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Daddy finally smiled, and something inside Finn triggered him to relax a little. “No, I won’t, because you won’t allow it. But I’m saying, Finley, my son, this boy I met when he was only four years old and who’s grown up to be the most amazing, beautiful, hardworking, faithful man.”

Daddy paused and smiled at him, his own eyes shining with glass. “I’m saying, my boy, that I would buy it for you. The whole thing. Free and clear.” He shot a look at Momma. “We won’t, because we know that would kill you. But if you want that ranch, and you need an extra hundred grand to cover the cattle and the crops, then that will be a gift. No loans.”

Finn stared at him, then looked over to Momma. She sniffled and wiped her eyes, then nodded at him. Finn heard himself say All right, but nothing had come out of his mouth yet.

His head started to nod, and Daddy’s smile grew.

“All right,” Finn said, really forcing the words out.

“All right, then,” Daddy said. “That’s settled. Call Jerry and let him know you want that ranch, and that you have a two hundred thousand dollar down payment.”

“Okay, I—what?”

“That’s the deal,” Momma said as she jumped back to her feet. “You want some ice cream, Finny? Now that this is settled, we can talk about Edith.”

Finn groaned, and he looked to his father for help. “First, really? She’s going to make me drag out everything with Edith?”

Daddy grinned and leaned back in his chair, his arms crossed. “What’s second?

“Two hundred thousand dollars, Daddy?”

“It’s a good down payment,” he said. “You won’t have mortgage insurance, and your payment will be far lower without that.”

Finn studied his father’s face while Momma dished him the ice cream he hadn’t asked for. “Do you guys have that much money?”

“Yes,” Daddy said simply. His expression turned sharp again. “And we’re not kidding, Finn. If you refuse this as a gift, you’ll lose that ranch.”

“He’s not going to refuse the gift,” Momma said. She put a bowl of butter pecan ice cream in front of him, complete with more caramel topping and additional pecan nibs. “And he’s going to tell us everything about Edith, so we can help him get her back.”

She pulled out a chair and sat down. She held out a spoon but pulled it back when he reached for it. “Starting now, Mister.”

Finn swiped the spoon from her and said, “Fine. Let me have one bite of ice cream first, would you?” Maybe then he’d be able to articulate all the thoughts in his head, and maybe, by some miracle from heaven, his parents would be able to help him figure out what to do to get Edith back.

Chapter Thirty-One

Edith entered the kitchen to the sight, scent, and sound of Alex scrambling eggs. Then he said, “Yeah, sure, Finn, I’ll be there.”

She froze, her socked feet growing roots and embedding into the floor where she stood. Alex turned from the stove and saw her, his eyes narrowing slightly. Finn said, “I don’t want to talk about Edith, but I just need to know if you think I should text her about it.”

Her throat narrowed, and tears burned in her eyes.

“You’ve been texting her, haven’t you?” Alex asked as he flowed into motion again. He set the pan of eggs on the counter and turned back to get his phone.

“Only if she texts me first.”

Edith pulled her phone from her pocket and held it up in a silent show for Alex. She quickly swiped and went to her string with Finn. True, they hadn’t been talking much in the past couple of weeks, but she had made an effort to do what she’d said she’d do—call him. Talk to him. She really didn’t want to break up. She just needed some space to think through a few things.

What those things were, she didn’t know. She hadn’t written them down or defined them. She simply knew she’d lost herself in this summer romance with Finn, and she needed to make sure she knew who she was before she became part of him.

She thought she’d known that woman, but sitting in front of Levi’s grave had shown her she hadn’t.

Hey, Finn, she said. I know you’re headed to market day soon, and I’m wondering if you’d like some help with lunch? I’m sure I could convince Alex to host here, or if your momma is handling it, I could coordinate with her.

Her stomach swooped and trembled, and she wasn’t even sure Alex and Finn were talking about market day. She assumed, because they’d chit-chatted about it in the past few days, and she hit send before she thought too hard about it.

Alex had taken the call off speaker, and he said, “Just let me know. I can do whatever, and I’m sure Edee will too.” A pause, and he looked her way. “Yeah, she’s right here.” He turned back to get plates out of the cupboard, and Edith marveled that her younger brother could and had taken such good care of her.

For years now, Alex had been so good to her, letting her and Levi come live here, putting up with her extra dogs and the cat who never stopped meowing. Her flippant nicknames. Her mood swings. Her need for more dogs and more horses and more scrambled eggs.