Seasons of Love (10 page)

The door stuck as she tried to plow through, bruising her arm and shoulder. She hurried across the circular drive between the house and the small office, then thrust the door open to confront Zane.

He stood behind the desk, opening the new laptop. When he saw Riley, he smiled and held out his arms as if showing off the fruit of his labor. “For you.”

As she scanned the small room, she was speechless. The entire office appeared clean, swept, and polished. Even the outdoors appeared brighter through the sparkling windows. Though the cardboard boxes remained, they’d been re-positioned in an out-of-the-way part of the room. Each corner of each box appeared perfectly aligned. The desktop held no scattered, waiting-to-be-filed papers.

Her mouth dropped open.

“It’s—it’s truly amazing.” Riley placed both of her hands on her head, scrunching her hair between her fingers. Relief swept though her in the form of sheer pleasure. “So this is why you were here in the middle of the night?” She frowned, remembering she’d been quick to judge him.

“I couldn’t sleep. And, well… please don’t take this wrong, but I couldn’t stand the thought of facing this disorganized office another day. Now we’re good to go. I wanted to research for the business plan today, but something else has come up.” He looked down at the keyboard and began typing while he stood.

She strolled to the desk, disappointed. “You’re leaving? You just got here.” Embarrassment flooded her at her words. She’d sounded too needy. “I understand, though. You probably have plenty of other things to do.” She hoped she was wrong.

“I’m not leaving—just have to take care of a few other things first.”

An image of Chad and Grandpa flashed across her mind. “I almost forgot, I left Chad with Grandpa for a few minutes. He said he had things to do, so I don’t want to leave him too long. I’ve got to go.”

Zane stared intently at the computer screen without responding. Riley wasn’t sure if he was listening as she said, “I want to be involved in everything to do with the farm, but I really need to go grocery shopping. So I hope there’s nothing you need me for this morning.”

She crept backward, figuring his mind was focused on something other than her.

Without looking up from the computer screen, he said, “Wait up. I’ll go with you.”

Flabbergasted, Riley hesitated before responding. “You’re going grocery shopping with me? What on earth for?”

He closed the laptop and rounded the desk. “Actually, I need to get some sort of work clothes. I thought we could do that, too.”

His words continued to stun her. “Farm work clothes?”

“That’s right. Remember I said I was willing to get my hands dirty? Well, I can’t do that in these clothes.” He motioned to his green polo shirt and pale slacks. “Isn’t there a farm supply store where I can purchase the appropriate clothing?”

“Like a pair of overalls and a plaid shirt?” Riley smiled at him and nodded. He continued to surprise her, thrill her. “Sure, come on. We’ll go to Carver Farm and Pet Supply. Grandpa has always gotten his work clothes there. I used to love to go there with him as a child. It’s a great place to chat with the locals, too.”

Riley and Zane pulled into Sanderford Cranberry Farms after several hours of running errands. She unbuckled Chad from his car seat and detached it from Zane’s vehicle while he opened the trunk and removed plastic grocery bags. The items he’d purchased today would allow him to work in the field without concern. She smirked at the thought, thinking she would believe it when she saw it. Zane was the ultimate professional, and he looked the part. Yet she couldn’t believe how rugged and handsome he appeared after he’d changed into his work boots and jeans.

By the time she’d ushered Chad to the doorstep, Zane was back outside for more of the groceries. He stared into the distance toward the cranberry fields as he strolled to the car. She laughed at his eagerness to work with his hands. When everything had been unloaded, Zane hurried back to the office and Riley worked to tidy the kitchen.

Just as she finished putting away the groceries, Zane rushed in and grabbed her arm. “Come on. I want to show you something.”

The excitement on his face made her curious, but Chad’s eyes were drooping. She gave him a regretful frown and said, “I’m sorry, but it’s going to have to wait. The little guy needs a nap.”

“No, you can bring him, too. Put him in the stroller.” The man was as giddy as a child.

Riley strapped a sleepy Chad into the jogger, and they headed toward the cranberry beds. When they cleared the two large maples that hid their view of the crop, Riley saw her grandfather’s dozer pull to a halt in one of the new beds. She gasped and covered her mouth.

“They brought it this morning while we were shopping. See, that’s your grandfather working the thing. I told him not to mention we expected it today so that it would be a surprise.”

In her excitement, Riley started running with the jogger. Zane kept up with her though he wore new work boots. Gravel crunched behind them, and they skirted the road to allow a truck pulling a trailer heaped with loam to pass.

“Zane, I don’t know what to say to you. How?”

His grin spread from ear to ear. “I made phone calls on my cell on the drive to and from the farm. It’s amazing how much work you can get done that way. I scheduled for the loam to be delivered—after the dozer, of course.”

“No, I mean—and don’t take this wrong—but what about the money?”

Zane stopped Riley and turned her to face him. He stuck his hands into his pockets and stared at something in the distance. “Because I’m no longer paying your brother a salary, I’m funneling it into the farm instead. I’ll work it out on paper. I know this is what he would have wanted.”

Riley swallowed the lump emerging in her throat, uncertain about Zane’s decision to put his money into the farm.

His expression became serious, his eyes penetrating as he looked at her. “Don’t worry about me, Riley. I have income from other investments, and I’d set aside money for my enterprise with John. Cranberry farming is a minor detour. You can consider me a venture capitalist, if you want—I’m investing in Sanderford Cranberry Farms.”

She nodded her acceptance. When they made it to the newly dozed bed, Grandpa climbed out of the huge machinery, smiling bigger than she’d seen him since she moved here.

For the next several weeks, Zane labored with Riley and her grandfather on the cranberry farm, preparing the new beds while caring for the established crop. They finished by adding a layer of peat and topping it with six inches of sand. Cranberry vine cuttings were spread then plowed into the soil with a harrow. The newly planted beds were then irrigated. By the end of July, all that remained to do until the harvest was to weed, mow the dikes, and watch for pests.

It was laborious, but Zane had never been happier in his entire life. Working with his hands had a therapeutic effect on his body, ridding him of stress. Though he’d planned to create a business plan for the farm, he and Riley decided that, given the fact the growing season was upon them, it was more effective and morale boosting for everyone, especially her grandfather, to see progress through planting new beds. There would be plenty of time once that was done to work on expanding even more, maybe diversifying into other crops. Robert Sanderford had plenty of acreage for that.

Zane worked the farm during the day, spending any extra time with Riley and Chad, then devoted his evenings to going over the computer programs and files, looking for a clue that would point him to the decryption key—the only thing that could decode John’s encryption algorithm. Though the police had apprehended the electronics thieves, Zane’s computers were not in the hoard of stolen property, and the case remained open. Since they had exhausted all leads, the investigation had stalled. And still, the mystery surrounding John’s death remained.

As the end of September neared and the time to harvest the cranberries grew closer, Zane walked across the dike, watching the sprinklers jet water over the growing plants, and he couldn’t help but think about his budding relationship with Riley. He connected with her in a way he couldn’t explain. Her inner strength drew him. Her sense of humor helped him to laugh at himself.

Since he’d arrived to help at the farm, he’d watched new growth appear on the vines, elongating the stems covered in leaves. Eventually, pink and white flowers had given way to tiny green pinheads. Now as he scanned the beds overflowing with the ripened berries, he hoped that his blossoming relationship with Riley would also bear fruit.

But he’d kept something hidden from her. The heaviness pressed down on him, drowning him in a bog of guilt. He shook his head. If he wanted to build a lasting relationship, he’d have to construct it on a strong foundation. He needed to tell her the truth.

A gusty breeze bathed him with water droplets from a nearby sprinkler, and he took a deep, calming breath. Somehow the fresh air and sunshine made all his problems seem smaller, less pressing. His mind was clearer, more astute now than it had ever been. What did he really know anyway? John and his wife had died in a car accident. Someone had stolen his computers. Could the two incidents be unrelated? He could have only thought he saw someone lurking at the office and overreacted. He had nothing to go on and knew that if it weren’t for the peace he felt working on the farm, he would have gone crazy with the effort of wondering if John’s past had ensnared him once again, leading to his death. Zane could know nothing for certain until he found the key.

More than anything he wanted to move past his mistakes, his paranoia. He needed to tell Riley the truth. She’d placed more pictures with Bible verses on the walls of the office. Her faith was a strong and important part of her life, so he’d read the verses and thought about them. The latest one was his favorite. The scripture said there was a time for everything. He allowed the verse to linger in his mind….
A time to plant and a time to harvest.
A few of the words resounded in his thoughts….
A time to love and a time to hate.
He hoped for the former rather than the latter when he told her the truth.

“Zane!” Riley waved her arms from the road and sauntered toward him. As he watched her slim body maneuver the dikes with grace, he wondered if working on the farm had been the therapy, or if working with Riley was the real reason for his contentment.

He strolled toward her to meet her halfway. It was time to tell Riley the truth.

Riley studied Zane as he headed toward her across the dike. It amazed her to see the transformation that had taken place in him over the last several weeks. He’d replaced his business suits with work jeans and shirts, but the change had penetrated deeper than just the clothes on his back.

As he approached with a gleaming smile that appeared to go to the depths of his soul, he tried to avoid one of the far-reaching sprinklers by running. He ended up thrusting his arms in a defensive posture as he passed the onslaught, getting sprayed anyway. His laughter resounded in her ears, making her heart skip. She licked her dry lips and reached for the ointment in her pocket.

Zane came to stand before her, stuck his hands in his pockets, and grinned down at her. “What’s up?”