Page 49 of Love Off-Limits
“Now turn to the right and take a few steps, now shift...”
She slowly nudged me forward until her hands tightened on my arms and a new breeze brushed across my face.
“Okay. Now, open your eyes.”
“Wow,” I whispered, almost reverently. In front of me, the trees parted, revealing an all-encompassing view of Stonebrook Farm. I could see the rolling hills of the apple orchards off to the left, the rich green pastures where the goats grazed on the right. The farmhouse was just visible, peeking out from in between layers of rolling hills. Beyond the farm, the mountains continued as far as I could see, rolling gently into each other and blending into the sky. Everything looked lush and green and fullyalive.
“This is why people book so far out in advance. No place else has views like this.”
“I get it.” I suddenly itched for my camera, for some means to capture the beauty in front of me. I at least had my phone. I shifted Penelope so I held her under one arm and pulled it out. I started recording, moving the shot slowly across the full expanse of the view. “I don’t think I’ll be able to work in the orchard again without feeling tempted to come up here,” I said, my camera still running.
“I never get tired of it,” Olivia said. “It’s gorgeous in the fall too, when all the leaves are changing colors. And when it snows.”
Olivia faced the view, her expression peaceful. Slowly, not wanting to alarm her, I shifted the camera to her. “Being up here reminds me of the magic of this place,” she said. “Of the bounty. The land gives us so much, and we’re lucky to have the opportunity to be stewards of such a gift, lucky that we have the opportunity to share it with our community.”
She finally glanced my way, and her eyes went wide. “Are you recording me?”
I shrugged and smiled even as I stopped the recording and slipped my phone back into my pocket. “It’s a shame I don’t have a nicer camera. That was promotional gold if I’ve ever seen it.”
“Is that where you intend to use your skills? Advertising?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. Definitely not traditional advertising. I want to tell stories. But maybe sharing a place’sstory,its history?” I shrugged. “Could be great marketing.”
“I think I thought cameramen just did that. Held the camera while someone said action and then...” She shrugged. “I don’t know. But what you’re talking about sounds like a lot more than that.”
“Even in traditional camera work, it’s never quite as simple asjustholding the camera. But yeah. What I’d like to doisa little more creative. It’s the editing part, too.”
She turned to face me, stepping around a boulder and landing close enough for me to see the deep green of her eyes, the way it matched the moss covering the ground around us. “I love that,” she said, her voice low. “I’mexcited for you.”
Had I not been holding Penelope, concerned about her frolicking her way off the side of the mountain, I would have pulled Olivia into my arms instead. I knew what it felt like to hold her, to feel her hands pressed against my chest. I knew the taste of her lips, how soft the skin was just below her earlobe. “Thanks,” I said, my eyes locked on hers. I reminded myself—again—of the boundaries she’d asked me to respect.
It would be a lot easier to do if the look in her eyes didn’t say she wanted me as much as I wanted her.
“Come on,” she finally said, taking a step away. “We probablyshouldget the milk inside.”
We walked back to the gator and climbed in, and I passed Penelope back to her. Neither of us spoke until the road split.
“To the right,” Olivia said without me having to ask.
She pointed the opposite direction as I made the turn. “My parents’ house is maybe a quarter mile that way. In the wintertime, once all the leaves have fallen, you can see it through the trees. It’s close enough that Mom usually just walks to and from her studio.”
“Is that why it’s so far out here? So it’s close to your mom?”
“I guess so. That and because Dad wanted it far enough away from the farmhouse that people wouldn’t think it was open to the public. Mom loves to go up to the store and visit with people, but when she’s creating, she’d rather be left alone.”
We stopped in front of a single-story white structure with bright blue shutters trimming massive windows. Beyond the building, the ground sloped steeply, the rolling tree-covered hills creating a vista similar to the one Olivia had just shown me, except in this direction, all you could see was mountains. “Plus, there’s the view. That was important to Dad when he was deciding on the location. So Mom could always have something beautiful to inspire her.”
“Your parents seem like they have an amazing relationship.”
Olivia smiled softly, her love for her parents obvious in her expression. “My Dad is pretty intimidating when you first meet him. He’s kinda rough around the edges, but once you get to know him, he’s a big softy.” Her eyes dropped for the briefest moment before she cleared her throat and climbed out of the gator. “Most of the time, anyway. You ready?”
I rounded the back of the gator and hefted a couple of the oversized milk jugs out of the back. “I sense abutto that statement.”
She shook her head. “Not really. Dadisgreat. I just... I don’t know. You know the story. I want to run this place. He doesn’t trust me to do it.”
“That doesn’t make sense to me. Especially after seeing you here. You’re smart, capable. And you obviously love it here. Isn’t that the most important part?”
“Apparently not.” Penelope scrambled to get out of her arms, and Olivia leaned down, letting her hop onto the grass. “It’s more than that. I’m the visionary in the family, I guess, and Perry and Mom both feel like right now what Dad needs is stability. Certainty. It’s not the right time for any of mycrazyideas.”
