Page 41 of Pick Your Spot

“Are you sure?”

A shadow passed over her face, but she smiled again. “A hundred percent sure.”

Something was going on with her. He’d have to dig into that when she arrived.

Amber spoke next. “I need to see more before I decide. I’m not sure I’m qualified to renovate, restyle, and run a B&B.”

They all laughed, and Burke spoke. “You’re more qualified than anyone I know. This sounds like the dream for you, Amber.”

She made some kind of noncommittal noise, and Knox wondered if he’d miscalculated. “I’ll send you all the things, Amber. Look, everyone. I don’t want to pressure you, but I have a great feeling about this place. It feels like home. I think you’ll all feel it, too. Wouldn’t it be great to have us all in one place, working on one project? Learning more about Jay and trying to figure out what went wrong between him and Fox?”

Everyone except Amber shared glances.

Taking a deep breath, he asked. “What do you think?”

The others looked to Burke. Amber waited quietly.

Burke turned his attention to everyone he could see. “We don’t have to make a firm commitment at this time. We can hang onto the farm and see how it goes. There’s enough money to cover taxes and some investments. We can reevaluate in six months.”

Knox’s heart leaped. “So?”

Burke shrugged. “Looks like we’re buying a Worminator.”

Thea wound the hose and returned it to the side of the shed. She hoped it wasn’t for one of the last times.

It was going to be a long night of wondering. She hoped Knox’s call with his family went well. He had organized a ton of data and taken a million photos.

Would that be enough to convince his family? Would anything? He was optimistic, but she wasn’t as sure. Optimism came with a heavy price if it turned out you were wrong.

Even before she’d met Knox, she’d wanted desperately to stay at the farm. Jay had become a friend rather than an employer. He’d wanted to spend time learning the seasons of the farm, but he’d had plans to expand. To grow.

Had some of those plans involved Knox and his siblings? Would Jay have contacted them if the heart attack hadn’t taken him first?

The farm was home. Her cabin was a safe haven, and Fox was nearby when she was lonely.

Now, Knox was part of it as well. Part of the feeling of home. Of rightness.

She had wanted to go slow with their physical relationship, but now it felt right. Completely right. Even thinking about sex had her body tingling in a way it never had before.

Their kisses the day before had her wanting more. Wanting it all. She felt safe with Knox. As if he liked who she was and who they were together.

That hadn’t happened in a while. Okay, that hadn’t ever happened.

She might be ridiculous thinking of a longterm future, but for the first time in her life, she was willing to take a chance on a man. A real chance.

Fox bounded out of the woods with a happy smile. She ruffled his fur. “I need to distract myself, Fox. Do you want to check out the pond with me? We can see if the trees are showing any signs of rot. I need to do some research on regenerating ponds. We need a clean and reliable water source for the lower part of the orchard.”

Over the years, the pond had become stagnant. There wasn’t an irrigation system back here so the trees had suffered more than the ones near the front.

Her cabin was the separating line and the wilderness was trying to take over. Cover crops had been replaced by weeds. The mature trees could handle some of that, but they weren’t thriving. Some buds, but not as many as she’d seen the previous year.

The back half of the property definitely needed more help than the front. With a Worminator, she could improve it all. It would take time to build up to the amounts they needed for the entire orchard, but if they worked section by section, it wouldn’t take long. And the Malssums would see the improvements, and believe in the potential.

Thea smelled the pond before she could see it. “It definitely needs some help, Fox. If we can fix this, it would help everything.”

The murky pond was lifeless and choked with weeds. Leaning against a tree, she looked and listened for wildlife but didn’t hear or see a thing. No songbirds back here or fish. It was sad.

“Big wish, number two. One step at a time. First, we need the Worminator. Actually, first, we need the Malssums to want the farm. Come on, I think I’ll make some tea.”

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