Page 19 of The Payback Adventure
As their gazes met, he felt a tug on his heart. It must be her eyes. He was a sucker for baby blues.
“I hope you realize what you’ve gotten yourself into, Henry. We must be prepared for winter. When the weather is good, we put in long hours. It’s hard work.”
“I can handle it.” Henry could handle anything for a month. So what if he got a little dirty. He’d think of it as a poor man’s mud bath. Nothing like the ones he’d taken in Calistoga, but he would survive. The manual work would begood for him. With no access to a gym, he needed some type of workout. And he liked being outside. Not a bad gig, after all.
Elisabeth raised a brow. He didn’t blame her for having doubts. She knew nothing about him. He looked forward to surprising her with his innate abilities.
“Besides training the canes, you’ll be moving the irrigation equipment. We also need to keep the grass short between the rows of berries, so you’ll be mowing. We use a tractor to pull the mower. Will that be a problem?”
His mouth nearly gaped. “I get to drive a tractor?”
She nodded. “Do you like to drive?”
Henry pictured himself behind the wheel of a large shiny brand-spanking-new John Deere with a baseball cap on and grinned. He wouldn’t have to worry about missing his Lamborghini and Porsche while he was here. Though he rarely drove since that was Frank’s job. “I love to drive.”
“Good. We have lots of vehicles to drive around here—trucks, tractors. We also use four-wheelers to get around. Saves a lot of time since there’s so much land to cover.” Elisabeth stopped at a dirt path dividing the marionberries from another type of berry. “We also use the dirt roads to get equipment in and out.”
He couldn’t imagine what the equipment might be, but he didn’t care. Talk about getting lucky. He was getting paid to drive farm machinery and ATVs. Maybe he should have gotten a job before. This wasn’t going to be work; this was going to be fun.
“You’ll also be spraying. Timing is critical duringblooming time, but not so much now. We spray before the rain hits to keep the berries from molding.”
“I can’t wait.”
And Henry couldn’t. This was sounding better by the minute. Working heavy machinery was a dream come true. Now if he could just get a little chummier with Elisabeth.
Sam chased a screaming Caitlin out of the barn.
Strike that.No chumming allowed.
“We should head back inside,” she said. “I need to finish cooking.”
“Anything I can do to help?” He never did his own cooking, but the least he could do was offer. No one would ever accuse him of not having proper manners.
“Thanks, but I have it under control.”
Just like everything else in her life. His respect for her increased a notch. He wouldn’t want her job for anything. The responsibility and commitment. Talk about overwhelming. Just the thought made him shudder. He’d stick to planning birthday parties and adventures and matchmaking his friends. Things he knew how to do and did well.
He followed her into the kitchen. The aroma made his stomach take notice. “Smells good.”
“Tastes even better.”
Henry’s eyes locked on her mouth, on her full lips. They were unpainted and more beautiful than those of a supermodel. And he’d kissed many a supermodel in his days. He couldn’t help but wonder what kissing Elisabeth would feel like. He shouldn’t want a taste, but he did.
* **
Dinner was over. Not an ounce of Elisabeth’s macaroni and cheese with hamburger meat and tomatoes remained. Henry had helped himself to three servings and kept saying how delicious it was. Funny, but the way he acted made her think he’d never tasted macaroni and cheese before. At least he enjoyed it, and that pleased her. More than it should.
As she dished up berry pie à la mode at the counter, tonight felt like a typical Saturday night. The air vibrated with giggles and singing. Arguments erupted from the table behind her. Things seemed so normal, until she glanced back and saw Henry.
Nothing was normal this evening. Nor would it be as long as Henry Davenport was there. She was as certain of that as rain falling in Oregon’s wine country during the month of July.
She placed his dessert in front of him and passed out the other plates.
“We have a tradition that my daddy started,” Abby explained. “On Saturdays, we take turns telling everyone our favorite thing that happened during the week.”
“You do this every Saturday?” Henry asked.
Sam rolled his eyes. “Not only on Saturdays.”
