Winter Harvest

Love In Surplus

Book One

Winter Harvest

By

Susan Jaymes

Desert Breeze Publishing, Inc.

27305 W. Live Oak Rd #424

Castaic, CA 91384

http://www.DesertBreezePublishing.com

Copyright © 2012 by Susan Jaymes

ISBN 10: 1-61252-245-9

ISBN 13: 978-1-61252-245-6

Published in the United States of America

Publish Date: November 21, 2012

Editor-In-Chief: Gail R. Delaney

Content Editor: Sherry Brinson

Marketing Director: Jenifer Ranieri

Cover Artist: Gwen Phifer

Cover Art Copyright by Desert Breeze Publishing, Inc © 2012

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including photocopying, recording or by any information retrieval and storage system without permission of the publisher.

Ebooks are
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Pirating of ebooks is illegal. Criminal Copyright Infringement,
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infringement without monetary gain, may be investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is punishable by up to five years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000.

Names, characters and incidents depicted in this book are products of the author’s imagination, or are used in a fictitious situation. Any resemblances to actual events, locations, organizations, incidents or persons – living or dead – are coincidental and beyond the intent of the author.

Dedication

I dedicate this book to my Grandmother who let me spend countless hours on the farm with her. I treasure every moment. I wish you were here to see my accomplishment. I also would like to thank my husband and two sons. As always, you inspire me.

Chapter One

The wind bit into Victoria's down jacket as she climbed the snow covered hill. Stumbling in her heavy boots, she caught herself before she fell flat on her face. She crested the hill and came to an abrupt stop. Puffs of white clouds hung in the air from her heavy breathing.

Andrew, her brother, sat hunched over at their mother's grave. What had brought him here? He seldom came. She stood still, hating to interrupt him. Turning around didn't appeal to her, however. Trucking up the hill once in this stiff wind had almost done her in. So she decided to join him, even though she knew he wouldn't be pleased.
Too bad
. She had as much of a right to be here as he did. Besides, nothing she did anymore pleased him.

Three years ago, they had buried their mother after she had lost a gruesome fight with cancer. That particular winter had been mild, allowing them to bury her at the family grave site. Today, on the third anniversary of her death, that wasn't the case. A storm had moved in. Still, Victoria had never let the weather keep her from visiting her mother's grave. Her death had changed Andrew the most. Instead of the jolly man Victoria had known in the past, undeniable anger now ruled his life. She had tried everything to help him let go, but so far nothing had worked.

He turned to her with a hiss of breath, leaving a cloud in its wake. "What are you doing here?"

"Same as you. I miss her." She knelt beside him and brushed some of the remaining snow from the grave stone. The cold penetrated her ski pants.

He ground a gloved covered hand against his wet cheek. "I didn't say you didn't, but you could have waited."

"Honestly, I had no idea you were here." She'd never seen him here before. "I--"

"Whatever." Slowly, he rose and brushed the snow from his pants.

Victoria tugged at his arm until he lost his balance and fell back onto his knees.

He gaped at her. "What the hell, Victoria?"

"Don't swear here." She grabbed his hand between hers, and he let his arm go limp. Did her touch repulse him? "I know you hurt, too, Andrew. We all do. Let yourself grieve and heal. It doesn't help to hold on to the anger. She told us to go on."

"She said a lot of things before she died." He yanked his hand away. "I'll move on in my way, in my own time. She's not here anymore to see what I do anyway. Just stay out of it."

"I miss my brother, and I'm sure she can see us from somewhere. It's what I believe helped me to move on. Maybe it will help you too."

"What… like some kind of fantasy? I'm a guy, and I live in reality. The reality is, she's gone, and nothing can change what was said and done."

"Andrew?" Victoria scrunched her brows together, and her stocking hat inched down closer to her eyes. "What are you talking about?"

"Nothing. Never mind."

"Look, I know the farm weighs heavy on you. It's getting harder for Dad to manage. Let me help you and Traye this year."

Andrew rose again and stomped his boots. "You can't. I love this farm, this land. It's all I have, and it'll be mine someday. I must do this alone."

"Ours. It'll be
ours."

"Why the hell do you want this land?" He glared down at her.

She shrugged. "It's my home, my legacy. We have to learn to work together."

"I don't
have
to do anything."

Victoria shook her head. She and her brother had once been so close, and now she had no idea how to talk to him. Her mother would know how to heal him. Victoria didn't. She
couldn't.
Yet she continued to fight and try. Seeing him so angry and defiant killed her.

"Fine. Don't work with me, but I'm not going anywhere anytime soon."

"We don't need you here, you know." His eyes darkened to a stormy blue. "This farm will flourish without you. Take your college degree and make something of it somewhere else."

"I use my college education every day by helping to run this place." Her heart broke at his harsh words. His zingers never stopped chipping away at her. "You need me here, and this is where I'm staying. Get used to it."

A noise behind them startled her, and she and Andrew both turned to find Traye standing a few feet away with a sheepish smile on his lips.

"Great. The gang's all here. Time for me to leave." Andrew spun to walk away.

Traye put up a gloved hand. "No. I'll go."

"Forget it. It's too crowded here for me now, anyway." Andrew narrowed his eyes to slits and stared at Traye. "Why you feel you have the right to be here is beyond me."

"Andrew, mother loved him, too," Victoria said. "And Traye loved her. You aren't the only one grieving."

He nodded, walking past Traye so closely he stumbled. "She's not his mother, no matter how much he might have wished she were. He has no tie to her at all, except that she rescued him like an abandoned puppy." His voice faded as he stomped off down the hill.

Traye turned back to Victoria with dull green eyes. He shook his head. "Sorry. No matter what I say to him lately, it's wrong. I should have turned around when I saw you two here and come back later."'

Victoria reached for Traye's hand but missed. "Come here. You deserve to be here. Mom loved you. I don't know what's up with him. I thought that by now, he'd have mellowed a bit."

Traye knelt beside her, and she leaned her head against his shoulder. The chilly material of his jacket cooled her check.

"I'm sure he still misses her as much as I do," he said. "You too."

"It never gets any easier, but Andrew is getting downright volatile. I don't like who he's become."

"Sometimes I don't either, but I try to understand. He's been like a brother to me ever since your parents took me in full-time."

"You
are
part of my family. You're my best friend, and confidant. You got me through Mom's death, and you help with Dad, too."

"Thanks. You guys helped me through a lot of crap as well. I'll always be grateful to this family. Paying my respects is important for me."

"She was very special." Victoria lifted her head and looked at her mother's grave one more time. "This family will never be the same."

"Like you staying on here?"

She looked at him, and his slight smile tugged at her heart. She loved his smile, but she loved his grin even more. She could stare at this man forever and never get sick of him. He really had helped her through the last three years, and she'd fallen hopelessly in love with him. Oh, she'd loved him before, but now she knew he'd always be her first love. The man to whom she'd compare every guy, even if he never realized how she felt.

She'd never planned on staying on the farm after college. When Traye had said he'd never seen her as a woman, that he only thought of her as a friend, she'd decided to move on. Then right after graduation, her mother had fallen ill.

Now, more in love than ever and without a mother to guide her, Victoria decided she'd settled for friendship with Traye instead.

"I have no other choice and no regrets. After losing Mom, I don't want to waste any time away from Dad."
Or you
. She kept her gaze away from him. "Besides, Andrew needs me, even though he won't admit it. Haven't gotten that all figured out yet. I feel as if it's my job now to keep this family together. And you're part of this family, too."

"Yeah?" He smiled a slow, lazy grin. "Thanks."

"I wish you'd just believe it. Besides… lately, you're much easier to deal with than Andrew."

He nodded. "No argument there." He turned back toward the grave. "Do you think the pain will ever get any easier to bear?"

"I doubt it. You didn't feel this way when your parents died, did you?"

"Hell, no." Traye grimaced. "Don't remember much about my mom at all, and all I remember about Dad is that he was a mean drunk."

"You have to let it go."

"I don't think I can, and I don't want to discuss it in front of Tessie's grave. This is her time, and I'd much rather remember the great memories I have of her than the nightmares I had of my dad."

"Well, there you go. Make it easier by remembering the good times with Mom. Remember how, on a cold day like today, she'd shove us outside to get fresh air -- and we hated it. Once we got outside, though, we'd lose ourselves in a snowball fight or building a fort. She always knew when we needed to burn off some energy. Then we'd come in to find her ready with hot chocolate and fresh baked chocolate chip cookies. She made the best cookies."

"Yeah, she did. That's something you haven't mastered yet."

She slugged him, and he laughed. With all his thick gear on, her punch had probably just felt like a tap. "If you don't like my cooking, then eat elsewhere."

"Not a chance. Just don't make cookies."

"You're terrible, but you did manage to make me feel better." Victoria pushed her stocking hat higher on her head. "You want to go in and teach me how to make them?"

"No. I'm worse than you are. I'd love a hot cup of coffee and the leftover chocolate cake you got from town, though."

"Oh sure. You'll eat a store bought cake, but not my cookies."

"Yep." He rose and offered her his hand. "I know you want some cake, too."

She grabbed his hand and let him haul her up to her feet. "You're right. I do."

He pulled her in close, and she banged into his hard chest. Not sure what possessed her, she rose onto her tiptoes and kissed him hard on the lips. Although the air was cold, the contact sent a heat wave surging down to her toes. His tongue slipped out to lick her eager lips, turning her insides to hot lava. She opened her mouth, let him explore inside, and dueled with his brazen tongue. He pulled her closer and deepened the kiss.

A moan escaped from deep within her throat.

With an abrupt push, he stepped away.

She gazed into his wide teal eyes. Man, she'd known he had to be a good kisser, but she'd never expected to be carried into a different orbit.

"What did we just do?" He stepped away from her, but continued to study her lips as she licked them.

She kept her gaze on him. "We kissed, dummy."

"I know, but why did you do that?"

"Why'd you let me?" Victoria smirked at him. She wanted to kiss him again and never stop. "And more importantly, why'd you kiss me back?"

"You took me off guard. We were sharing our grief and got carried away."