The Height Of Happiness

Chapter 5

            Serena awoke before the rest of the world.

            It was a work day for her, and in her eyes those were the best days. She was sure sunrise was just around the corner as she found her favorite old jeans and boots. She threw on a well-loved long-sleeve chambray button up emblazoned with her monogram on the pocket and a sturdy waterproof vest over it. Giving Charlemagne his breakfast and a pat of the ears after grabbing something for herself, Serena could see the first cracks of light breaking over the horizon. The black began to warm into a pale gray morning as overcast skies and fog set in.

Stepping out the door, she pulled her crossover utility vehicle out of the shed near her house, and drove down to where the main stores were kept and her workers would be clocking in at any moment. She could see her men and women parking their cars, adjusting their boots, and wiping the last bit of sleep from their eyes as they all filtered toward the staff parking lot.

            Taking the golf cart on steroids through the hills as a somewhat scenic route to her destination, it seemed the last round of grapes were heavy and ready to fall. Gleaning would not take the whole week, and it was only a matter of time before they prepared the wines for winter. All these thoughts running through her head, she hardly noticed that Edward stood talking with her head of staff.

            She’d expected to find him in some sort of office attire that made him look entirely out of place in the fields of Belle and Beau. Instead, she found him wearing regular work clothes like a normal person would wear.

            He too wore jeans and a long-sleeve sweatshirt, yet his clothes looked more expensive than anything else being worn. Still, the practical dark gray cotton hugging his chest and the well-made jeans helped him blend into the fabric of practicality that was operating around him. Serena could see the thickness of his biceps through the material, and a small part of her heart swooned at the sight.

            But Edward was no longer eye candy nor someone to consider romantically anymore. He was competition.

            “I almost didn’t recognize you without some suit on,” Serena called as she parked her car and took a last sip of coffee from the travel mug she carried in her vehicle’s cup holder. “Good morning, men.”

            Francisco, her cheerful head of vineyard staff tipped his wide-brimmed work hat to her as he said his goodbyes to Edwards Summerfields. Shaking his hand, Edward politely let him go to work before turning his attention back to Serena.

            “I don’t just have a closet full of tuxedos,” he joked.

            “What Edward, do you also have just some dinner jackets as well?”

            Edward took her joke in stride, “HA. HA. See? I’m laughing so hard at that joke that I’m about to roll all the way back to California.”

            “You’d never let yourself get that dirty rolling in grass and dirt.”

            He did actually chuckle this time, saying, “Okay, are we going to work today or are you just going to delightfully banter for the rest of the morning? I’m sure Francisco would love to show me around this morning if you feel unable to take me seriously while I’m dressed down.”

            Serena sighed, “No, just trying to lighten the gray morning with some quips.”

            “So, where do we begin?”

            “Well, we have to look over last week’s vine health reports. We have to check on fence repair in the southern hills at plot 10. Then, I’m going to check on gleaning efforts and do some grape tasting before preparing for lunch with a man who will possibly be starting up our apple brandy line. We just got our permits for development, and now I have to hire a manager to oversee that sector. After that, I’ll take stock of the affairs at the restaurant, go over next season’s menu with the chef, say hello to a bride planning her wedding here for next summer, then come back and get reports of the day by talking with team leaders and tasting the last of our crop. I have to fine tune our winter-prep plans tonight that will be happening for the next couple of weeks as the ground rests for the season. I have to decide where I’m going to plant cover crops for the winter, and what land is going to rest for the harvest next year.”

            “Rest?”

            Serena nodded, “I try to practice crop rotation by letting a plot rest every commercial season. We don’t really prune or cultivate it through the year. The restaurant or staff will typically go pick whatever grows wild there that year, and some animals like birds and such will visit throughout the summer.”

            Edward furrowed his brow, “I don’t know if we ever do that.”

            Serena shrugged, “It was something my grandfather did with his very first vines. It’s tradition. Some of our best harvest comes from the plots that rested the year before, so I don’t complain. We’re not rotating in the traditional sense, but not commercially harvesting and stripping the land helps keep things a bit wild here. I don’t want anything getting too pristine.”

            “Is there a need for it?”

            Serena smiled, “Scientifically speaking, no. Grapes don’t have shallow roots, and they don’t deplete nutrients the same way.”

            Edward seemed to be thinking the idea over then nodded. “It makes sense, and I guess it helps with morale?”

            Serena nodded, “There are limitations, but people like being able to bring home a little carton of what they’ve been working on all season.”

            They kept conversing like this as he kept by her side all day. After a picnic lunch together of sandwiches and fruit on the back of Serena’s cart, they made their way down to the orchard Serena had just purchased. Driving through the rows and rows of honey crisp and pink lady trees still gave her butterflies. The memory of running wild with the knowledge of being a trespasser thrilled her as a kid, and it had never left her.

            As an adult, Serena had bought it from the retiring couple with the specific request to leave them and their family with the house they lived in and a few acres surrounding it. Serena hated the idea of taking the family home away from their grown twins with growing families of their own. The daughter’s husband was now going help her work this land as agricultural management. It was all staying in the family, which had gotten Serena a good price. Still, Serena hoped none of their family resented her or felt like their home was stolen in the transaction. She just wanted to try her hand at brandies and jams.