Page 33 of The Payback Adventure
She drew her eyebrows together. “A Pop-Tart.”
He’d heard of them before. They were Dash’s favorite breakfast food, but Henry had never tasted one. He took a bite. Not bad. “It’s good. Thanks.”
Ruff nudged his leg as he ate, and Henry tossed him a bite.
“I can’t believe the difference in that dog,” Elisabeth admitted. “Ruff used to stay around the barn. He would only come inside the house to eat. Even during winter.”
“He likes sleeping in the house now,” Henry said.
“He likes sleeping with you.”
Henry petted Ruff. “It’s nice to have a warm body next to you.”
“He’s a smart dog.” She smiled. “My dad found him when he was a puppy. Ruff followed him like a shadow. He loved my dad and tolerated the rest of us. Until you.”
“Poor boy must have been lonely.”
Elisabeth nodded and adjusted her gloves. “Are you ready to get to work?”
“I’ve been working since six o’clock.”
“I meant working in the fields.”
Just the mention of the wordfieldsmade his muscles tighten in protest. He would never look at a berry or any produce the same way.
“We’re going to tie today,” she said.
Henry didn’t want to tie the canes. He wanted to kick the canes. There had to be an easier way. Like buying the farm from Elisabeth for an inflated price and burning it to the ground.
Stop. He couldn’t think that way. The Wheelers needed help, and he was all they had. He had to get through this.
Henry put on a pair of new work gloves, hopped onto an ATV, and followed Elisabeth on her four-wheeler to the loganberries.Try to look at the bright side.He got to have fun riding from the barn and back. That was something good. Too bad everything in between sucked. He sighed.
Mist had settled between the rows of canes. Henry glanced up.
The sky was gray. Rain? He hoped not, but knowing his luck…
“It’s not hard once you get the hang of it. I’ll show you.” With a paper tie in one hand, she reached around the berry bush with the other and secured the vine to the wire trellis without a wasted motion. “The canes grow so fast that if we get behind and they get too big, it takes two people to tie each cane.”
“So we have to get it done before that happens.”
“Exactly.” She handed him a paper tie. “Your turn.”
Henry took a tie, grabbed a cane, and threw the additional growth over the trellis wire. A cluster of thorny vines raked his face, scratching his left cheek. “Ouch.”
“Are you okay?” Elisabeth asked.
It hurt badly. “I’m okay.”
“You threw the vine the wrong way.”
He did everything the wrong way. Everything except for his birthday parties and adventures. Without those in his life… No, this wasn’t only about Cynthia’s adventure anymore.
Elisabeth’s eyes darkened. “Your cheek is bleeding.”
“I’ll survive.”
Somehow, he would find a way to survive it all. The farm. The work. Her.
