3. Watching Glass Grow
CHAPTER 3
Watching Glass Grow
I sla woke the next morning feeling almost human, even though her sleep had been spotty. The last few weeks had been among the most stressful of her life, and that was saying something.
She’d lost her mom at a young age, and that was a grief that never healed. Being disowned by her father at eighteen had been no joke, but having Asshole Ed try to rip off her ideas and discredit her had taken a bite out of her soul. The fact that he hadn’t succeeded helped, but for her well-being, she’d needed to leave the lab and her job.
Waking up across the country in a warm, cozy cottage far from her family and her former job was fabulous. Freedom. To follow her own path, her own ideas.
All thanks to Tansy.
They’d met a few years before through an online conference, both working on a way to improve wells and irrigation systems for arid countries without much money. They’d kept in touch over the years and created a few new systems that they’d patented. And those patents had given Isla enough money to keep the wolves from the door.
Tansy had told Isla about the farm properties in Vermont, where Tansy had inherited a parcel of land from her grandfather. Midnight Lake was now home to Tansy’s projects, her partner’s Midnight Security business, and a group of motivated people doing their own things to improve the world.
Isla was now one of them. She’d met a few of the group the day before, and liked them all. She hoped to get to know them all better when she had time. Her own projects would keep her busy.
Which made her think of her laughable attempts at sorting the windows into a plan for a greenhouse. Maybe a helpful wind had blown them all into order overnight, and she only had to attach the pieces together.
Smiling at herself, Isla hopped in the shower and moved to the kitchen to grab some breakfast. Oatmeal with cinnamon and fresh apple slices was exactly what she needed.
While eating, she opened the curtains and studied the view through the kitchen window. Peaceful field, worn but sturdy barn, empty garden.
Today, she would get more serious about checking out the barn. She hadn’t even stepped inside it yet. Maybe it would be full of old equipment she could use. Or it might be hiding a full-grown greenhouse she could put outside.
Wearing another pair of overalls, she slipped into her rubber boots. Her mom had been from Scotland and always called them wellies . The name made her smile every time she put them on. She didn’t have many memories of her mom, but she treasured each one.
In deference to the spring weather, she grabbed a flannel jacket and shrugged it over her hoody. Her Texas blood would take a while to acclimate. Shoving her phone in her pocket and grabbing her notebook, Isla headed outside.
The crisp air had her stopping on the back porch and drawing in a lungful of the incredible stuff. Cool enough to tingle, but the sun was already burning off the soft mist that hung low over the fields.
Isla spent a few minutes imagining the porch filled with flower pots, deciding what she wanted to plant in the veggie garden before moving towards the barn. She passed by the windows, smiling as she thought of the sexy man she’d met the night before.
Glass farmer .
She wondered if one night’s sleep was enough to help her brain figure it out. Her steps slowed as she realized the windows weren’t taking up as much space as they had been the night before.
They were arranged more compactly.
Her steps slowed further, and she studied the new arrangement. It took her brain far too long to realize they were now arranged in four rectangles. Two sets of matching rectangles that would make walls for her greenhouse. A stack of extras sat to the side as if waiting their turn.
One of the smaller rectangles had a door positioned in the center. Bits of wood from the piles filled in the gaps between the windows. Which was the missing piece her tired brain hadn’t been able to latch onto the night before.
Her window garden had grown a greenhouse. Or at least a greenhouse plan. A perfect plan that would actually work.
Isla walked around the rectangles, grinning and even giggling. When was the last time she’d giggled? Probably not since she was a little kid. Before her mom’s death had changed everything.
Her sexy farmer was nowhere in sight. Did this make him her fairy godfather? Fairy god-farmer? No one else would have known what to do with the windows. She’d have to find him and thank him. This was amazing and would save her hours—maybe days—of work.
Then she could find out his name.
Isla took multiple pictures of each rectangle and then measured them all to make sure they would fit. They did.
Shoving aside her plans to check the barn, Isla walked to the rail fence separating the two properties and climbed over.
She imagined her benefactor doing the same this morning. Or had it been last night? Either way, she doubted his long limbs had to struggle to make the climb. Once she dropped to the ground, she headed toward the large barn.
Like hers, these fields didn’t appear to have been tilled recently. He’d said he was a newcomer so that probably explained it. She wondered what he was planning to grow. She could imagine wheat swaying in the wind. Or maybe tall ears of corn. Not that she knew if any of those could grow in Vermont. Maybe potatoes or hay?
It would be fun to have a working farm beside her land, where she could see how the crops fared in the Vermont climate. She wasn’t sure what her farm would look like in the future year, but she knew she’d spend more time in her greenhouses than in the fields. It might be a while before she planted anything out behind the barn. But she itched to plant the small veggie garden behind the cottage. And flowers. She needed flowers to brighten her days and remind her of her mom.
She had enough to focus on in the meantime. After working under the direction from her bosses for years, it would take some work to learn to make the best decisions for herself.
Equal parts terrifying and thrilling.
Isla didn’t spot anyone as she approached the barn, so she moved around the side of it. A large sign above the barn doors read Falcon Construction. Interesting. Was her sexy cowboy a construction guy and not a farmer? She rifled through her memory of their brief conversation and realized he hadn’t said anything about himself. Not a single word.
The conversation had only been a minute or two, but she was convinced he was a farmer. If only because he was on a farm. With those shoulders and biceps of his, he could be a construction worker, too.
The big doors were closed, so she kept moving around the building. If she didn’t find him outside, she’d have to decide whether to head to the farmhouse or back to her place. If he lived here, she’d see him again.
Although he hadn’t said that either.
Her worn-out brain had definitely not been up to talking, never mind flirting. She’d do better next time. If there was a next time. She really wanted there to be a next time.
Another set of barn doors on the back of the large building were open but didn’t boast a sign. Isla found herself nervous, but forced her feet forward. If it was someone else and not her mystery guy inside, she’d babble something embarrassing and move on.
One day, she’d outgrow the babbling. She was sure of it. Okay, she was pretty sure that would never happen, but she had to hope.
The sound of metal hitting metal proved someone was inside. A yelp behind her had her turning away from the doors to see a gangly dog watching her nervously from the trees separating this farm from the one on the other side. “It’s okay, buddy. I’m friendly. I’m not going to hurt you.”
She squatted down and held out her hand. The dog looked like it was homeless and hungry. If it belonged to her mystery guy, she’d sorely misread him.
Keeping herself still, Isla kept talking to the dog. “It’s okay, boy. Come closer, and we’ll find you some food and water. Are you hungry? You look like you’re hungry. I know what it’s like to be alone and without a home. But we’ll fix that for you.”
She didn’t know dog breeds well enough to identify him, but he had to weigh at least sixty pounds and his dirty fur looked medium brown. “I know one of the people who lives here. Well, I don’t know his name yet, and I’m not a hundred percent sure he lives here. Okay, I don’t really know him, but he’s a nice guy. He won’t hurt you either. It’s okay to come closer. We’ll get you some food.”
She kept talking nonsense to the dog, and he inched forward. He was probably a lost family pet, although he wasn’t wearing a collar she could see. Maybe he had one of those chips that could identify him.
The animal crept closer, and she kept talking. Soon, he was licking her outstretched hand. Tears pricked at her eyelids and she battled them back, but her voice was still shaky. “Hey there, boy. Good job. Aren’t you a beauty? We’ll get you fed and cleaned up and find out if you have a home.”
And if he didn’t, she wouldn’t let him live without one.
L evi stood in the barn's shadow and watched his sexy neighbor entice a bedraggled chocolate lab to approach her. She kept her voice gentle and her eyes on the animal.
Her voice shook with tears as she talked the frightened animal into accepting her. Her words weren’t meant for his ears, but they’d hit him right in the heart.
I know what it’s like to be alone and without a home.
She’d also told the dog Levi was a nice guy. A person the dog could trust. That hit him in the heart, too.
When was the last time he’d had a hit of warmth and goodness there? Being in the military had changed him, for the better and worse.
On the better side, he was stronger, mentally and physically. He was good at reading his surroundings and people. His reactions were finely tuned, and he could handle almost any situation.
On the worse side, he didn’t trust easily or often.
His Glass Farmer had him wanting to do exactly that. Trust her. Believe in her.
The night before, he’d been unable to resist crossing the field to find out what she was doing. Wearing rubber boots that reached to her knees and a flannel shirt that did the same, she’d looked like a woodland sprite come to tend the fields.
Or the glass farm, as the case might be.
He’d watched her arrange and rearrange the windows as he walked. Frustration, determination, and fatigue all radiated from her body language.
When she’d turned to him, the fear and wariness in her eyes had him freezing in place, like he would with a rattlesnake or a frightened village kid in one of the hellholes he’d worked overseas. The shadows in and under her eyes spoke of exhaustion, the bone-deep kind that took a long time to build and a longer time to erase.
Ridiculously, he’d wanted to hop the fence, pull her into his arms, and tell her everything would be okay. Obviously, he’d been smarter than that.
Add in her self-deprecating humor in the face of that frustration and wariness, and he’d been sucked right into her orbit.
The guys would be floored. Levi wasn’t known for initiating contact with strangers or for eavesdropping. Yet here he was, listening in as his Glass Farmer talked to a stray, hoping he could glean more details about her.
Or what she was thinking about him.
Which reminded him of high school and made him cringe and move his feet. “Hey, Glass Farmer. What do we have here?” He kept his voice low and soft, hoping to channel his buddy Garrett, who’d worked with his K-9 dog as part of their military team.
Glass Farmer had her arms wrapped around the muddy dog that was now sitting in her lap. It flinched at Levi’s voice, but she kept talking softly even as she smiled at him. “See, I told you I had a friend here. He’s a good guy, I promise.”
Levi moved closer and squatted down without crowding the lab. “Hey there, boy. Your new friend here is correct. I’m not going to hurt you. We’re going to help. Are you thirsty? Hungry? Let me see what I can find.”
He moved back into the barn and opened the cooler he’d brought that morning. The turkey sandwich should be okay for the dog, and he had a water bottle. Just needed something to put it in. A quick search found an upturned bucket that was clean.
He moved back outside and squatted down next to the pair, a little closer this time. He poured water into the bucket and then tilted it toward the dog. “Have a drink.”
The dog looked from the woman to the bucket and back. She stroked the filthy head. “It’s okay. Have a drink.”
The dog stuck his head into the edge of the bucket, and Levi tilted it to make it easier for him to drink without getting his head stuck. After a bit Levi set it back upright. “That’s enough for now, boy. If we shove too much in at once, it’ll make you sick. We’ll go easy for a while.” Then he unwrapped the sandwich and held out half.
The dog went through the routine of looking at them both and waiting for the woman’s encouragement. Then, the sandwich disappeared in a blink.
The sprite turned to him. “Thank you—” Then she broke off and grinned. “I don’t even know your name.”
He grinned back as he reached forward to pat the dog. “I’m Levi. Levi Connors. And you are?”
Her eyes sparkled. “I’m Isla Duggan, and it’s very nice to meet you, Levi.”
He nodded. “Same.”
And it was. Which would be another thing that his buddies would find unusual. Levi wasn’t exactly the gregarious type.
He gestured to the barn behind him. “It’s my first day getting a look in the barn, but I bet we can find a hose and get at least one layer of crap off of him. Then we can give him more water and the rest of the sandwich.”
Isla nodded and turned to the dog. “How does that sound? Do you want to get a little cleaner? You’re not going to take off on us, are you?”
Levi was pretty sure the animal wouldn’t go anywhere willingly without her.
Smart dog.
It didn’t take long to locate a hose and get the worst of the mud off the poor animal. Isla wore rubber boots and shoved up her sleeves to help loosen the mud as Levi worked the hose. She didn’t show any concern over the water or mud touching her clothes or splashing onto her face.
She was fully clothed, but he couldn’t stop his imagination eliminating the dog and having the two humans play with the water in a large shower like the one in his room at the farmhouse.
It had been way too long since he’d been in bed with a woman. And he shouldn’t be entertaining these thoughts about the woman living next door to where he was supposed to figure out how to grow hops. If he acted on his thoughts and it didn’t work out, it would be messy as hell. Better to keep his thoughts on the dog and his job.
The dog shook itself and covered Isla from top to toe in mud and water. Her laughter filled the barn and had the lab jumping up to plant his paws on her chest while he licked her face. She laughed again and rubbed his head.
And Levi wondered how the hell he was supposed to keep his thoughts and hands to himself.