Forever's Embrace (Forever In Luck Series Book 2) (26 page)

Jake’s
mouth fell open. “We can’t afford that? It’ll cost thousands and thousands of
dollars to put in, and then there’s the upkeep. It’ll barely be profitable, and
that’s only if the price of methane doesn’t fall.”

Kris
nodded. “That’s what we thought, and for us little guys doing it all by
ourselves, that’s mostly true. But Jules helped us see ways around it with a
partnership, ways to really make it pay off. If her plan works, we’re going to
save thousands of dollars in fuel costs, and if it doesn’t, we’re out nothing.
When the proposal’s done, she and I are going to discuss the crops. She has
some thoughts on how we can get in on some research projects, and possibly
offset our seed costs, if not have them nearly covered. She’s unbelievably
intelligent, and her ideas will see this farm into the future.”

 
Jake ran his fingers through his hair. “Does
she talk about leaving, or say anything about that promotion of hers?”

Kris
shook his head. “Nothing, at least not with us guys. She did with Linnie in the
beginning when the injury happened, but not so much now that she’s been here.
She didn’t even tell us she put her house up for sale, so who knows. Come on,
let’s get the rest of the chores done before lunch. Then we can rest up an hour
or two before milking time this afternoon.”

A
few hours later, Kris called out for Jake, telling him lunch was ready. He’d
spent the remainder of the morning thinking of everything. Kris was right,
things had changed dramatically over the last four months, and yet he felt
stuck. He’d asked her to stay, but she didn’t answer him, didn’t give him one
crumb of hope, and now she was selling her house and moving forward. What was
it going to take? What could he possibly do to get her to stay?

He
searched for answers as he washed up, and came up with nothing, absolutely
nothing. His only real option was to ask her to marry him. He shook his head,
then stopped and looked in the vanity mirror. Do I dare ask her to marry me, so
soon? If I gamble it all and still lose her, then what? Hell, the last five
weeks away from her had been pure torture, so what would a lifetime be like?
This sucks! There was no other way to describe it, it sucked, and he was
getting downright desperate. What’s it going to take?

Heading
down the hall to the lunchroom, he realized for the first time she’d be in the
old creamery. Damn it! Could this get any worse? Now she knew he hadn’t been
completely honest with her that day of the tour. Nothing you can do about it
now, you dumb shit. You shouldn’t have lied to her. Irritated and feeling
defeated, he made his way down the hall, all the while letting his nose lead
the way. Something smelled good. Had she cooked lunch? She’d spent the early
morning hours walking, and then later in the office, how could she have made
lunch too? Turning down the old corridor, he walked through the creamery’s
doors and stopped short. They were all there and… something… was different. He
was sure of it.

He
sniffed. The food’s aroma was foremost, but there was more, like paint…or
bleach, or…both. Things looked the same…maybe…but yet different too, not so
tired looking, brighter, and he wasn’t just talking about the aesthetics
either.

What
in the hell is going on, he wondered. Things had changed, for sure, but it was
like there was an air of mystery, and somehow he’d slipped out of the element.
“What’s going on?” he asked no one in particular.

Jules
tilted her head to the table, and said, “Lunchtime, come eat.” Then she patted
the spot on the bench next to her.

Walking
over, he briefly stopped and stared at the table, his great grandmother’s
dishes. He’d packed those away four years ago. Not wanting a repeat of the day
she’d made breakfast, he smiled at her as he sat. “It looks and smells good. I
know you cooked because it isn’t Kris’s trademark frozen pizza. You have a good
morning?”

Leaning
over, she gave him a quick peck on the cheek. “I did, I walked, baked some
bread, cooked a smidge, then did a little of this and a little of that. I even
took a small nap.”

Jake
let out a huff as he stared at the food. “A smidge, huh? It doesn’t look like a
smidge.”

She
smiled as she place her napkin on her lap. “Promise, it’s nothing much. I was
feeling a little Italian for lunch. That platter there is a caprese salad, this
bowl is Italian meatballs in marinara, and on the cutting board is a no knead
artisan bread. Let’s dish up, shall we?”

Dishes
went round and around, plates were filled and as always, moans were heard
throughout with the first bite.

“Okay,
put all this in the make again category.” Nik said, reaching back and grabbing
a notebook off the counter. He promptly passed it to Jules.

“I
second that,” Kris said, between bites.

Writing
in the book, she asked, “Any suggestions?”

“Yeah,”
Kris said, “make more.”

His
dad reached over and patted her hand. “You done good, tootsie. This the
mozzarella?”

She
nodded, “Yeah, it’s good, don’t you think? Did you try the butter yet? Try the
butter on the bread.”

Jake
listened as they talked, taking it all in as they ate. Finishing, he wiped his
mouth, put his silverware down and cleared his throat. “What do you mean is
this the mozzarella? Where’s it from?”

His
brother’s snickered as they ate and his dad smiled and spoke up. “Wondered how
long it would take for you to catch that. You remember what we talked about
right after Christmas? The stuff about the farm, the business?”

“Yeah,
I remember.”

“Well,
we’re doing all that, but I’ve also decided to start up the creamery again.”

Jake’s
mouth fell open as his eyes went wide, then he sputtered, “But…but…we don’t
have the recipes, we don’t know...”

His
dad interrupted him with a smile, and then nodded in Jules direction “We do
now.”

Jake
turned his head and looked at her in stunned silence. She had the most
beautiful expression on her face, and she looked upon him with warmth and
happiness.

Nodding
in affirmation, she took his hand and said, “I can read it, Jake. I can read it
all. It’s taken a bit of time because it’s a mix of different Nordic languages
and dialects, with some German sprinkled throughout, and then there are some
grammar issues, but I can read it, and it’s all there.”

Okay,
so what good did that do him, he wondered. “Yeah, but even so, it’s a bunch of
nonsense,” he said, with frustration. “One piddle, three fur chins, two nails
worth, that doesn’t help me.”

She
giggled, “Its pottle, not piddle, and firkin, not fur chin, and a nail is a
form of measurement equivalent to seven pounds.”

Jake’s
heart leapt as the big picture began to take shape. An image of her den, with
all its books, flashed through his mind. Holy Mary, Mother of God, had she
figured it out? Had she… He looked to his dad and brothers and they were all
beaming.

Nik
reached across the table and punched him in the arm. “It’s real, Jake. She’s
done it. It’s all there and then some. There’s recipes and directions for
cheeses we didn’t even know about. We’re back in business.”

Jake
turned and threw his arms around Jules, kissing her hard. The spark of hope and
purpose within him, flaming to life in a flash.

“…
everything happens for a reason
…”

She
began laughing. “Okay, okay, I love the sentiment, I really do, but between you
and the back brace, I can’t breathe.”

He
eased up some, then took a stuttering breath when she reached up and put her
hand to his cheek.

Speaking
softly, she said, “Your brothers emptied out the creamery completely, and
Linnie went to town cleaning and scrubbing everything from top to bottom. Then
your Dad and Nate gave everything a fresh coat of paint. All the while, I’ve
been translating the book into English and making sense of what’s written on
the wall and pillars. Come, we’d like to show you what we’ve done.”

With
mixed emotions, he got up and headed with them into the creamery. As he walked
through the doors, he closed his eyes, not sure about seeing it again. He
hadn’t returned here since turning out the lights four years ago. Taking a deep
breath, he opened his eyes and went a few steps further, looking around in
astonishment. It sparkled. Fresh paint, a thorough scrubbing, extensive
reorganization of equipment and supplies, along with a tremendous weights and
measures chart on the wall, painted in art nouveau fashion, that now made perfect
sense. There was even some fresh cheese in presses draining in a vat. Walking
over, he looked at it, longing for the chance to make cheese again, wishing
he’d been the one to have done it.

Walking
up to him, she put her arm around him. “We’ve been trying out some of the
recipes, and have made a different batch each day. We have a few fresh cheeses
in the cooler for you to try, and several wheels aging in the cave for you to
work with. I’ve finished translating and transcribing the book into English,
and it’s waiting right over there on the counter for you.”

Looking
that way, he moved in that direction, stopping in front of the old book and the
copy she’d made. Thumbing through her work, he was overwhelmed with it all.
Turning, he looked at the four of them. “Thank you.”

Looking
beyond them he noticed a large empty area of one wall with markings here and
there. “What’s that for?”

Jules
looked to his brothers, then to his dad, and Jake watched as they all left the
creamery. Clearing her throat, she started wringing her hands together. “Umm,
well, I kind of hoped that this really handsome, right winger, farmer, guy
would, ahhh, well, make me an offer I, umm, couldn’t refuse.” She started
blushing. “As in, making me want to stay here and study the art and science of
cheesemaking. I thought we could maybe make some fine Cheddar, a little Danbo,
maybe some Kesella. I was hoping he could spare the space on the wall for a few
copper things I own.”

She
was adorable, she was so damn adorable, and she was everything to him. “Why?
Why me? Several weeks ago you didn’t even want me to hand you a tissue.”

Her
head fell and she looked down.

He
felt bad.

Staring
at the floor, she said, “Yeah, I handled it badly, Jake. I may be smart, but I
don’t know everything, and when it comes to people and relationships, I’m not
so good. I was embarrassed, you knew that, but it was more than that too. Life
takes on a whole new dimension when you realize you can’t even pass urine or
defecate without the aid of someone else’s hand. My time of the month had come,
and I didn’t even know it. I had to lie there while someone else cleaned up the
mess. Fortunately, that area of my body was one of the first parts to recover,
and all those problems have gotten better, if not having completely gone away.”

She
took a deep breath, then looked up at him. “I was afraid. I was afraid you’d
get a load of what life would be like with me and you’d bail. It may have been
my back that was broken, but it was my heart I was protecting, so I pushed you
away. I’m sorry for that.”

“Why
here? Why would you give it all up,” he looked around, “for this?”

“Because,
I love you more than I love my fear, and because everything I’ve ever wanted is
right here.”

“What
is it? What have you wanted?”

“Love.
A family’s love. The day Nik brought me in here, I found a past I could call my
own, and when Kris set your family’s book in front of me, I saw my present
clear as day, and when I look at you, I see my future. I hope when you look at
me, you can see the same. I love you, Jake, and my desire is for us to be
together, forever.”

She’d
stolen his breathe and taken his words, so he did the only thing he could, he
wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into his embrace. Snuggling in tight,
she placed that beautiful head of golden hair on his shoulder and sighed.
Kissing her head, he said, “I love you too. Will you marry me, Precious? Will
you stay here and clutter up my wall with your copper?”

She
giggled at that and squeezed him tight.

“You
have a shitload of copper, you know that? We’re going to have to build another
wall for it all.”

She
pulled back and shook her head rapidly. “No we won’t.” Then she pointed to the
ceiling.

Looking
up, he saw marks all over for where she planned to hang the stuff. Unable to
keep from chuckling, he looked down at her. “What’s your answer, sweetheart?
You going to put me out of my misery and make me a happy man?”

She
kissed him. “Yes, yes, yes, and I thought you’d never ask.”

There
was a round of loud applause from the tasting room. Putting two and two
together, he stared at her and said, “Intercom?”

Trying
not to laugh, she nodded. “Yep, over on the wall by the door. They have them on
so they can hear anything and everything, should I fall and need to yell for
help.”

Having
a sudden thought and wanting to have a little fun, he said, “You know what this
means don’t you?”

She
shook her head. “No, what?”