Something About You. Bridget Anderson

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СКАЧАТЬ eyes widened. He had to be one of the most attractive men she’d ever seen. She stopped what she was doing. “I’ll be right back,” she said to the guests on the truck before hurrying up onto the porch. Her family was acting starstruck and embarrassing the hell out of her. She had to end this, and quickly.

      “Hello, Mr. Parker.” She gave him a curt smile and extended her hand.

      “Hello, Ms. Coleman. I thought I’d take you up on your invitation,” he said as he accepted her hand with a firm shake. “You remember my brother, Brandon? And this is his friend, Trey.”

      Kyla smiled and shook their hands. Both claimed Miles had dragged them to Danville so early this morning they were just now realizing what was going on. She’d figured as much, from their skinny jeans and bright shirts.

      She turned back to Miles. “Well, I didn’t expect you but—” she glanced over at her family checking out the pictures on their phones “—welcome to the Coleman Farm. I hear you signed up for the tour this morning?”

      Miles rubbed his palms together in an eager gesture. “Yes, ma’am, I’m interested in your program. So I thought I’d come out and see you in action.”

      For some reason Kyla wanted to blush. She bit her lip and nodded to keep from looking stupid.

      “Okay you two, give me a smile.” Tracee jumped in front of them with her phone, poised to take a picture.

      Suddenly Miles threw his arm around Kyla’s shoulder and leaned in like they were old friends. She smiled and tried not to look mortified by the fact that her body tingled all over.

      “Got it.”

      Miles removed his arm, and Kyla took a deep breath. She nodded toward her family. “I hope you don’t mind the pictures. They got to you before I could ask.”

      He shook his head. “Not at all. I’m used to it.”

      “Thank you.”

      She then escorted her remaining guests out to the truck. She couldn’t keep the self-satisfied grin from her face.

      These boys have no idea what they’re about to get into.

      * * *

      During the ride out to the green fields, everyone was pretty quiet as they listened to Kyla’s pitch about healthy organic eating. She’d chosen the green fields because Rita wanted to serve collard greens for dinner, and they were pretty easy to pick. Every guest was given a basket and a pair of shears. The older guests loved picking the greens and shared stories with Kyla of younger days when they grew vegetables in their yards.

      Kyla walked over to Brandon and Trey, who seemed to be picking anything they saw. “You don’t want that one,” she instructed and took a bunch from Brandon’s hand. “See the blemishes on the leaves? No good. You only want greens with no blemishes or withering. These are pretty young, tender greens so you won’t find too many bad ones, but skip this one.”

      “This is the first time they’ve ever picked a bunch of greens that wasn’t already bagged up in the grocery store,” Miles said as he joined them.

      “Huh, I’ve never picked up a bunch in the grocery store, either,” Brandon said.

      “Well, there’s a first time for everything, isn’t there?” Miles asked.

      Brandon shrugged and looked at Trey before they reluctantly continued picking greens.

      “I thought you were in the food processing business?” Kyla asked. “You guys have never worked a farm before?”

      Miles held up his basket full of greens. “Oh, I have. But it’s an introduction for these city boys. I’m trying to teach them a thing or two today.” He glanced around. “You have an abundance of greens here. Are all those rows over there greens, as well?”

      Kyla looked in the direction he was pointing. “Yes, they are. We have rows of mustard and turnip greens, and kale, as well.” When she turned back around, Miles gave her a smile that was disarmingly charming. Her pulse quickened. Damn, he’s good-looking. She forced her thoughts back to the task at hand.

      After the greens they went to pick peppers and then tomatoes before finishing up in the cherry orchard. At every stop, Kyla found herself strolling along talking to Miles.

      “Now I wish I could stick around for dinner tonight. Looks like it’s going to be good. And I don’t know when I’ve had a homemade cherry pie.” Miles plucked a cherry from the tree and popped it into his mouth. “Um, these are sweet.”

      Thank God he’s not sticking around. “Yeah, what Aunt Rita does with these cherries is amazing. Sorry you’ll miss out, because as I was saying on the ride over, the cherries are only around to harvest for about two weeks. They’re a big hit at the farmers market, and cherries without pesticides—even bigger. People know they’re getting quality fruit when they purchase from us.” She set her heavy bucket down and dropped the cherries in.

      “But how do you keep the bugs off without pesticides? That’s not a crop you can produce successfully every year, is it?” He bent over and dumped her cherries into his bucket, handing her the empty, lightweight bucket.

      “Bugs aren’t a problem, but birds are. So we’ve planted a few mulberry trees to draw them away from the cherry trees. For a successful production it’s all in the soil, and its very labor intensive. These trees are planted on the highest point of the farm with plenty of drainage and good soil depth. The fruit tree roots need water-holding capacity.”

      “Sounds like you know your fruit trees.”

      She nodded. “I do, but the farm specializes in vegetables, so we only plant a few fruits. Mind if I ask what your company’s interest is in organic foods?” Kyla asked. “Your presentation seemed to center around how you shipped overseas.”

      “That’s not all we do. My partner and I are committed to ending world hunger. We raise money for various groups and take on pet projects from time to time. We started by working on sustainable self-help solutions in third world countries to fight hunger. I’m proud to say we do a lot of good work. ‘Think globally, not just locally’ is our motto.”

      “Yes, I remember you saying that during your presentation, as well. I’ve always liked, ‘Each one, teach one,’ so I guess you can say that’s my motto.”

      Kyla held her chin high unable to keep the self-satisfied smile from her lips. She wanted Miles to know he wasn’t the only one proud of the fruits of his labor. She had a catchphrase of her own. He nodded slowly while holding his bottom lip between his teeth. The look took her breath away.

       Chapter 4

      After spending the morning in the hot sun, the truck returned to the B and B, where Kevin and Kyla carried the guests’ baskets in to Rita. A few of the guests chose to return to their rooms. Those who had signed up for Kyla’s workshop waited for her on the front porch.

      When Kyla stepped onto the porch, she thanked everyone and then led them to her workshop. Rollin had built Kyla an open-air classroom down the hill from the gift shop. A path led to the gazebo-like structure with mismatched seating that СКАЧАТЬ