Free Raspberries and Vinegar (A Farm Fresh Romance Book 1) by Valerie Comer

Anything can grow.” Jo could have kicked herself. Nothing like playing with innuendo.
    He sighed and tilted his head downward. In the outline of his posture Jo saw discouragement, not hope.
    In a snap decision she stopped the tire swing and slid off. She climbed onto the picnic table, leaving plenty of space between them. “Spring doesn’t offer promises to you?”
    He shrugged. “It’s been a rough few months. I’m not sure what I believe anymore.”
    His family had been through so much with his father’s illness. “How so?” For a long moment, Jo didn’t think he’d answer.  
    “I thought I had a permanent position lined up for after my graduation. It, um, fell through.” He shifted on the table. “I’m headed into Coeur d’Alene later this week to follow up on some job leads with the hope my dad gets better soon.”
    Right. And it wasn’t nice of her to pray to the contrary, but she could hardly help herself.
    “That Guillain-Barré is a kicker.” His voice was so low she barely made out the words.
    Had he received more news, worse news? “He’ll be okay, won’t he?”
    “Depends what you mean by okay. The immunoglobulins halted the progress of the disease, but he’s not recovering quickly. It may be partly due to his age.” Zach shook his head. “He’ll be in physical therapy for a while. It may be months before he’s well again. If ever.”
    A light breeze riffled through Jo’s hair, causing her to shiver even in her hoodie. “Then it’s a good thing for your folks that you were free to come home and help. God worked it out for them.”
    Zach snorted. “That was nice of Him.”
    He didn’t sound convinced, and she could understand why. She only half-believed it herself. Wasn’t it better to make a plan and pursue it to the finish line rather than wonder what secret meaning God had behind things?
    “Sorry. I have trouble thanking God for messing up my dad’s health and making me lose my job, so I could help Mom. Sounds like backward assistance.”
    Dear Lord, give me the words. “We often don’t see the whole picture. God has reasons we can’t understand.” At least that’s what everyone told her when things slid out of her clutching grasp.
    Zach lifted his shoulder in a shrug. “I suppose. I was raised in the church. I’ve heard the lingo.” He paused for a moment, scratching Domino, who had his front paws on the bench between their feet. “How about you? Are you a Christian from way back?”
    Her? He wanted to know about her ? “I went to Sunday School when I was a kid living with my grandparents. My mom and I moved to California when I was ten and she married Brad.” Jo grimaced. “He wasn’t much interested in church.” Or anything that didn’t look like tremendous short-term profit. Forgetting Brad would make her happy. “Meeting Sierra in college helped me find my way back to God.” Nice one, Josephine Lynn. He hadn’t been talking about Sierra. Good of you to bring her up.
    “How’d you wind up buying a farm here in the north panhandle? It’s not what I’d expect out of a group of beautiful young women.”
    It’d been awhile since anyone called her beautiful. Not when Sierra was around. “We believe God wants Christians to demonstrate living in respect for the Earth He created for us. Everyone’s so interested in money and power.” Like her mom and Brad. “The planet can’t sustain all this commercialism for much longer. So few people know how to grow their own food and live simply on the land. We want to prove it can be done.”
    He chuckled, and her blood rose. How dare he.
    “It’s not all it’s cracked up to be, Jo. Trust me. Look at my folks. Their house is practically falling apart around their heads. They’ve been farming forever and getting nowhere. Dad had to take a job off the farm to make ends meet. I never want to be as poor as them.”
    “We’re not afraid of hard work, Zach. We know what we’re up against. My grandparents farmed