Raspberries and Vinegar (A Farm Fresh Romance Book 1) (27 page)

Decision made, Jo rolled out of bed and shrugged on some clothes. Still too early to go next door. She took a bowl of granola out onto the front step.

Domino ducked under the barbed wire fence and careened up the trailer steps, practically wiggling right into Jo’s lap. He’d grown over the past few months and must be near his full size by now.

Jo burrowed her face into his silky hair and told him all about the mess with Zach, all the dreams and hopes that lay shattered, even the ones she’d had that didn’t include love. The June morning sparkled around her yet everything seemed drab.

“Heel, Domino. I’ll walk you home.” Handy to have an excuse, should the discussion not go so well. As Jo walked, she prayed, but her thoughts were so disjointed she could only hope God understood her better than she understood herself.

Rosemary sat in the wicker rocker on the veranda, hunched over her open Bible. She glanced up when the pup barked a greeting. “Domino! How...?” Her gaze flew to Jo’s face and she took a deep
breath. “Jo. I’m sorry he keeps bothering you.” Dark circles hung under the older woman’s eyes, and her cheeks looked moist with tears.

“It’s okay, Rosemary.” Jo hesitated for an instant. “Are you all right?” She climbed up the few steps.

Rosemary managed a wan smile. “I’m okay, Jo. Hanging onto the fact that God is God and He’s in control. We’re not. I don’t know why we even try.”

“Is it Steve?” Or Zach. Was this about Yvette? Had he owned up?

“He’ll be fine. We did have some bad news last night, though.”

Bad news must have been roaming the neighborhood like a pack of wolves. “What happened?”

“You know Gabe and Bethany Rubachuk? From church?”

Jo nodded, relief flooding her that the problem wasn’t Zach. “Health food store.” Zach’s best friend.

Rosemary took a deep breath. “Bethany was killed in a head-on crash last night. Zach’s been gone all night with Gabe to identify her body.”

Jo’s brain garbled. “Bethany?”
Oh, God, no!
A head-on. What were the odds? “W-what kind of an accident?”

“She swerved to miss a deer and a semi-truck ran right over her little car. They say she probably didn’t even see it coming.”

Chapter 27

Zach huddled under his rain slicker, not that it did much good. He’d tracked Gabe this far and wasn’t giving up now. His buddy hadn’t been at church this morning, nor at the apartment or store — no surprise there — nor any other logical place Zach had been able to think of until...

The treehouse.

Why it had come to mind, he didn’t know, but when he’d followed the road on past his folks’ place, past the trailer, and around the corner, he’d been rewarded by a glimpse of Gabe’s beater car in amongst the trees.

Now Zach stood under the golden willow and peered up. The knotted rope was not dangling. So, that’s where Gabe was. “Rubachuk!”

Silence. Well, not really. Even here in the forest the rain beat on everything, including the platforms above Zach’s head.

“I know you’re up there, man. Drop the rope for me.”

He hadn’t been up that thing in years, but memories flooded back
. All the times he and Gabe had hung out here. Young boys, reading comic books and eating candy bars. Teenagers, talking about girls. About Zach playing the field, and Gabe’s intense crush on Bethany.

“Go away, Nemesek. I don’t want to talk.”

Zach cocked his head. “Can I come up if I keep my trap shut?”

“Never happened yet.”

“I’ll do my best. I just want to be with you, man.”

A scrape on the wet planks above, then the knotted rope tumbled within reach. Zach took a deep breath, asked God to zip his mouth, and climbed up.

Gabe slumped against the trunk. The overhang of the upper deck and the long, drooping branches kept the rain from blasting him directly. At least he wore a jacket and wouldn’t catch his death of a cold. He made no move to acknowledge Zach’s presence.

Zach plopped down beside his buddy, drawing his knees up and wrapping his arms around them. He glanced sidelong at Gabe. What could he say that would make a difference? Anything? Right. He’d promised to keep quiet. That took the pressure off. Kind of.

Across the platform, the railing had splintered off where Jo crashed through in weather very like today’s. He should fix that. Zach grimaced. Or not. The tree house was on Green Acres property. By all rights, both he and Gabe were trespassing.

He could do it for Jo. He’d come in the roundabout way like he had today, and she’d never know he’d been there unless she wandered out by chance and caught him. Would she recognize the repair for what it was?

The thought stilled his heart. Time to admit something to himself, perhaps? He’d do it because he loved her. Because it might be one of the few things left that drew them together instead of wedged them apart. Because his life wasn’t complete without her.

He inhaled deeply of the sweet, damp, willow-laden air and blew it out again in a long breath. In and out again. Like a cleansing. Time to stop running from God, from the farm, from Jo. Time to change direction and run toward them. Were they connected? What if he committed to stay and she rejected him again? What if he was never good enough for her, never environmental enough? Never green enough?

Gabe’s voice interrupted his reverie. “I don’t suppose you can give me a good answer why God killed Bethany.” His voice broke. “And our baby.”

Please God. Give me words.
But there didn’t seem to be an answer. “Not really.” Zach’s mind slid to Yvette’s pregnancy.
Let it go, man. It’s not yours. You know it.

“I didn’t think so.” Gabe heaved a huge, shuddering sigh.

Zach had tried so hard to control his own life. What had it got him? Nothing but a false paternity suit and a lost job opportunity. It was time — past time — to let God have the reins.

Gabe’s voice broke through Zach’s thoughts. “I’ve spent my life serving God. But it’s not good enough. He’s thrown away my gift and trampled it in the mud.”

Zach had heard all the pat answers. People offered them to him and Mom when Dad contracted Guillain-Barré. But at least Dad lived. Zach opened his mouth, ready to repeat some of the wise axioms. Shut it again.

“What does God really want, anyway? He doesn’t care about us. We’re just game pieces on His stupid chessboard. ‘Oops, had to sacrifice a pawn. Too bad.’” Gabe rammed his fist on the wooden planks, causing the raindrops to splatter.

It sounded like there were a few holes in Gabe’s thought process, but Zach had nothing to plug them with. It wouldn’t accomplish anything to stick up for God. If God couldn’t prove Himself to Gabe — well, Gabe was right. God wasn’t worth serving.

Gabe’s elbow jabbed Zach in the ribs. “What, you’re not going to spout some nonsense to me about how she’s an angel in heaven, and God needed her more there than I needed her here?”

Zach met his buddy’s eyes and shook his head. For someone who’d demanded silence for his company, Gabe sure had a lot of questions.

“And don’t tell me I’m in some league with Job. That I’m important enough for Satan to test my faith. That’s garbage.”

Hadn’t even crossed Zach’s mind. Best not to remind Gabe that God had restored everything that had been taken from Job. A new family down the road would not be the same thing as having Bethany and their baby back.

“I hate the truck driver that killed her, you know that? If he hadn’t been there, Beth could have avoided the deer. And he’ll be fine. Just a few bumps and bruises.”

Zach hadn’t given much thought to the other guy in all the time he’d been focused on pulling Gabe through this. “I’m sure he’s really sorry.”

Gabe jerked away, shaking. “Big lot of good that will do. It won’t bring Bethany back.” His voice broke. “I never even got to meet my baby girl.”

Once again, Zach shoved thoughts of Yvette’s pregnancy out of his mind and pulled his focus back to Gabe.

“You’re not going to offer to take me down to the pub and drown my sorrows?”

That did it. “Gabe, I never turned into a drunk just because I quit going to church and reading my Bible. Sure, I’d have a few beers at a party, but that’s a long way from drowning in alcohol. If you’re going to push me for a reaction, stay above the belt.”

Gabe’s jaw trembled and tears sprang to his eyes. Or it could be the rain getting to him at last. He leaned back against the trunk and closed his eyes. “I don’t know what I’m going to do. How I’m going to survive.”

Zach leaned closer, wedging his shoulder tight against his buddy’s. “I know, man. It’s awful.”

“My soul has been ripped out.”

Please, dear God. Help Gabe. Help me. We need you here
. “I know.” Zach’s own throat caught. “I know.”

Chapter 28

On Wednesday
Claire drove Jo to Wynnton to have her cast removed. Jo averted her eyes as they passed the riverside park on the way into town. Horrible place, for all that it displayed God’s beauty. It also reminded Jo of Zach and words she wished she could take back.

Across the highway a wrecking yard drew her attention through its chain link fencing. Two men in coveralls stood beside a little red car, hood accordion-folded clear to the doors. Jo knew that car. She stared, her gut rolling.

“Claire.” Jo’s voice came out faint.

Claire glanced at her. “What?”

But they were already past. “That was Bethany’s car in that lot. I’m sure of it.”

Claire glanced in her mirrors and hit the brakes, swerving to the side of the road.

A truck blasted by, horn blaring.

Claire backed up until the girls could see into the yard again. “Looks like it to me. It’s a Corolla about the same year as hers, anyway. And would match what we heard about the damage.”

Jo stared at the crumpled car, trying to imagine being in the vehicle when it happened. “No wonder she didn’t make it through.”

One of the men glanced up, noticing their car, as Claire pulled back out onto the highway. “Does anyone in town know it was Sierra’s dad that hit her?”

Jo shook her head, tears burning. “Not from me. It’s not that I’ve been trying to keep it a secret, exactly. It just never seemed like the right time.”

“Yeah, me neither. I don’t think Sierra has told anyone, either.”

“It’ll come out sometime.” Jo shifted in the passenger seat, trying to get comfortable. “I mean, in the end Mr. Riehl only had a few bruises. It doesn’t seem fair that Bethany died. I wouldn’t want her mom or Gabe to blame us.”

Claire shot Jo a look. “That’d be crazy. Why would they?”

How could Jo explain to her that she’d been blamed for zillions of things growing up, most of them way out of her control? “People look for a target.”

“I don’t really know Doreen, but Gabe’s our friend.”

Jo’s gut said otherwise.

***

“Who was that, son?” Dad’s voice, stronger than it had been a few days ago, called from the living room.

Zach stared at the cell in his hand, his mouth twisting as he mulled over the conversation he’d just ended. Not long ago he’d pushed his dad’s counsel aside, but this time he felt like he needed it. He shoved the phone into his pocket, walked through the archway, and plopped down into the recliner. “Albert Warren.”

Dad’s eyebrows drew together. “Should I know that name?”

Zach shrugged. “He owns East Spokane Vet Clinic. He’s the guy who offered me a job a couple of months ago.”

His dad nodded, dark eyes obviously trying to read Zach’s mind.

“The guy he hired then wants to take a leave of absence to go backpacking in South America. Doc Warren wants to know if I’m ready to come work for him now.”

“Just to fill in? For how long?”

Zach shook his head. “Nope. Permanent. He told the guy he wouldn’t be able to hold the position open for the six months he wants to be gone.”

Dad’s voice flattened. “So you’re leaving us.”

If only it were that easy. “It was my dream come true.”

“Was?” A lilt of hope.

Of course Dad would catch that. Zach leaned forward, elbows on his knees, and met his father’s gaze. “I don’t know what to do.”

Dad nodded and relaxed against the sofa armrest. “Pros and cons?”

Zach hesitated. “Well, the pro is that it’s the job I’ve wanted for years. Albert Warren respects me and wants me to work for him.”

“Anything else in favor?”

The museums and movie theaters flitted through Zach’s mind, followed by the city’s ethnic restaurants and specialty shops. He tried to hunt for more solid memories, like the church he’d attended with Gabe when they’d been in college together the first few years. It had been a big city church, running like a well-oiled social club. Nothing like Galena Gospel Church.

“
I need a job. Wally Taubin expects to be back in the saddle next week. Though how the man ever managed the workload on his own beats me. He’s way older than me and I could barely handle the hours.”

“He might be willing to sell out.”

Zach shook his head. “He’s not even sixty yet. He’s never said a thing to me about retiring early.”

“A partnership?”

“There’s been no indication that he’s thinking any such thing.”

Dad appeared to contemplate. “Well, then. What are the cons?”

Zach took a deep breath. “You’re not ready to start farming again yet, are you?”

Dad swept a hand to indicate his body. “I wish.”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought. So the timing, while better than last time, is still a negative.” But that wasn’t all that prevented him from jumping at Doc Warren’s offer. Since the day he and Gabe had sat in the tree house, he’d been praying about Jo and how he could mend the rift between them. Was this God’s answer? That Jo wasn’t the right girl for him? Zach raised his gaze to meet his dad’s.

“So. Anything else a negative for accepting the offer?”

Besides Jo? Nearly everything. The smell of rain in the orchard and of fresh-mown grass. He’d miss Domino, Sadie, and Old Pete. He’d even miss the stupid sheep. The timing was still all wrong. He couldn’t leave unless he knew things wouldn’t work out with Jo. That God specifically wanted him at Warren’s clinic.