24. Hold My Beer
CHAPTER 24
Hold My Beer
H igh summer
Isla looked up at the painting on the barn. A few months before, she’d wondered if it had been painted with ego or love. Now, she figured it had to be love.
She never spent much time on an actual farm before arriving in Vermont. She’d devoted her schooling and adult life to plants but in a different way. The time she’d spent in labs and on research had given her a very different perspective from what farm life was like.
In reality, farming was hard work. Long days in whatever weather Mother Nature decided to throw your way.
It was also the most satisfying labor Isla had ever done. Watching Levi’s hops grow. Performing experiments in one of her four greenhouses. Tweaking soil acidity and playing with combining varieties was even more fun when she could see the results playing out in the fields next to her farm.
She turned to survey her own area, thinking of her mom as well as all the farmers and gardeners who’d come before. Along with her greenhouses, the yard was filled with plants. In rows, in pots, in planters.
Flowers mixed with vegetables and fruit bushes. Everywhere she turned, she saw memories of her mom and Constanza. And reminders of the man she loved. He’d helped her with every inch of the property, just as she’d helped him with his fields.
The tractor that had saved her from a serious fall had proven to be better suited for Levi’s hops. They’d opened a gate in the fence to allow equipment to pass through in either direction. While the gate made it easier, she still loved climbing over the fence, especially with Levi’s assistance. They’d shared a lot of good memories and moments on that fence.
And in that tractor as well.
That brought her eyes back to the painting. Ego or love? She supposed you had to have some ego to grow things. To believe you could feed your family and provide for yourself and others. But she’d learned that growing plants, whether they were hops or vegetables or flowers, was more about love than ego.
Every time she looked up at Farmer Phail on her barn, she’d remember that.
Strong arms wrapped around her and she leaned back into Levi’s strength. “Hey.”
“Hey, yourself. What are you contemplating out here in the dusk?”
She laid her arms over his. “Life. Farming. Mother Nature. Love.”
His chuckle had her smiling. “Feeling philosophical today?”
She nodded. “It’s a good life here. These farms, this land, these people.”
He hugged her more tightly. “It is.”
The fierceness of his answer had her turning to study him. “What is it?”
“I spoke to Marcus while I was helping Sean with that building he’s fixing up.”
Her body tightened. “Bad news?”
He kissed her forehead and pulled her close. “No. The opposite, actually.”
Relief had her body shuddering and leaning into him. “What is it?”
“Glen Hicks has changed his plea to guilty.”
That shocked her. “Seriously? Why?”
Levi shrugged. “I don’t know, but I’m betting it’s some kind of plea deal. Probably knew he was facing certain jail time and wanted to reduce the length of the sentence.”
Which meant he could come after her again sooner. But what would be the point? Her dad wouldn’t give him a single dollar after what he’d done.
She sighed. “I’m glad he’s pleading guilty, but it all seems like such a waste.”
“They made their choices.”
“I know, but I wish none of it had ever happened. With Ed already sentenced and now Glen pleading guilty, at least our part in it is pretty much over.”
He swayed with her in the deepening dusk, running his hands over her to remind her she was loved and safe.
“On a happier note, my dad and his attorney finished setting up the scholarships today.” Reg and Elaine were back in Texas but returned every few weeks for a visit. It was amazing to have him back in her life.
“What did he decide to do?”
When Isla had assured her father she had no desire to inherit his money, he’d asked her for help in deciding what to do with it. “He’s started scholarships at several Texas colleges for students who are from low-income families who want to study agriculture and eco-friendly sciences. I don’t understand the financial end of things, but he’s put a ton of money into investments that should keep the scholarships going for years. He’s going to make so many lives better.”
Levi chuckled again. “He’s made some huge turnarounds for a man who was so invested in appearances and gathering more and more money.”
She smiled as Levi turned the swaying into a dance. “He’s so different now. I love the changes, and I’m so glad I have a real dad now, and not just a father. I think Elaine is at the root of most of the changes.”
This time, the chuckle was an outright laugh. “Maybe at the beginning, but I know a certain gorgeous Glass Farmer with unshakable ethics who had something to do with that as well.”
That made her laugh, too. “Let’s call it a team effort.”
They kept dancing slowly through the gardens and the flowers as the dusk deepened into night. Hopper rose from the porch and stretched, then barked at them.
Levi kept moving. “Looks like our mutt wants his supper.”
When they didn’t immediately respond, Hopper bounced off the porch and came to check out their dance. He tried to worm his way between them and nearly sent Isla into a tumble. Of course, Levi didn’t let her fall.
In fact, he swooped her up into his arms, one of her favorite places to be, and headed for the cottage.
Isla patted Hopper’s head as he trotted along beside them. “Okay, buddy, we’ll get you fed.”
Levi kissed her head. “That too.”
She laughed. The man was insatiable, and she’d discovered she was as well. “You have a plan, do you?”
Levi grinned at her. “With you in those overalls? I always have a plan.”
L ate summer
Levi woke even earlier than normal. Today was the day. The first hops were ready to harvest.
He tried to slip out of bed, but Isla's hand rubbed over his chest. “Today’s the big day. You ready?”
“I feel like a six-year-old at Christmas.”
She laughed and kissed his chest before leaning up on her elbows to smile at him. “Then we’d better shower together to save time. Let’s go.”
After a shower that did not save them any time but ranked high on the list of best showers ever, they grabbed some apples and headed outside. Hopper had barely stirred from his bed.
The sun wasn’t showing above the horizon, but the light was brightening, showing the bines. Hard to believe they’d reached over twenty feet in a few months. They were laden with hops.
Each row held a different variety and would be ready to harvest at various times, giving them some time to breathe between the harvests. The hops at the top ripened more quickly with their better access to the sun, so each bine would have several harvest times as well.
For today, Levi would use a ladder and harvest the first crop of hops by hand. Eventually, he’d use the machines, but he wanted the thrill of the harvest the way his ancestors had before him. His parents had always harvested the first hour by hand to remind themselves of those who’d gone before, and he was going to honor that tradition.
They moved to the correct row with gloves, buckets, and the crazy-tall ladder. He set up the ladder and grinned at Isla. “Ladies first.”
She shook her head. “Not a chance. This is your baby. We checked out my greenhouse babies yesterday. Your turn.”
Throughout the season, they’d made adjustments based on Isla’s experiments, and they had pages of notes for more adjustments to be made the following year.
Unable to wait any longer, Levi donned his gloves and climbed. The hops were sticky, and the bines liked to scratch the unprepared.
At the top, he checked the cones. Faded green, with the tips starting to brown. He ripped open one and found the inside had turned a deep yellow, almost orange. Definitely ready to go.
He worked quickly and put the cones in the bucket he’d brought up with him. A couple of feet down, the hops weren’t as faded. He’d wait another day or two for them.
When he reached the ground, Isla was bouncing. Her smile was broad, and tears glimmered in her eyes. “You did it. Your first harvest. Your parents and grandparents would be so proud of you.”
Emotion clogged his throat, and he picked her up in a hug and squeezed her tightly. “I think they would be proud. And happy. Just like your dad is of you.”
Her laugh was watery as she squeezed him. “I think you’re right.”
For an hour, they climbed the ladder and picked the hops, filling more buckets than he’d expected. “I hope the rest of the team is figuring out the brewery.”
Isla frowned. “I hope so, too. I’d hate for these to go to waste.”
“They can be brewed fresh or dried first. We’ve been so busy here that I haven’t even checked in with the gang to see where they’re at with the brewery. We’ll assume they’ll have to be dried until we hear otherwise.”
He stopped her before she took her turn, climbing the next ladder. “We need to get married.”
Her peal of laughter filled him up even as he realized how he’d phrased it. Idiot. “That just popped out. I had a whole plan. It was supposed to be romantic.”
Isla threw her arms around his neck and reached up to kiss him. He lifted her up, and she wrapped her legs around his waist, muddy boots and all.
When she pulled back from the kiss, she smiled. “We’re in our happy place. Our field is filled with a crop we’ve grown together. A place where we can see our future. As settings go, it doesn’t get much more romantic than that.”
He had to agree, so he set her down on her feet and dropped to one knee. He took her hand, realizing he didn’t have the ring on him. “Isla Duggan. You’re the best and brightest person I know. I don’t want to do the rest of my life without you. Will you marry me?”
She dropped to her knees and kissed him again. “Yes. Always yes. I love you and want to marry you.”
And they sealed their vows as the rain started to fall. It was pretty damn perfect.
B onus Scene: Heath Wilcox
Heath yanked at the knot in his tie until it loosened. He didn’t mind them most of the time, but the thing felt like a noose today. A noose that was slowly draining the life right out of him.
He walked into his Boston condo and moved straight to his large picture window overlooking the historic Boston Harbor. Normally, the view helped him settle and gave him a connection to people, and the past.
Today, he didn’t feel any of that.
Restlessness filled him, and he wasn’t sure why. He was successful at his job. His condo was everything he’d thought he wanted. He helped start-up companies and invested his money wisely, which was a full-time job that produced amazing dividends.
But it didn’t have heart.
His favorite part was working with entrepreneurs with dreams. Big ones. People who saw outside the box and wanted to try something new. People with drive and passion for their projects.
At this age, he’d always assumed he’d be married and have a couple of kids running around. Or at least be thinking about it.
He wanted that life, but he’d never felt close enough to a woman to picture her in that life with him.
Except Addy. And she’d only been a girl when he’d last seen her. He’d been picturing forever with her, but she’d cut him out of her life when he’d joined the military.
Well, when he’d been forced to join it.
But the Army had been good for him. Taught him a lot of skills outside of the financial world that he’d grown up learning. He would never see eye to eye with his parents, but Gramps had been the one who impressed Heath. Gramps had served. Every male Wilcox had served.
But Gramps had also had a life. A woman he’d adored and treasured. Kids. Grandkids. He’d built that life with very little money to begin with and Heath wanted to use his financial know-how to help others, just like Gramps.
He wanted the rest, too.
Just not with any of the women who threw themselves his way. Some after his name, others after his money. None of them much interested in him.
Again, his thoughts drifted to Addy. What was she up to now? He didn’t like to picture her married to anyone else, which is why he’d never looked her up. She’d made it clear she didn’t want him in his life.
He just wished he knew why.