Page 53 of As It Was (Strawberry Springs #1)

MOLLIE

Strawberry Springs Neighborhood Watch

Mollie Wilson

Good news, everyone! The berries are ripe and ready! Bennie Grove Farm reopens today!

Comments:

Kerry Winsor : I’m getting to the farm first.

Atticus Thompson : Do we bring our own baskets?

Kerry Winsor : This year, yes. Mollie is working on getting the branding together.

Mollie Wilson : How are you faster than me?

Kerry Winsor : Oh, these thumbs can MOVE!

Opening day of the strawberry patches dawned so vibrantly that it felt like fate. I’d transformed the front field to be a parking lot, posted on every social media I could, and even ran a few ads to make sure people knew about us .

We had plenty of berries to go around, and I could only hope that my plan worked.

Early that morning, I did my usual walk of the fields, making sure there were enough ripened for everyone to enjoy.

Massive red berries dotted each field. It was obvious my work had paid off. They looked delicious, and while I was pretty sure Eric had snuck some, I hadn’t tried one myself.

I knew I couldn’t until someone else got the first one.

“Eric!” I called. “I know you’re out here!”

“I’m not doing anything!” he said. “I was just moving the flags.”

He’d “moved” the flags that would tell people where to pick four times yesterday.

“Sure.” I put my hands on my hips. “I won’t call you out if you go get your dad for me.”

A bright smile bloomed on his face, the same one that always did when someone used Cain’s new title. The check had gone through, and he’d officially started the adoption process, but Eric had called him his dad from the second he could.

Cain didn’t know it, but Kerry had taken to calling him Eric’s dad on every social media platform. He was aware the town knew, but I’d seen his new title more than his name.

Which was a lot, considering we were both in the town news frequently since the farm was opening again.

“You rang, princess?” Cain made his way to me. “I can’t stay long. I need to collect all the eggs before this place is swamped.”

“I won’t keep you.” I bent down and picked a berry. “Just making true on my promise.”

“The first berry, huh? I was so right about us.”

“Technically, the town was.”

He rolled his eyes. “Don’t ruin the moment.”

I handed the ripened berry to him and watched as he took a bite .

“Dammit,” he said. “These are as good as I remember.”

“Yes! Now it’s my turn.”

I grabbed my own and ate everything but the leaves in one bite. Sweet flavor exploded on my tongue, and I was transported to my childhood. I hadn’t had berries this good in years.

“I see why you ate a bunch,” I said to Eric.

He gasped dramatically. “I didn’t!”

“Lying doesn’t suit you,” Cain added.

“Fine, Dad.” He rolled his eyes in the same way Cain did. “I’m gonna go not steal more.” He winked and then ran off.

“That kid,” Cain said, but he was smiling as he watched.

“Are you ever gonna get used to being called Dad?”

“No.”

I wanted to tease him about it more, but the first car pulled into the farm, even though we weren’t opening for an hour.

“There’s Jackie. Ready to help.”

“She doesn’t have to do anything,” I replied.

“But she will.” He kissed me on the forehead. “Show her how to use the card reader. I need to go finish with the eggs.”

Jackie looked ready for a day outside. She had a wide-brimmed hat and a strawberry-printed linen shirt on.

“It looks so great!” she called. “Just like it did when Bennie was alive.”

“I’m pretty sure he had more fields for picking. And he had tulips. But I’ll get there next year.”

“Don’t get down on yourself.” She pointed at me. “You’ve done so much since you got here.”

“Sorry,” I said as I held up my hands in mock defense. “We open in about an hour, so I’m about to get the card machine up and running.”

“That’s so fancy.”

“I figured it would make it easier for customers, especially the ones who don’t carry cash anymore. ”

“I bet it will. Now, come on and show me how to run it. I want you out talking to everyone.”

“Because I’m so friendly?”

“No, so you can enjoy your moment.”

The moment was currently a ball of nerves, but I knew she was right. Jackie quickly picked up how everything worked, and by the time I was done, cars were filtering in.

Kerry and Tommy were the first to arrive. Tommy wanted Eric to show him his room, so they went inside to play while Kerry picked berries.

“These look delicious,” she told me as she grabbed a particularly red one. “Though judging by how excited Tommy was to be here, I suppose I’ll have to make a ton of strawberry jam.”

“You don’t have to buy something every time you come here.”

“Nonsense. I wanna support someone local.”

I had just enough time to tell her thank you before Atticus arrived and asked a ton of questions about where I’d sourced them. Mark was next, and then Tammy, and then Mike. Just from them alone, I’d made a decent amount. When the town came together to support someone, they did amazing things.

But as the sun climbed higher in the sky, more people came, driving in from different places. Some were neighboring towns. Some were passing through and happened to see the sign. One had even come all the way from Nashville.

I’d been shocked at the woman with curly blonde hair when she told me.

“It wasn’t that bad,” she said with a laugh. “My husband did most of the driving.”

She pointed to a man with dark hair who was busy picking berries.

“I’ve driven there more times than I could count in the last few months, so thank you for making it all this way. ”

“Did you need to get supplies or something?”

“No, I’m from there. And it’s the hub of other court-related things that my boyfriend would kill me for if I mentioned.”

“A former local? Damn, I was hoping to be the one to tell you about hot chicken.”

“I haven’t been.”

She gaped. “You have to go to Prince’s. Next time you’re in town, of course.”

I didn’t know when I would be in town, especially since I hadn’t heard from my parents.

My heart ached thinking about it, but I knew I didn’t want to be the only one driving three hours to visit.

If they stood their ground, I would have to make time near the holidays and birthdays, but not too much more. I had a lot of work to do here.

“Did I step on a nerve?” the woman asked. “I’m sorry if I did.”

“No, you didn’t. My family’s there, and it’s complicated. They don’t like that I moved out here to run a farm, so ... I don’t know when I’ll be back.”

“I think this is amazing. I grow some food in my backyard, but it’s nothing like this. If I didn’t have a family home, I’d probably move out here too.”

“A family home? That’s funny. That’s what this is.”

“Hang on to it,” she said. “And I might not know you all that well, but this suits you.”

“I’m Mollie, by the way. Maybe I’ll catch you at a hot chicken restaurant.”

“As long as it’s Prince’s, you definitely will.” She held a hand out to shake. “I’m Amy, and my husband is Levi. You’ll probably see us again when I drag my two friends out here.”

“You’d drag your friends three hours out of town for strawberries ? ”

“Duh. They’d get food out of it. I bet there’s a cute small-town diner near here.”

“There is,” I said. “Center Point. You should try it.”

“Oh, I will. Now, let me grab Levi before he picks all the berries you have and puts you out of business for the day.”

I laughed as she waved goodbye, and I considered adding more advertisements near Nashville. If she was willing to drive all this way, then others might too.

A hand landed on my shoulder, and I turned to see Cain. “We’re down to the last field,” he said. “Looks like our first day was a success.”

“It was. And I have ideas for more.”

“You’re gonna keep us busy, aren’t you?”

I laughed. “You know it.”

Most of the ripe berries were gone by the time we neared closing for the day. I was walking the fields when one last car pulled in. I checked how many we had, and it was barely enough, but I could serve one last customer.

But then I saw who it was and my jaw dropped.

Mom and Dad were getting out of the car, a basket in hand. Dad made his way straight to me while Mom looked at every detail of the farm, jaw agape.

“You guys made it!” I said, running to them both and pulling them into a tight hug. “Thank you.”

“Mollie-bear, this is really nice,” Dad said. “And I saw the fancy website and posts you made about it. Glad to see you’re using that marketing brain of yours.”

“It worked. I’ve been busy all day.”

“This is ...” Mom’s voice was quiet. “It looks like it did when I was a kid.”

“Cain kept up on the house, but the fields were me. I have so many plans. Like adding blueberries and orchards. There’s so much land here that I could work with. ”

Her eyes cut to me. “You sound so ... happy. Like you were when you were a kid.”

“I am happy,” I said. “I love it here.”

“Are there any berries left?” Dad asked. “I can barely see anything from here.”

“The farthest field has a few. I’ll walk you over there.”

I gestured for them to follow me, but we all went slow so Mom could see everything. Dad grabbed a full basket, which wound up being almost everything that was ripe before we walked to the stand.

I’d completely forgotten who was manning the stand until Mom stopped dead in her tracks.

Jackie looked up, her eyes going wide for a second before a smile made its way onto her face.

“Maribelle,” she said. “It’s nice to see you.”

“I didn’t ...” Mom cleared her throat. “You’re working here?”

“I’m helping out. I wanted Mollie to enjoy talking to people on her first day. I got to learn a lot about payment processing.”

“Sounds fun,” Mom said. “I suppose it makes sense that you would have met Mollie, considering you’re next door.”

“Oh ... that old house.” She shook her head. “It was sold a long time ago. I live in the square now. Above my shop.”

“But didn’t you marry that ass ...” She shook her head. “I mean, Donny?”

“I did,” Jackie said. “And ... he turned out exactly like you told me he would. It was a long time of misery. But ... he passed many years ago.”

Mom nodded. And I looked at Jackie. “Do you ... maybe have anything else you wanna say, Jackie?”

“Right. Um, Maribelle, I’m sorry about what I told the town.

You were always right, and I should have listened rather than letting my pride get in the way.

The gossip here can be fun, but not about certain things.

I learned that the hard way ... especially when I hid what Donny was doing.

I ruined this place for you, and it’s one of my biggest regrets.

Behind marrying an abusive asshole, of course. ”

Mom’s eyes grew wide. “I ... thank you. I mean, obviously I moved on.”

I raised an eyebrow at her. “Did you?”

She crossed her arms. “Of course I did! I barely think about this town!”

“Ah, well. I’m happy for you.” Jackie smiled. “I’ll let you check out and get back on your way.”

Her voice was soft, and I wondered if she was disappointed by Mom’s stubbornness. I would have been.

Jackie grabbed the basket and weighed it before handing it back. We all lapsed into silence, broken only by the sound of small feet hitting the earth.

“I’m calling you Grandma now!” Eric’s voice yelled.

“I said to wait until you were away from customers!” Cain called as he jogged behind them. “Sorry!”

“These are my parents!” I called back.

Cain paused and his back straightened. I thought he might run, but instead he walked over. “Then I’m doubly sorry about that. I’m Cain.”

“Jim,” Dad said, shaking his hand. “Wow, that’s one powerful shake. You’re dating my daughter, right?”

“I am.”

“I hope you treat her right, but judging by what happened to the last one ... she would let you know if you don’t.”

“She would,” Cain said. “And this is my son, Eric.”

“ Your son?” Mom asked. “But he said he was calling Jackie Grandma.”

“Ah, yes. I took Cain in as a foster mom when he was a teen. I’m kinda like a mom. ”

“You are a mom,” Cain corrected.

She laughed, but there was a dusting of red on her cheeks. “He helped me see how awful Donny was. And your daughter helped me learn to admit it. So I suppose I have you to thank too.”

Mom looked between Cain, me, and Jackie. “I ... have so many questions. When did you take him in? How did he help you see it?”

“You wanna know?” Jackie asked, raising an eyebrow. “I thought you were done with this place.”

She considered it. “I suppose since my daughter’s living here, I could ... hear some of the things that have happened. As long as the town doesn’t turn on me, that is.”

“I can whip them into shape,” I said.

Jackie laughed. “Just like she did a few weeks ago. We’re all on the right path now thanks to her.”

“Is Center Point still open?” Mom asked.

“It is. They’ll be doing dinner now. Tammy runs it.”

“Please tell me she doesn’t do the cooking.”

“Nope. That would be her husband.”

“Well then ... honey,” she turned to Dad. “Do you mind if we stay for dinner?”

“Are you sure this is what you want?” he asked.

“Yeah ... I think I am.”

“Then we’ll stay. I wanna see the farmhouse Mollie loves so badly. She was hunting for a house forever. This one had better be good.”

“It is,” I said. “You’re welcome to come in.”

“I can show you my marble run!” Eric offered.

“Is it in the hallway again?” Cain asked. “Because if it is and our guests fall?—”

Eric tore off in the direction of the farmhouse.

“That answers that question,” I replied.

We closed up the farm while Jackie and Mom talked. Eventually, they rode in Jackie’s car to the town square while I showed Dad the house and the barn. They stayed late into the night, and instead of driving back, I offered to let them sleep at the house.

“It’s not too bad out here,” Dad eventually said as I handed him towels. “And who knew you were good with kids?”

“Just the right one,” I replied.

“Can you believe the entire town has a grant to make rent cheaper?” Mom asked as she took the extra toothbrush I offered. “I didn’t think those kinds of things existed!”

“It’s almost like magic,” I replied.

“Goes with the town slogan.” She brought me into a hug. “I’m so happy for you, honey. You were right about this place.”

“Thank you for coming to see it.”

“I suppose we’ll be here more often. I can’t let you do all the driving. Especially with a child.”

“Technically, he’s Cain’s.”

“Sure. Is that why you have a book in your hand to read to him?”

“He likes my voice better.”

She smiled before she pulled Dad into the guest room, wishing me a good night. I took a breath, absorbing the fact that I’d done it. The farm had done well. Mom and Dad had seen it and were proud of me.

And I had the perfect boyfriend waiting for me to read to his adorable kid.

I’d thought I needed to make everything exactly as it had been before. Instead, I’d created something new, and it was perfect as it was.

I couldn’t be happier.