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She’d considered their relationship the best part of her life. Not only her connection with Burke, but also the connection with his parents and his siblings. They’d folded her into their warmth so easily. Just as they had here on the apple farm.
For Burke, their connection had reminded him of all he’d lost. Why hadn’t she realized that communicating with her would rip the scar tissue off his grief and force him to deal with it fresh every time?
She’d been a teenager with a jerk of a father and no other close friends or adults. If she had talked through the situation with anyone else, maybe she would have looked at it from his perspective. Instead, her sorrow had turned inward until she’d convinced herself she wasn’t enough, and that her lack had caused Burke to turn away from her. Her self-esteem, never strong to begin with, had taken a nosedive. Probably reasonable feelings for a teenager in the circumstances, but she regretted them.
Frizzle barked excitedly at the fresh scents. The Worminator was a two-story structure with a large metal cylinder on the open second floor. That had to be the kettle where compost would brew into a nutritional liquid for the farm. Thea waved at them from beside it. “Hi, guys. Do you want a full tour or are you passing by?”
Burke’s laugh rumbled, making her skin shiver. He smiled at Rissa and gestured for her to answer.
That was an easy choice. “The full tour, please, unless Frizzle gets in the way.”
Thea nodded, and in moments she opened a door on ground level. “This front part of the building is wide open most of the year, but we close it off during the winter. No one wants more snow to shovel.”
Rissa nodded. “The compost will perform better with a warmer temperature, too. Are you vermi-composting?”
Thea’s face lit up. “Yes. The worms don’t like the cold much either. Closing the wall off works better.”
They followed Thea inside, and she closed the door behind them.
Frizzle barked repeatedly, making Rissa laugh. “Sorry. Yorkies love to talk. Whenever she encounters a new scent, she tells me all about it.”
Burke and Thea laughed as they watched Frizzle dash around the space, never wandering far, but curious about all the unfamiliar scents.
Rissa gathered her bravery and turned to Thea. “How would you feel about me designing a unit of lessons around the Worminator? I think kids would find it fascinating to see a working compost facility. This one is small enough not to be overwhelming. They could see the entire process in action, and I bet we could convince a bunch of them to start their own composting at home.”
Soon, she and Thea were consumed by talk of composting, compost tea, irrigation systems, and which curriculum objectives she could cover in the unit. Thea had a ton of ideas for making compost lessons fun for kids and ideas for what they could do in the classroom to mimic the entire process.
Burke didn’t say much, but he didn’t make any excuses to leave. Every time she checked, he was watching and listening. Unlike Dan, he wasn’t bored with her enthusiasm for her job.
Memories of Dan made her shudder, so she pushed them far to the back of her mind. He was in her past; no need to think of him anymore. They’d only been on a few dates and she shouldn’t let him take up real estate in her mind.
Burke touched her arm. Even through the layers of material, her skin reacted as if he had brushed his lips along her skin.
He frowned and kept his voice low. “Are you okay?”
She nodded. “I am.” He’d always been perceptive, and he’d registered her thoughts and the way they affected her. She’d have to be aware of keeping her memories of Dan locked away.
When they left the Worminator, her mind swirled with ideas for getting kids involved in composting. Fruit and veggie scrap collections in classrooms. They could have two sealed transparent buckets. One where they could watch the natural decomposition of half the materials, and another where they could see vermi-composting in action.
She finally realized Burke had guided them back toward the farm instead of further into the orchard.
When she raised her eyebrows, he chuckled. “Your brain is whirling with ideas. I know you’re itching to get to your computer and record your thoughts while it’s all fresh in your mind.”
“You’re right, but I’m sorry for interrupting our walk.” Surprisingly, that was completely true. After they’d cleared the air, she’d enjoyed herself—something she couldn’t have imagined even a few hours ago.
“That’s okay. We can explore further another time.”
She smiled. “That sounds good. Are you taking the weekend off, or do you have work to do as well?”
He frowned slightly. “I’ve taken more than the weekend off.”
Rissa stumbled to a stop, making Frizzle bounce in concern. Burke stopped as well, steadying her with a hand on her arm and his face showing his surprise at his own statement.
“You quit your job?”
He nodded. “I haven’t told the others yet.”
She’d never known Burke not to have a job. Even as a kid, he’d mown lawns, raked leaves, and shoveled snow. Something bad had to have happened, so she asked the only thing that mattered. “Are you okay?”
