Rafe
The Harvest
As I arrivedat the vineyard, Cal directed me to the north side. He and his men were working at the south end, and I would take my crew to the top end which had not been started yet. Allie had offered to bring Rory when they were ready to join us. I took a quick look around, and noted they had not yet arrived.
“Winston, take a few men down and start with the bottom end, I’ll take the rest with me here on this side, we’ll all meet in the middle.”
Pruning vines was not labor intensive, instead it required precision and finer touch. A little less force, a little more finesse. Less like the bright lights that caused stark shadows between the rows and more like the delicate sweet smell of the grapes mingling with the smell and sound of the diesel generator.
My crew and I had been working for a little over an hour when the loud rumble of Allie’s truck got my attention. I checked how far my men were and where I could place the two women.I knew Cal had a head start, and would send the women in my direction.
As expected, the two women walked up to me, still busy in the second row.
Allie gave me a mock salute. “Powers and Doe, reporting for duty.”
I loved that she didn’t make things awkward with Rory's lack of last name, she just moved forward as if nothing was amiss. I turned toward them to give each of them instructions and my breath stalled. Allie wore her rain boots and denim dress, like she always did when physical labor was expected from her. She was cute and the way her husband looked at her, I could tell he appreciated her attire.
But it was the woman next to her who had overridden any thought I was attempting. Rory wore a pair of yellow rain boots, I was sure she had purchased during her shopping excursion earlier in the day. Color aside, they were perfectly utilitarian and would be perfect for the work she did on the ranch. My eyes roamed up, taking in the miles of creamy skin as my gaze moved up her legs. I swallowed hard as my eyes travelled a little higher and met the frayed hem of those far too short cut offs, over the fitted tank which showcased perfect tits and up to those warm brown eyes.
Our gazes locked for a moment before I looked back down. “Nice boots.”
I lifted my eyes once more to meet hers. Trying and failing not to picture her with those boots wrapped around my hips.
“Thanks.” She smiled. “Allie said they were necessary. Where do you want me?”
In my bed, wrapped around me,was probably not an appropriate response. “Why don’t you start at the other end of this row. Allie, you do the same for Winston on the other end of the field.”
Allie moved to where I directed her, and I showed Rory what to do. “You don’t want to hack and rush, City. We want perfect wine, not grape juice.”
“Do you have a pair of cutters?” She nodded as I pulled a pair out of my pocket and handed it to her.
She went to the other end of the row and worked her way toward me. With each row we finished, it became more and more obvious she knew what she was doing. It also didn’t miss my attention the dust on those creamy legs, or the sweat on her chest, highlighting the swells of her breast, like they were the main attraction.
The woman was a distraction I didn’t need. Curves, I could sink my fingers into, eyes I wanted to get lost in. And I didn’t want to think about her mouth. I had imagined that mouth in the shower more times than I care to admit.
“Fuck.” I muttered under my breath. This was not the time nor the place to get hard.
Rory lifted her gaze and frowned at me. We were almost in the middle. “Something the matter, Grouchy? You seem stressed over there.”
“I’m fine.” I didn’t mean for my grunt to be quite so harsh, but the woman had me on edge. And hyper aware.
She rolled her eyes, as if resisting the urge to call me on my bullshit. But what was I going to say?No, I’m having a hard time not picturing you in nothing but those boots.I didn’t have an employee manual, but I didn’t need one to know my thoughts were totally inappropriate.
My eyes drifted to her hands, watching how she snipped at the vines, as if she knew what she was doing. She hadn’t revealed anything about her background, but I knew she was raised in some sort of farming environment. Maybe she had done this before.
“You know how to handle pruning shears?”
She smiled over at me, causing a warmth to spread through my chest and to the rest of my body. “Normally, I need to be a little more careful of thorns. But this isn’t too different from pruning roses.”
“You garden?” Why did the information surprise me so much? I was still expecting the urbanized city girl, instead of the farmer’s daughter she clearly was.
She nodded. “I also cook and bake. Not big on cleaning, cannot sew. I can figure out how to fix most things that don’t require an engine. I can balance your books, I’m not bad on a horse, and in a pinch I can host a party. I’m guessing that last one is not a strength of yours.”
“Absolutely correct.”
I was still staring at her, stuck on how capable she was when she rolled her eyes at me.
“Really.” She let out an exasperated breath. “After all I just told you? You’re not going to give me anything. You’re not going to tell me all about your shortcomings and special talents.”
