Page 30 of Grounded (May Hollow Trilogy #1)

Evelyn had invited Annie to eat dinner with her and Jake when he arrived Friday night. Annie had been tempted, but she wanted everything ready for her grandmother’s return.

“How about a movie after dinner?” Jake asked her when he called to check on Beulah. She had agreed and suggested including Lindy.

While Annie waited outside for Jake, she saw Nutmeg in her favorite spot and staring at her with wide and questioning eyes. Annie started to walk over and give her a rub on the nose, but the crunch of gravel signaled Jake’s arrival.

When she scooted into the seat, he said, “How’s Beulah?”

“Ready to come home! I can pick her up tomorrow morning. And thanks for bailing me out today. I was horrified to see half the town watching.”

“I liked it,” he said. “And the single guys I was with wanted to know who you were. I told them not to bother, you were way too good for them,” he teased.

“Good. I’m not interested anyway. What was the meeting about?”

“The plan for a processing facility outside Rutherford. We want to start a butcher shop to sell only meat grown locally and handled humanely, with access to pasture and no hormones or antibiotics. They need growers and I would need a place to process the meat.”

“It sounds like the farming stuff is coming together,” she said.

“It is. I feel confident enough to give the bank my notice. The more I dig into the foundation work, I realize it’s not my passion.

That narrows my options down to farming or going into business with Cam’s dad.

Either way, a partnership with these guys is important.

I’ve been thinking that if I go the hotel route with Cam’s dad, it should focus on a small boutique hotel with sound environmental practices and a restaurant with an emphasis on local food: a farm-to-table concept.

This next couple of weeks of working through the business plans and having Cam here to weigh in on everything is critical. ”

Annie felt a slight pang of envy at his reference to Cam. Annie had grown used to being Jake’s adviser, especially during a time when Cam seemed busy with work and unavailable.

“Grandma wants to have you, Cam and Evelyn over for dinner. She said she would help slice and dice if I could put it all together. My cooking has improved in the few weeks I’ve been here.”

He laughed. “I remember you making us donuts one time and catching the kitchen on fire!”

She giggled. “We made them out of biscuit dough and tried frying them in the iron skillet. They weren’t bad until I dropped several in at one time and the grease caught the dish towel on fire!”

“You ran screaming, and I dumped the whole jar of Beulah’s flour on it.”

“And you looked like a ghost! Even Grandma laughed after she gave us both a tongue-lashing,” Annie said, trying to catch her breath from laughing.

He stopped the car in front of Lindy’s office and apartment and turned to look at her. The fading sunlight cast a warm glow on his face.

“Annie, thanks for listening to me through this whole process. It’s been good to have somebody who understands.”

Annie had never before noticed the tiny white specks that made his blue eyes look crystalline.

“Well,” she said, breaking the spell, “I have something for you.” She reached into her purse and pulled out the framed picture.

He looked at her with raised eyebrows then tore the tissue off.

“What is this …?” His words trailed off and he smiled at the picture. “This is great. I’ll put this in my office.”

Annie watched his face as he looked at the photo. “Look at you in your overalls,” he said.

“And you in those highwater pants,” she said, and they both laughed.

“Thanks!” He moved slightly in his seat, as if he was going to hug her, but instead he grasped her hand tightly. “I really like it.”

“I better go get Lindy, or we’ll be late,” she said, sliding out of the car.

Rutherford was by no means a large town, but it was four times the size of Somerville’s population of four thousand and boasted a stadium-seating movie theater, more stores and a coffee shop.

It was a college town, and with that came the advantages of a bookstore, an arts league and theater.

Only twenty minutes on a nice, new four-lane road, the drive was easy, and for rural Somervillians, it saved a long trip to Lexington.

After the movie, Annie checked her cell phone to make sure Beulah had not called.

No one wanted the night to end, so they finished out the evening in a bustling coffee house near the college that boasted of fair trade practices and homemade desserts.

Their discussion of the movie about the struggles of a single parent continued over the coffee.

“Do you realize all three of us only have one parent? Wouldn’t you say most people still have both parents by the time they hit the early thirties?” Lindy asked.

“Probably,” Jake said, “but I try to remind myself I had a great dad for as long as I had him. He had me doing chores from the time I was three. He taught me to drive a tractor when I was eight, how to fix machinery, how to build, how to handle cows. It’s almost like he knew our time wouldn’t last forever so he got everything in early. ”

“What about your dad, Annie? Do you see him?” Lindy asked.

“My dad left when I was a baby. He called occasionally and sent birthday cards with a little money, but I didn’t know him until after I moved to New York.”

“Why then?” Lindy said.

“My father is a wanderer. He has lived the world over, ironically living the life my mother would have loved to have had with him. When I could finally travel to see him, he was happy to have me come. He is the kind of man who is proud to be a father, but never wanted to raise children.”

Annie stirred her coffee before taking a drink. “When I finally understood that, I expected so much less of him and our relationship improved dramatically. We get along fine today, although we don’t see each other very often. When we do, it’s good.”

“Was it difficult for you to relate to men, not having a father around?”

“Lindy, you really do need to get a counseling degree. I think you have a knack for it!” Annie smiled at her.

“I know!” Lindy threw her head down on the table in mock discouragement. “I can’t help myself. I love to know how people think.”

“Was it? Difficult to relate to men?” It was Jake this time, serious and waiting for her answer.

“You too?” Annie punched his arm. “I don’t know. I’ve made my share of relationship mistakes. Hopefully, I’ll get it right if there is a next time.”

“With Woody?” Lindy asked, her eyes dancing with mischief.

“Woody who?” Jake asked.

“Maybe. He might be the one,” Annie said, teasing back.

“Woody Patterson?” Jake said.

Annie shrugged her shoulders and raised her eyebrows, enjoying the look of alarm plastered all over Jake’s face.

Annie hit the snooze button twice before finally throwing the blankets off. Stretching, she felt her sore muscles again. Maybe it was the fall off the front porch that did it this time, but it seemed every day a new set of muscles complained wildly that life had changed for her.

She was pouring her first cup of coffee when the phone rang. Betty Gibson started talking as soon as Annie answered.

“Missy’s high school graduation was yesterday.

Can you believe she’ll be the first Gibson to go to college this fall?

Anyway, up we went to Lexington for the ceremony, and it seemed like every high school in the city was having ceremonies.

You couldn’t stir ‘em with a stick. After the pomp and circumstance, we said we’d take her to eat wherever she wanted to go.

Law-zee! That was a mistake. Where do you think she took us? ”

“I have no idea,” Annie said, knowing Betty didn’t really want a guess.

“Indian! And I’m not talking Shawnee. I’ve never seen such colorful food.

Bright yellows and red, and spicy as all get-out.

Don’t you know, Joe gobbled it up! Missy ordered him something with potatoes in it, and he ate like a pig.

I think he was puttin’ on for Missy, but he swore to me he wasn’t.

I liked it real well myself, but I was afraid all those foreign spices would tear me up and sure enough, they did.

I was up all night with the hiatal. And that’s what I called to tell you this morning.

I don’t usually take to sitting out on the porch at one in the morning, but there I was, not able to sleep and burping up some spice grown a half a world away. ”

“Yes …,” Annie said.

“I saw headlights come down May Hollow Road. From the security light out by the garage, I could tell it was a small car, kind of silverylike, but I’m not sure of the exact color.

It stopped in front of your driveway, and a woman got out.

She carried something to Beulah’s mailbox and put it inside.

Then she got back in the car and drove real slow to Gibson’s Creek.

I know it’s a federal offense to go messin’ with another person’s mailbox, but I checked to see what she put in there, afraid it was some sort of bomb and I might need to call the ATF.

But all it turned out to be was an empty casserole dish and a pie plate. ” Betty sounded disappointed.

“Thanks for telling me,” Annie said. “I’ll get them out before the mail runs.”

Odd time to return dishes, she thought, but the woman seemed to want her privacy, so Annie shrugged it off and returned to her morning ritual of taking her cereal and coffee out to the back porch.

It had become one of her favorite parts of the day.

Since her grandmother had been gone, she used that time to pray.

It was a nice place to eat breakfast or supper with the back of the house facing south.

There was enough room for a table and chairs, even with the old pump and leaving space for the dinner bell.

If her grandmother agreed, maybe she would purchase a set since they both enjoyed the outdoor space.