Vivianna #2
My anger started to recede now that I wasn’t in the same room as Darius.
The afternoon sun was shining, and the weather was warm and inviting.
I looked down at my bare feet and then back to the grass and dirt before me.
I felt myself grin at the idea of having dirt between my toes.
Living in the city didn’t give you much of a chance for close encounters with nature.
I jogged to catch up to Tavas and grabbed the basket out of his hand, letting it swing at my side as we walked.
“I have to say, whoever Darius had build this garden did a superb job. It has everything one could hope for, even down to potatoes,” Tavas said as we reached the edge of the garden. “You any good with plants?”
“I’ll be honest, I’ve never really had the chance to find out,” I said, looking down at my feet and wiggling my toes in the grass.
A hand rested on my shoulder, causing me to look up. Tavas’s gaze was warm as he met my eyes. “I always want you to be honest, no matter what may come of it. All of us need to know how you’re feeling, whether it’s good or bad. The only way we can learn and help you is if you’re completely honest.”
I felt my heart leap into my throat. I’d never had someone truly want to know what I was feeling or thinking.
This one is a keeper, for sure. Not only is he amazing at cooking, he has the communication skills of a woman.
Ha, ha, ha, I agree with you completely. Although I don’t think he’ll see that as a positive. I think I’ll keep that thought to myself.
Suit yourself. I still think it’s wildly attractive.
“You get lost in there?” Tavas asked, pulling me out of my head.
“Sorry, my wolf and I were both talking about how incredibly sweet you are. Thank you, I’ll keep what you said in mind, and I’ll do my best to be honest with you all,” I said, smiling at him. “I haven’t ever had someone who really wanted to know what I was thinking or feeling.”
Tavas lifted his hand and stroked his thumb down my cheek softly, searching my face for something. Taking a deep breath, he dropped his hand and turned back to the garden. “So, what skill, if any, do you have in picking out ripe fruits and vegetables?”
I laughed. “I do go shopping at the market. I may not be able to grow my food, but I know how to find good produce.”
“Wonderful. Why don’t you gather what’s ripe on that half, and I’ll take the other side. When you’ve gathered what you can, I’ll look over things to see if we have enough,” Tavas said, winking at me.
I grinned, remembering the massive amount of food the guys ate for lunch.
I wandered through my half of the garden, looking at all the different options there were.
I was amazed to find so many different varieties of tomatoes, peppers, beans, and eggplants.
There were also many other plants that didn’t have anything growing from them yet, but I knew different seasons yielded different things.
Now that I’d gotten the lay of the garden, I grabbed up the basket and started picking. The tomatoes were out of control, so I grabbed some small cherry tomatoes as well as bigger varieties. Next to them, I found eggplant, but these were white, and I wasn’t sure if that meant they were ripe or not.
“Tavas, have you seen white eggplants before?” I called in his direction.
Tavas looked up from the plant he was picking from. “Ah, you found the graffiti eggplants; I saw those earlier. Some of them looked ripe. If you want to try them out, pick the ones with the shiniest skin.”
I found three that had glossy skin like Tavas told me to look for. Okay, wherever we end up, I think I’ll need a garden—this is super fun! Vegetables were never my favorite, but I think I would venture out more if I got to pick them.
Are you sure it isn’t the company you’re enjoying? my wolf teased, stirring from her nap.
Can’t it be both? I can’t remember ever being outside like this, enjoying the sun and spending time with someone. It’s nice.
My wolf, pleased with my contentment, went back to sleep, enjoying the sun on our skin.
I moved on to the peppers and picked a half dozen or so small ones, hoping that would be enough.
I didn’t want to pick everything since we were going to be here a while.
Then I studied the variety of beans. I had no idea there were so many different colors and lengths to choose from.
That’s what she said, my wolf said, laughing at her own joke.
As I was picking, a shadow fell over me, and I froze. My wolf jumped from her lazing instantly. I tensed, ready to make a move any second, but then the scent of earth and wood shavings hit my nose. I relaxed instantly, knowing it was Tavas.
“You really shouldn’t sneak up on a werewolf, I might have attacked you again,” I said, not looking up from collecting the beans.
I heard Tavas chuckle from behind me as he placed a bunch of carrots in the basket to my right. “I guess I’m lucky you figured out it was me before that happened.”
I looked up at him from where I was squatting, using my hand to shade my face. “Were you testing me?”
“In a way. I wanted to know how aware you are of your surroundings,” he answered.
“How’d I do?” I asked, curious.
“Good and bad. I shouldn’t have been able to get this close to you without you knowing, but I am impressed that the moment you felt me, you were ready to attack. It’s also impressive that you’ve learned my personal scent so fast,” Tavas said, coming down to my level.
That’s because your smell makes me want to lick your abs.