2. How Does Your Garden Grow?
CHAPTER 2
How Does Your Garden Grow?
L evi couldn’t contain the smile as he walked into The Saloon. It had a big main room like you saw in old Westerns. A huge bar ran along the back of the space with doorways leading to the back on both sides. A staircase along the righthand wall led to the second floor. A balcony ran the width of the building, with rooms leading to the back. “This place could be a movie set.”
Falcon rose with a grin from where he’d been working on a door and strode across the room. “That’s what I like to hear. Good to see you, Oz. Damn glad you made it up here.”
He could correct his friend and insist he call him Levi, but he didn’t bother. It wouldn’t make a damn bit of difference to any of them. They’d used call signs for too many years to protect their identities, and the habit was hard to break.
Plus, the more they knew it irritated him, the more they used it.
A gorgeous auburn-haired woman emerged from one of the doors leading to the space behind the bar with a soft smile. As if attuned to her presence, Falcon turned and held out his hand. “Branna.”
At the woman’s appearance, everything about his warrior buddy softened. The same way Levi’s dad had softened when his mom appeared. And the way Arrow had changed in the presence of that teacher over in that Afghani village. Levi wondered if Arrow had ever tracked her down after the disaster that day.
Levi dragged his attention back to Sean. “Levi, I want you to meet the most amazing woman on the planet, Branna O’Dea. Branna, this is Oz.”
Levi rolled his eyes and held out his hand. “I’m Levi Connors. Nice to meet you, Branna. Hope Falcon is treating you well. If not, we have ways to make sure that changes.”
Branna’s eyes sparkled at his words, and she leaned into Sean’s side. “No worries in that department. It’s nice to finally meet you, Levi. Welcome to Phail.”
Levi looked at Troy. “See. Right there. Did you hear how that sounds? You really need to think about changing the name of this place.”
Troy rolled his eyes. “Not a chance, Oz.” He slung his arm over Levi’s shoulder and aimed him at the bar and the stools in front of it. “Any chance of getting a beer in this place?”
Sean laughed. “We’re not open yet, but a beer between friends is perfectly legal as long as you’re not paying for it. And you’re not. Let’s take a table.”
Branna kissed Sean on the cheek. “I’ll leave you guys to it. I’m working in the kitchen if you need me.”
Levi watched as Sean followed her as far as the bar and pulled her in for a real kiss before she moved into the kitchen. He grabbed beers for them from behind the bar.
When they were all seated, Marcus held up his beer. “Here’s to Levi. Thanks for coming. We’re glad you’re here.”
They clinked bottles and sipped. Levi leaned back in his chair and studied them. “You all look good. Happy.” Although Marcus didn’t have the same ease around the eyes of the other two. Probably something to do with Troy and Sean being stupid-happy in love.
Troy nodded. “Happy is good. We’ve got some plans that might shove you in that direction.”
And here it was. The plans Troy had been hinting about in phone calls over the last few months. Whatever it was, it had brought Sean to Phail. And the curiosity had pulled him as well. He wouldn’t be surprised if Epic’s plan involved getting Slick and Scooby here at some point, too. “Lay it out.”
Troy held up his beer. “We think we can do better.”
Better? “Better with what?”
Troy pointed at the beer. “Better beer.”
“You want to make beer?”
“Yes.”
“Do you know anything about making beer?”
Troy’s grin was the one that almost always had everyone following his idea, no matter how wacky it was. “I’m learning.”
Levi wasn’t sure what to say to that, so he waited. Sure enough, Troy continued to lay out his plan. “I want us to create a brewery here in Phail.”
Levi looked at the other two, who nodded. “A brewery, when none of you know anything about the process or the business.”
Troy waved that away. “We’ve got skills. We’re smart, resourceful, and determined. Research can fill in the blanks. There are courses too. Sean and Branna already have the saloon here and by next year, maybe we can add our own brews to the mix.”
That actually sounded like a good idea. Craft breweries were popping up everywhere around the country. Having a built-in place to showcase the beer was definitely a bonus.
The thought of making beer didn’t light a fire under him, but maybe he could help his friends if he could also find some farmland around here that could be his own. A place that felt right.
“He’s not getting it.” Marcus grinned while looking at Levi.
“Not getting what?”
Sean patted him on the shoulder. “You should know Epic better than that. He knows you don’t want to be a brewmaster. That’s not your dream and never has been.”
They didn’t want him as a part of it? Then why drag him here? He shook his head. “It’s been a long day, and you’re being cryptic. Lay it out.”
Troy grinned. “You’re going to grow the hops. We’re not just going to make beer. We’re going to do the entire process from the very beginning to the end. Grow the hops. Do the processing. Bottle it up. Sell it. All here in Phail.”
Levi gave himself a minute by taking another sip. The idea wasn’t terrible. A spark of something lit up inside him. “I don’t know a single thing about growing hops. Corn and wheat, but not hops.”
Marcus rolled his eyes. “You understand land and plants and growing and taking care of all that stuff. It’s a new challenge.”
Sean nodded. “A new opportunity.”
Troy smiled. “A new beginning.”
Huh. Challenge. Opportunity. Beginning. A fresh start. Maybe that’s what he’d been searching for and not finding. “I don’t have any land up here. I don’t even know if you can grow hops in Vermont. Hell, I don’t even know the growing zones up here.”
Troy laughed. “But you’re going to find out.”
Hell. He probably was.
Sean leaned in. “And we’ve got the land part covered. If it works for you, anyway.”
“You’ve got farmland?”
Troy nodded. “And a farmhouse. Sean and Branna are living there and renovating it.”
“And we’ve got a room ready and finished for you.”
“You in?” Troy held up his beer again.
Sean and Marcus did the same, all three watching him.
Was he in?
He thought about the pros and cons. Finally, he shrugged. “Maybe.” Then he lifted his beer and clinked with the others.
He didn’t fool any of them.
He was in.
I sla waved at her new friends as the truck pulled out of the driveway. She’d spent the night at Midnight Lake with Tansy and the rest of her crew. She wasn’t sure she had them all straight yet, but she’d met Graham of the ready-to-go meals and his partner Aisling, an amazing carpenter.
They’d helped her scour the buildings on the lodge’s property for old windows and wood Isla could use. Eventually, she wanted to build several greenhouses, but the first would be her practice.
Like Tansy, Isla wanted to do as little environmental damage as possible. Reusing was good for the world and good for the budget. These greenhouses wouldn’t use plastic. She was going to reuse old windows and doors instead.
To get started, she had a stack of wood, a few doors, and several stacks of windows. Aisling and Graham had offered to stay to help, but Isla had waved them off. She was in the planning stages and would rather save her requests for help when she was neck-deep in building because that was something she’d never done before.
She’d looked up a bunch of websites, but now she had materials, and she could get more serious about making an actual plan. While they’d been searching for materials in the sawmill and the other buildings on Tansy’s amazing property, Aisling had given her a ton of suggestions to help her.
Isla knew there wasn’t any rush. Tansy hadn’t invested in this property with her to earn a profit. Her friend knew most of Isla’s ideas and experiments were long-term ones with the aim of feeding the hungry around the world and eventually in space. That didn’t happen quickly, and none of her experiments guaranteed success. Science was more often about failure and learning than it was about success. Failures helped refine the process and eliminate dead ends.
Still, she wanted to jump in immediately and get started. She wanted to make this land feel like hers.
The first order of business was to spread out the windows and doors to find out what pieces would fit together to make a rectangular wall. She needed two sets of matching sizes to make the four walls. Probably more challenging than it sounded, with all of her materials being different sizes.
A large plot for a vegetable garden sat directly behind the cottage. Behind that, the land was relatively flat and would work for at least her first greenhouse, possibly two or three. The barn was behind that, off to the right-hand side of the property. Behind it was more land she could use further down the road.
Isla lifted the first window off the stack and brought it over to the flat area. This window was about three feet wide and at least five feet tall. If there was a matching one, it could fit above. That would give her ten feet of height. Plus, the wood she’d need to make the frame along the top and the bottom. Maybe that was too tall. She wanted to do most of the work herself.
An hour later, Isla had windows and doors spread all over the yard, and she was no closer to a plan than she had been at the beginning.
While she had a logical brain that excelled at science, her visual-spatial sense had never been strong. She struggled to picture the layout as a finished project and couldn’t picture at all how to complete the task.
The videos she watched said to have someone good at math figure out the layout. Super helpful. She’d rearranged the windows dozens of times and hadn’t found a method that worked.
At least she’d taken photos and made sketches in her notebook of every attempt. If they could classify as sketches. She’d finally figured out that she needed to number the windows and then make a list of the numbers with their dimensions.
But she didn’t know how to make them fit without leaving huge gaps, which kind of defeated the purpose of a greenhouse.
She probably should have asked Aisling and Graham to stay, but she’d already used enough of their time on a project that was supposed to be hers.
They were Tansy’s friends, which meant she could trust them completely, but Isla’s ability to trust was running a little low. Actually, her ability to people was running low too.
Probably best to ditch the plans for the day. She’d been running on empty for too long and this task required more brainpower than she had available. She needed a task she knew she could accomplish. Something that would help her build back her confidence.
Planting seedlings to start indoors, tilling the vegetable garden, checking out the barn. Those she could handle.
Isla shoved her phone in one pocket of her overalls and stood, brushing off her butt. It was late afternoon, and checking out the barn sounded the most enticing.
“I know I’m a newcomer, but I’m pretty sure Vermont doesn’t have the right climate for growing windows.”
Isla whirled at the deep male voice behind her. Rough, growly, sexy. Unfamiliar. She pulled her phone back out and opened it to the call app. She wasn’t sure if Phail had 911 service, but she would call Tansy for help if needed.
A tall man with shoulders broad enough to block out the barn behind him stood looking at her work. He leaned easily against the fence separating the properties. His eyes roamed over the windows and doors she’d spread over her section and then back to her. He didn’t say a word, but his eyes held amusement and curiosity. No evil intent she could identify.
The man could model for GQ. Strong body. Sun-kissed skin and hair peeking out from a worn cowboy hat. Small sardonic smile. And a sexy dimple. As if he needed that to be attractive. Kind of like a dream man had walked out of her fantasies and into her life.
Man, she needed more sleep.
Between her cousin Glen and that idiot Ed at the lab, Isla’s, ‘ is he a creep?’ senses were pretty finely tuned. This guy didn’t set off any alarms. He wasn’t leering, and his expression was open.
He didn’t rush her to answer and he pretty much exuded steadiness. Or maybe her hormones had taken over her brain.
She glanced back at her windows and doors, spread all over the ground. With a shrug, she turned back to the stranger. “Definitely not the growing zone for glass, but I was hoping to conjure up a greenhouse.”
That small smile kicked up into a big grin that fully reached his eyes. “Now we’re talking. That’s a whole different story. How’s it going?”
As if that wasn’t obvious from the scatter around her. “Not well. Starting to think I should stick with my wheat strains and regular vegetables. Maybe petunias.”
“Kind of takes the fun out of it, though.”
She found herself grinning back. “Kinda does. I’m thinking if I leave them here for a day or two, they might proliferate on their own for me.”
“Like bunnies?”
Isla laughed. “Exactly like that.”
He chuckled, and, for a moment, they both stared at the mess. When he spoke, his voice was quiet. “What’s the plan?”
She shrugged again. “At the moment, the word plan is far too big a word for what I’ve got. I think I’ll leave it until my brain is more rested and these guys have a chance to acclimate to the farm. Then I’ll tackle it again tomorrow.”
He chuckled. The man had a really good chuckle. Zings of awareness rushed over her skin and through her blood.
The sun was dipping toward the horizon, and for a few minutes, they simply stood, breathing in the peace and the beauty of the land around them.
After a bit, the man touched a finger to his cowboy hat and pushed off the fence. “See you around, Glass Farmer.”
She smiled as she watched him walk away. The rear view was as intoxicating as the front. His easy pace and long-legged stride covered the ground at a surprising speed. Instead of heading toward the barn or the farmhouse, he headed to the fields, walking his land.
He’d said he was new to the area, but he wasn’t new to farming. Everything about him screamed confidence and control.
The sun was kissing the horizon when Isla dragged her gaze away and back to her windows.
Glass Farmer .
It made her smile even as she decided she’d had enough for the day. Instead of checking out the barn in the dim light, she turned to the cottage, unlocked the door, relocked it, and armed the security system as Sam had shown her.
A peek out the window showed her that the man next door was out of sight. She closed the curtains against the night and put on the kettle for some tea. She’d heat up one of Graham’s meals and eat it in her pajamas.
And if she was going to think about her sexy neighbor, right along with her plans, no one had to know.