Raspberries and Vinegar (A Farm Fresh Romance Book 1) Read Free Page A

remember what questions she’d meant to ask Mrs. Humbert, but Zach’s face seemed to swim upon the paper.
    He leaned forward and cupped his hand over his grandmother’s. “Maybe I should introduce you. Grandma, Miss Shaw is one of the people who bought your farm from Mom and Dad.”
    Oh! This was that grandmother? Of course. Jo should have realized.
    The old woman shook her head, a slight frown marring her face.
    “That’s okay, Mrs. Humbert.” No need to perplex the woman. Jo patted her shoulder. “Just call me Jo. I’ll come back and talk to you later, when you don’t have company.” And when Zach couldn’t interrupt with his own ideas of how Jo should do her job.
    Or just plain distract her.
    “That will be nice, my dear. I’d love to visit.”
    Jo turned for the door but froze at Zach’s chuckle. “Let me know if you’re being deprived of treats, Grandma. I’ll sneak you some.”
    She was going to have to keep an eye on him. Too bad that would be a pleasure.

    ***

    “Have you met the girls next door yet?” Mom pushed up the sleeves of her blue sweater as she glanced out the kitchen window toward Grandma’s old trailer. She turned on the faucet and waited as water streamed into the kettle.
    Met them? Talk about an understatement. “Two of them.” He assumed the third resident had arrived by now, but he was in no hurry to meet her, thank you. Zach stretched his legs under the retro chrome table, thankful his mother was home from nearly a week at Dad’s bedside. Worry pressed her slight shoulders down, and her graying hair looked overdue for a trim.
    Mom turned to face him. “How about Sierra? She’s the one who came to sign the papers a couple of months ago. She’s a pretty girl.”
    Cute and curvy. “Yep. She’s got a good scream to her.”
    “Scream? Why would that be?”
    He couldn’t resist. “Perhaps because the place was full of mice?”
    “I’m so sorry about that.” Red tinged her cheeks. “But there’s a chance for you to be a knight in shining armor to a group of young ladies. You can take them some traps—”
    “Done.”
    “—and remove the carcasses for them. There’s not a woman alive who wouldn’t appreciate that kind of help.”
    She obviously hadn’t met Josephine Shaw, though Jo hadn’t turned him down precisely. “Didn’t you know how bad the trailer was?”
    “Zachary John. I’ve had nothing but your father’s health on my mind for the past ten days. Thank God they figured out what was wrong with him and got him on that medicine in time, but he’s been very sick. It’ll be a long haul to recovery.” She shook her head. “I do feel bad I let cleaning the trailer slip, though. Maybe I’ll take a casserole over in apology.”
    “Just make sure it’s healthy, or they’ll send it right back with you.” Second thought, that would be okay. Then he could enjoy it himself.
    A frown marred Mom’s forehead. “Right. They’re on a health food kick over there. Sierra checked the zoning about opening an event destination for sustainable living before making an offer.”
    “Sustainable living? What’s that supposed to mean?”
    Mom parked the kettle on the range and turned it on. “I guess they’re environmentalists of some sort. One thing is they’re planning to grow their own food.”
    Another good reason to stay clear, as if he needed more. “You might want to watch out, though. Josephine Shaw is the new nutritionist at Galena Hills. I met her there when I was visiting Grandma yesterday. Sounds like she plans to shake up the menu.” Probably everything else, too, by the glint in her eye.
    Mom’s face brightened. “That can only be good. The food there is abysmal. It’s bland and tastes like so much straw.”
    Zach parked his elbows on the table. “She’s checking out all the residents’ snack drawers. I don’t trust her. When I helped them clean the trailer she spouted at me about eating chips and drinking pop and —”
    Mom laughed. “No