8. A Thorn In My Side
CHAPTER 8
A Thorn In My Side
I t was hours before Tansy and Sam left. Now, there were cameras in Isla’s barn as well as around her cottage. Besides the lab where she’d worked, she’d never been around security cameras. She felt awkward and stilted even though she knew no one was sitting around watching her.
She expected Levi to head back to his farm after the others left, but he stood with Marcus beside her cottage, waiting for her after she saw her friends off.
Straightening her shoulders, she walked back to the pair. “How about some lunch? It’s past time to eat, and I think there’s enough in the fridge.” At some point, she’d have to go into town and shop. And deal with people. Never her strong suit.
Without waiting for an answer, Isla unlocked the door to the mudroom and walked inside. She toed off her wellies and slid on the moccasins Tansy had left for her.
There were enough fixings for sandwiches, so she pulled everything out and set it on the counter. She knew Marcus had questions and figured it was better to get that started. “Go ahead and ask your questions, Deputy. I’d rather keep busy while I answer but help yourselves to something to drink.”
Levi waved Marcus to the table and went about getting the drinks.
Marcus nodded. “I know this is invasive and uncomfortable. I’m only asking to see if I can help keep you safe. If you don’t feel comfortable answering anything, say so.”
She found the serrated knife in the drawer and nodded. “Okay.”
“Tell me about your life before you moved up here.”
Straight to the heart of the matter. “Since grad school, I’ve worked at Future 4 Us Labs in Texas. It’s a lab where scientists focus on improving food quality and quantity around the world. Things like creating drought-resistant grains and rice blends that can grow in harsh climates. Getting plants to produce food more quickly and produce more nutrients. The lab wants to create foods that can deal with shorter growing seasons and different climates. With climate change, it’s important to adapt.”
Levi put three glasses of water on the table and filled Hopper’s water bowl before coming to lean against the counter near her. “That’s impressive, Isla. I had no idea.
Marcus nodded. “It is. Please continue.”
She’d been rambling because she didn’t want to talk about the rest. Better to get it out quickly. “Thanks. I’d been working on drought-resistant wheat most recently. I worked in a lab with controlled climate features, and I was making good progress. I thought I was close to having a reliable sample to test in real-world conditions.”
She took a deep breath and sliced some pickles. “One day, I arrived at work and found my data had been changed. To make a sordid story short, another scientist had stolen my data. He made himself a copy, then made critical changes to my data, leaving me with a strain of wheat that wouldn’t feed a mouse.”
The men were quiet, so she kept talking. “It took a few days to uncover what had happened. My boss finally figured it out when this colleague came to her with his progress update, saying he’d tried a new angle. She recognized my work and fired him. Ed had a lot of friends at the lab and the rumors flew around like mosquitos. He’d told them all that I’d set him up and got him fired. It made for an uncomfortable work atmosphere, so I quit.”
She heard Levi’s soft growl and managed a wry smile. “Until this morning, I thought Vermont was the right move.”
Marcus tapped his pen on the table. “It was the right move. We’ll figure out if this ladder incident was aimed at you. If it was, we’ll stop him, and you can settle in. This is a great place to be, and we don’t want to see you go.”
That warmed her heart, but it was Levi’s nod and Damn right that made her smile.
Marcus made notes while she piled the sandwiches on a plate. When she brought it over to the table, Levi made quick work of cleaning up the ingredients and stowing everything in its proper place. The man was both observant and thoughtful.
Marcus smiled at her. “Thanks, Isla. Why don’t we take a break while we eat?”
She shook her head. “I’d rather keep going, if you don’t mind. That way, it’s over, and I can shove it all back inside a box, and continue refusing to think about them all.”
Marcus grinned. “Okay then. How about your family? Did they help you out after the mess at the lab?”
“I don’t have much family left, and haven’t spoken to either my father or cousin in years. Although my cousin sends me emails every once in a while.”
Marcus’ eyes sharpened. “Who is the cousin, and what does he email about?”
She shrugged. “I never open them. The only time Glen communicates is when he wants something or has a way to use someone for his own gain. He’s a slimy sycophant, and the less contact I have with him, the better.”
Both men grinned at her, and Marcus turned to Levi. “Remind me not to get on her bad side.”
Levi nodded and squeezed Isla’s hand. “Good choice to not even open the email. When was the most recent contact?”
She shrugged. “A few weeks ago.”
Marcus leaned back in his chair. “Any idea what he might want from you?”
This part was difficult, but she worked to keep her tone steady. “My father owns an oil company with an oil field and a couple of oil rigs. When we were growing up, Glen always found reasons to drop by the house if my father was in town. He imitated everything my father did and said. Tried to be the same kind of man.”
Levi had kept a hold of her hand, stroking his fingers over hers in a mindless pattern. Although she didn’t think it was mindless at all. He was offering comfort, and it was helping.
“And what kind of man is that?” Marcus asked.
She sighed and kept her eyes on the table. “Rich. Self-important. All about appearances, with nothing of substance underneath. My father preferred to live in San Antonio instead of the home on the oil field. My mother died when I was young, and I didn’t see him much after that.”
She’d always wondered what her mother had seen in the man or if her mother’s death had changed him that drastically.
Marcus’ question was soft. “You haven’t spoken with him in a long time?”
“Not since I was eighteen. He had been paying for my tuition but discovered I switched from studying business to botany and agriculture. I showed him the impact his business has on the planet. He said he wasn’t paying for nonsense, and if I didn’t change back to a business focus, I had twenty-four hours to be out of the house. And I’d be out of the will.”
Levi’s hand tightened on hers. When she looked up, he was smiling at her. “And you finished your degree and chose your own path. Good for you.”
He’d made it a statement, not a question. He believed in her, something her father had never done. She smiled back despite the emotions brought on by digging up the past. “I almost sent him a copy of my Master’s of Agriculture Degree.”
He smiled. “And now, instead of working with fossil fuels, you work to improve the planet and the lives of the people on it. You’re pretty spectacular, Isla Duggan.”
She felt her cheeks flush again at the praise. With an effort, she firmed her lips and kept the tears from spilling from her eyes.
After a moment, Marcus tapped his pen again. “Would your cousin think you’ve got access to your father’s money? Are you sure he disinherited you?”
She shook her head. “My father was very vocal about no longer having a daughter. I’m sure Glen slid right into his pocket, and is now the one who stands to inherit the money. At the time, he’d started working for RD Oil. I assume he’s wormed his way to an important position, but I’ve never bothered looking him up.”
Marcus nodded. “I’ll check into it. If he contacts you again, will you let me know?”
She nodded. Having all of her embarrassing secrets out in the world was weird. She’d always kept her business to herself, but neither man looked at her differently.
Well, that wasn’t entirely true. Levi was looking at her with more warmth than ever. And her heart might have fallen a little bit further.
L evi was impressed as hell at how Isla handled the questions Marcus had thrown at her. Her fingers had trembled and color had sat high in her cheeks. But she’d calmly told them about her past with enough detail for Marcus to dig up whatever else he needed.
She hadn’t cried, hadn’t balked at sharing her past. Nor had she hesitated when Levi stayed in the room. He hadn’t asked, figuring if she wanted privacy, she would say so.
Hopper leaned his bulk into her side as they watched Marcus drive away. The man even laughed when the dog had chosen his tire as the perfect spot to relieve his bladder.
The kitchen was already clean, and Levi figured Isla could use a break from the stress of the morning.
He took her hand and tugged until she walked along beside him to the area behind the cottage where her greenhouse was still laid out. “Why don’t we get started on this?”
Eyes wide, she looked up at him, and he could see the confusion in her eyes. “I think you’ve wasted enough of your day on me. You have your own projects. I’m sorry I messed up your day.”
He turned to fully face her and put his hand under her chin, hoping she wouldn’t turn away from him. “Spending time with you is the opposite of a waste. The whole you might be in danger thing isn’t great, but I was looking for an excuse to come over to see you this morning. I figured checking on Hopper here was a good enough reason.”
Her cheeks flushed, and the confusion in her eyes disappeared. “Checking on Hopper works for me.” Then she smiled up at him. “But you don’t need an excuse. You’re always welcome.”
He grinned. “Good to know.” He moved his thumb up to swipe over her lips. They opened and her soft exhale had goosebumps lifting on his skin.
He moved his eyes up to hers and then back to her mouth. When he looked again, her pupils had dilated, and then her tongue darted out to touch his thumb.
Hell, yeah.
Levi leaned down slowly, giving her ample time to change her mind and hoping she wouldn’t. When he hesitated before closing the distance, she rose on her toes and did it herself.
He lowered his hands and managed to keep them on her waist and not reach around to her ass. Not yet, anyway.
Heat shot through him like he was on the wrong end of a cattle prod. Except this was a good heat. All-consuming heat.
Levi wanted to devour her as he watched her slowly dissolve into a pool of pleasure. He wanted to kiss her until that haunted look in her eyes never had a chance to return. And then he wanted, needed, to kiss her some more.
His hands drifted under her flannel shirt and then under the hoody she wore under that. The next layer was overalls, and it made him grin.
Spring weather didn’t stand a chance of getting through his sprite’s layers.
Levi forced his hands to stop roaming and slowed the kiss. They were in the middle of a field, and he wasn’t going to strip her naked out here when there was a potential threat aimed her way. That could be a reward once they eliminated the threat.
He rested his forehead against hers and worked to settle his breathing and his heart rate. “You make me forget myself, Isla.”
Her lips tilted up. “I hope that’s a good thing.”
In answer, he kissed her again. “A very good thing.”
Isla ran her hands up his chest. She kept them on top of his t-shirt but under his flannel jacket. While her fingers drifted across his torso, she leaned up to kiss him lightly. “I’ve been dying to do that for a while now.”
“Me too. Consider this your invitation to do it any time you’d like.”
She laughed. “That sounds wonderful.”
It did. And he realized he’d totally thrown out his rule about not messing around with his neighbor. His head was chock full of the various ways he could mess around with her, and he was constantly adding more.
But not today. Not after the morning she’d had.
Levi wrapped his arms around her and breathed in the scent of her shampoo. Something light but flowery. Subtle.
Her hands moved to wrap around his waist, and she held on. He didn’t know if he’d ever stood with a woman and just hugged her with no intention of having sex. It was nice. “You okay?”
She nodded immediately into his chest.
“You know it’s okay to not be okay, right?”
A soft sigh reached his ears. “I know. But I want to be okay. Mostly, I like to shove the bad stuff in a box and hide it in the back of my head. Taking it out and talking about it is hard.”
He nodded. “You were great today. Strong and steady. Hopefully, we’ll find out who’s behind this ladder business pretty quick.”
“I hope so.”
“For now, why don’t we start building your greenhouse?”
“You don’t have to help with that.”
He rolled his eyes. “So you’ve said. But I want to. I want to spend time with you and get to know you. You okay with that?”
She leaned back and studied him with serious eyes. “I’m very okay with that. I want to know more about you as well. But I don’t want to pull you away from what you need to do with your place. Don’t you have to prep your fields for your hops?”
He shrugged. “Maybe. I don’t know enough yet. It’s no big deal if I don’t get a crop in this year. I might already be too late. And if I’m not, another day isn’t going to matter. It’ll give the fields another day to dry out enough to till.”
Her smile was a big reward. “Okay, but when you need help, I will pay you back. I don’t know anything about hops either, but I do know about helping things grow outside of their normal climate.”
Her head tilted to the side, and her eyes got a faraway look for a moment. When she blinked, her smile widened. “In fact, let’s make this the job of the first greenhouse. Normally, I work in climate-controlled greenhouses. They imitate the climates of various countries with issues feeding their people. I’m unsure how to seal up a greenhouse without using plastics, so hops will be a perfect plant to practice on. That way, the climate is actual Vermont, and we can try different varieties for you to use.”
His heart swelled at her desire to help him. “It’s not exactly feeding the hungry.”
“No, but I’ll do that too. And we can bounce ideas off of each other. This will be fun.”
He didn’t think she’d had enough fun in her life, and if this hops project was bringing her the joy dancing in her eyes? “I’m in.”
And then he had to kiss her again.