“Conrad’s place wasn’t this bad,” Finn said, and Winnie caught the frown on his face. “I’m really glad Mitch said that he can handle his own dog enclosures, because I underestimated this farm. I didn’t even put it on the list.”
“That’s not your fault,” Colt said. “Clara Jean and Tate know how to ask for help.”
“Do they?” Finn asked.
Winnie actually found it a fair question. A lot of people, in fact, didn’t know how to ask for help. She once again looked at Ty as he took her hand in his. She gave him a quick smile, and then Colt came to a stop at the edge of what was probably once a beautifully kept apple orchard.
He switched off the golf cart and got out. “All right,” he said. “Here are the ATVs Tate mentioned, and the trailers. Let’s get those hooked up, and then we’ll start clearing away the broken branches.”
He and Finn set about doing that, and soon enough, Winnie found herself behind Ty on an ATV while Finn climbed on with Colt. After a few minutes, Winnie realized it would be far easier if she just walked alongside Ty as he drove. And they did that, making their way up and down the long aisles of trees and filling the trailer with the organic debris.
When it got full, Ty would take it to the dump spot, and when he returned, he said, “Tate’s gonna go rent a chipper, and he’ll turn those trees into bark. He said any of us could have some. Do you need any at your house?”
Winnie thought about her front flower beds and back garden area. She’d moved to Three Rivers in May and missed the most important planting season, but she’d done a little bit of work on her yard throughout the fall. “Yeah, sure,” she said. “I’d take a load of bark.”
“Great,” Ty said. “I’ll have him put it in the back of my truck, and we can unload it when I take you home.”
“Are you sure you’re okay?” she asked. “You’ve been working hard for a long time. Are you really going to be able to unload bark at my house?”
“We can cover it with a tarp if I can’t,” he said. “It keeps.”
She nodded, and he leaned over a little closer to her. “You don’t need to worry about me.”
“No, I’m sure I don’t,” she said, suddenly feeling shy. She ducked her head. “But that’s what I do, Ty.”
He kicked her a smile. “I mean, I kind of like it, but it’s not necessary. I know when to quit.”
She wasn’t sure he did, but she didn’t want to argue with him either. He was a grown adult, and he could decide when he’d had enough and when he could do more.
“They’ve got a lot of trees,” Winnie said when Ty returned from the second unloading, straightening from where she’d been grouping branches together in Ty’s absence.
“Yeah, they sure do,” he said. “I mean, they grow produce for a whole grocery store, but I thought they bought a lot of apples from Colt.”
“They do,” Colt said as he pulled up beside them. “My orchards are at least fifteen times this big.”
Ty grinned at him. “Yeah, I guess they are.”
“Tate texted and said he needs more hands over with the netting,” Colt said. “Finn and I are gonna go over there. Are you guys okay here by yourselves?”
“Yeah, we’ll be fine,” Ty said. “I’ll just take Winnie to help me unload, instead of letting her rest in the shade.” He grinned at her.
Winnie rolled her eyes. “Yeah, because that’s what I’m doing in the ten minutes you’re gone.”
Finn grinned at them. “Well, you guys have a good system going. Just do what you can. There’s days and days of work ahead.”
Ty nodded, and Finn and Colt did a wide U-turn and headed back the way they’d come. Winnie bent and picked up another fallen tree limb and muscled it into the trailer. Ty went behind her and picked up the smaller ones, and she noticed him bending less and less at the waist and just grabbing onto branches that poked up high enough for him to grab without having to lean over.
She said nothing, but when the trailer reached maximum capacity again, she hurried in front of him. “I’ll drive over to the drop point.”
“You sure?” he asked. “You’ll have to unload it. Colt was helping me with that.”
“I didn’t put anything in that I can’t take out,” she said.
He had done branches and limbs smaller than hers. She turned back to him and put her hand on his chest. “I know you don’t want me to worry about you, but that doesn’t mean I know how to just turn it off. So I want you to rest while I’m gone.”
He hooked his arm around her waist and pulled her close. “All right,” he whispered when she’d expected him to argue. “I’m glad they closed the clinic today.”
“Me too,” Winnie murmured just before he pressed his lips to hers.
