Chapter 3
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“Daddy!” Seth climbed out of his grandfather’s truck and raced toward Joe where he waited on the porch.
He scooped his son up and hugged him tightly. He smelled like the outdoors. Joe looked over his head at his own father. “Hi, Dad.” He set Seth down, but the boy held onto his legs.
“Joseph!” He and his father shook hands. Joe would rather have a hug from him, too, but that wasn’t part of the man’s nature. They resembled each other, though, only Jacob Larson’s hair was graying and his six-foot stance was hunched a bit. “Things goin’ okay here?”
He hoped he didn’t blush. “Yeah. The usual. Planters are coming in a few days. I should have a crop in 4-5 weeks.”
“Ah. Small operation, though. You gonna be able to make a living on this place?”
“Well, we replant lettuce a few times so there’s greens growing continuously. But no, not a lot of profit this year. I have savings. Definitely next year when I’ll get in more crops.”
Seth finally let go of him. “Have you seen Stanley?”
“I have, yes. He’s great.”
“Can I go see him?”
“Not yet, honey.” He glanced back to his father. “You want to come in for coffee?”
“No, I promised your mother I’d get back by dark.” His parents lived an hour away.
“Thanks for bringing Seth home. Let’s get together soon.”
He tipped his hat. “Goodbye, son. Grandson.”
“By Papa.”
Joe watched his father drive off. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t get past the wall that had always existed between the two of them.
When he was a kid, he could never figure out what he’d done wrong.
As an adult, he realized it wasn’t him. His father had had a rough childhood, even rougher teen years.
Those things had shaped him into the hard man he’d become.
When Seth was born, Joe had vowed that he’d be a more loving father.
“Why can’t we go see Stanley, now?”
“Let’s sit out here and talk a spell.”
They sat down on Adirondack chairs Joe had repainted white and Seth looked at him with trusting eyes.
“We won’t be seeing Stanley for a while. Do you remember when somebody made him sick?”
“Yeah. You fixed him though ‘cuz you used to be a Vet.”
“That’s right. But some more bad things have happened at the place where Scarlet works. A terrible person is endangering them. Because of that, we have to stay away until the police catch him.”
“We can’t see either one of them?”
“We can’t. Not until all this is cleared up. Which is going to take a while.”
Tears formed in his eyes. “Dad…I love them.”
I know the feeling. “I’m sorry, son. We have to do hard things in life sometimes and this is one of them.”
“I don’t want to.”
“Neither do I. But we have no choice. Now, how about if we go clean out the barn today? The planters will be coming next week before you start school.”
“I wanna help plant.”
“I know. You and I can both do it. So concentrate on that for now.”
* * *
The day Seth came home from his grandfather’s house, Scarlet stood staring at her big closet of clothes. She was trying to push the thought of the last three days away. It wasn’t working…
I don’t know if I can leave you alone.
You have no choice, Joe. Think of Seth’s safety.
What about your safety?
Stop it Scarlet! But her mind wouldn’t cooperate.
You don’t have a bra on.
I buy dresses with them built in.
Less for me to take off.
She picked a dress, slid it over her head and buttoned it up. Then she found matching sandals.
I’ll never forget this time with you, Scarlet. No matter what happens.
You will. You have to. For Seth.
Just as she sat to put on her shoes, she heard the doorbell ring. God, she hoped it wasn’t Joe. And she prayed like hell it was.
Holding her sandals, she walked barefoot through the house to the foyer and she checked the camera hole. And pulled open the door.
“Hi, Roman.”
“Hey, there.” Not only was the man an excellent guard, he was also gorgeous as all get out. Striking black hair. Gray eyes. And the body of an Olympian.
“Everything okay here?” she asked.
“All quiet on the Western front. I noticed the kid on the farm across from you came home.”
“Did he?”
“Will he stay away?”
“I think so.” She held up her sandals. “Is that all? I have to get to work.”
“One more thing. My replacement comes at six. Want to get together tonight?”
She couldn’t even begin to think of being with another man. “No. I told you I can’t see you socially until your stint as one of my guards is over.”
His black brows rose. Then he said, “Whatever you say,” and walked off the porch.
She sighed.
* * *
Juliet was looking forward to her first class of the fall session today, though she’d taught over the summer.
She walked into her yoga room to find it almost full.
Since this session was for all levels of experience, and she’d seen the forms they submitted, she wasn’t surprised by the number.
The woman who’d run out when she discovered the snake a month ago had never registered for her class again.
But there was one newbie, a male. The rest were regular attendees.
They all sat, legs crossed, on their own mats; she provided blankets, bolsters, blocks and belts. She dropped down into a full lotus position and smiled at them. “Hello, everyone.”
They greeted her warmly.
One woman said, “I like your new leotard.”
Juliet had splurged on a pretty gold and black leotard which she wore with black tights.
“Thanks, Marci.” To the group she said, “Does everybody have a belt?” What was needed for the day was written on a whiteboard up front that she’d prepared when she came in this morning.
When they all nodded, she gave instructions.
“Let’s start on our backs today. Lie down in savasana.
” She stretched out in what laymen called corpse pose. “Breath in…breathe out.”
She got up to assess them. When two minutes were up, she said, “Time for some stretching. Pick up your belts and put your foot in the looped end.” She waited. “Now raise one leg and gently hold it up. That leg should be doing the work, not the belt.”
She walked around to each person checking to see if anyone was having trouble. The new person, Larry Lincoln, seemed to be struggling to straighten his leg. Men weren’t as flexible as women, but on the sign-up form, he’d said he’d taken one basic course at another studio.
She squatted down and in a low voice said, “Keep your leg bent. You might have to practice this before you can straighten it completely. For now, you can depend on your belt more.”
He gave her a pleasant smile. “Thanks.”
Up close, she noticed the clothes he wore—yoga pants and a matching green T-shirt, both with a designer label; he also had some kind of medallion she’d never seen before around his neck. She pointed to it. “You should tuck that inside your shirt today. Next time, don’t wear jewelry.”
His eyes narrowed. They were amber colored with black rims around the iris. “I’ll make sure you don’t see it again.”
What an odd response. She stood and walked to the front of the room.
“All right now, take the belt in one hand and lower your leg to your right side. Hold it. Don’t let your foot hit the floor.
” She waited. “Now raise the leg up and bring it over your body to the other side. This will be harder to hold with no support…”
Ater five minutes of stretching, they went through all the traditional poses in yoga.
Juliet called them by their Sanskrit names and common jargon…
Mountain Pose or Tadasana, Tree Pose or Vrksasana, Triangle Pose, Trikonasana, Warrior 1 pose, Virabhadrasana, downward-dog or Adho Mukha Savasana.
She ended with Corpse Pose which was Savasana.
At the end of class she complimented all of them for their work, then said goodbye as they left. Larry Lincoln had an easy gait bordering on a swagger. “Bye, Ms. Sullivan,” he said even though she’d asked the class to call her Juliet.
“Goodbye, Larry. I hope you come back.”
“Hmm,” was all he said.
What an odd duck, she thought, then dismissed him.
* * *
The planters came the day before school started.
Both he and Seth helped them till the field and plant the first crop of lettuce.
But today, with Seth gone, he was at loose ends, so Joe headed to the Eastside Co-op, a farm market he was planning to join once he had a crop.
He’d found this place accidentally and decided to volunteer to help out and get the lay of the land.
As he drove to it, instead of lettuce on his mind, images of Scarlet bombarded him: her looping her arms around him, the feel of her body as she sidled up to him, and her sexy moans when he was inside her.
The sweet scent of her lingered in his head.
He pulled onto the gravelly path next to where stands were set up under a pavilion. Exiting his truck, he took a minute to let the afternoon sun warm him, then walked inside to find Jeannie Cook, who was in charge of the set up. She was the only paid member of the group.
He saw her off to the right. “Hey, Jeannie. Nice to see you.”
“Hi, Joe.” Her dark brown eyes and equally dark hair in a pixie cut give her an impish look. But she was sharp as a tack. “You aren’t selling today, right?”
“Nope. I came to volunteer. Seth started school today and I’m kickin’ my heels.”
“Which means?”
“I’m at loose ends.”
“Then I’ll put you to work. The concrete areas in front of the farm stands need to be swept. Since we open in fifteen minutes, I’ll start at one end, you start at the other.” She handed him a broom.
“Gotcha.”
He went to the first stand on the left. As he swept the concrete, he introduced himself to the farmer behind the table and asked, “How’s the crop?” The man grew sweet corn, which was harvested in late summer.
“Hey. I’m Marcus Hill. The last of it’s still good. You get anything planted?”
“Just yesterday. Lettuce grows fast. I’ll be selling it here by the end of the month. Just a small crop this year, though.”