by Vera Quinn
“A few years ago, my dad passed away. My mom and I were never close. My mom and I had a difference of opinion and I left.” I keep my eyes on my feet, avoiding the set of eyes on me. “My dad always said that one day we would buy a farm, but his days ran out and it’s the only thing in my life that I know for sure I will never change my mind on. Even if the farm never becomes profitable—I want—no I need a farm here in Comfort.” Every word I have said is true. I know this is a pipe dream, but I feel like this is something that will keep me connected with my dad’s memory. This way I can keep his dream alive. I just feel vulnerable talking about my dad. I feel the tears in my eyes that are on the verge of falling.
“Do you mind telling me how old you are and how old you were when you left home? You look very young.” Mr. Styles looks at me and I look at Haddie. She has a copy of my fake identification card, but she didn’t share with Mr. Styles. I knew I could trust her.
“It’s alright honey, just tell him.” I know Haddie is going to be disappointed in me for the lie I let her believe but it’s time to be honest. I just hope I still have a place to sleep tonight.
“I’m sorry for deceiving you Haddie, but I’m not twenty-three, I’m only twenty years old. I left home when I was sixteen and I’ve been on my own since then. I have been all over the United States.” I watch as Haddie opens and then closes her mouth and then she looks at Mr. Styles and they are communicating by facial expressions again. It’s getting hard to swallow as I wait for one of them to speak.
“I don’t know where to start with all that. I knew you were a wildcard but not to this extent. Is your real name Sage since you have fake cards? Are you going to run out on your bill here? How would a high school dropout have the money to buy anything?” Those are the first questions Mr. Styles wants to ask me? He is more worried about Haddie than anything else. That makes me smile.
“Mr. Styles calm down. Sage would not run out on me. Just let her explain.” I hear the words coming out of Haddie’s mouth, but she doesn’t look confident.
“My middle name is Sage and I started using it instead of my first name when I left home. My credit card is a prepaid and Haddie can run the amount of my bill anytime she wants. That’s for last week and this one. It puts the amount on hold, but I can guarantee you that I can stay here as long as I want, and it will be covered. Please, run it for a month at your convenience.” I look at Haddie and she gives me a small smile. I understand her being unsure. I’m a stranger and she has no reason to trust me. I look to Mr. Styles who has remained quiet. “I was in my last year of high school because I was able to skip a grade of school by taking a placement test. When I left home, I did a homeschool program on my computer and completed it ahead of schedule. I have also completed all but one semester of my college online. I have been studying agricultural science and working on my bachelor of science degree. I have also been doing jobs on farms to get hands-on experience and learning how to do soil tests, but I didn’t get enough experience to do it myself without assistance from a lab. Except for my living and traveling expenses I have saved every penny. My dad had an educational fund set up for me that I have had access to, and it guaranteed my schooling. My attorney has helped me with all of this plus I have access to part of my trust fund that had nothing to do with my dad’s will. I have an education and plan on continuing it. I know how to manage my money and with the real estate fair market price for this part of Texas I can afford to buy a farm.” I hope this answers most of Mr. Styles questions. I don’t want to elaborate anymore. I don’t even want to think about everything else.
“Sage, honey, do you mean that you haven’t been in contact with your mom since you left? That’s been four years. Don’t you think that whatever the reason you two couldn’t get along may have changed by now? If you were mine, I would go to the ends of the earth looking for you and let me tell you whenever I found you there would be consequences.” I can see by the stern look in Haddie’s eyes that she would no doubt still be looking for me if I was her child. I think that Haddie would be the perfect mom.
“The woman gave birth to you. Don’t you think it’s cruel to make her suffer over not knowing her child is safe?” Mr. Styles isn’t going to let me leave it as it is.
“I understand—no I guess I don’t really—but I want to assure you both that the only thing my mom would want from me is the money my dad left me. Her and her boyfriend both.” I leave it at that. “That’s all I am sharing today about my family. I will be forced to deal with them soon enough so the less I have to think about it the better.” I see the questions in their eyes but what I don’t see is pity. I only see acceptance.
“Since you’re going to be with us a while it’s about time you start calling me Nick. That’s my given name so no more Mr. Styles. Haddie is the only one to call me that and she only does it to rile me up— it’s about time that changes. Can you just give me your first name? I won’t use it but if we are going to be friends, then we need to be on a first name basis.” He gives me the first smile that I have seen on the man. I look at Haddie and she has a smile on her lips like always. I feel like a burden has been lifted and I feel more at home than I have in a long time.
“My first name is Lyric, and I hate that I haven’t been able to use it because my dad gave me that name.” I feel the tears slip from my eyes and I can’t make them stop. I feel raw from sharing my memories and I just miss my dad. Nick and Haddie both come and stand on each side of me as they bring me close and embrace me. The comfort I feel brings another rush of tears and I feel the safest I have felt since the last time my dad held me.
Nick steps back from us and turns my head towards him. I see the concern coming from him. “I’ll come by tomorrow right after lunch and the three of us will go out to the farm to have a look around.” I start to say something but stop abruptly. Haddie goes back to her desk and grabs some tissues and hands them to me. Nick is still looking at me.
“If you need to say something just say it,” Nick blurts out.
“I just wanted to say thank you,” I look from Nick to Haddie, “for everything that you have done for me and for giving me a chance. I promise I won’t let you down if it’s in my control. This has been my dream since I lost my dad.”
“We’ll see. Now be ready tomorrow.” Nick turns and leaves. I don’t blame him for not trusting me. I run every time I am faced with trouble, but I’m tired of running and this is where it stops.
Chapter Three
Nick…
I tossed and turned all night. My mind wouldn’t settle so the sleep could take me away from the pain in my heart. The thought of selling my home that was my past and my future at one time, has my heart torn apart. I grew up playing in the trees in the backyard. I shared my first experience with moonshine in that barn with my best friend Walter. My favorite dog is buried out behind that barn. I shared grief and love with loved ones. I met my Christine there, made her my bride and then said my last goodbye there. Each of my children were conceived and buried there—how can I let it go? No man or woman should outlive everyone in their family. Our extended family fell apart when we laid Christine to rest. She was the glue that held us together. She made sure we all stayed in contact during the year and we all sat down to break bread every Thanksgiving. The last time I spoke to any of my family was the day Marcus was buried. At first, I ignored calls from different family members and then when I felt up to returning the calls, no one knew what to say to me. There was no small talk to fill the time. I saw no reason to try and talk to people when most of the time we were on the phone it was dead air and the tension was thick enough it could be cut with a knife.
I don’t know Sage well enough to know if she will stick out the hard times on a farm. The disappointments in planting crops that don’t produce. The early mornings and late nights making sure all your animals are safe and not being attacked by coyotes and wild hogs. The lengths she would need to go to, so she can stay up to date with weather as the seasons change. Even if all s
he does is cut hay, the weather plays a critical part in it. Days run into weeks and then weeks run into months. It’s the kind of work you need the energy of a young person but the monotony that only an older person can put up with until their body just won’t take anymore.
Sage is a wisp of a girl. I call her a girl, but she is older than my Christine was when she gave me our first son, Nicholas. Times have changed, and people don’t mature the way they did in my day. Sage broke my heart with the sadness in her voice when she talked about her dad. I believe that she thinks she wants a farm but the part that has me hesitating is whether the girl has staying power.
If she had found her partner in life by now, it would help me make the decision. Then I would know they were like thinkers and they would be in it together. Sage is a pretty little thing and one day her smile will light up some man’s life but what if he’s some city slicker that doesn’t like getting up early in the morning? The thought gives me too many negative thoughts but then again maybe she can be nudged in the right direction of the kind of man she will need for farm life. That gives me something else to think about.
My neighbors at the farm will not be as welcoming as Haddie and I have been. Okay, the way Haddie has been. Joseph Hillhouse is on one side my property while Donald Stillman is on the other. Joseph and his wife, Dolly, are good people. They have two sons and the oldest, Botie, is still working with his dad. Joseph and Botie are up at daylight and work until the jobs on their ranch are done for the day. When the day is done, Dolly has a hot meal on the table. Hawkins, the younger son left home a few years ago taking along with him, Botie’s fiancée. That was a mess the women in town are still talking about. You would think it was the first family scandal in our parts. I know Dolly would take Sage under her wing and show her the ins and outs that women on a farm need to know but Sage being the woman and the man will be a little hard for Joseph to take. We’re old-fashioned around here and this is going to be a first for us in our part of Texas. Joseph will suck it up in time and do the right thing and Botie can help Sage out when he has the time.
Then there is Donald Stillman on the other side. His family is way different from most people around these parts. Donald is the most unfriendly cantankerous man I have ever met. He is going to be livid if I do sell my place. He has been after me for years to sell to him. He and his wife, Skeeter, have two sons and the youngest one is hell on wheels and is out of town most of the time—until he needs his dad to bail him out of some situation he has gotten himself into. He went off to Nashville to be a singer but has only gotten himself into get-rich-quick schemes that his dad keeps paying his way out of before he goes to jail. Then there are all his city women. If Donald doesn’t get a handle on Branton, then he is going to lose that horse ranch he is so proud of. Trask their oldest son is a steadfast hard worker, but he has the same taste in wild women as his brother Branton. Skeeter was a bit of a wild one in her day and still likes to watch the younger men in town. Could be why Donald is such a jackass at times or could be he just likes to hear himself yammer on. Sage needs to stay away from the Stillman family. Trask is the best of the bunch and I think if his best friend Botie steps up to help Sage so will he and then chemistry will do the rest. Botie or Trask, either one would be a good match for Sage depending on who she is drawn to. What the heck am I thinking about? I’m as bad as the women in our town trying to play matchmaker. The one thing I do know is that once those boys set their eyes on pretty little Sage, then my part is done. The birds and the bees will take care of the rest. I just hope Sage is ready for all this and I hope my heart will let me let go of the only place I ever wanted to call home.
Chapter Four
Sage…
This morning seems to be taking forever. I am anxious and ready to go see Nick’s farm and I’m hoping he doesn’t change his mind about me. My heart goes out to the man. I observed the pain in his eyes yesterday when he was telling me the history of his home. The story was heartbreaking and comforting at the same time. Heartbreaking because Nick has lost his entire family but comforting knowing the love that has been in that house. It is a house with character and I haven’t even seen it yet, but it couldn’t be anything but exactly that. I want the farm without seeing it and I know that isn’t a sound business decision, but this is for me and my dad’s memory.
I have straightened my room, showered, and I am ready to meet this day head on. I look at my watch and it’s still just a little before eight. My attorney isn’t in his office yet. Today is the day we set up for me to call and check in. Roger Stanton has been the only person I have depended on since my dad’s passing. He has known me since birth and feels more like a grandpa of sorts I would guess. I must say I guess he seems like a grandpa because I have never had one. My paternal grandparents died right before I was born. They died within weeks of each other. They had my dad when they were older, and my grandfather’s heart gave out and according to my dad, afterwards my grandmother died of a broken heart from losing the love of her life. My dad couldn’t hide the sadness from his voice when he would tell me the story, but he says it happened the way it should have. My dad was a romantic at heart.
My maternal grandparents are a bit of a tragedy. My mom never knew who her dad was. Rumors are he was the President of the BlackPath Motorcycle Club who died in a motorcycle crash, but he never stepped up and claimed my mom as his child. Rumors also say that my mom has two brothers she has never met. I believe the rumors because they came from Mr. Stanton. My maternal grandmother died of liver failure from years of drug and alcohol use. My mom distanced herself from Carolyn, her mom, after she hooked up with Dad. Mr. Stanton let me know all of this when I went to him for help to get away from my mom after one of the most frightening weeks of my life. I look at my watch again and know I can go eat breakfast with Haddie to get this day going. I don’t care if I eat but caffeine is a must and then I will make my call to Mr. Stanton, so he knows I’m alright. I’ll let him know that I may have found part of my dream and find out if he has obtained the information that I need. Sounds like a plan to me.
I leave my room and walk down the stairs. This place has been quiet this week. In fact, except for the first day I was here there have only been a few people that have stayed here—unless I missed them. I’m here except for when I go out exploring around the small town. I wonder if Haddie is having financial problems. The way she cooks you would think she had every room occupied nightly but yesterday I found out not only does Haddie donate lunches to the retirement center, but she also helps feed the sheriff’s office a few days a week. I knew that Haddie had a huge heart by the way she has taken me in, but cooking for the elderly, so they can have a small lunch while they play games and visit with others their own age is not an easy job. Yesterday when I went over there to help her there were at least fifteen people visiting along with the few volunteers and Haddie had a lunch for each of them and helped clean the place. I helped as much as I could, but I’m still an outsider and the people didn’t warm up to me much. Then we visited the sheriff’s office and dropped off lunches for the deputies on duty. There are two deputy sheriffs and two city police officers. The deputies have call outs to other parts of the county. The sheriff’s wife owns the diner and she usually provides the food for a price but Haddie’s is free and better tasting from what the four officers said. I need to find a tactful way to ask Haddie how the bed-and-breakfast is doing financially. I hate to think of Haddie struggling.
I walk into the kitchen and I see Haddie and Nick both sitting at the table with mugs of coffee in front of them. Nick is here most mornings but by now he should be opening Nuts and Bolts—his hardware store. I smile at the them both, but what I really want to do is bombard Nick with questions. Instead I walk towards the coffee that I smelled as soon as I started down the stairs. “Good morning.”
“Good morning dear, there are some muffins on top of the stove to go with your coffee,” Haddie tells me. My mouth was already watering from the aroma of blueberry muffins in t
he kitchen.
“Thank you Haddie. They smell delicious. I am already gaining weight from being here. I’m going to need to start running again to keep my backside in my jeans.” I know I have lost weight over the past few years—always traveling—so a few pounds won’t hurt. It’s not like I’m like my mom and weigh my food, so I won’t gain an ounce. I will never be that vain. I just want to be healthy but sometimes I go overboard. I think it’s because my mom was always monitoring my food intake because she didn’t want a fat child interfering with the happy family image she wanted everyone to have of us. Another thing I don’t miss.
“Girlie, you need some meat on those bones if you’re going to put in the work on the farm and that is why I’m still here. I thought we could ride out to the farm this morning; that way you can have a look at it. After, we can get down to my stipulations and iron out the price. I also want to hear more about you before making my final decision.” Nick doesn’t look as sad this morning as he did yesterday when we spoke about it.
“I think I may have come up with a way to ease part of your apprehensions.” I have Nick’s attention now; I pour my coffee and walk to the stove and get me a muffin along with a napkin off the cabinet. Haddie’s and Nick’s eyes are both on me.