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Tina
The greenhouses were incredible. Kate’s husband, Chris—who had come up with the design—said he had started with a prototype and was expanding from there.
“I’m really impressed,” she told him honestly, breathing deep to inhale the heady scents of soil and water and fresh growth. It was like spring but inside.
The massive hexagonal structure was cutting edge with hinged sections on the sloped ceiling that opened with the touch of a button. Sliding Plexiglas panels worked similarly along outer and inner walls, partitioning the massive space into smaller sections, allowing each to have its own ideal growing environment.
What really impressed her, however, was the advanced hydroponic system. Not only did it collect rain and snow melt, but it also brought in water from the nutrient-rich stock pond and recycled it back through a complex gravity-based drainage network. Even better, everything was powered using solar panels and small-scale wind turbines.
“About twenty percent of our fresh produce comes from here,” Chris told her proudly as they walked past the raised beds holding an assortment of fruit and vegetable plants. “We’re still figuring things out.”
Tina had been dreaming of doing something like this for years, but each time she brought up the idea of bringing their greenhouses into the twenty-first century, her brothers would shoot it down, citing the cost as too prohibitive to be feasible. While disappointing, she understood where they were coming from. Obermacher Farms could never produce crops on their current scale using such methods, but Sanctuary could. They needed only to sustain themselves, and that was more than doable.
“I think you’ve done a phenomenal job,” Tina told him honestly. “How did you come up with all this?”
He grinned. “It’s amazing what you can find on the internet when you know what to look for. The state university has a great agriculture program with plenty of information on sustainability and renewable resources.”
Tina knew they did because that was where she’d earned her degree. In fact, she’d written quite a few articles for the site herself. “I might be able to help. Maybe offer some suggestions. I have some practical experience with sustainable farming.”
“You do?”
Tina nodded. “I did work-study programs through my undergrad and grad years.”
Those programs had put her in her family’s bad graces more than once, but the experience and knowledge gained had been invaluable. “Each year, a team of us would go into a region, usually a poor one with unsuitable natural resources for farming, and build systems that would work for them. In one particularly dry climate, we created a completely soil-free growing environment using suspension and a recycling hydroponic system similar to the one you have here.”
“Now, I’m the one impressed.”
She felt the heat rise in her cheeks and looked away. The praise was unexpected but welcome all the same.
“We can talk with Church about it over dinner, see what he thinks,” Kate’s husband said.
“Church?”
“Sorry, Matt,” he clarified. “I’m so used to calling him Church that I forget not everyone does.”
“It’s a call name, I take it?” Like Doc.
He nodded.
“What’s yours?”
For a moment, she didn’t think he’d answer and wondered if maybe she’d made some kind of faux pas by asking. Doc hadn’t seemed to mind, but maybe others did.
“Mad Dog,” he said finally.
Tina eyed him skeptically. He was a large, muscular guy but clearly soft-spoken and intelligent. Not once had the image of a rabid canine crossed her mind over the course of the afternoon.
“Do I want to know?”
“Probably not.”
“Fair enough.”
They stepped outside and walked down a path to the stock pond, which was actually an offshoot of the small lake on the property. Chris explained that a depression beneath the surface had created a natural aquarium-like environment. However, it didn’t look deep enough to withstand winter temperatures and still function.
“How do you keep it from freezing?” Tina asked, fascinated.
“Filtered pumps and continuous recirculation of warmer water from the greenhouses with pipes below the frostline. We’ve had some hiccups, but we’re making progress.”
A sharp whistle had them both looking to the side, where a massive pit bull was running their way. The dog was big and beefy and completely bypassed Chris, making a beeline straight for her.
Tina remained perfectly still as the dog reached her and began to circle her slowly.
“It’s okay,” Chris told her. “He’s one of ours.”
Tina breathed a sigh of relief and let the dog sniff the back of her hand.
“Duke!” a sharp voice commanded, and instantly, the dog turned and retreated to the man who joined them.
Doc. He was looking as good as always, his flannel shirt flapping open to hint at the form-fitting thermal beneath it.
The pit bull instantly sat at his feet, regarding her with curious interest.
“Sorry about that. Duke gets a little overexcited sometimes when he sees someone new. We’re still working on that, aren’t we, bud?” He reached down and scratched the dog’s head.
“No problem. I love dogs.”
Doc’s eyes appeared to shine with approval, but it might have been a trick of the light. Or wishful thinking.
“Kate said to let you know dinner will be ready in about half an hour,” Doc told them.
“Good timing. We’re just about done,” Chris said.
“Mind if I walk up with you?” Doc asked.
Tina could have sworn the two men exchanged a brief glance, but again, it might have been a trick of the light.
“Actually, I’ve got something I have to do before dinner, so you two go ahead,” Chris told them. “See you in thirty.”
Chris walked into the tree line and disappeared, leaving Tina and Doc to make the trek back to the resort with Duke trotting along beside them.
“So, how many guard dogs do you have here?” she asked.
“Nine, including Duke, but they’re not guard dogs,” Doc told her. “Duke’s a stray that Kate took in a few years ago, along with Duke’s baby mama and their seven pups. Well, they’re not pups anymore, I guess.”
Tina laughed. “That sounds exactly like something Kate would do. So, they’re pets?”
“We’re training them to be therapy dogs.”
Tina hadn’t considered that. But given Sanctuary’s mission, it made perfect sense. “Very cool.”
They walked for a while in companionable silence before she said, “You’re doing some good things here.”
He smiled, unknowingly setting off butterflies in her chest. Or at least, that was what that fluttering felt like to her.
“That’s the idea.”
When they neared the main building, Doc veered off to the right. When Tina hesitated, he encouraged her to join him, an offer she gladly accepted. He led them to a large, fenced-in area, where they were greeted with quite a few wagging tails.
After taking a few minutes to pet them all, they left Duke with his doggy family and went inside, using a side entrance. The moment they did, delicious aromas assaulted them. Tina hadn’t realized how hungry she was until then.
She asked to use the restroom to wash up. As she washed her hands, she looked at herself in the mirror. Her skin was lightly flushed from being outside, but it was the sheer pleasure of the afternoon that made her feel as if she was glowing.
Dinner was no less enjoyable. Kate had cooked a fabulous meal, but it was the easy camaraderie among the residents that Tina enjoyed the most. They felt like a family—or what a family should feel like.
She was genuinely sad when it was time to go.
She thanked them and said her good-byes. Once again, it was Doc who walked her out.
“I had a wonderful time today,” she told him.
“Glad to hear it. I hope that means you’ll come back and visit us again.”
“I’d like that.”
She’d enjoyed the girl time, the tour, the dinner, seeing Doc—all of it—and she wouldn’t be opposed to doing it again. Hopefully, she would, too. Chris had seemed receptive of her offer to collaborate on the greenhouses, just as Matt had with the orchard.
Once again, Doc opened her truck door for her in a gentlemanly gesture. It didn’t surprise her as much as it had the last time.
“Listen, Tina, do you think you might like to go out sometime? Maybe grab some dinner or a cup of coffee or something?”
His words thrilled her, but reality came crashing in hard. It was one thing to see him at Sanctuary. Quite another to be seen with him in town.
“Oh, I’m not sure I can,” she hedged. “Things are ramping up at the orchards. There’s always so much to do this time of year.”
“I understand,” he said easily. “You have a good night. Drive safe.”