Something About You

She nodded. “I do, but the farm specializes in vegetables, so we only plant a few fruits. Mind if I ask what your company’s interest is in organic foods?” Kyla asked. “Your presentation seemed to center around how you shipped overseas.”

“That’s not all we do. My partner and I are committed to ending world hunger. We raise money for various groups and take on pet projects from time to time. We started by working on sustainable self-help solutions in third world countries to fight hunger. I’m proud to say we do a lot of good work. ‘Think globally, not just locally’ is our motto.”

“Yes, I remember you saying that during your presentation, as well. I’ve always liked, ‘Each one, teach one,’ so I guess you can say that’s my motto.”

Kyla held her chin high unable to keep the self-satisfied smile from her lips. She wanted Miles to know he wasn’t the only one proud of the fruits of his labor. She had a catchphrase of her own. He nodded slowly while holding his bottom lip between his teeth. The look took her breath away.

Chapter 4 (#ud95c44f9-6b9a-5036-9776-75c1b45efc31)

After spending the morning in the hot sun, the truck returned to the B and B, where Kevin and Kyla carried the guests’ baskets in to Rita. A few of the guests chose to return to their rooms. Those who had signed up for Kyla’s workshop waited for her on the front porch.

When Kyla stepped onto the porch, she thanked everyone and then led them to her workshop. Rollin had built Kyla an open-air classroom down the hill from the gift shop. A path led to the gazebo-like structure with mismatched seating that ranged from yard chairs to wooden benches. Flowers and shrubs surrounded the gazebo and a small garden was set off to the right. A sign over the structure read Rooted Beginnings Food Education Workshop.

Kyla helped Rollin secure two interns from the local college every semester. One of the current interns, Ben, assisted with all her workshops. The other, Sean, helped out at the farmers market, which was where Kevin was headed now that he’d dropped them off.

“Morning, Ben,” Kyla greeted the young college senior. He wore round, wire-rimmed glasses and had a baby face. He had everything set up and was just waiting for the morning tour to be over.

“Good morning, Kyla. Everything’s laid out. I left the—” Ben stopped dead in his tracks, and his mouth fell open.

Kyla followed his gaze and realized he recognized Miles.

“Is that Miles Parker, the baseball player?” he asked.

“Yes, it is. He and his friends are taking the workshop this morning.”

“Wow! I never expected to see anybody famous around here. Does he have a farm, too?”

Kyla glanced over at Miles, who seemed to be in a deep discussion with his brother. “I don’t know. He said he’s interested in organics. I guess we’ll see.”

“Would it be rude of me to ask him for an autograph?” Ben looked around like he was searching for paper and a pen.

“Ben, let’s get some work done first. He’s not going anywhere until the workshop is over.” Kyla shook her head, amazed at how much people were flipping over Miles.

“Oh, yeah, sorry.” Ben walked over to the mobile blackboard he’d set up, along with all the tools needed to maintain a small garden.

After everyone was seated, Kyla moved to the board and began her lecture. “Again, I want to thank everyone for signing up for Gardening Made Simple, brought to you by Rooted Beginnings. Nutrition education empowers people with the tools to make healthy decisions. Before I started my dissertation, I was astonished to find out what some people considered healthy foods. I didn’t grow up on an organic farm, but my parents had a little garden out back, and they believed in eating off the land as much as possible. So I guess you can say my introduction to gardening started at an early age.”

Out of the corner of her eye she could see Miles staring at her, watching her curiously. The way he hung on her every word made her somewhat uncomfortable. She walked over to the blackboard and began diagramming the bare bones of how to start a simple garden. After the first hour of the lecture, the group moved out into the small side garden she used for demonstrations.

“Everyone grab a pair of gloves. It’s time to play in the soil.” Kyla pulled her own gardening gloves from the pile Ben had put out for everyone.

Miles had been quiet all through Kyla’s lecture, but he walked over to her now.

“I’m not sure if these will do me any good.” He held up his hands, showing her the ill-fitting gloves. They were too small for his big hands.

She reached up to one glove, pulling it down so she could examine the tag just inside the wrist—large. He had big strong hands, with large veins in his wrists. “Hmm, looks like we have a situation. I don’t have any larger gloves.”

“I can just use my hands if you have some place I can wash them afterwards.”

“Aw, I’d hate for you to do that, but it’s not like gloves are going to protect that pretty white T-shirt of yours anyway,” she offered with a sly smile.

“Not to worry,” he said quickly, picking up on her joke. “I’ve got plenty more.”

She smiled. “Of course you do.”

“Anyway, I’m looking forward to getting my hands dirty and learning everything there is to know about organic gardening. You did say you offer a hands-on approach, correct?”

The way his brows rose with enthusiasm made Kyla laugh. “It would take years to teach you everything I know, and this is only a ninety minute workshop. How about I focus on the importance of good soil for now?”

Miles stripped the tight gloves off and laid them on the table as he gave Kyla another one of his charming smiles that sent her pulse racing again. “I’m all yours,” he said.

Kyla quickly fanned herself as beads of sweat formed across her forehead. She had to turn away from him. “Okay, let’s get started.”

One of the most important segments of the workshop was for the group to be able to distinguish between soil and dirt. She briefly explained why you get rid of dirt, but preserve soil. She also detailed what soil means to farmers. Then she walked around to see who could tell the difference.

Miles had a handful of each when Kyla walked over to him. She asked him the same question she’d asked everyone else. “You can tell the difference, can’t you?” He looked comfortable getting his hands dirty, but she couldn’t say the same for Brandon and Trey, who’d barely touched their samples.

“Sure...the dirt’s brown, and the soil’s black.” He gave her a smile that said he was pleased with himself.

Kyla shook her head. “There’s more to it than that. The soil is an ecosystem of other organisms.” She reached over and took a handful of the soil in front of Miles and held it up. “If you build the perfect soil, your plants will grow and thrive. There’s an art to soil building.”

Miles dropped the hand full of dirt and held the hand full of soil under hers to catch the soil as she poured it from her hand into his. He gently brushed the remaining remnants of soil from her palm with his fingers. His hands swallowed Kyla’s. She wasn’t prepared for the shiver that ran down her spine and splintered through her body.

“So, do you think I can learn this art?” he asked.

She quickly pulled her hands away and brushed them together. “Sure you can.” She cleared her throat and fought hard not to bite her lip, thus displaying how flustered he’d just made her. “I give a full-day workshop on soil building that you can sign up for. We cover everything from composting to manures, mulching, mushrooms and teas.” She recognized the change in pitch of her voice and the fact that she was rambling, so she shut up.

“Tea?” Miles asked.

“Yes, you can fertilize your garden with tea.” Why had Kyla found herself spending more time with Miles than anyone else, yet again?

She quickly realized the rest of the group was standing around brushing soil from their gloves and waiting for her to tell them what to do next. She caught Ben’s eye and motioned for him to start collecting the gloves. “Excuse me, but it’s time to start wrapping up.”

She stepped away from Miles and returned to the head of the class. After thanking everyone for giving her ninety minutes of their day, she passed out brochures detailing her other workshops.

Miles stood off to the side of her, holding out his hands. “You know, I could use that place to wash my hands now.”

“Oh, Mr. Parker, I forgot, I’m sorry. If you’ll follow me I’ll show you where you can clean up.”

“Right behind you,” he said.

They walked up the path toward the back of the house in a leisurely fashion, neither seeming to be in a hurry.

“The tour and the workshop have been amazing so far,” Miles said. “I like the working farm concept. I was chatting with a few of the guests, and this is the couple in green’s second visit.”

“We get a lot of repeat business,” Kyla replied as she glanced over at Miles, who licked his lips and smiled. She quickly focused back on the path ahead of them. “Some couples spend every anniversary here. The freshness of the food and baked goods keep them coming back for more.”

“So, tell me, what is it you do all day when you’re not picking vegetables and building soil?”