He caught her hand in his and moved toward Dr. Rothschild. “You might as well know that Ellie and I are dating. I am anxious and eager and hopeful she’ll agree to something more permanent soon.” He looked at Ellie with shining eyes. “Maybe by Christmas?”
Ellie didn’t want to look like a dimwit in front of Dr. Rothschild, but she couldn’t seem to get her mouth closed. She shook her head. “Permanent?”
“If you want me.”
“Mr. Finkenbinder, I’m sorry, but the behavior you are currently displaying is still inappropriate. Whether you’re dating or not. The actions of the administrator of a school must be above reproach at all times. If the families here find out that our principal was…engaged in a vulgar display of amorous attention behind the equipment shed… If they find out the woman you were kissing is a simple farmer who doesn’t even have her high school diploma…”
That was harsh. And it hurt. But it was exactly what she’d been trying to tell Fink. That’s how many of the people on the school board would see it. Sure, the community would probably rally around her, but Fink wouldn’t get the job.
“You’re right.” Ellie broke away from Fink. “I really was pushing myself on him. But no one needs to know about this, unless you tell someone.”
“I certainly will not.”
“Ellie…” Fink touched her arm. “Please don’t.”
She jerked out of his reach. “No, Fink. I’m not spending the rest of my life being the chain around your neck. We need to stop this before we begin something we regret.” She turned to Dr. Rothschild. “I give you my word that your superintendent will not be caught in any more vulgar displays with me, if you give me yours that the position is still his.”
A small smile appeared briefly on Dr. Rothschild’s face. “He is the most qualified candidate, and the most popular. He was also the most levelheaded. If you keep your word, the superintendent position is his.”
“I’m out of the picture.” She had to hold it together just a little bit longer. Calling on every last crumb of strength she had, she turned to Fink. “This is what you’ve worked for since you left Iowa. You’d better not screw it up.” Tossing her head in a totally fake display of detachment, she strode away.
She did not allow herself to cry until she had pulled out of the parking lot.
Fink rushed from the game to Ellie’s farm as fast as he could. It was possible he was slightly rude to Mrs. Cummings, the widow of the former oatmeal baron with two small children who, along with the Rosencrantzes, was considering the district. But the woman really needed to put her children to bed, and she wouldn’t stop hanging on his arm.
Now, as he stepped out of his car, carrying the package containing Ellie’s surprise, he wondered where the best place to look for her would be.
Spying Harper and Wyatt working at the campfire, he headed toward them.
“You both looked great tonight,” he said as he stepped to the fire, stuffing the package under his arm and holding his hands out. There was a definite chill in the air tonight.
“Thanks, Mr. F.” Harper handed a hot dog to a little girl whose mother stood behind her holding a stick. “Are you here to help?”
“Well, I was kind of looking for your mom, but I’m here to help too.” He adjusted the package and glanced around.
“Gram and Pap are doing the haunted house, and Wyatt and I are splitting up between here and the pumpkin patch and apple bobbing, but no one’s been giving hayrides all night. If you could do that, it’d be great.”
“Where did you say your mom was?” She hadn’t actually said where Ellie was, but Fink hoped she would with a little prompting.
“She said she had a headache and went in to lie down. It must be really bad because I can’t remember her ever not working before.”
“She looked awful,” Wyatt said, his typical honest self.
Fink’s heart thumped slowly and painfully. When she’d jerked away and dismissed him with such imperiousness, his whole world had tilted.
He’d never been immune to Ellie. Even his attempt to “punish” her for Harper’s tardiness was calculated to get a reaction. Because he loved seeing her passion and her life. Because he loved her.
He tensed, stunned, as he allowed the thought to sink in. That knowledge was a shock, but he knew that it was true. The problem was, he wasn’t sure how she felt.
She’d returned his kisses with passion and fervor, and she’d allowed him to hold her hand. He could almost believe she took the fall with Dr. Rothschild because she loved him and wanted the best for him. But he could be wrong. Maybe she wanted to continue to cling to her biases against his job and education. Perhaps Dr. Rothschild had reminded her that she’d believed the gap between them was too large. Or even Ellie might have decided she wasn’t good enough. The thought broke his heart and made him angry because it wasn’t true. Or she could have realized she didn’t really like him.
She hadn’t said. She hadn’t done anything to make him think she might feel for him as he did her except return his embrace. Maybe she was simply lonely.
“Mr. F?” Harper waved her hand in front of his face. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” He wanted to go to the house, storm in, and demand she answer him. But that was nuts. “I can drive the tractor.”
The package in his hand crinkled as he moved, and he glanced at it. He’d forgotten about it.
“This is for the float. I’m going to stick it on the wagon, then I’ll be back to start the hayrides.”
“Thanks, Mr. F.” Harper smiled as she handed out another hot dog.
He’d have to wait until tomorrow to talk to Ellie.
After a sleepless night, Fink arrived at the farm at nine a.m. with a headache of his own. Not for the first time, he wished he drank coffee, but he couldn’t abide the vile stuff. So he’d popped two painkillers before heading out.
Esther Bright, Ellie’s mother-in-law, was in the shop.
“Good morning, Mr. Finkenbinder. How are you this beautiful fall day?”
Not as happy as she was, apparently. He hadn’t noticed the day was beautiful. All he wanted was to see Ellie.
“Call me Fink, Mrs. Bright. I told Ellie I’d help out today.”
“Oh, that’s wonderful. Ellie never takes off. I hope they have a good time.”
“Ellie isn’t here?” His stomach fell. How could he talk to her, tell her how he felt, when she wasn’t around?
“No. I thought that’s why you were.”
“I didn’t know she wasn’t going to be here.” Frustration bubbled in his chest. Was she deliberately avoiding him?
“Harper has to go to the dance tonight and she didn’t have a dress. They went to the city to go shopping. It’s going to be busy today, and we’ll miss them, but I’m glad they went. Ellie and Harper both spend too much time working. I can’t remember the last time she took off, other than last night.”
He pushed past his disappointment. “What do you want me to do?”
Esther began naming things that needed done. Fink listened with one ear while he got his phone out and texted Ellie.
Miss you.
By lunch time, he’d still not received a reply.
Are you mad at me?
He felt like a teenaged boy in a fight with his girlfriend. But he was desperate to talk to her.
Still no answer.
Shadows had begun to lengthen, but Ellie hadn’t returned when Esther stopped by the fuel pump as he filled the tractor up. “We’re closing early tonight, Mr. Finkenbinder.”
“You are?” His brow furrowed. That was odd. Ellie had said weekend nights were the busiest for the farm.
“Yes. We are. We never do, even when it rains, but Harper is homecoming queen and that will only happen once in my lifetime. I didn’t want Ellie to feel torn about being at the parade and going to the dance to see Harper crowned.” She smiled sweetly. “Plus, I want to see it too.”
“Oh, of course.”
“So—” She glance
d at her watch. “—it’s almost five. We’re turning people away. You can go on home and get ready.”
“Is someone still driving the tractor for the float?” He hoped someone else was. Since he’d not seen Ellie all day, he was really looking forward to standing behind the moon with her.
“Our neighbor, Bob, is coming down at six. He’ll have the float at the starting point in town by six fifteen or so.”
“Great.” The parade started at seven, then the dance at eight. It should be plenty of time. And, he thought as he pulled out of the farm parking lot, Ellie might have been able to avoid him all day, but she wouldn’t be able to avoid him on the float.
Unless she didn’t show up. Which is exactly what she did.
Fink stood beside the float, talking to a parent, when Harper, looking elegant in a long blue off-the-shoulder gown, and Wyatt, looking snazzy in his suit, which had been the first thing Fink had bought him when he came from Chile, because one never knew when a suit would come in handy, climbed up on the float.
Fink ended his current conversation abruptly. “Hey, guys,” he said to Wyatt and Harper.
“Uncle Fink.”
“Mr. F.”
“Nice dress,” Fink said to Harper, because he figured he should at least mention it before he interrogated her about Ellie.
“Thanks.”
“Where’s your mom?”
Esther shuffled over to him. “She’s tired. She’s not used to shopping all day. So she asked me if I would take her place with you.”
“Where is she?” He checked his watch. Ten minutes until the parade started and they were the first float.
“She was at the farm when we left. She said she might come and watch if she felt up to it.”
He tried not to growl, but was unsure if he was successful. She’d managed to avoid him all day.
“Did she say anything about me?” His pride lay in a heap at his feet, and he didn’t even care.
“Mr. F?” Harper said from the float.
He looked up. “Yes?”
“Mom’s being an idiot. I tried to tell her today. She insists you’re too good for her and she’ll just be an impediment to your career.” She pursed her lips and looked as annoyed as he felt.
“Yeah, she said the same thing to me.”
“So you don’t agree?” Harper grinned.
“Of course not.”
“Well, she said something about the school board president…” Harper raised her brows. “Apparently, it’s more than just Mom’s opinion.”
“Dr. Rothschild is an idiot.”
“But you need her vote.”
“I don’t give a hoot if she votes for me or not.”
“Mom said she doesn’t want to be the reason she, or anyone else on the board, doesn’t vote for you.”
“I can fix that.” The words were out of his mouth before he thought about them. “I’m withdrawing my name from consideration.”
Harper’s brows rose. “Don’t be rash, Mr. F.”
“I’m not.” And he realized it was true. He didn’t actually want to be superintendent. He enjoyed working with the kids on a daily basis as principal. The administrative duties were just something he put up with. But as superintendent, that would be all he’d do.
Then why had he wanted the position in the first place?
The answer was obvious, but no longer relevant.
Chapter Fifteen
Ellie stood back in the crowd, anonymous, as the float chugged by.
Harper shone with an unmatched radiance as she and Wyatt waved to the cheering crowds lining the street. Ellie had a hard time believing that it was her daughter. She was so poised and beautiful. When had she grown up? It seemed like just yesterday that she’d brought a screaming infant home from the hospital, little more than a child herself, determined in her heart to figure out how to be both a mother and a wife. She hadn’t been a very good wife—the kisses with Fink had shown her that. She’d never kissed Liam like she was starving and wanted to lose herself in him.
And mother? Well, Harper had pretty much become the kind and responsible person she was in spite of Ellie. Not because of her.
Her eyes went to the silhouettes in the moon. She had to smile. Mom held a pitchfork in one hand and wore an old straw hat on her head. And Fink. Her heart skipped and rattled in her chest. He stood with both feet planted, slightly apart, one hand on his hip, one resting on Esther’s shoulder. A capable, masculine silhouette. Perfect.
The crowd murmured as the float drifted by. Pleased and excited and impressed, from what she could tell. Then she noticed the banner on the back.
Have you kissed your farmer today? in big, bold script, with the name, address, and phone number of their farm in smaller lettering under the rhetorical question.
Fink didn’t strike her as horribly romantic, but he’d come up with that—Have you kissed your farmer today?—himself. He certainly hadn’t had help from her.
Tears pricked her eyes. Fink hadn’t kissed his farmer today. She’d successfully avoided him all day. Plus, she wasn’t his. Which was her own stupid fault. If only she could turn back time. Like eighteen years of time. But she wouldn’t have Harper. And Harper was the best thing that had ever happened to her.
The float turned the corner and disappeared out of sight. Ellie slipped back through the crowd and got in her pickup. As principal, Fink would be at the dance. She hadn’t quite figured out how to avoid him there, but she was determined to see Harper crowned. She’d even bought a dress for the occasion. Nothing fancy. This wasn’t her night, after all. But nice enough. She hoped.
She pulled into the farm and parked the pickup in front of the house, then walked slowly up the dark path to the porch. Usually someone left the porch light on, but the house was dark. Even the harvest moon was hidden behind thick clouds.
The night air felt cool against her warm cheeks. Breathing in deeply, she savored the rich fall smells of corn tassels, black soil, tangy leaves, and a trace of woodsmoke. It wasn’t usually this quiet here, and she soaked in the peaceful isolation. A soft breeze lifted her hair from where it lay in some semblance of order, thanks to industrial-strength hair gel, on her neck.
She was making the right decision about Fink—letting him go—but her heart felt empty.
Funny that they’d only spent this week together, but somehow he seemed a part of her life. One it was hurtful to remove.
She adjusted her purse strap over her shoulder and moved toward the porch steps, feeling for the railing in the dark.
With Harper graduating, she wouldn’t even have an excuse to see Fink anymore. Not that he’d be around anyway. The superintendent had his own set of offices in the back of the elementary school. She’d never even seen them, although they were probably nice. Plush. Real wood furniture rather than the plastic-veneered stuff Fink had in his office right now. He deserved better. Better furniture. A better woman.
“Hey.”
She jumped, then froze. “Fink?”
“Yeah. It’s me,” he said softly.
“But you were on the float.” How did he beat her here? The parade wasn’t even over when she left.
“Jordon did it for me.”
“Oh.” Of course.
“I got the impression you were avoiding me.”
“You got it right. Smart one.” Sarcasm was one of her walls. She felt safer hiding behind it.
“Why?”
“I told you yesterday, I’m not starting something with you that we’re going to regret.”
“You’ll regret.”
“You. I’m not on the level that you need.”
He sighed, barely audible. “Do you have a minute?”
“I need to go in and get ready to go to the dance.” She couldn’t spend any more time with him. The longer she spent with him, the deeper she fell.
“Sit down.” He said it in his principal’s voice, and she had obeyed before she even thought not to.
“I told you I grew up on a
farm in Iowa.”
“Yeah.” She picked at her purse strap. Not that she could see it in the dark.
“I left the farm as soon as I could.”
“I know.”
“I didn’t tell you why.”
“You went to college.” She knew that.
“Dad wanted me to take over the farm. Be a farmer. There’s pride in working with your hands, he’d say.”
“I agree.” She had a feeling she would have liked his dad.
“Well, I didn’t. I was ashamed of my working-class roots. My country-bumpkin background. My rural ignorance. I admired the culture and class of the urbanites. You know they look down on country folk? Some of them, anyway. Some of them—like me.”
That hurt. But she’d figured he’d looked down on her. She hid the pain with a question, unable to keep the accusing tone out of her voice. “What are you doing at a little school like this? You like the city so much, go live in the city.”
“I did. For a while. But I hated it. The noise and the crowds, the filth and the feeling of isolation even in the midst of piles of people. So proud that we’re big and inclusive, but you can’t get a single person to even look you in the eye on the sidewalk, yet alone to say hi to a stranger.”
Well, that was different. “Heck, we wave to everybody around here.”
“I know. People have actually stopped at the school and stormed into my office, just to ream me out for not waving to them, and I don’t even know where they saw me. Just easier to wave to everyone.” He laughed softly to himself. “Remember when I said that sometimes we’re particularly blind to our own biases?”
“Yeah.”
“It’s true for urbanites as well as us.” He shifted. “Anyway, I hated the city life, but I didn’t want the Iowa farm-boy label either. So when a teaching position at Chestnut Hill came up, I jumped. I love it here. I drive by the farms, maybe a little smaller than my childhood—and we didn’t have these hills and mountains. But it feels like home. Because the people are the same. Friendly. Hardworking. Stuck in their ways, but willing to help anyone out.”
Harvest Moon Homecoming Page 11