Love in the Vineyard (Tavonesi #7)(68)

Her stomach lurched as she hung up the phone. How had he found out where she worked? And why was he in such a god-awful hurry to meet Tyler?

Eddie’s anxious tone made her more nervous than a bossy, confident tone would have. Maybe he really did want a family? Maybe he was truly serious about wanting to be part of their lives? But if that were true, why the rush? Why wouldn’t he do everything he could to ease his way gently into their lives—to earn their trust? It didn’t add up.

She turned to the computer screen and tried to focus. The one task she’d kept for herself was reconciling the orders and inventory—it would look darned suspicious if she foisted too much of her work off on Enrique. But her nerves wouldn’t settle, and her anxiety made reading impossible. And no amount of mediation was going to change that right then. But maybe a change of focus would.

Eddie’s voice rang in her ears as she walked into the greenhouse to check on the starts she and Enrique had transplanted the prior week.

Thirty flats of young plants lined the state-of-the-art facility. The monkey flowers looked worse for the transplant, but they would be hardy once they took hold. The false indigo had perked up and put out new leaves, and most would be ready for sale in a week or two.

She didn’t like to sell starts until the root hairs had grown out and the plants were hardy enough for even a less-than-careful gardener to transplant.

For a couple of hours she tended the plants, immersed herself in the feel of the soil in her hands and tried to force her fears about Eddie out of her mind. And she only thought about Adrian maybe a hundred times a minute.

Later that afternoon, Natasha and Enrique took a badly needed break from the heat of the greenhouse. They sat under the shade of a nearby oak and split the iced tea that Tammy had left for Natasha.

“Something’s eating you, boss.”

“I have a lot on my mind.”

He took a swig from his cup and eyed her over the rim. “Can I help?”

Eddie’s call had seared desperation into her. “I need to find an attorney,” she heard herself saying. “A really, really good one who will work for next to nothing.”

“You’ve come to the right guy,” Enrique said. “I know a good attorney—and he owes me a favor.”

Natasha must’ve looked surprised, because he quickly added, “Any immigrant dealing with the Feds knows attorneys. Ones who’ll work for reduced fees. What’s your problem?”

Hope shot into her and to her surprise, she told him about Eddie, about her fears regarding losing Tyler. She was on the verge of telling him the extent of her disability, but her instincts for self-preservation kicked in. No matter how much she might like and trust and appreciate Enrique, she couldn’t risk word getting out that she was basically unsuited for her position. She couldn’t risk losing her job, not now, not with a possible custody hearing looming.

If the instructor and counselors were right, with another few weeks of classes she’d be able to handle the accounts and the orders with only a little help. She was surprised that she’d actually learned some techniques that worked and dared to hope they were right. Until then she’d just let Enrique think she was too busy—that she’d delegated the financial accounting and ordering as part of her management plan.

“Don’t worry,” he said. “My guy can help you. He’s good at getting people out of legal scrapes.”

Legal scrapes. Her life with Tyler was on the line. What she faced felt like a helluva lot more than a legal scrape.

Enrique leaned close and patted her arm. “Hey, I know how loving someone can make you feel desperate, make you do desperate things.”

“Am I interrupting?” The hard edge in Adrian’s voice sent shock waves of pins and needles through Natasha. Sitting behind the trunk of the old oak, she hadn’t seen him approaching.

Enrique released her arm and jumped up.

“We were just taking a break from the heat.” Natasha heard the defensiveness in her voice, but the fiery look in Adrian’s eyes had set her on edge.

“I should check on the new irrigation lines we put in,” Enrique said smoothly. He tapped two fingers to his forehead. “Welcome home, Mr. Tavonesi.”

She knew nothing was wrong with the irrigation lines but was glad for Enrique’s quick response. Adrian watched Enrique depart with a narrow stare. When he looked back at her with slitted eyes, the judgment she saw riled her.

And then it occurred to her—he was jealous! If only he knew that when she wasn’t trying to find a way to deal with Eddie and to figure out how in the heck she was going to do the job Adrian had foisted on her, that her every other thought was of him.

The muscles around his eyes softened. “You look like you haven’t been sleeping well.”

“I’m okay. Fine.” She’d admitted to enough for one day. Maybe too much.

He glanced around and then drew her into his arms. She had no defense against his kiss. His hands pressed up the small of her back. Her body trumped her mind and her defenses, and she melted into the kiss she’d craved for the past two weeks.

When Adrian eventually broke off the kiss, he stepped away from her. She followed his gaze. Several of the vineyard crewmembers were walking toward the supply shed next to the greenhouse.

Adrian held out a hand. “Come with me. I have something to show you.”