Page 8 of A Field of Beauty

There’d been such a long waiting list for vendors at City Market that Tessa nearly gave up, but then she realized the horse trailer could solve that problem. They could park it along the road near the entrance of the farmers’ market and skip the waiting list. Skip the whole process of fitting into a market’s stiff requirements. Skip the costs too. And every penny mattered at Mountain Blooms Farm.

So on the way into town in Dawson’s pickup truck, with the converted horse trailer behind them, Tessa said, “I have an idea. Turn the horse trailer into an actual flower shop. Like, find a spot in town to set up a shop.”

“Maybe next year.”

Her insides smiled when he talked about next year’s plantings. There was always a hitch in her gut that he would leave, go find a job that paid well. She counted on him heavily, far more than she had expected and more than she wanted to admit. If or when he left Mountain Blooms Farm, she’d be in trouble. “Speaking of next year,” she said, “what do you think about adding wildflowers?”

One eyebrow arched in that wry Dawson way. “I think wildflowers are weeds.”

“Not at all! Do you know the difference between a weed and a wildflower?”

He didn’t answer.

“It’s whether someone wants it or not. Flowers are very subjective, you know.”

He scoffed.

“Here’s another idea. What do you think about starting a subscription service? To local residences?”

“And who would be delivering those boxes?”

Hmm. Tessa hadn’t thought about the delivery part. Maybe she could hire a part-time delivery guy. “And I’ve been thinking of moving up our timeline to buy a greenhouse.”

“The one we have works well enough.”

Yes and no. It was Tessa’s kitchen.

“But think of the benefits a real greenhouse could offer us. Early starts, more varieties. Overwintering. Endless possibilities.”

He didn’t respond. Dawson liked to act as if he wasn’t affected by flowers, that his only interest had to do with what nutrients they brought to the soil or took from it, but Tessa knew there must be something about flowers that touched his soul. Flowers had the ability to soften the hardest of hearts. Why else would he stay?

He glanced at her. “The plan was to turn a profit for three full months. We agreed. Nothing new until we stop running in the red.”

She pinched her thumb and index finger together. “We’re getting soooo close.”

“We’re not anywhere close to getting out of it.”

Please.Maybe the farm wasn’t exactly lucrative, but it wasn’t teetering on the brink of disaster. Closer to break-even. And there were some tax benefits to that, she had discovered. Like a big fat refund that she hadn’t expected to receive. Then, during a week in July, more money came in to Mountain Blooms Farm than went out. Ten whole dollars. She’d been doing the books and realized the profit, so she went straight out to the field to hand Dawson a crisp new five-dollar bill.

He’d been adding some fish emulsion to a few dahlias that had yellowing leaves, and it smelled to high heaven. He pulled off his gloves to take the bill from her. “What’s this for?”

“That, sir, is half of Mountain Blooms Farm’s first bona fide profit.”

To Tessa’s delight, Dawson let out a whoop! As he did, he stood up and knocked over the bucket of disgusting fish emulsion, splattering it all over the five-dollar bill ... and Tessa.

He froze. “Uh-oh.”

Fish emulsion looked and smelled disgusting, even more pungent because Dawson made it himself and it was fresh. He pulled off his bandanna to wipe drops of it from her face and looked so worried that she had to laugh. The last thirty seconds were the biggest display of emotion she’d ever seen in him!

She pushed his hand away. “I’m going in to take a shower and think of how I’m going to spend my five dollars.”

“Tessa.”

She turned.

“Congratulations.”

She smiled. “You too.”

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