offered Eva the stable manager position not long after she had finished physical therapy. Eva was far too qualified
for a position such as this, but, much like Bryn, she seemed to thrive on the quietude Spectrum provided and, thankfully, was more than content to live a simple life surrounded by the animals she loved.
“Good morning,” Bryn said, waving at Eva.
“Hiya,” Eva drawled a thick Australian accent. “Goin’ out early today, are we?”
Bryn nodded. “We are.”
“First day of the harvest?” Eva asked knowingly.
“It is.” Bryn waved a hand at Anna. “Eva Forsberg, I’d like you to meet my…” She looked at Anna and blushed. “Um…this is Anna Fitzpatrick.”
“Pleased to meet you,” Anna said.
“You, as well,” Eva drawled, smiling at Bryn.
Bryn looked down at her boots and cleared her throat softly. “Right, well, I’m afraid we need to get going if we’re to meet Gerald and the crew at dawn,” she announced as she grabbed Morgana’s reins in her left hand and led her to the large rolling door at the western side of the barn. It clattered quietly open, and she glanced back at Eva as she hopped up into the saddle. “We’ll see you later?”
“Most likely,” Eva drawled, hooking her thumbs on the back pockets of her jeans. “You know me, I’m always around.”
“I know.” Bryn looked at Anna, who was already sitting tall on Figment’s back, and smiled. “Are you ready?”
“When you are, boss-lady.”
Bryn gave Eva one last look before she tapped her heels against Morgan’s sides and gave the reins a light tug to the left. That was all the instruction Morgana needed as she immediately began walking down the road toward the southern edge of the property, and she smiled at the way Figment automatically followed.
The sky was already beginning to lighten with the oncoming dawn as the barn slipped further and further behind them, the air still but for the quiet sound of their horses’ hooves against the hard-packed dirt road.
“You okay over there?” Bryn asked as Anna let out a roaring yawn.
“Just tired. Somebody kept me up all night,” Anna replied with a smile. “This is nice,” she added after a beat. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen the sunrise like this.”