11. Strengthen Your Core
Chapter 11
Strengthen Your Core
W alking away from Thea’s door after several spectacular kisses that had his body humming was a challenge. Knowing it was the right thing to do for her, for both of them, helped. If he wanted this to be a long-term relationship, he wasn’t screwing it up by rushing things. No matter how much he wanted to explore her body and find out what made her melt.
How could he want things to be forever after such a short period of knowing her?
Knox’s dad always said he’d known before Halona had finished her first sentence that he’d wanted to marry her and spend his life making her happy. They’d been great parents, great people, at least from his memory. He didn’t think he was making things different than they were.
Maybe Knox had been hit by the same realization as his dad. He could easily see a forever with Thea. Walking hand-in-hand through these trees, watching grandchildren play. Helping with the harvest and telling stories about the good old days when they’d met and how it had only been the two of them at the beginning.
Telling stories about Fox and Jay. About Mato and Halona. Ensuring the family stayed together despite the hard times. No drifting away from your family for decades. Not for any present or future Malssums.
It was weird for him to go more than a few days without touching base with at least one family member.
He’d arranged for another family group call the following day. He didn’t like leaving Thea hanging. One way or the other, it was always better to know what lay ahead. He imagined for her that was a powerful need. She’d grown up in care, not knowing how long any of her placements would last.
She’d assured him her foster homes had been fine. Thea deserved more than fine. He wanted to be the one to make that happen.
As he walked through the orchard, he studied the trees with a more knowledgable eye than when he’d arrived. From his walks with Thea, he knew more about what constituted a healthy, mature tree. Instead of admiring the buds, he searched the bark and ground for signs of rot or pest invasions.
He passed the compost area and marveled at how much it had changed since he’d first arrived. Instead of seeing decay, he saw compost forming. The potential it offered. A way to save the farm, to bring it back to life. To bring his family together and give him and Thea a future.
He wanted to build her Worminator. A top-notch facility that would be the basis for growth.
When he returned to the farmhouse, he knew he was too wired to sleep. Not only his body but his mind. If he wasn’t going to worship Thea’s body, he might as well put that energy to good use.
Laughing at himself, he powered up his laptop and settled at the kitchen table. This was the heart of the farmhouse. Even with the large space empty of people, it felt warm and cozy. He could imagine those grandkids he’d wished for earlier sitting at the table munching on cookies. Or learning how to make them.
Not that he’d be the one to teach that. He could survive on his cooking, but baking was something he left to the experts.
He sat back to study the kitchen some more. It was huge. Big enough for a commercial space? With the abundance of apples, should they look into hiring someone to bake with them?
Apple pies and tarts. Apple fritters and donuts. The possibilities were there even if he didn’t know much about that. Another point for the pro column. One that would build potential in the business. Another avenue to assure profit.
Burke was right in that they couldn’t pour money into the place without having some kind of return on their investment. ROI was one of Burke’s life philosophies, and using that in their conversation tomorrow would help.
Knox would talk to Thea again tomorrow before the call, but for now, he pulled up a spreadsheet and started a tab called Potential Income Streams. Jolie would like that.
What could make them money?
Fresh apples obviously. Knox imagined that would be where the bulk of the income would be but there had to be more.
Baking with the apples. He listed the products he’d already considered and added what else he could think of. If they had a unique product, it would help. He needed someone who could bake to help him think outside that box.
Apple sauce. They could use the apples they couldn’t sell to make that. He remembered how good their kitchen had smelled when his parents had made apple sauce. From his memory, it didn’t seem that difficult. Was there a market for freshly made sauce? He hadn’t looked in Fiona’s store to see if there was already someone doing it, but he’d look on his next visit. She sold her own baking, so maybe she’d be amenable to stocking theirs as well.
What about cider? How hard was that to make? He didn’t have a clue, and he didn’t want to waste time looking now. This was about brainstorming, one of the things he did well.
He added alcoholic and non-alcoholic cider to the list, along with apple juice. What was the difference between juice and cider anyway? If they weren’t difficult to make, they could do them here in the kitchen. If it was more of a challenge than he thought, they could maybe sell their apples to companies who made it.
He needed to check out the harvesting barn to find out what upgrades were needed. And to find out how the process worked. This year could be a learning year. There was no way they’d be up and running to do a full harvest this year, but that was okay. They could learn what worked and didn’t work. Another point he wrote down.
Knowing he had to be practical, Knox opened another sheet and started listing the needs of the farm. The ones that he knew about, anyway.
The Worminator topped the list.
Irrigation. He knew there were lines in the parts of the orchard nearest the farm, but Thea said there were no lines past her cottage. He hadn’t wandered any further. Not yet.
The pond could help with that once it was cleaned up. The pond would intrigue Jolie, and Thea thought it was next in importance to the compost facility. He’d been doing plenty of research when he wasn’t otherwise occupied, and the biodiversity they needed to qualify as a regenerative farm would be immensely improved with the pond.
He doubted the farm would pass the qualification for at least a year or two. But it was a challenge, and his entire family liked challenges.
Top quality equipment. Every farm required a ton of machinery, and that would intrigue Lawson. He listed all the machinery required, but he didn’t know what shape any of it was in. Not yet.
So much to learn.
He went back to his potential list and added a B&B. That would appeal to Amber and was another big source of income. If any visitors wanted to stay on an apple farm.
He added questions beside it. What would bring them in? Ask Amber.
What would lure Burke? Sure, he could manage the books. The eldest Malssum loved numbers. Loved organizing and keeping everything in balance. Did it bring him joy?
Knox thought back to their childhood, trying to find what had made Burke laugh. In the before times, it had been his best friend Rissa. Before they’d had to leave Burlington, Burke and Rissa had been inseparable. Being four years younger, Knox didn’t have any recollection of what the two had done, but his brother had laughed more then.
They all had.
And that’s what Knox wanted. He wanted his brother to have less responsibility and more reason to laugh.
He wanted that for all of them, Thea included.
With a grin, he returned to brainstorming. He’d figure it out. He’d get them all here and ensure they had joy along with those responsibilities.
T hea woke with a smile. A big one. Her dreams had been happy and sensual. Filled with Knox.
The man was perfect in her dreams. In reality, he probably wasn’t. No one was. But he was pretty damn perfect for her.
Thea added fruit to her oatmeal along with cinnamon. She’d been wanting to take some apples from the harvest barn but she hadn’t had the keys for the first while. And then she’d simply not thought of it when she was in that area of the farm.
She knew there were several crates of apples from the last harvest still in the cold storage room. Knox wouldn’t mind her taking a few. She’d show him that area today. He hadn’t even tasted the apples the farm grew.
Despite that, the man was committed to the farm and to helping his family see the pros of owning it, of making it a success.
She had to figure his brothers and sisters were good people. They’d grown up in the same household, so they were probably similar in many ways. Knox’s optimism and positivity hadn’t grown from living with a bunch of grumpy pessimists.
That made her smile. Jay had been grumpy, but that attitude had hidden an optimistic heart. You didn’t buy a farm and hire a woman passionate about compost without a heaping load of optimism.
With a smile, she headed out to stir her heaping loads of compost.
She hadn’t reached the compost when Fox loped along to greet her. She hugged the dog hard, hoping she never had to leave him and this place. “We’ve got a chance, Fox. Jay gave us a chance by leaving this place to his family.”
The first patch of compost she and Jay had created was in good shape. When Knox was ready, she could show him how it was used and how helpful it would be to the trees. The orchard was several hundred acres but they’d be better off focusing on a smaller area for now. They could improve one section and then refine their processes as money and compost allowed.
She and Knox never planned a time to meet but she wasn’t surprised to see him approaching through the trees as she finished watering the compost.
The smile on his face matched her own, and she wondered if erotic dreams had brightened his night as well. She hoped so.
“Morning.” His gruff voice rumbled over her skin and through to her heart.
“Morning.”
Instead of slowing down as he approached, Knox kept walking to her and swept her up into his arms. He laughed as he twirled her around and then set her on her feet. His lips descended on hers and she wrapped her arms around his neck to keep him close.
When they pulled apart, they both gulped in air. He pressed his lips to her forehead and held her close. “Missed you.”
His whispered confession had her reaching up for another kiss. “Missed you, too.”
“Good to know.” And then he kissed the breath out of her again.
This time, when they pulled apart, he took her hand. “Have you finished with the compost? I can help.”
She grinned. “Already done.”
He helped her loop the hose and store it in the shed. Then she locked it with her key. Having the keys meant so much to her.
“I’ve got a family group call in a couple of days. How much more can you teach me before then?”
She laughed. “A lot, I hope. The more you know, the more information you have to share with them.”
He nodded, and heat filled his eyes. “I started making lists last night. I had all this energy running through me, so I put it to good use.”
That made her laugh even as her skin flushed. “I cleaned my entire house, even scrubbed the shower.”
He kissed her lightly with another laugh. “Good to know I wasn’t alone with all that energy.”
“Definitely not alone.”
He squeezed her hand. “I’d like to learn more about the process. What happens during each season? What does a harvest look like? What do you do with the apples that aren’t sold? Who buys them?”
She laughed. “Is that all?”
“Not even close.”
Laughing, she walked back to the shed and unlocked it. “Let’s start here.”
She showed him the small storage place. Wheelbarrows, shovels, and hoes. Tree trimmers and shears. Baskets and all the other equipment required.
He asked good questions, showing he knew a lot more than the day he’d arrived. His interest and curiosity spurred her to talk in detail about every aspect. She wondered if her voice would hold out with the unexpected workout.
They walked to the machinery barn, and he opened the small side door. Mustiness filled their senses, and they moved to open the big barn doors at the front. “I don’t know when it was last opened. I didn’t work with the machinery, and I don’t think that was Jay’s area of expertise either.”
When they turned to study the interior, Knox whistled. “Lawson is going to love this. I’m going to take some pictures. Show him the potential.”
“It sounds like everyone in your family is big on potential.”
He agreed. “I think so. We’ve always teased Jolie about her passion for potential but I think you’re right. We all love it. Bringing things back to life, improving things, investing.”
That was hopeful. Thea didn’t know if she could believe in that hope but she was going to try.
Her eyes tracked over the machinery in the barn and wondered what his mechanic brother would see. To her, it was a collection of necessary tools. She hoped he would see more.
Next they walked to the harvest barn. “This is where we bring the apples once they’re harvested.”
Knox grinned as he opened the doors. “It’s huge.”
It was. She walked to where the conveyor belts started. “I’ve only been through one season, and we didn’t have a large crop of apples, but I can walk you through what we did.”
Knox nodded, and she grinned at the excitement emanating from him.
“Jay was in charge, and I just followed orders. I backed the multi-bin truck to this area. We moved the apples from the bin to one of the belts. Perfect apples go on this one. Any with blemishes but were still good for cooking or baking go here.”
“I was thinking about baking with them earlier today. Did Jay hire anyone to do that?”
She shook her head. “That was in his one-day plans. Instead, he sold those apples at a discount to anyone who wanted them for baking and cooking. Are any of your siblings interested in baking or cooking?”
He shook his head. “I wish. That would really help to sell it. My buddy’s sister was in culinary school last I heard but I don’t know anyone else who would want the job.”
She sighed. “It’s a good idea. And there are still plenty of apples in the cold room that could be used if you find someone.”
“Cold room?”
She grinned. He had so much to learn, but she doubted it would take him long.
The climate-controlled room was at the back with good ventilation and temperature control, keeping apples fresh for months. She grabbed a couple and tossed one to Knox. “Here. It seems like if you want to own the farm, you should at least try the apples.”
He laughed and turned the apple around, inspecting it from all sides. “This is from the harvest back in the fall? It looks like it was picked yesterday.”
“Tastes like it, too. As long as they’re cared for, apples have a long life span.”
“Let’s have a toast.” He held his apple out to her and she bumped it lightly with her own.
“To apples. To the farm. To family. And to us. Cheers.”
Heart full, she lifted her apple in salute. “Cheers.”