Page 24 of Grounded (May Hollow Trilogy #1)

Annie rubbed her arms, not sure if they were sore from riding the horse, planting more rows of beans and corn, or scrubbing out cupboards, drawers and closets.

Either way, the pain reminded her she was making good use of her time here.

After sprinkling a generous amount of Dead Sea salts into the water, she eased down into the warm bath and relaxed in the old clawfoot tub.

While her grandmother was in the notion to do it, Annie had gone full force into cleaning and sorting through the stuff in the house. The days had flown by, and it felt good to clean out areas that had not been touched for years.

“This will make things so much easier if you ever decide to move,” Annie had said once when they were both working in the kitchen. Her grandmother had not responded. It had to be considered, Annie decided, with the reality of surgery looming.

More than once she came across a small stash of bills.

In the guest room, she found five one-hundred-dollar bills stuck between the Old and New Testament of a Bible in a nightstand.

In the kitchen, she found two hundred dollars stashed in an envelope marked “tomato seeds” stuffed inside a Mason jar.

“There’s money in a vase in the corner cupboard of the dining room and tucked between tablecloths in the linen press,” she had said when Annie started working in there.

In each case, her grandmother knew about the money and even told Annie where the other hiding places were.

And every item Annie pulled out for her to say what to do with it, she knew exactly what it was and where it came from.

There was no sign of senility yet, thank goodness.

There had been no new updates from Janice, but a call on Sunday from Prema had made her homesick again for Manhattan.

“Annie, we miss you. The three of us are preparing to go out to an art festival and we decided we must call. We know how much you love this kind of thing,” Prema had said, and then passed the phone around to Evie and Kate.

Annie could imagine them getting up and having brunch together and then dressing for the outing. Annie did love those first outdoor events after a long winter. There was excitement in the air, anticipation of a summer, and a feeling of goodwill in the village.

Despite a few bouts of homesickness, she had fallen into a comfortable routine with her grandmother. Annie was queen of the upstairs now that her grandmother was sleeping on the first floor. It seemed an absurd amount of space to loll about in compared to her small apartment in the city.

She reached for the shampoo and massaged some into her hair.

Frequent phone calls from Jake had gone long past her grandmother’s report, going on to books they had read, recent movies, and current events.

Annie was a sounding board for him as he analyzed the options and she liked it not just a little.

He told her of Camille’s father who wanted to develop a business with him, of the bank’s foundation work and what his job might look like, but most of all he talked of farming.

He even talked about grass. Orchard grass, timothy, clover, fescue, alfalfa, and Johnson grass and the right mix that made the best nutrition for cows and how chickens were good to bring in after cows and how it all worked to make the land produce the way it was designed.

She told him about her travels and experiences, about life in New York and about the men she had dated right up to her relationship with Stuart.

Annie had missed him in the two weeks since he went back to Cincinnati.

Even that was an odd revelation for her, that she could miss someone after being apart for so many years.

But she looked forward to the next weekend when he planned to come down for a meeting with like-minded farmers.

After rinsing her hair, Annie grabbed a towel and stepped out of the tub. She had daydreamed too long in the bath and would not be ready for her dinner in Lexington with Lindy if she didn’t get a move on.

Dressed and downstairs just in time for Lindy’s arrival, Annie called goodbye to her grandmother and was out the door.

A sweet aroma assaulted her and she stood for a moment breathing it in.

Catalpa, her grandmother had called the tree.

Large, white blooms hung in conelike shapes from the branches.

It would only be this way for a week or two and Annie took every outside opportunity to let it fill her senses.

Once in the car and on their way, they talked nonstop while green farmland rolled by. When they were just outside of Lexington Lindy said, “Okay, I’ve been dying to ask you: Why did you break up with your boyfriend?”

“Well,” Annie said, trying to figure out how to sum up her feelings. “He wasn’t what I thought he was,” she said, waiting for the sensation of a blade twisting in her gut. It didn’t happen this time.

“The rumor around town is that he worked for the airline and had to fire you, and that’s why you broke up with him,” Lindy said.

“People are saying that?” Annie asked in an agitated tone. “It’s a small town. People fill in the blanks with what is most interesting,” Lindy said. “Don’t take it personal.”

Annie pictured herself in a romantic entanglement with Bob Vichy and burst out laughing. “That’s so ridiculous it’s funny,” she said, hardly catching her breath.

“You know what they said about me when I came home? I had nowhere to go, so I came back to work with my dad. Annie, I had offers from Chicago and Atlanta, but I never even told anyone. I figured they’d find out soon enough if I could handle it.”

“Who are ‘they’?”

Lindy adjusted the radio. “Women who married young, green with envy that we got out. Loafers down at Bill’s Diner, the old men and women with time on their hands.

It’s fairly harmless, but annoying just the same.

Can I ask you another question.” Lindy had a mischievous look in her eye. “Did you ever date Jake Wilder?”

“Jake? No! We’re only friends. We used to be like brother and sister growing up. We barely kept in touch the last several years, although I don’t know why. I guess life takes you in different directions and you forget how much someone means to you.”

“You have to admit, he is a catch,” she said.

“It sounds like he’s been caught,” Annie said.

“Maybe. Evelyn was in the office yesterday, bringing us cinnamon rolls, and said Camille is coming with him next weekend.”

They had talked about everything but Camille when Jake called. But of course he would bring her, especially as he was considering moving home as one of his options.

The restaurant walls were covered with black and white pictures of local celebrities.

Featured prominently were the University of Kentucky basketball and football coaches, and some of the players, both past and present.

Even Hollywood stars like Ashley Judd, George Clooney and Johnny Depp were proudly featured Kentuckians.

The fare was fine Angus steak, grass-finished and locally grown, served in an atmosphere of dark paneled walls and white table linens.

After the salads arrived, Annie asked, “So what happened with your mom?”

“I was in my last year of college. She had a brain aneurism and died almost immediately. It was shocking. My older brother was home at the time, quite by accident. He called 9-1-1, but she was basically gone before they got to the hospital.”

“I’m so sorry,” Annie said.

“You know what it’s like. It made that first year of law school way harder, but I also had a determination not to let Dad down after all that. And I realized I had a great mother for a lot longer than some folks.”

“It’s still painful, no matter when it happens.”

“It made me realize none of us are here forever and sometimes when you say goodbye to someone it might be the last time you see them on this earth. I was home the weekend before it happened. I had no idea when I kissed her goodbye on that Sunday that I would never see her again, in this life anyway.”

They fell into silence, and Annie pondered Lindy’s words.

The thought of a life after this was pleasant enough.

She was brought up to believe in Heaven and Hell, but were they really true?

With her life in New York so full of activity, schedules and events, she had not spent much time thinking about what happened beyond.

Really, she had not wanted to, other than to console herself with the belief that her own mother and grandfather were in some better place.

Annie’s cell phone vibrated. “Excuse me,” she said to Lindy. “It’s Evelyn. I better take this.” Annie left the booth and walked just outside the front door.

“I was going to leave you a message. I hope I’m not disturbing anything.”

“No, it’s fine. Is everything okay?”

“Oh yes. I had an idea and wanted to see what you thought. Beulah’s been talking about painting her house with that money from your renter.

Of course, Fred had always handled that sort of thing for her, and she doesn’t realize it won’t be nearly enough.

I may get in trouble for this, but we’ve cooked up a way to get your grandmother’s house painted while she’s in the hospital. ”

“How?”

“A couple of church members have volunteered to do the work for free. Now, you know Beulah won’t take outright charity, so we’ll let her pay for the paint and materials, which will probably be a good chunk of the money she set aside.

They can start the morning she has her surgery, and with the few days in the hospital and if the weather holds, they should get a good start on it before she gets home. ”

“Evelyn, that’s wonderful,” Annie said. “She’ll be thrilled.”

“I promised to provide lunch while they’re there, so I might need your help and use of the kitchen.”

“No problem. I’ll do whatever I can.”

Back at the booth, she shared Evelyn’s idea with Lindy.

“I would love to help!” her friend said. “I think my schedule is a little crazy next week, but any free time I have, I’ll come paint.”

After the dinner and movie, they stopped for a cappuccino. And this time Annie bought a bean grinder and beans to leave at her grandmother’s house. There was still hope she might persuade her grandmother to leave off the cheap stuff.