Chapter 12 – Lena
“Stupid piece of garbage.” I threw my wrench on the ground, wiping the sweat from my face with an old bandana I kept in my back pocket. It was really hot for May.
I kicked the tractor tire in frustration. I never should have let Enzo talk me into buying such an old pruning tower at that auction back in December. The thing hadn’t worked right since we got it. But we needed the hydraulic lift this year. Our tallest standard apple trees were in desperate need of pruning. Most of our oldest fruit-bearing trees were over thirty feet tall, and if we wanted them to keep bearing good fruit, we needed to take care of them. Our best apples came from the part of the orchard where the trees were several generations old.
I bent over the pruning tower that would be hitched to our best tractor. Enzo and Dad were waiting for me, and daylight was fading. We had more than a dozen trees to prune before sunset if we were going to make it through the task this week.
A car door slammed, and a dog barked. Just what I needed. An unwanted distraction.
I turned toward the house, seeing a cloud of dust lingering down the drive. The monster dog came darting around back, all legs and toothy smiles as he ran straight toward me.
“Woah, Duke.” I held out my hands, hoping he wouldn’t tackle me. “Nice to see you, boy.” I got my hands into his fur as he skidded to a halt beside the pruning tower, dropping his butt on the ground and sniffing my pockets for treats. “Do you like apples, buddy? I got plenty of those.” I scratched behind his ears. “I don’t suppose you came alone?”
“He loves apples. Especially when they’re covered in peanut butter.” Conner Ashford came strolling into the backyard from the front drive. Dressed in khaki shorts, a snug fitting denim shirt, and flip flops, he looked like a walking ad for a men’s magazine. Even his sunglasses were fancy—and probably cost more than my entire wardrobe. Certainly more than the piece of junk I was trying to salvage.
Around Orchard Hill, I was never too far from a barrel of apples. We had some Red Delicious apples waiting for a pickup beside the barn we used as a garage for old farm equipment. It was more like a graveyard these days. “Come on, Duke, let’s get you a treat.” I headed for the barn now, trying not to wonder what brought an Ashford to my house. It couldn’t be anything good.
I sliced off a piece of apple with a pruning knife, and Duke gobbled it up.
“You can toss it on the ground, and he’ll eat the whole thing in a few seconds. Just don’t let him have the seeds.” Conner stood in the dusty drive, hands shoved in his pockets with his designer messenger bag strapped over his shoulder.
I chatted with Duke, preferring his company as I cored the apple and let the big dog have at it. He was in heaven, chomping on the crunchy fruit like it was the meatiest bone. “Good boy.” I patted his massive shoulder, walking with Conner back to the tractor.
“He likes you.” Conner frowned at his dog like that was the strangest thing.
“And that’s bad why?” I rolled my eyes and went back to work on the pruning tower. If the hydraulics could just hold my weight, it would be enough to get us through the pruning season. Maybe next year we could afford a mechanic. I bent to tighten another bolt.
“No, no, of course it’s not.” Conner backtracked, his tone sounding annoyed. “It’s just … Duke likes people, but it takes him a while to warm up to strangers.”
Duke nudged my hand, looking for more apples. Clearly, he did not view me as a stranger. But if I didn’t know any better, I’d think Conner Ashford was flustered and a wee bit jealous of his dog.
I smiled at Duke. “Well.” I looked up at Conner. “It seems that settles it.”
“Settles what?”
I went back to work on the irritating bolt that refused to tighten. “Your dog has better taste than you do.”
Conner laughed. “That’s probably true.”
I set the wrench back in my toolbox. That was as fixed as this thing was going to get. “Was there something you needed?” I shielded my eyes, looking up at Conner in all his windswept, casual glory. The man looked like he didn’t know what a hard day’s work was like.
“Oh, yes.” He rummaged in his messenger bag. “I came to give you this. I appreciate your help the other day. We’d have been stuck out on the bay all night without your assistance.” He handed me an envelope. I could tell by the way the sun shone through the thin paper there was a check in there with too many zeros. Zeros that would help us in more ways than Conner Ashford could imagine. But I wouldn’t take his charity.
“Nonsense.” I waved away the envelope. “We’d have helped anyone stranded out there.”
“I insist.” Conner pressed the check into my hand and stepped back. “It’s the least I can do to repay you for the service you and your brother provided.”
“For a kindness?” Was he for real? “Conner, it’s called being a decent human being. Not a service. You call for a tow from the local marina, they come get you, you pay them. When a … a neighbor happens upon you when you’re having trouble, they lend a hand. No one expects payment for that.” The Ashfords were a proud bunch, but even Conner couldn’t be that clueless.
“I would feel better if you’d take it.” He gestured at the barely functioning pruning tower. “Use it to fix this dinosaur. Let it be my way of helping Orchard Hill through a rough patch.”
I snorted at that, shoving the envelope back into his hand. “You want to help us out, then sell me the land.” I moved to hitch the tower to the tractor. I needed to get moving, and Conner was wasting my time. “Otherwise, we will earn the money that comes our way.”
“Unfortunately, that’s out of my hands.”
“Aren’t you the heir apparent? I thought the Ashfords made things happen in this town?” I climbed up into the tractor seat and found myself grinning back at him. He was too easy to needle.
“That doesn’t make me a king, you know.” Conner’s mouth quirked into a smile. “Family is … complicated sometimes.” He gazed across the yard to the back porch where my grandmother and mother were trying to look like they weren’t interested in what was happening.
“Speaking as one heir apparent to another.” Conner shook his head. “I’m sorry for ambushing you the other day when you were waiting for Carter.”
I shrugged. “Sorry for pushing you into the bay.”
He laughed at that. “No, you aren’t.”
“You’re right, that was actually the highlight of a very bad week, so thanks for that.”
“I’d say anytime, but it was a miserable ride home.”
“Good. Then, we’re even.” I nodded at the check he still held in his hand. “We helped you and your family. Payback for dumping you into the ocean in your expensive nice clothes.”
“Fine,” Conner relented. “We’re even.” He stuffed the check back into his bag, trying to hide his smile. It was the first time I’d seen a genuine smile or laugh from my best friend’s big brother. I caught myself staring at the way the light played through his short, cropped hair. The russet auburn really shimmered in the sun.
“So, why won’t you sell me the land, Ashford?” I knew I was pressing my luck, but when he wandered into my yard, he was going to answer my questions.
“You know our families don’t see eye to eye,” he hedged.
“Yeah. You know that’s stupid, right?”
He nodded, but it didn’t seem like he was willing to agree. “I have to respect my father in my business decisions. I hope you understand it’s nothing personal on my part.”
I shook my head and cranked the tractor ignition. It needed a minute to warm up before making the drive out to the old orchard. I raised my voice over the engine. “It became personal the moment you refused my offer when you realized a Contreras was interested in that land.”
“It wasn’t my decision, Selena.” Conner backed away, calling his dog to his side.
“Why don’t you ask your father what he’s afraid of. I’m not that scary. A little healthy competition between businesses isn’t going to hurt either family or this town.” I downshifted the clutch and slowly crept forward. “I trust you’ll see yourself out?”
“Come on, Duke.” Conner whistled for his dog.
“Bye, Duke! Come visit me anytime you want, big guy.” I waved at the best member of the Ashford clan as I headed down the long drive to the orchards.