Season of Dreams

by Jenna Mindel

  Only a week had passed since he’d last worked with Eva, but she hadn’t been far from his thoughts after she’d gone to Florida. Seeing her jump-started his pulse. Not a good thing when Adam knew keeping it professional was the sensible route.

  Adam couldn’t run this farm by himself, not yet anyway. Getting romantically involved with Eva would make working together difficult. Eva had already demonstrated that she didn’t take breakups lightly, so why go there? He wasn’t about to risk losing not only his teacher but also the needed guidance from her father. Nope, there was too much riding on his breaking even at the end of the season.

  He noticed that Eva had dressed for working outdoors—jeans and a sweatshirt. Even her mud-speckled rubber boots had cherries on them. His sister would label them farm-chic. To him, Eva was farm-girl cute.

  “Problems?” he finally said.

  She dropped a wrench on the cement floor and then looked up with a grin. “Must you sneak up on a person?”

  “You knew I’d be here at nine.” Adam picked up the tool and handed it over without taking his eyes off her face. She’d been in the sun and the results were mesmerizing. Tanned farm girl registered way higher than cute.

  Eva shrugged. “I wasn’t watching the clock and I certainly didn’t hear you.”

  “Small wonder.” He reached for a radio sitting on the workbench and turned down the blaring pop song.

  She made a face and wiped her hands on the back of worn jeans that hugged her figure. “After all this time off, is nine o’clock too early for you?”

  He laughed. “I didn’t take time off.”

  Her eyebrows rose. “You didn’t?”

  “Nope. I organized the barn by setting up an office space, dewinterized the water systems—”

  “You really should call me and not my dad, you know. I’m the one you’re paying.”

  He’d paid her father a pretty penny, too. Or rather his father, Leonard Peece, had. If Adam succeeded this season, his father would sign off on Adam cashing in his shares to pay off that note. If he failed, his dad took the orchard. And Leonard Peece had no intention of farming it.

  “I’ll keep that in mind.” But he had no intention of cutting communications with Bob Marsh. Adam needed all the help he could get. “I also pruned those young sweets with Ryan’s help.”

  “They’re done?”

  “Done.” He expected her to be pleased, but Adam got the distinct feeling that she wasn’t, as if he’d done something special without her. Left her out on purpose and overstepped a boundary, which was ridiculous.

  “Good. So, what kind of music do you like?”

  He didn’t get the sudden change of subject. “You’re okay that I pruned the trees?”

  Eva shrugged, but she glanced at the floor. “Yeah, sure. Absolutely.”

  Did he misread her? He didn’t think so.

  She looked back up at him with a challenge in her eyes. “Big-city boy like you, I’d say jazz.”

  He’d play her game. “Not even close.”

  Eva chewed her plump bottom lip for a second. “Hmm. You don’t look like the country type, definitely not heavy metal…”

  He turned the radio dial until he found what he was looking for and upped the volume. Spreading his hands wide, he sighed with pleasure. “Classic rock.”

  Eva pretended to yawn. “Bo-ring.”

  “You’re crazy. Those bands had distinction instead of the sound-just-like-everyone-else fluff you were listening to.”

  “You can’t dance to rock.”

  “Sure you can.” He’d never have guessed that Miss Prickly Prim liked to dance. Eva swaying with the music would be worth seeing. This time he changed the subject. “So, how was your trip?”

  “Relaxing. My parents send their hellos, and my dad asked how I thought you were doing.”

  “How’d you answer?”

  “I said it was still wait-and-see but I gave you a B-plus for pruning.”

  Adam laughed. “You’re pretty tough on grading, especially since I earned extra credit by pruning the young trees.”

  She gave him a saucy smirk. “I don’t dole out As on easy activities.”

  Hard-nosed. She didn’t like it that he pruned faster than her. “So, what’s the deal with the tractor?”

  Eva shrugged. “It won’t start.”

  “Let me see.” It was his tractor. He might as well get to know it. He’d purchased most of the heavy equipment that went with the orchard, but the three ATVs belonged to Eva.

  Adam climbed into the cockpit and turned the key. Nothing. The engine turned over, but no spark of ignition. Plugs? He stepped down and peered under the hood.

  “Do you know what you’re doing?”

  He flashed her a grin. “A motor’s a motor.”

  “And you know a motor from where? Your magazines?”

  Was there ever a sharper tongue? But the twinkle in Eva’s eyes gave her away. She was baiting him. Throwing down another challenge he wasn’t about to back away from. “I tinker.”

  “If your tinkering doesn’t work, I’ll call someone.”

  “Oh ye of little faith,” Adam called out to her departing back.

  Twenty minutes later when the tractor roared to life, he spotted Eva in the doorway with a basket over her arm. “You did it.”

  He shut it off and wiped his hands on a rag. Feeling pretty proud of himself, he bowed. “There you go, ma’am.”

  She gave him an odd look. “Great, let’s hook up the wagon and get to work.”

  Back to business. No fawning, no pat on the back. He craved a little praise here. “What’re we doing today, field boss?”

  “Picking up the branches from pruning. Once that’s done, we usually have a big bonfire with some neighboring growers. Kind of like a kickoff to the growing season. Are you interested?”

  He loved the idea. “Absolutely. What’s in the basket?”

  “Coffee and muffins.”

  “With dried cherries?”

  She looked away. “And chocolate chips.”

  Something about the way her cheeks flushed confirmed that she’d baked those muffins for him. Eva was a person of action. Her gratitude popped out of the oven instead of her mouth. “After clearing the brush, what’s next?”

  “Applying nitrogen fertilizers throughout the whole orchard, and then dormant spraying for bacterial canker. There’s also a section of old trees you need to decide what you’re going to do with.”

  She might be more comfortable talking work than anything else, but there was something softer about Eva. Maybe it was her vacation or the mild spring weather. Whatever the cause, he liked it. And he liked her. A lot.

  After hours spent gathering brush and branches, Eva was worn-out. Dropping a large bundle onto the trailer, she stretched her back.

  “Ready to call it a day?” Adam leaned against the tractor tire looking like a city boy on a country field trip. His leather jacket was dirty and the cuffs of his jeans were mud-splattered. He wore a Detroit Tigers hat and his dark hair curled up at the ends.

  She wanted to touch that hair and feel its texture. Eva released a weary sigh. “We’ll finish the brush tomorrow and then start fertilizing the orchard. How’s Friday night for the bonfire?”

  “Friday’s perfect. Hey, you said something about old trees. Where are they?”

  Eva shook off her wayward thoughts. “I’ll show you.”

  Adam held the tractor cockpit door open for her. “You drive. I’ll hang on.”

  She climbed in and lowered the window to give Peece something more substantial to grasp while he balanced on the tractor step. Did he find the closeness in the cockpit uncomfortable, too?

  In no time they were at the back of the orchard where trees planted before she’d been born grew. Her father had never gotten around to removing them. She shut off the motor. “This is it. Might as well be seven acres of firewood.”

  Adam jumped down from the tractor step and looked around. “These are big trees.”
<
br />   “Worthless.”

  He gave her a swift look. “So, they’re old.”

  “They no longer produce much fruit. They served their purpose, but it’s time to uproot them, refurbish the soil and let it sit a couple years before replanting.”

  “More Montmorency?”

  At least he knew the name of the tart cherries they grew. “Whatever you prefer.”

  His eyes narrowed. “And what would you do?”

  Without a moment’s hesitation, Eva jumped in with her opinion. “Sweets—I’d plant more sweet cherries. I think that’s where the money’s at for a small orchard.”

  “How so?”

  “There are more retail outlets for selling sweet cherries. Fruit stands, farmers’ markets in Traverse City, U-pick.” Eva had tried to convince her father of this very thing, but he was used to doing business his way. The same way for years and look where it had gotten him. Forced to retire because he couldn’t compete with the big commercial orchards.

  Adam took off his hat and fingercombed his hair. “I don’t have to decide this year.”

  Eva disagreed. “Leaving unproductive crop in the field wastes time and money.”

  He smiled. “These trees are the least of my worries. Come on, let’s head back and unload this brush where you want it.”

  Eva followed Adam to the tractor, wondering why he didn’t recognize the urgency of setting up a plan now so they’d be ready to plant when the time came.

  If only the orchard were still hers. Then she’d have a stronger voice on how things were done. As an employee, she was no better off than she’d been as a daughter trying to convince her father of her ideas.

  An idea blossomed in her brain of sheer genius. With the right approach, would Adam consider taking her on as a partner? She couldn’t afford much of a buy-in, but even a small percentage of ownership might go a long way toward protecting the orchard. She had her B and B to consider. Other than her unique baking with cherries, comfortable lodging on a working cherry farm was her plan to draw guests.

  She smiled. A partnership offer was definitely worth a shot.

  “When’s Adam coming to the bonfire?” Beth asked.

  Eva shrugged. “He’s bringing someone he wants me to meet.”

  Aunt Jamee set down a tray of bite-size sandwiches on a checkered cloth-covered table that had been set up in the orchard’s pole barn. “Who’s he bringing? A girl?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe it’s his father. They’re up this weekend.” But a worm of concern wiggled around her insides. He wouldn’t bring a date, would he?

  The Marsh bonfire had become something of an institution. Several growers, even the nearby vineyard owners, came together on Marsh land to celebrate the arrival of spring.

  “Don’t worry, Jamee,” Beth added. “I think our Mr. Peece is interested in Eva.”

  Eva rolled her eyes, but her belly did a little somersault. “He’s not into me.”

  Her aunt grinned as if she’d stumbled upon a juicy secret. “Why shouldn’t he be? Take a look in the mirror, my beauty.”

  Eva smiled at her aunt’s endearment, but Adam was bringing someone. Surely he would have told her if he was dating someone. Wouldn’t he?

  Eva looked up in time to see Adam walking toward her with a gorgeous dark-haired woman wearing ridiculously high-heeled boots. And her heart sank.

  Her aunt’s expression simply said that’s-a-shame, while Beth’s hard stare might as well have shot daggers at Adam.

  “Hey,” Adam said when he stood before her.

  The raven-haired beauty also had dark eyes that focused so intensely on her, Eva backed up a step.

  “Eva, I want to you to meet my sister, Anne.” Adam smiled.

  His sister!

  Of course it was his sister. The resemblance suddenly shone clearly. The intensity of her gaze was so similar to Adam’s. And Eva remembered seeing a picture of this woman at the town house. Eva’s shoulders dipped with relief. “It’s really nice to meet you.”

  Anne grasped her extended hand with surprising strength. “It’s nice to finally meet you. We wondered who’d be brave enough to take Adam on as a pupil.”

  Eva glanced at Beth, whose smile couldn’t have been broader. “Why’s that?”

  Anne grinned, making her look even more like Adam. “He’s got a short attention span. He gets bored easily and doesn’t stick with stuff.”

  Eva looked at Adam to see how he’d take his sister’s ribbing.

  He gave Anne an indulgent smile, but Eva could tell the last statement rubbed him wrong when the corner of his eye twitched. “Just because I can’t sit still in meetings doesn’t mean I don’t listen and learn. It means I don’t belong there.”

  Eva could clearly envision Adam fidgeting in a board-room. But when Anne looked ready to disagree, Eva stepped in. “Let me show you around and introduce you both. This is my roommate, Beth, and my aunt Jamee. Oh, and this is my uncle Larry. He’s our beekeeper.”

  Anne extended her slender hand to everyone. When she reached Uncle Larry, her eyebrows shot up. “Beekeeper?”

  Uncle Larry smiled, proud to explain his duties. “Sweet cherries don’t self-pollinate. Come blossom time, we bring over the bees.”

  Eva glanced at Adam and read the gratitude in his eyes. But she couldn’t shake what Anne had said about her brother. Adam didn’t follow through. Not a good thing. Not at all.

  She turned her attention back to the conversation.

  “We place the beehives in the orchard for a week or so. They get fruit, and we get honey along with a rental fee on the bees,” her uncle explained.

  “You’ll have to bake me something so I can try this cherry blossom honey,” Adam said softly to Eva.

  His request had been phrased as if they’d been alone. Eva felt her cheeks heat as the stares of everyone bored into her. It was out in the open now. She baked for Adam. “Absolutely. Sure.”

  She glanced at Aunt Jamee, who raised one perfectly arched eyebrow. But Eva hurried Adam and his sister toward the other guests before her aunt had the chance to state the obvious. Something more than muffins simmered between Eve and Adam.

  As the fire blazed with sparks towering into the cool night air, Eva watched Adam work the party like a pro. He chatted with Jim Sandborn and another grower from a few miles north. The men laughed, and Eva could tell they were beginning to accept Adam. Trust might be a ways off yet, but then, she didn’t fully trust Adam either.

  Sipping hot chocolate, Eva smiled when Ryan’s marshmallow caught on fire. The smell of burning sugar wafted toward her in the soft breeze and she breathed deep. She loved the annual bonfire and hoped this wasn’t the last one. As long as Adam stuck it out, there could be more. There had to be more.

  Anne tiptoed toward her, careful to keep her heels from sinking into the moist grass. With a laugh, she said, “I wore the wrong shoes.”

  Anne was decked out in designer jeans and a long gray coat over a simple knit turtleneck. Just like Adam, she looked as if she’d stepped off the pages of a glossy magazine.

  “The ground’s still wet from the snowmelt.” Eva stood in the entrance of the pole barn.

  The pile of branches had a while to burn down, yet Ryan threw on more logs. The warmth of the fire and the mild spring evening fostered folks’ desire to linger. Beth pointed out star constellations to a couple of kids who sat enraptured with her knowledge.

  “Now I understand why Adam loves this property. It’s beautiful. I’d build a house right over there. With the view of the lakes, it’d be perfect for a summer place.” Anne pointed toward the crest of a hill where the orchard began.

  Eva squeezed her empty cup until her thumb poked a hole through the Styrofoam. “Yeah.”

  “Your home is lovely, too.”

  Eva got the feeling Anne had left off the phrase for an old house. Adam’s sister struck her as a gotta-have-new kind of girl. “Thanks.”

  “It reminds me of our grandparents’ place. Adam used to spend
hours in the field with Grandpa during our summer visits. They had a small farm not too far from the condo. But Adam must have told you all that.”

  “Not really.” That explained a lot when it came to Adam’s approach to the orchard. His kid-on-vacation eagerness suddenly made sense.

  Anne smiled. “Growing up, all Adam ever wanted to be was a farmer like Grandpa. Drove my dad nuts. Then, in high school, he wanted to be a mechanic. Again, not something suited for a Peecetorini, if you know what I mean.”

  Eva didn’t. “Peece-tor-eeni?”

  “Our real name. The family name. Dad had it legally shortened to match the business after mom died.”

  “Oh.” Eva silently rolled the name around on her tongue. She caught Adam’s gaze from the other side of the fire. His family name suited him. Peecetorini was a beautiful name for a beautiful man.

  “I’ve got a great idea,” Anne said. “Why don’t you and your brother come for dinner tomorrow night? The girls would love it. They’re show-offs for company.”

  Eva bit her lip. “Yeah, sure, as long as we won’t be an imposition.”

  Anne waved her hand. “We eat around seven, so come down just before then. Oh, and bring your friend Beth, too.”

  “Okay, we will.” Eva wanted to know more about the stuff Adam had a history of not sticking with. Was it just hobbies or life in general?

  Adam spotted Anne talking to Eva and he wondered what tales his sister might be telling. She’d badgered him all day about Eva. What was she like? And what was Adam planning to do with her? Ignoring his sister was usually the wisest course. For a woman who vowed to stay single, Anne’s mind had a determinedly romantic slant. She’d thrown dozens of her friends his way, but Adam hadn’t gone out with a single one. He didn’t want to put Anne in the middle of his love life.

  If Adam explained the reasons why a romance with his farm manager would never work, Anne might push harder. A nice Christian woman was exactly what Adam needed, according to Anne. And that was probably true, but now wasn’t the time.