‘You got the tractor fixed, I hear?’ Her dad had been surprisingly closed-lipped on their drive back from the farm, answering her questions in monosyllables. Pops had been his usual chatty self, so she hadn’t thought much more about it, especially after her dad’s mood had been so good since.
Jack nodded, eyes still on the road. ‘Yes, and we did a full maintenance check on it, so I shouldn’t have to worry about anything when things get crazy during the harvest.’ He didn’t seem inclined to say any more, so Eliza let the conversation go so he could concentrate on his driving.
They were pulling up outside the farmhouse in next to no time. When Eliza would’ve undone her belt, Jack laid a quick hand on her arm. ‘Stay here. I’m just going to get Bastian and then I thought we’d head out to the fields. I thought we’d do the outside part of the tour before it gets too hot, if that’s all right with you? I’ll be two minutes.’
‘Sure, whatever you want.’
True to his word, Jack returned a few moments later. He opened the rear of the car to load the very excited Labrador, who poked his nose through the wide grill separating the boot space from the back seat and gave Eliza a woof of greeting. ‘Hello, gorgeous boy,’ she said. ‘I’ll give you a cuddle as soon as we get out, okay?’ As though he understood, the big dog turned a circle in the confined space then settled down out of sight.
The driver’s door opened, drawing her attention and Eliza ducked her head down to look past Jack towards the front door. A short, smiling woman around the same age as her mum stood on the threshold, a warm smile on her face. She raised her hand and took a step forward. ‘Hello, my dear. I was just saying to Jack it’ll be nice to have a bit of company around the place as I missed your dad’s visit. Do say you’ll stay and have a bit of lunch with us later.’
Eliza cast a quick glance up at Jack who’d paused half-in, half-out the car. It was impossible to judge what he was thinking behind that sphinx-mask of a face, so she erred on the side of caution. ‘If we have time…’
Jack’s grunt was equally non-committal as he slid into his seat. ‘We’ll see you later, Mum.’ With a quick wave they headed away from the farmhouse towards the track Eliza had walked along just a few days previously.
After parking at the top of the field, Jack opened the back of the car to let Bastian out, and the dog loped around to Eliza’s side to greet her. She tried to climb out—not the easiest of tasks with several stone of Labrador leaning against her legs.
‘Give the lady room to breathe, Bas.’ Jack tugged gently on the dog’s collar, until he yielded just enough space to allow Eliza to stand up. She bent over to scratch Bastian behind his ears, laughing at the sheer ecstasy on his face. His tail beat against her calf, so hard was he wagging it, and she was glad to be wearing jeans.
‘Hold on a sec.’ Jack disappeared around the back of the car, returning a moment later with a grubby tennis ball which he tossed towards the edge of the field. Bastian raced off after it.
‘Thank you.’ Eliza smiled, and Jack shrugged.
‘You might not be thanking me later when your arm is ready to fall off. The only way we’ll get a moment’s peace is to keep throwing it.’ Sure enough, the dog dropped the now-soggy ball at Eliza’s feet and barked expectantly.
Using her thumb and forefinger to avoid the worst of the slobber, she picked it up and threw it. Jack turned in the opposite direction and began to stroll along the edge of the neat rows of plants. ‘So, what do you want to know about what we do here?’
She flashed him a quick grin. ‘Everything?’
Jack snorted. ‘You sure about that? I can bore on about this place all day.’
‘How about I promise to tell you when I’ve had enough?’
‘Deal.’ He halted. ‘We grow a couple of different types here, but this is the bulk of our crop.’ He waved a hand over the plants. ‘It’s got a fancy Latin name, but it’s most commonly known as Old English lavender. This is what we distil the essential oil from.’
Even with her sunglasses on, the light of the sun was dazzling. Eliza donned her straw hat, relieved when the wide brim helped to shield her from the worst of the glare. She gazed out over the field. ‘It’s very neat, I’m amazed at how each row is so straight.’
Jack grinned. ‘It’s a bit of a nightmare to first lay it out, but we use a special kind of matting which helps keep the weeds down. We stake out the rows at an even distance, then once the matting’s laid you can’t veer too far off a straight line.’ Hunkering down, Jack held the lower stems of one of the plants up so she could see the dark material beneath it. ‘We drill holes straight through the matting to accommodate each plant. It’s pretty durable and lasts the lifetime of the plants.’
Eliza crouched down to run her hand over the pale silver-green shoots covering the bush. ‘And how long is that?’
He shrugged. ‘It depends, really, but they average between seven and ten years. After that the yield falls away dramatically.’ Straightening up, he brushed his hands on the front of his jeans before holding them out to help Eliza to her feet. ‘We take cuttings from the mature plants and propagate them in the greenhouse. It saves a fortune in buying replacement stock and also ensures the quality of our essential oil.’
His hands settled warm and firm on her shoulders as Jack turned her towards the far corner of the field. ‘You can see the much smaller rows over there?’ She nodded, conscious of the heat of him close to the rear of her body as he pointed over her shoulder. ‘That’s all new plants I put in this year. It’ll take them three years to mature.’
The crisp, clean scent of whatever body spray he’d used that morning filled her nose, making it hard to concentrate on his words. The tanned skin of his forearm lay over thick muscle, scattered with dark hair, turning golden at the ends from constant exposure to the sun. There was something so vital about him, maybe because he spent all day surrounded by nature and out in the fresh air. He wasn’t like anything she’d encountered before, and if she wasn’t careful she’d end up making a fool of herself around him.
The dog bounded up, nosing his way between them, and Eliza was glad of the distraction. Ducking down, she grabbed the dog’s ball and sent it flying off once more. The Labrador gave chase. ‘You weren’t kidding about him, were you?’
Jack stared after his dog, a lopsided grin on his face. ‘Nope. He’s been the same since I got him four years ago.’
She studied the dog as he ran towards them, trying to gauge his age. ‘Have you had him since he was a puppy?’
He nodded. ‘Nine weeks old.’ The grin on his face turned decidedly soppy, softening the hard plains. ‘He was such a tiny little thing. And now look at him.’ Bending down, Jack greeted his dog with an enthusiastic rub over his shoulders. ‘Nobody seeing those early pictures of you would believe the beast you’ve grown into, would they?’
Bastian barked once, then tried to stick his nose in the top pocket of Jack’s denim shirt. Jack fended him off. ‘Nothing in there, mate, I told you, you’re on a diet.’
The disappointment on Bastian’s face made Eliza smother a giggle. ‘He looks so hard done by.’
‘Spoiled rotten, don’t let him fool you for a second.’ Jack stood. ‘Right, I’ll show you the other species we grow—the one we cut and dry rather than use for oil, and then we can head back down to the distillery, okay?’
‘Do you mind if I take some photos? I’m trying to boost the social media profile for With Love from Lavender Bay and looking for images I can post to my Instagram account.’
‘Is that the name of your new business?’
‘Yes, what do you think?’
Jack laughed. ‘I’m the last one to ask about stuff like that, but it sounds pretty enough. If you think folks will like pictures of my fields, help yourself.’ He whistled to the dog and drew him away to give Eliza space to work.
She took her time, interspersing long views over the rolling hills with close up shots of the still-furled buds. Jack was still busy romping wi
th the Labrador, so she even sneaked in a few shots of the two of them playing when he wasn’t looking. There was so much energy about Jack she soon forgot all about taking pictures and just settled in to watch him.
When he finally wrestled the tennis ball from Bastian and glanced up at her through his fringe, her heart did a funny kind of dance in her chest. ‘Get everything you need?’
‘Just about.’ Eliza fanned her face with her hand in the hope he’d assume her red cheeks were from the heat rather than a blush. ‘It’s very warm.’
‘It sure is. At least there’s air con in the car. Come on.’
Cold air blasted from the vents the moment Jack turned on the engine, and Eliza tugged her hat off with a happy sigh. The sun was already warm, and she could feel where the vest beneath her shirt had begun to cling to the base of her spine.
As they made their way towards the fields at the lower end of the farm, a thought occurred to her, and she half-turned in her seat to face Jack. ‘Do you grow the type of lavender that can be used in cooking?’
He glanced across at her. ‘I can’t say I’ve ever fancied it myself, but the Old English can be used for culinary purposes. I thought it was soap you were interested in, not baking?’
‘Not me, Sam. Has he told you about the restaurant?’ When Jack nodded, she continued, ‘I know he wants to use local ingredients and I read some types of lavender can be used in recipes.’ She paused, recalling his lack of enthusiasm about supplying her for her crafting ventures. ‘But, I don’t suppose that’s your sort of thing if you’re used to dealing with the wholesale market.’
Jack was silent for a few moments, then said, ‘There’d be no harm in discussing it with him. Whenever he’s ready, get him to give me a call.’ He paused. ‘Or I could pop down to the pub another evening when I’m free?’ There was the hint of a question in his tone.
‘I’d like that.’ Eliza gave herself a mental slap upside the head. She hadn’t even begun to come to terms with the end of her marriage; if she kept making stupid remarks like that, she’d give Jack the wrong impression. As attractive as he was, she was in no fit state to contemplate starting anything with another man. Even one who made her heart flutter. ‘I mean…I think that’d be nice…I’m sure Sam would appreciate it.’
It took the half-hour tour of the lower fields before she finally stopped chastising herself over her inadvertent flirting. Honestly, the poor bloke was just being friendly, and she was slavering worse than Bastian with his tennis ball. Thankfully, Jack didn’t seem to think anything was amiss. It was clear the farm was so much more than a job to him, and she found herself fascinated by every facet of the growing process he described. ‘Dad was right,’ she said as Jack pulled up outside a large building set at right-angles to the farmhouse.
‘About what?’ Jack brushed at the lock of dark hair that kept falling across his forehead.
‘He said you should hold an open day for the farm, and I think he’s right. Your passion for this place shines so brightly, and you’re really good at explaining how everything works.’
‘I don’t know about that…’ He tugged his sunglasses off, rubbed the lenses on his shirt then put them back on, all without looking at her. ‘When would I have the time?’
She laughed. ‘You found time for me without any problem.’
‘Yeah, well…that’s different.’ He popped the fastening on his belt and clambered out the car.
Intrigued, she followed suit, but he didn’t seem inclined to elaborate on the point as he concentrated on letting the dog out of the boot. ‘Right, so this is the distillery.’ He unlocked the door, then pointed to a shady spot. ‘Bastian, sit there and I’ll get you some water.’
To Eliza’s surprise, the Labrador settled down with his face on his paws.
Jack must have seen the expression on her face. ‘He knows he’s not allowed in here.’ Crouching down he scratched the dog behind his ears. ‘And unlike the sofa, or my bedroom, or all the other places he’s not supposed to go, he knows this is a strict rule.’ After straightening up he opened the small door cut into what Eliza could see was a much larger opening set into a channel running through the concrete floor. ‘Mind your step.’ He held out his hand to help her climb into the pitch-black space. ‘Don’t move.’
The instruction was unnecessary. Assailed by a fragrant wave of cool, lavender-scented air, Eliza couldn’t do more than stand there and draw in a deep breath. The clean, aromatic smell seemed to enfold her, bringing with it a sense of well-being and calm. She heard his boots scuff on the concrete floor, and then a soft hum filled the air as bright over-head lighting blinked on. She scanned the room, taking in the lengths of chain stretching from floor to ceiling over to the left, the silver vat and copper pipework of the still, the rows of wooden waist-high benches on the right with a large metal sink next to them.
Having filled a bowl at the sink, Jack placed it outside then pushed the door to behind him. ‘Let’s start over here.’ He led her over to the left-hand side. ‘This is where we hang the bunches to dry.’ A large tub of S-shaped hooks was fastened to the wall near the rows of chains. ‘We trim and tie each bunch and attach them to the chains with these.’
She nodded, picturing how the simple, yet effective, system would work. ‘And that’s the Grosso variety? The one growing in the bottom fields?’
His beaming smile made her feel like she’d won first prize. ‘That’s right. It takes about a fortnight to completely dry out, and then we ship it out to the wholesaler.’
‘The scent in here must be out of this world when the chains are full.’
‘It can get a bit overwhelming, but after a while I don’t even notice it. We stagger the harvest as we want the flowers to be mostly open before drying it, so this part comes after we’ve distilled the oil from the Old English. Come July, we practically live in here.’
‘I’d love to see it.’ She could picture a curtain of deep purple blooms stretching from floor to ceiling as the bewitching scent of the freshly cut plants filled her nose. It would make a stunning image for an Instagram post, too. Perhaps she could persuade Jack to pose in front of it. She’d only just put up one of the photos of him playing with Bastian on her Instagram, and it had already received more ‘likes’ than any of the others she’d posted. She supposed she ought to tell him about that…or maybe not, considering some of the salacious comments posted underneath it.
‘You can lend us a hand if you like. We have a small team of regulars who come in to help with the harvest, but I’ll never turn away a bit of free labour.’ His tone was teasing, but she sensed his seriousness about allowing her to come back and see it.
Excited, she couldn’t keep the grin off her face. ‘You’re on! Maybe you could pay me in lavender for use in my soap-making.’
‘Oh, that reminds me…’ Jack reached for her hand and led Eliza across the room to the wooden benches. ‘I’ve got something for you.’
Eliza stared at the array of items on the bench before her—several bunches of dried lavender rested in gauzy net bags next to a dark brown glass bottle, and a taller clear one. Fingers shaking, she lifted the bottle to read the label ‘Gilbert’s Pure Lavender Oil’.
Her eyes met Jack’s. ‘Is this for me?’
Chapter Eight
From the look in her moss green eyes, you’d think he’d offered her the Crown jewels, rather than a few samples. ‘This is too much,’ she said.
Jack shook his head, feeling embarrassed. ‘It’s nothing, really, just my way of saying thank you for suggesting I get your dad to help out with the tractor. You didn’t owe me anything after how rude I was to you.’
The morning had flown by, and Jack couldn’t remember the last time he’d been so at ease in another person’s company. When he thought how close he’d come to missing out on getting to know her, he wanted to cringe. If his mum hadn’t suggested he go to the pub, he might never have crossed paths with her again.
She waved off his comment. ‘Hey, we dealt wit
h all that. I was trespassing, you had every right to be grumpy.’ Eyes twinkling with laughter, she looked up at him and added, ‘And you were very grumpy.’
He felt a smile tug at his lips. ‘Anyway. I thought it would help with your soap-making and whatnot. The clear bottle is lavender water, it’s what’s left over from the oil distillation process.’
‘I’d like to see that too.’
Her enthusiasm was infectious, and he found himself nodding. ‘I can’t give you an exact date, so it might be short notice, but I can definitely give you a call when we start harvesting the plants.’
Eliza beamed. ‘That would be great. If I can swing it I’d be fascinated to see how it all works.’ She traced the smooth wooden surface of the nearest bench and sighed. ‘This is such a great workspace, I’m very envious. We’re a bit on top of each other at the pub—especially with the guest rooms being busy this time of year. I’m not sure where I’m going to find space for my new projects. I might have to commandeer a bit of the cellar.’ Her smile turned wicked. ‘Or maybe I’ll convert Sam’s bedroom now he’s spending all his time next door with Beth.’
‘I bet he’d love that.’ As a younger sibling, he knew the joys of tormenting an older brother. It hadn’t changed over the years, and if he wanted to wind Jason up the easiest way to do it was to invade his personal space. A wave of bleakness shuddered through Jack. For just a second, he’d forgotten the reality of his life. He hadn’t been in his brother’s room since he’d retrieved a suit for the funeral director’s.
Soft fingers brushed his forearm. ‘Hey, what it is?’
Blinking the sting from his eyes, Jack met Eliza’s worried frown. ‘Nothing…it’s nothing.’ Christ, he needed to stop saying that, to stop bottling every thought and feeling up inside him. He took a breath for courage, then spoke. ‘I was thinking about Jason. About how I’ll never get to play the annoying kid brother again.’
Summer at Lavender Bay Page 9
