by Nella Tyler
The Nelsons’ machinery could handle 400 bushels at a time, but with the amount that the farm was producing, that still meant hours and hours of adjusting the machine, checking that everything was working correctly, plucking corn from stalks, and more. It was back-breaking labor, and I could definitely see why Bob had thought to hire someone to help him with it this season.
With how busy I was, I had known that I wouldn’t be able to see Autumn as much as I wanted to. I was exhausted when I finished up for the day, and on top of that, the sheer volume of work out in the field meant that we couldn’t take as many breaks for as long while the three of us worked.
Autumn had warned me that it would be the case, and I’d more or less believed her, but I still hadn’t been prepared for just how intense it was. I regretted that I couldn’t take more than a few minutes out of the day to chat with her, but I reminded myself that in light of Bob’s prohibition against me getting involved with his daughter while I was working for him, it was probably just as well.
A few days into harvest, I got to the Nelson farm bright and early. I’d found out the day before purely by accident that the earlier I started, the easier it went for the day as I got to spend more time working when it was coolest and could take a longer break during the hottest part of the day without risking Bob thinking that I was slacking off.
I pulled up to the farm and got my water bottle, my keys, and the other odds and ends that I always brought out into the field with me arranged the way I wanted them. I’d noticed the day before that Tuck looked tenser than usual, but I’d put that all down to the stress of the harvest itself and the heat of the lingering late summer blast.
In a week or two, it would be fall, the temperatures would go down, and hopefully Tuck would have settled down for the season, while he and his father waited for the full tally of money to come to them for their corn and soy.
Tuck was sitting on the front porch of the house, enjoying a cup of coffee, and I gave him a friendly smile as I walked up. “Feel like we’ve been at this half our lives,” I said, to try and open up a conversation with him.
“I’ve been at this my whole life,” Tuck countered.
I shrugged. “I just meant this particular harvest, but I see where you’re coming from.” I knew no good would come from getting into another bout with Tuck; even if I knew that Bob Nelson was fair, I had his sister to think of, and his reaction to her dating me. It wouldn’t be good either for my job prospects or my romantic life to be on her brother’s bad side.
“Trying to look the part and get some extra brownie points?” Tuck gestured to my outfit, but I couldn’t imagine what he was actually referring to. I’d worn the same types of jeans and shirts to work for his father for the whole season.
“Just wore what I always wear,” I replied blandly.
“I know what you’re doing,” he told me, setting his coffee cup down. “You’re trying to weasel your way into a permanent job on the farm.”
I stared at him. “I’d like to be hired again if your Dad decides he needs help again; of course I would. But I don’t know what you’re trying to suggest I’m doing.”
“You’re trying to muscle me out,” he said. I continued to stare at him; I’d thought—I’d hoped—we’d put this fight behind us.
“You’re Bob’s son. How am I going to muscle you out of anything?” I shook my head; Tuck’s accusation made no sense to me, at all.
“Always showing me up,” he told me. “Always working that little bit harder than me, always trying to make me look bad, all so you can convince Dad that you’re the one he should sell to someday.”
I couldn’t think of anything to say to that; it was so beyond the pale that even as I tried to find a way to start explaining how wrong Tuck was about my motives, I came up against a brick wall of just how incomprehensible it was.
“I’m tired of it,” he continued. He lunged at me and I stepped back. I didn’t want to do anything to him—I wasn’t sure that Bob would be willing to back me if things went as far as actual blows—but I wasn’t about to let Tuck beat the tar out of me just to keep my job.
“Hey there!” Bob stepped out of the house and looked from me to Tuck. Tuck struggled to right himself. He’d nearly tumbled into the dirt and grass in his lunge to grab me. “What’s going on here?” I glanced from Bob to Tuck and back again.
“Just a little misunderstanding,” I said quickly.
“Looks like you were trying to attack my employee, son,” Bob said. “Got any reason for that? Were you thinking he stole equipment again?”
Tuck’s face turned bright red and he looked at his feet. “No,” he said. “It’s like Cade said—there was a misunderstanding.”
“I think you’d probably better get started working the back end of the field,” Bob told his son, his voice light, but undeniably firm. “In fact, in light of how many ‘misunderstandings’ you’ve had with Cade, I’ll thank you to stay on the other side of the field from him for the day.”
Tuck looked at his father like he wanted to protest, but of course, he couldn’t—not really. He gulped down the last of his coffee and turned away from Bob and me to stalk towards the shed.
“I’m glad you showed up when you did,” I said, smiling wryly at Bob.
“Tuck’s feeling insecure,” he told me, sitting down on the porch stairs. He shook his head. “You’d think after teaching him all his life that the only thing that matters to me is how much effort he puts in, he’d know better.”
“I think he’s just...worried,” I said with a shrug. Bob looked almost sad. I couldn’t imagine what it must have felt like for him to be so disappointed in his son.
“Let’s give him a chance to get out to the other end of the field,” he suggested. “For that matter, I’m going to give you a warning in the interests of fairness to stay away from him, too.”
“That’s fair,” I agreed. He looked at me for a long moment and I worried that he was going to ask me if I’d done anything to spur Tuck on.
“While we’re at it, I’m going to ask Autumn to bring your lunches out to you separately,” Bob said. He half-smiled. “Don’t take that as an excuse to slack off and flirt with my daughter.” I laughed—nervously, I have to admit.
“I’m focused on the work,” I told him. “I made you a promise, and I want to live by it.” I couldn’t quite meet his eyes square. I looked at his eyebrows instead.
“I see the two of you together,” he told me matter-of-factly. “I might be old before my time, but I still remember what young men act like around girls they’ve taken a shine to.”
“I have a lot of respect for you, sir. But I will admit that I like your daughter a lot. I’m keeping focused on my work, but she’s a beautiful woman, and kind and smart.”
“You could do a lot worse than her,” he agreed, his smile warming a little bit. He sighed and stood. “As long as you’re working as hard as you have been, now that it’s harvest and you’ve proven you can hold your own, I give you leave to like her.”
He pulled his gloves out of the pocket of his jeans and looked at me again. “I might have given up on trying to keep the two of you apart, but remember this, Cade: if you break my daughter’s heart, I’m going to have to fire you.”
Chapter Thirty Five
Autumn
When he told me that Dad had given him the all-clear to date me, I could have happily dragged Cade to the guest house to make love with him right then and there. Instead, I’d kissed him, right there in the front yard, where anyone could see us, and felt Cade’s arms tighten around me.
It was a relief not to have to lie to my mom and dad about where I would be going, who I would be spending time with. It felt good to openly see Cade, to go out with him without trying to make sure we didn’t look like we were too close, or going out of our little town to make sure no one saw us being too familiar.
I found out one afternoon when I went to get some things for my mom in town that apparently the fact of Cade and
me being together had become a hot topic for everyone. Someone congratulated me for “snatching up the last decent man in town,” and another girl I barely knew except by name said that she would have to try and conquer her envy of me to be happy for me.
It turned out that apparently Cade was quite the catch—and equally apparently, there were men in town who’d been waiting for the chance to come court a single mother, who were kicking themselves for not applying to the job my dad had posted.
When Cade and I told each other about what we’d heard from friends around town, while we lay in bed together—at his place, since I still didn’t want to be too obvious about just how serious we were in front of my parents—we both laughed at the fact that we’d clearly been the most eligible bachelor and bachelorette in town, without even knowing a thing about it.
The harvest came to an end, but there was still lots of work to be done; the corn had to be processed and prepared for shipping, and then, too, Cade had agreed with my father to continue through to the winter, getting the fields ready for the next growing season by putting them down to lie fallow through the cold weather.
I mentioned the Farmers’ Ball to Cade in passing. I hadn’t gone to the event in years, and I hadn’t expected to go at all, since I’d been left by Titan and didn’t think it would be all that seemly for a single mother to go when it was one of the romantic events of the year. But as soon as Cade heard about it, he’d asked me to go with him. “I’m technically a farmer now,” he’d pointed out to me.
“You’re a farmhand,” I had corrected him playfully.
“Does it make that much of a difference? Are we going to be turned away at the door since I’m only a farmhand and you’re only a farmer’s daughter?” I’d rolled my eyes at that, but I’d agreed to go. I was actually excited about the ball for the first time in years. Cade offered to pick me up, and I took advantage of my newfound freedom to ask my parents to watch Addie for me for the night.
When Cade picked me up for the ball, I felt as giddy as I had the first time I’d been old enough to go. I was going to spend the evening dancing with him, having fun, pretending at least like I was a carefree woman, instead of a single mom. We drove into town together and I wasn’t sure if I was more excited about the prospect of the ball or the possibility of spending the night at Cade’s place afterward.
After we’d danced for a few hours and chatted with friends, and when one of the teenaged girls won the Belle of the Ball award and there was nothing more for us to do, I’d gone back to his place more than ready to get out of my dress and heels and slip into bed with him.
Even my mom was thrilled for me. I was pretty sure it was more the fact that I had a little romance in my life than that it was Cade specifically, but while we worked around the house day in and day out, she asked me about our dates and if I thought we were serious. I told her that I wasn’t sure, and I wasn’t lying, but I definitely hoped that there was a future between me and Cade...and I thought there might be.
Instead of becoming bored because our relationship wasn’t a big secret, I liked him more and more when we had a chance to spend time together openly and be upfront about the fact that we were seeing each other. Dad was a little less pleased, but he was willing to let me make my own choices in the matter.
Tuck was different. He’d gotten so used to silently holding the threat of telling Dad over my head that when he found out that Cade and I were no longer hiding our relationship, it was like something inside of him snapped. He complained to me constantly about how Cade was just trying to show him up, make him look like he was irresponsible or not as good. Of all the people who had something to say about Cade and me, Tuck was the only one who was negative about us.
“You know he’s only dating you to strengthen his case when he tries to talk Dad into selling to him,” he told me one evening when we were both sitting on the front porch.
“Cade isn’t interested in buying any part of the farm,” I countered. “He wants to work honestly and be paid honestly. I’d think you’d at least appreciate the fact that harvesting went smoother than ever this year.”
“Except that Dad is constantly going on about what a big help Cade is being and how he doesn’t know how he managed without him up until this year,” he said, sounding more like a sulky baby than my own baby did when I told her she couldn’t have Mallomars for dinner.
“If you’re so worried about being shown up,” I told him tartly, “maybe you ought to focus on making it hard for him to do it.” Tuck glared at me as I shrugged. “You’re wasting all your energy trying to get him fired or something when you could be showing Dad how helpful and responsible you are. What do you think is going to impress him more?”
Tuck grumbled something I couldn’t quite make out and looked away. “I just want to know that things are going to work out,” he said finally. “I don’t want to have to keep proving myself to Dad for him to trust me, especially when Cade is making it harder.”
“Focus on your own work,” I told my brother. “That’s the best way to get Dad’s approval. He’s always told both of us that he cares more about us working hard than he does about us being perfect at what we’re doing. Mistakes can be corrected; doing nothing can’t.”
“Whatever,” Tuck said, scratching at some of the paint on the railing. “Cade’s contract will be up soon, anyway. Don’t be surprised if he dumps you as soon as the work’s not going anymore and he doesn’t have any more chances to win Dad over to selling to him.”
I shook my head at my brother’s insistence on some kind of conspiracy with Cade. It made absolutely no sense to me, but I knew better than to try and make him see reason when he was in that mood. I let him go back into the house before I collected my daughter and went back to my own place. Tuck would just have to get used to it.
Chapter Thirty Six
Cade
I almost wanted to thank Tuck for picking a fight with me when I saw how much better it was to be with Autumn openly, but I figured that thanking him would just annoy him more. When Autumn told me about Tuck’s big, paranoid theory that I was trying to muscle him out and buy the farm for myself someday, I had to decide that it wouldn’t make sense to do something that would just end up picking another fight.
Bob Nelson was obviously still not entirely onboard with Autumn and me dating, but I had to hope that when I showed that I meant to be with her for the long haul—that I was really and truly interested in her, not just toying with her for a while—he’d be more comfortable with the idea. I only had a little while left in my contract with him, and then I’d be totally free and clear of the obligation I’d made.
Even though Autumn and I had been seeing each other for less than a year, I was already pretty certain that things would play out in the usual way: we’d get more and more serious, see each other so often that it didn’t make sense to live in separate places anymore, and then we’d move in together. I debated in my mind whenever the thought occurred to me whether it would be better for her to move in with me, or me with her, or if we both took a new place together in town.
We were sitting outside, on the porch to the guest house where she lived, when the thought jumped up in my mind again. “You ever think about what things will be like say...three months from now? Or six?”
Autumn had whipped up a quick, light dinner for us. It was too hot for anything heavy, and she’d teased me that the big reason for the vegetable-heavy meal was that she needed to take care of the last bits of produce in the garden, rather than letting them go to waste.
“What do you mean?” Autumn turned her head and glanced at Addie, who’d had her fill of tomatoes, corn, zucchini, carrots, and chicken. “Not-uh, Adelyn. You are just going to hurt yourself if you try to get out of that playpen, and I am not about to feel bad for you if you do.” Addie looked at her mother with big baby eyes and then turned her attention to one of the toys in the pen with her.
“I mean with us,” I said. “Do you see us being together in three m
onths, or six months?” Autumn gave me a quick look, and I realized—too late—that it was probably a sensitive question for her.
“If I didn’t see us together for at least the next six months, I would probably not have gone along with dating openly,” she said, taking a bite of tomato salad. “The last thing I need is to be the jilted girlfriend again.”
“I would never cheat on you,” I told her, reaching out to take her free hand in mine. “Whatever else—if we end, it will be because you tell me you want it to end.” Autumn looked skeptical still for a moment, but then smiled.
“That’s good to know,” she said. “Why the sudden interest in months from now?”
I shrugged. “My lease is coming up in January,” I told her. “I was wondering if maybe—assuming we don’t screw this up—we could talk about moving in together.” Autumn’s eyes widened and she stared at me for a moment.
“You want me to move in with you?”
I nodded. “If you’re interested,” I said. “Or if your parents are okay with it, I could move in here. Whatever way you’re most comfortable. I want us to be together as much as possible, and living together would be the way to do that.”
Autumn stared at me again for a moment and then began to smile. “You really want to live with me? And Addie, too?”
“No, I’m going to force you to abandon your child in order to have a relationship with me,” I joked with a laugh. “Of course I want Addie to live with us—if you’re okay with that.” Autumn’s smile grew bigger.
“I’d love that,” she told me. “I just... I don’t want to rush into anything, but I would really love living with you.” I reached out and gave one of her fingers a little tug.
“I don’t want to rush anything either,” I told her. “I want us both to be sure. But I know that I want to live with you.”