Page 11 of Burn With Me

“Basically, I raise fish in these tanks, the fish poop, and that poop feeds the plants I grow. Come on, I’ll show you,” I say quickly as we walk back inside. I grab my testing kit, hoping he didn’t catch me ogling him. “The more in-depth answer is: Once an hour and sometimes sooner, depending on the system, the water cycles, and the dirty water drains into the containers that have the plants in them. The plants then absorb the fish waste, using the nutrients, and act as a natural filter. The oxygenated clean water then cycles back into the fish tanks. It’s a self-sustaining system, with the plants and fish being truly organic. I can grow food faster and with a smaller footprint than a traditional farm,” I say as I log the test results from the water.

When he doesn’t respond, I turn around and am shocked by his response.

With wide eyes, he takes in the room and bends down to look into one of the clear tanks. “Holy shit, that’s cool. So, it just kind of takes care of itself,” he says.

“Yeah, once everything got leveled out, that is. The system is closely monitored because it’s a balancing act, and it doesn’t take much for it to go south quickly,” I say. It’s nice having someone interested in what I’m doing other than family or someone I want to have a business relationship with. “Alright, we have to get going. If I’m late, I won’t hear the end of it.”

We walk together in comfortable silence.

I break that by asking, “Do you want to ride in the Jeep with Pam and Penny, or do you want to ride with Sam?”

“I’ll ride with Sam so you don’t get subjected to his whining so early in the morning,” he says with a smirk.

I laugh. “He’s a big baby. Cool, we’ll see you there.”

I walk to the Jeep and jump in the passenger seat, watching him as he gets in the van.

Pam starts the Jeep and looks at me with humor dancing in her eyes as she pulls onto Main Street, heading to the city square where the farmers’ market is held.

“Just say it and get it over with,” I say.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

I snort. “Whatever.”

“Luke is hot, right?”

“He’s good looking, but any ideas you have of setting me up, get it out of your head right this minute.” I stare at her, giving her as hard of a glare as I can.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, but it was nice to see a genuine smile on your face for the first time in years.”

“I smile all the time. You’re reading too far into this,” I say with the fakest smile I can muster. Turning to Penny, I say, “Your auntie is going crazy. I’m happy and smile often since moving here, especially since I have you as such a perfect princess.” I smile as she cocks her head and wags her tail.

“Yeah, but this one was different. I have a good feeling,” she says as she parks.

I hop out while the guys park the van and start to grab the stuff from the Jeep while Pam lets Penny out. I walk to my designated spot and put down what I’m carrying. The guys quickly set up the canopy and tables, and then Pam and I take over with laying everything out.

The last thing I do is set up Penny’s bed and grab her shirt. I try to sneak another look at Luke out of the corner of my eye, and see hints of tattoos sneaking out from under his sleeves. He argues with Sam on the best way to tie down the canopy, and I internally groan when he turns around. His Nikes match the color of his shirt and his fitted jeans are well worn and faded. Did I notice his shoes before most other things? Yes. Sue me because I truly think you can tell a lot about someone by their shoes.

Luke is hands down one of the most attractive men I’ve ever seen, and I don’t know how to handle this because it’s been so long since I’ve been attracted to someone.

I’m not ugly by any means. However, I’m not the stereotypical pretty either. I’m an average-sized woman who works out just enough to be able to eat what I want but not enough to lose the stubborn stomach pooch that has shown up in recent years, but I refuse to lay off the tacos because tacos are life.

I need to color my hair more because the grays have started to show up more than before, although I really keep coloring it because the red makes my blue eyes pop a little more. I do have great skin, though, and I’m lucky that I have no issues there other than having sensitive skin, but it could always be worse.

I shake my head to stop my thoughts.

Even if I was really ready to date, he just moved to town, and if my memory serves, he’s almost as big of a playboy as Sam is.

With Penny fully dressed, I give her the place command, and she trots to her bed and lies down. I turn around to put the finishing touches on the signage.

Sam walks up next to me and slings an arm around my shoulder. “You did good, kid. I always knew you could do it, but you’ve come so far in five years, and I know you’re just getting started.”

I look around and then back up at him. “Thanks, it hasn’t always been easy, but I got here. I found out last night that I have a meeting with a couple of the bigger stores next week up in Albuquerque to talk about the benefits of supporting local farmers, along with what makes aquaponics different, and possibly selling produce up there, which would mean a second farm site.”

“No shit! That’s great.” He gives me a side hug as the first person walks up.

I don’t even need to look over to see who it is. Since Luna moved to town a few weeks ago and started working at Griffin Farm’s Bed-and-Breakfast, she’s been one of my first customers every week. She seems shy but is one of the nicest people I’ve met in a long time.

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