“Sure, anytime,” Annie said.
Camille’s dimples deepened. “When I was a child, my father took me for lessons in Northern Kentucky twice a week for a couple of years. I have several trophies and blue ribbons from horse shows. It’s been a long time, but I would love to ride again.”
“You can probably teach me a thing or two,” Annie said, standing. “I’ll get dinner on the table, family style, then ya’ll can come.”
When Annie left the room, Evelyn said, “Beulah, Annie is talking Southern again. Have you noticed?”
Beulah chuckled. “I’m glad. She’ll be easier for me to understand.”
Jake laughed, but Camille seemed lost at the joke.
Annie seated Jake at the head of the table with Camille on one side and Evelyn next to Camille. Beulah was instructed to sit next to Jake and Annie took the seat next to her and closest to the kitchen.
Jake offered the blessing and after he said “Amen,” something Annie was wearing caught Jake’s attention when he opened his eyes. He stared for a moment and looked back again as he handed her the casserole. Camille noticed his attention on Annie and Beulah thought she saw a faint twitch of irritation on the girl’s face. Annie seemed oblivious as she handed the casserole to Beulah.
“Jake said you live in New York,” Camille said, directing the question to Annie. “Where do you live?”
“I had an apartment in Greenwich Village with three other flight attendants. Fortunately, there were usually only two of us there at a time, so we made it work.”
“I love Manhattan. My dad takes our whole family every year in December. It’s been a tradition since we were small. We stay at the Waldorf, see the Rockettes and the latest Broadway shows, shop and eat at the best restaurants. I told Jake he has a lot to live up to,” she said, looking up at him with large brown eyes through the longest eyelashes Beulah had ever seen.
“I can’t argue with that,” he said. “Cam’s dad is a great guy. He’s been a business mentor to me.”
Beulah noticed Camille’s plate had a small amount of food on it, a sampling instead of a portion. What’s more, Beulah noticed, she delicately sniffed each bite of food before putting it in her mouth. It was ever so subtle, one might mistake it for just a pause, but Beulah detected a slight flaring of her nostrils before the food went in. She felt a tickle rising up inside her, but chastised herself immediately. For goodness sakes, she thought. You’re an old woman acting like a child! Thank God Fred wasn’t here to egg her on.
The rest of the dinner conversation flowed like milk. The awkwardness of the snake scare had worn off and everyone was putting in to make it a nice evening. Beulah didn’t know about fashion, but Camille was put together as neat as you please, like a Christmas gift wrapped with a large bow from one of the old department stores up in Lexington. Beulah could see why Jake was taken with her. She was a beauty and smart as a whip.
At times, the dinner had the feeling of an interview, as much as Beulah thought everyone didn’t want it to feel that way, but there was no way to get to know people without asking questions. Camille was the center of attention, except when Jake was casting sideways glances at Annie. But Camille was a sharp girl and she seemed to know when Jake’s eyes were off her and looking toward Annie for what reason, Beulah did not know. Annie seemed unaware and paid full attention to Camille, but Jake looked to have a question he couldn’t ask.
They finished up supper, and Evelyn helped Annie clear the dishes away. It was one of those times Beulah wished she could get up and do it herself. After all, it was her house, and here she sat like a queen, letting everybody wait on her.
Annie brought out the chess pies, and Beulah explained which pie was lemon and which was plain. Annie poured decaffeinated coffee for everyone, set out the cream and sugar, and took a seat while Beulah cut pieces of pie.
“Beulah, you made my favorite,” Jake said, scooping up a large slice of the plain chess.
Cam refused dessert at first, but Jake finally persuaded her to take a small slice of the lemon.
Beulah couldn’t help herself but to watch Camille sniff the small bite of pie before she ate it. Never in her life had she seen such. She had heard of folks smelling their food before eating it, but every bite?
“Have you shown Camille around town?” Annie asked.
“Yeah, we spent part of the day there,” Jake said.
“Jake bought me a bracelet at the jewelry store downtown,” Camille said and held up her arm to show off the gold circle.
“Chaney’s is a treasure,” Beulah said. “We’re so glad to have a local jewelry store.”
Cam set her fork down and leaned in. “His inventory isn’t very large, but Jake wanted me to find something and this worked nicely with what I already have.”
“I think it’s wonderful that you’re trying to do business with Mr. Chaney. All the big stores are pushing businesses like his out, until every community in America looks all the same,” Annie said.
“That’s exactly how I feel.” Jake’s blue eyes flashed with intensity. “We can’t keep running to the big stores every time the small independent stores don’t have exactly what we want or need.”
“But it’s so limiting,” Cam said. “America is all about freedom of choice.”
Jake leaned in to make his point. “What happens to the American dream when a person can’t have their own business and be their own boss because the big stores make it too difficult to compete with their massive buying from China? We need to buy local and support each other.”
“I agree,” Annie said. “I can’t tell you how many cities I’ve been in and literally wondered where I was, because they all look exactly alike when you get out of the downtown area. Same stores, same restaurants, same gas stations.”
Jake started to say something, but Cam interrupted. “What a treat,” she said and folded her napkin. “Thank you both so much for a lovely dinner.”
Jake took the hint. “Yes, we better go. Can we help you clean up first?”
Evelyn said, “I can stay and help you clean up, Annie, if you don’t mind running me home afterwards.”
Beulah thought Annie would refuse Evelyn’s help, but she surprised her by saying, “That would be great, thanks.” Then Annie turned to Camille. “Cam, anytime you would like to ride Nutmeg, come on over. I’m not good at saddling her up yet, but you probably know how to do that anyway.”
“Thank you! I’d love to ride before I leave.”
“Maybe you two could have lunch together this week. I’d like for you to get to know each other better,” Jake said.
“Great idea,” Annie said. “I’ll call and set it up.”
With Jake and Cam out the door, Evelyn and Annie sat back down at the table, forgetting the dishes.
“What do you think, girls?” Evelyn asked.
Beulah sighed. “Looks like a doll and smart enough,” she said.
“Puts on shows for a living,” Annie said.
“Adores Jake,” Evelyn said.
They sat in silence for a few seconds.
“Evelyn, honey, do you think he could marry her?” Beulah laid it on the table.
Evelyn sighed and shook her head. “I don’t know. I think this visit is crucial to see how she likes it around here.”
“We can pray for wisdom,” Beulah said.
“Yes, that’s the only thing to do. She might be exactly who he should marry,” Evelyn said.
“Guess we need to try harder,” Annie said. She fingered the cross around her neck and stared at the pantry door as if it held the secret to a mystery. That necklace was what Jake was staring at, but Beulah still couldn’t figure out why.
Evelyn reached across the table and grabbed Annie’s hand. “Thank you. I need to try harder to do the same.”
“Does ‘trying’ mean not scaring her to death?” Beulah asked, looking at Annie.
“Grandma, I didn’t know Booger would still be there.”
“Annie, you devil!” Evelyn poi
nted her finger and then broke out with laughter.
Annie gave herself away with the hint of a grin. “Old Tom drug up a half-dead mouse, and I tossed it over to Booger this afternoon to finish off. I guess he decided to let his meal digest before going back to the smokehouse.”
Beulah cut a sharp glance at her granddaughter before allowing herself to laugh too. “Well, I swan. You can almost set your clock by that snake’s habits. I couldn’t figure out what happened.”
They laughed and talked some more with Beulah drying the dishes while Annie and Evelyn washed and put them away. That was something she could do easily enough sitting down, as long as someone set the dishes in front of her and put them up. The twisting and turning in the kitchen was the hardest for her to do. That would come later when she was all healed.
While Annie drove Evelyn home, Beulah put on her nightgown. She heard a car creep back up the driveway. Beulah went to the window, looking out over the back porch to make sure it was Annie. Her granddaughter had gotten out of the car and was leaning against it, looking up at the waxing moon.
There was something to that necklace she had worn. There was an unspoken communication going on between Annie and Jake that no one else was meant to understand.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Annie pulled a weed next to a bean plant, then another. The invading plants threatened the health of her green beans and there was something therapeutic about jerking them out of the ground. There was a feeling of accomplishment as she went down the row, a mark of where she had been. The sun warmed her back as she tossed the weeds into a brown paper bag and then scooted her stool to the next section.
In the morning light, she was ashamed of herself for her churlishness toward Camille the night before. The cross necklace was one thing, dragging out something from her past with Jake as if to lay claim on some prior connection. Although he never said a word, couldn’t of course, he had recognized it. She knew from the way his eyes lingered on hers with a question.
And then Booger … Annie stifled a grin even now. She hadn’t known he would stay to digest the mouse, but she thought it might work. What she did didn’t bother her as much as why. Was it a need to feel superior over Camille while she was on her turf? Or to help Jake see Camille wasn’t right for him?
“Kitty,” her grandmother called from the back porch. Annie looked up to see her grandmother pour a small amount of milk into a bowl by the back porch door. When she looked toward the garden, Annie waved to her.
“I’ll be in to fix lunch in a minute,” she called to her.
It had been two days since Annie had talked to Bob Vichy. She had waited to tell her grandmother in the event he might quickly get her an extension. Annie was so full of hope, she had called Janice and requested her camera accessories, a swimsuit and a couple of summer blouses she missed. All would be an entire waste of Janice’s time if Annie was heading back to New York herself on Sunday.
When the brown truck groaned in the driveway earlier and the gum-chewing delivery man left the overnight package from Janice, Annie realized even Janice wasn’t as hopeful, or else she wouldn’t have spent the extra money on overnight service.
With no word from Bob, Annie knew she had to tell her grandmother. When she thought about going back this soon, her chest tightened. There was so much left undone. She had wanted to finish the garden, to see it through from planting to canning, and finally to putting the goods on shelves in the cellar.
And who would keep an eye on the renter, Stella Hawkins? Her grandmother had alerted the police, but even Jeb Harris admitted they were understaffed.
“Ouch,” she said after grabbing a weed with tiny thorns on it, pricking her fingers. After a while, she learned how to recognize the thorny weed and grab it from the base, avoiding the stickers. Worries were like weeds, she thought. Best to grab them by the root and yank them up. But sometimes they cause pain. And if you don’t deal with them, they multiply and choke out the good things.
At the end of the row, Annie stood and stretched. She had dealt with enough weeds for the day. It was time to confront a worry.
Annie went into the kitchen and pulled a chair out and sat. Her grandmother had heated leftovers for lunch.
“Grandma, my boss called two days ago and asked me to come back this Monday for work. I told him I couldn’t come Monday and asked for an extension. I don’t know if I’ll get it, Grandma. When all this happened, he told me it would be at least three months, possibly six, and it’s been less than two. I’m sorry.”
“Now, there’s nothing to be sorry for. You have your job back. That’s a blessing, not something to be sad about.” Her grandmother reached across and lightly laid her hand on Annie’s before pulling away. “Besides, I’ll make out fine. Evelyn already said she would help me if I need her. You got me through the worst part of it, and look what all you’ve done around here! This place doesn’t even look the same.”
“I can hire some extra help for the garden if you know somebody who could use the work,” Annie said.
“I’ll manage fine. Having you here these last few weeks has been wonderful. I’ll miss that. But I want you to live your life.”
“I’m still hoping for the extension. Even without it, I’ll fly back on days off this summer and help with the garden as much as I can. I’ll come so often you’ll be tired of seeing me.” Annie stood and kissed her grandmother on the cheek.
“Now, I better get to my exercises,” Beulah said as she pushed herself up from the table.
“I think I’m going to run over to Evelyn’s and use her computer. I tried calling, but no one’s home.” Annie grabbed the camera accessories and stuffed them in her pocket for the walk over.
Despite all her words to comfort her grandmother, Annie felt a hollow in her own chest on the walk to the neighboring farm. Using the crossover place in the rock fence and coming up behind the dairy barn, she tried shaking the heaviness by enjoying the beauty of the warm day and Evelyn’s flower garden as she passed through it to the back door.
The driveway and garage were empty, other than the old farm truck parked in the open-door garage. No one was home. All she needed was to print out the old stone house pictures so she could finish her drawing. It was even more important to her now that little time remained. Annie wanted to leave it with her grandmother before she left.
The back door was unlocked, just as Evelyn had said. Annie called before entering, but when no one answered, she made her way to the office. Annie uploaded the pictures and in a few seconds, they were on the screen. She enlarged them to get a better view. While they were printing, she checked her e-mail, which included one lengthy note from a friend in Rome. She was in the middle of a reply to an e-mail from Prema when she heard the back door open. Before she could call out, Annie heard voices in the kitchen.
She logged off and gathered up her pictures.
“Jake, don’t you think it’s possible to do a little farming on the side and still partner with my dad? Wouldn’t that be a way to do it all?” Annie recognized Camille’s voice and heard what sounded like a purse tossed onto the kitchen table.
“Sure, it’s a possibility. But if I go into business with your dad, it would be creating a new concept from scratch and you know how much time and energy that would take. The farming would get very little time. So it really comes down to a choice between the two, if I want to make a success of either one.”
“Why not save farming for later, when you want to slow down. Who says you can’t do both at different times in your life?”
“So you’re not too excited about this option,” he said.
“Oh, Jake,” her voice turned to syrup. Annie wanted to gag. “I understand hotels and I can help you. We would be a team. But I don’t understand farming. To be honest, when you talk about grasses and cows and chickens, my eyes glaze over.”
“I didn’t realize I was boring you,” he said. His voice had an edge.
She let out an exaggerated sigh. “You are so good w
ith people. You know how to lead a company. Do you realize what a rare gift that is? Why would you want to throw away all your talent on this farming thing?”
Camille had stepped in it now, Annie thought. The silence before Jake’s response stretched and Annie could feel the tension thick as a hazy and humid July afternoon.
When he spoke, his voice was controlled. “This farming thing feeds people. Not processed junk from halfway across the world, but real, nutritious food that allows people to live healthy lives while also caring for the environment. I can’t think of many things more important than that.”
She sighed. “I’m sorry Jake. You’re so different here than back home. I guess I’m missing the old Jake. Maybe it’s not so bad. I do like horses,” she said with a lilt at the end of her sentence. Annie could imagine her dimpled face, upturned and waiting for a kiss to make it all better.
Annie hoped they wouldn’t launch into a make-up and make-out session. She wanted to get out of there as soon as possible without being seen!
“Let’s talk about this later. You need to do some more thinking and so do I. Right now, I need to return some phone calls.”
A cabinet door opened and then she heard running water. If Camille responded, Annie didn’t hear it, and soon the voices faded as they moved down the hall.
Annie slipped quietly out the front door and down the driveway to make sure she wasn’t seen from the back window. Annie wouldn’t tell her grandmother about hearing Jake and Camille argue. It was a private matter she shouldn’t have heard anyway, and her grandmother would remind her of that if she told her.
Annie had almost forgotten the pictures on her walk back and now they were crumpled. Once inside her grandmother’s kitchen, she smoothed them out on the kitchen table. The house filled the paper, giving her architectural details for the drawing. She craved her charcoals now, seeking the escape an hour or two of drawing would provide.
“Annie?” Beulah called from the kitchen. Annie was upstairs, changing into her work clothes.
“Coming!”
Annie pulled on her old tennis shoes and tied them, then pulled her hair back in a short ponytail. Her grandmother was seated at the kitchen table.
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