Page 21 of Crew

He gently brushed the dirt away with his thumb and gave her a kiss. “How’s it going?”

“Great, Dexter’s going to draw up plans for the tea garden, and we should be able to get it going in the next week. I’m really excited.”

“Me too. I can’t wait to try some tea from herbs grown in our territory. Speaking of territory,” he said, “I’m going on the fence walk to make sure everything’s in order. Would you like to join me?”

“Absolutely.”

The paper sack tucked under his arm crinkled a little and if Zara heard it, she didn’t let on. He took her hand and they walked to the main split-rail fence that ran along the fields and clearing. Every day he inspected the fence so when they let the livestock out to graze other areas, they didn’t have to worry about anyone escaping.

As they walked, he handed her the paper sack.

“What’s this?” she asked, peeking inside.

“I saw it at the farm store this morning and thought of you.”

She pulled out a paperback book about foraging in New Jersey. It came with a log book to keep track of what was found and the location.

“Oh, Crew!” She stopped and threw her arms around him. “This is so sweet, thank you!”

He chuckled and kissed her, loving how it felt to hold her in his arms. “You’re very welcome. I know you can easily look things up online, but this way you have a book to get you started.”

“This is so cool, I can’t wait to read it.”

She beamed at him and he felt ten feet tall.

She put the book back in the paper sack and tucked it under her arm. They talked about what she wanted to plant in the tea garden, and what she’d need to dry the herbs, flowers, and other things, especially now that she had a forager’s guide and would know what to look for. He had no idea that drying foraged and garden plants was so involved. It was genuinely fascinating.

They stopped so he could inspect a section of fencing, and she leaned on a nearby rail and watched. “Oh!”

She ducked under the rail and walked toward the woods.

“What? See something interesting?”

“Yes, wild blueberries! Holy crap, this territory is amazing! Oh, I wish I had a basket.”

He pulled his shirt over his head and joined her, making a makeshift carrier.

“They’ll stain the fabric,” she said as she pulled a large berry off the plant and offered it to him.

It was sweet with just the slightest bit of refreshing tartness. “I don’t mind, it’s a work shirt and they’re meant to get dirty.”

He put the shirt on the ground and helped her pick the fruit. Tris had never really foraged. She knew about the blackberries because they were so close to the main house, but as far as he knew, she’d never explored the territory.

When they’d finished gathering the blueberries, he loosely tied the shirt into a bundle and carried it with them. By the time they got back to the house, they were both sweating from the sunshine and heat, and he was thankful the farmhouse had air-conditioning.

“There you are!” Ford yelled, waving his arm.

His expression concerned Crew. He glanced at Zara and they both jogged over to him at the barn. “What’s wrong?”

“You didn’t answer your phone; we’ve got a problem.”

Crew patted his pockets and pulled out his phone, seeing the notifications on the screen. “I’m sorry, I never turned the ringer back on after I got up this morning. What’s going on?”

Ford walked into the barn where they kept their machinery and vehicles and without needing to be told, Crew could see that the vehicles had been tampered with. The tires on the machinery and vehicles were slashed, and the ones without tires had been busted up—gears and chains pulled out, canvas torn, fluids leaking from puncture holes.

“Shit. What the hell? We’ve got motion cameras on the barns, how did this happen?”

Grey walked into the barn carrying one of the motion cameras. “They tampered with them, and unfortunately, we didn’t get ones that were sophisticated enough to warn us when they were messed with. I watched the footage and they put tape over the lenses without setting them off.” He ripped off what looked like painter’s tape from the lens.

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