When I Fall In Love. Bridget Anderson

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СКАЧАТЬ get some cucumbers. I like them in my salad.”

      “Forrest, get your own cucumbers. We’re trying to show Tayler here how to pick beans. I may not have lived in the county for a while now, but I’m still a country girl.”

      Tayler compared the small amount of beans in her basket to the overflowing amount in Barbara’s. She had to admit she needed the help.

      “Honey, the truck’s not gonna be out here all day, so you need to pick faster. Here, let me show you how. Sit that basket down. You need both hands.”

      Tayler did as she was told, and in no time at all, her basket was overflowing as well.

      “Thank you. This is the first time I’ve ever picked anything.”

      “Fun, isn’t it?”

      Tayler glanced down at her dusty sneakers and dirty manicured nails. Hell, no, this isn’t fun. “I guess, yeah.”

      Barbara laughed. “Don’t worry, you’ll get the hang of it. Before you leave you’ll be a pro at picking beans and anything else you want to eat. Once we leave, I guess Rita or Kevin will ride out with you every day.”

      Tayler stopped in her tracks. “You have to do this every day?”

      “Sure, that’s what staying on an organic farm is all about. Everything’s fresh right from the garden. Wait until dinner tonight—you’ll see what I mean then.”

      Barbara picked up her basket and started walking away.

      “What if I’m not able to make it out here every morning?” Tayler asked. “Surely Rita will prepare something anyway.”

      “Maybe, but why wouldn’t you want to?” Barbara stopped and turned to face Tayler. “That’s what people stay here for, the holistic experience. Isn’t that why you’re here?”

      Holistic, as in back to nature, organic, oh, hell! Tayler gave a slow nod of her head. “Sure, it’s just some mornings I might be working, and I wondered how they’d handle that, you know. Let’s say I miss the truck or something.”

      “Don’t worry, I’m sure Rollin won’t let you starve,” Barbara responded with a laugh.

      “He just might,” Tayler mumbled, remembering how rude he’d been to her.

      “Honey, as pretty as you are, I wouldn’t be surprised if Rollin doesn’t offer to pick your food for you. I don’t know him that well, but I saw the way he looked at you this morning.”

      “What do you mean? How did he look at me?” Tayler asked, apprehensive about the answer.

      “Let’s just say I noticed him noticing you. That’s all. Come on, let’s go pick some blackberries—Rita promised me a cobbler after dinner.”

      After a brief stop back at the truck for a bottle of water and a new basket, Tayler tried to talk Barbara into letting her wait by the truck, but she wouldn’t hear of it.

      “If you’re going to be out here after we leave, you need to learn a thing or two,” she insisted. “Come on, city girl.”

      With the sleeve of her shirt, Tayler wiped the sweat from her brow and followed Barbara along a path that lead to blackberry bushes. Hot, tired and ready for a bath, Tayler could barely muster up the energy to pick berries.

      “Okay, honey, dig in. But be careful, they have thorns. And remember, the blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice,” she said with a laugh. “Oh, I love that saying.”

      Tayler chuckled and shook her head.

      “No, seriously, though, the blacker and plumper the berry, the better. The red or purple ones aren’t ripe yet, so leave them. And don’t be afraid to get under there and find them berries. They’re tough—you can’t hurt anything.”

      But my hands, Tayler thought. Then, she realized the sooner they had enough berries, the sooner they would be out of there, so she held back the thorns with one hand and plucked off berries with the other.

      A few minutes later, she moved down farther in search of more plump blackberries. She was starting to get the hang of it and had only been pricked by thorns twice. She crouched down when she saw a bunch of blackberries close to the ground. Careful this time, she pulled the thorns back with one hand and reached in with the other.

      Suddenly, a long black snake slithered from the open path, headed in her direction.

      “Ahh!” She screamed, jumped to her feet and ran as if her life depended upon it.

      Before she could catch her breath, she ran into a brick wall named Rollin.

      “Hey, what’s going on?” he asked as he reached out and caught Tayler by the arm.

      “A snake!” She flung her arms and looked back over her shoulder. “A snake attacked me back there. It crawled out from under the bushes and came right at me.” She shook her hands before brushing down her pant legs.

      “Did it bite you?” he asked.

      All she could do was shake her head.

      “How big was it?” he asked, holding her now with one arm around her shoulders to steady her.

      She took a deep breath. “I don’t know, it wasn’t too big, but it was a snake nonetheless. Yuck, I hate snakes.” She swatted at the crawling sensation going up her arm.

      “What color was it?”

      Now everything on her body itched, and Tayler pulled away long enough to shake her pant legs and notice the smirk on Rollin’s face. “I think it was black, or...what’s so funny? Are you laughing at me?”

      “No, of course not,” he said as he pointed behind her. “Is that it?”

      Without looking behind her, Tayler jumped and ran behind Rollin, and then glanced at the ground. She didn’t see anything.

      The roar of laughter caught her attention and she looked up at everyone in the truck bed having a good laugh at her expense.

      Rollin chuckled and held his hands up, palms out. “I’m sorry, that was mean. I shouldn’t have done it.”

      Barbara called out, trying not to laugh, “Tayler, we’re sorry, but it was only a small garden snake. It won’t hurt you.”

      With her arms crossed, Tayler glared at Barbara and the crew. “It was a snake, that’s all I know, and I don’t do snakes.”

      “Occasionally, a little snake crawls under the bushes looking for a nice warm bed. Come show me where you saw it.” Rollin touched Tayler’s elbow, edging her back down the path.

      Arms crossed, she stood rooted to her spot. “I’m not going back down there. I told you, I don’t do snakes.”

      Kevin walked up. “Is she okay?” he asked Rollin.

      “Yeah, she’ll be fine.”

      “It was probably СКАЧАТЬ