She frowned up at me. “Something you want to tell me?”
“He’s a customer. I asked—that’s all. I just asked.”
“Okay.”
I looked down at her. “One more thing.”
“What?”
“Let me help you through the next few days. You seem to be calmer when I’m around.”
“I am.”
“Will you let me do that?”
“I kind of already have plans for tomorrow.”
“Oh.”
She smiled up at me. “I have apple crisp to make for my favorite stock boy.”
“Are you sure?”
She nodded. “I’ll take tomorrow and work Sunday. I’m almost done.”
“Can I come back with you on Sunday?”
“Will your mom give you a note again?”
I chuckled. “It was open-ended.”
“Okay, then.”
I kissed her head. “Okay. Now—you eat.”
Chapter Twelve
Noah
Dani hummed in appreciation as she closed the lid on her salad. “That was delicious.”
“Good.”
“Did you always cook, like Callie?”
“My mom taught us all to cook. She wanted to make sure we could look after ourselves, and I enjoyed it, but my real love of it came later. After I made the decision to leave my life and come back to the farm, I saw a therapist for a while. He suggested I find an outlet, something I enjoyed. I saw an ad for cooking classes, and I signed up. I realized I really loved it—learning the way herbs made food taste, how bringing ingredients together made a dish.”
“So, you opened the restaurant?”
I laughed and tweaked her nose. “Always so anxious for information.”
She smiled shyly. “I just want to know you.”
Cupping her face, I drew her closer and kissed her soft mouth. “I want you to know me.”
“Then talk.”
I took another drink of wine and set down the glass.
“My dad always farmed organically. He believed in keeping things as natural as possible. When I came home, I stayed with my parents while my house was being built, and one day my old assistant, Tom, came to see me. He stayed for lunch, which I cooked, and my mom had made bread and we had some of her preserves. He raved over both, and she gave him some jam to take home. He called a few days later and asked if he could buy some as gifts, and I said I’d ask her.” I smirked at Dani. “That started me thinking.”
“I bet it did.”
I laughed and kissed her hand. “I found out my family was struggling, and I wanted to do something to change that. We had all this land. I had a lot of money and time on my hands.” At her inquisitive look, I explained. “I made a lot of money while I was working, and I was very good with investments. A couple of my long shots paid off, and I was set for life.”
“Wow.”
I nodded. “It was never only about the money for me. It was what I thought I wanted…until I didn’t want it anymore.” I shrugged. “When I discovered my family was thinking of selling off land, I knew I had to do something. The farm and the work they did meant too much to all of them.” I looked down at her hand, playing with her tiny fingers. “I wanted to atone.”
“You had nothing to atone for, Noah. You were living your life.”
“That’s what they said, but it was how I felt. How I still feel.” I drew in a deep breath. “I turned my back on them, but they never stopped loving me. When I needed them the most, they were there for me, and I was determined to be there for them.”
“And you were.”
“Yes.”
“Tell me more.”
“So, I started researching, and I came up with all these ideas about how to make the farm more profitable. We started small with the store. We revamped the farm and the crops, adding more vegetables and herbs, and became certified organic growers. I marketed to companies looking for organic suppliers to bring in more revenue. When our cousins found the land in Niagara, I invested in it, knowing we needed to be able to offer organic fruits as well. Anna’s husband was into wines and the property had vines already, and he started that enterprise. We all brought strengths to the mix, and I was good at making sure we used them. Tom talked so much about the bread and jam he had, we started carrying both in the store. And then one day, I said we should open a restaurant, featuring our own produce, right next to the store. Farm-to-table was becoming more popular, and we had room to expand.”
“So, you did more research?”
I grinned at her. “I did. And my marketing experience helped not only getting the store name out, but the restaurant as well. The store opened two years ago, the restaurant a year ago, and we hit the ground running. We’re in the black, and I’ll make sure it stays that way. We’ll grow and adapt.”