“Finally,” Chance muttered.
“You’re impossible.” Sera shook her head. “What do you have against Alex?”
“Other than he’s an attorney from the city? Nothing. I would think you’d’ve learned your lesson.”
“I should go, too.” Shawn stood. He patted his stomach. “Thank you all for lunch.”
“Shawn, you don’t have to go.” Aunt Hope’s look was hopeful.
He took her hand. “I do. Thank you again.” He disappeared.
Sera dabbed at crumbs on the white tablecloth, trying in vain to interpret the undercurrents in the house since Chance had shown up. He certainly didn’t like Alex being around. But surely he didn’t want to talk about the sale of the farm. Unless he was worried they weren’t getting enough money.
“So, what’s up?” She folded her arms and leaned forward to rest on the table. At Chance’s smile, a shiver of excitement gave her goose bumps. “Do you have news to share?” That had to be it. “Dad always said you were talented. What is it? Blue Bird Café? Grand Ole Opry?”
Chance smiled but shook his head. “I have news, though not on the music front.”
“A record deal. You’re kidding. You got a record deal?” Sera pounded the table with her fist, causing the salt shaker to fall over.
“Sit, sis. You’re not listening. No, it’s none of the above.” He folded his napkin carefully. “Last spring, I met a girl.”
She righted the salt shaker. A feeling of unease came over her. “You—”
Chance held up one hand. “Hold on. As I was saying, I met a girl.”
Sera sat back in her chair. Her chest constricted. Surely Chance wasn’t moving home with somebody he just met. She looked at Hope, who sat quietly observing her great-nephew.
“Annabelle was a trainer who worked with racehorses in Kentucky. Last spring she was in Nashville for a month, working with the horses of one of the country singers.”
“You’re speaking in the past tense, so it must be over. Why are you telling us this? You go through girlfriends like tissues.”
Rolling his eyes, Chance continued as if she hadn’t spoken, “We were together all month, then she went back to Kentucky. We texted a couple times, then she stopped and I figured she was busy with her life and I was busy so...”
The sexy smile was gone. Chance ran his finger down the crease of the napkin. In the kitchen, Rocky growled, probably dreaming. She rubbed the goose bumps suddenly on her arms and found herself growing angry. “Chance, if you...”
“Let him talk, Sera. He has just as much right as you.”
Sera bit the inside of her cheek. Everybody had rights, but she was the one who provided all those rights. The right for Chance to follow his dream, the right for Hope to live out her life at home...
“A couple weeks ago the owners of the Kentucky farm where she worked looked me up. J.R. and Betsy Conrad. They own Fast Track Farms.” He folded the paper napkin into even tinier squares. “They told me Anna had a baby. About six months ago.”
Sera’s lips tightened. “Why would they tell you?”
His smile was back. Not the sexy smile. This one was different. “Because I’m the father.”
“No, no, no.” With a groan to rival Rocky’s, Sera lay her head on her arms, resting on the table. Then she shot her brother a look. “Why didn’t Anna come tell you?”
He dropped his chin to his chest and rubbed the inner corners of his eyes with his thumb and forefinger. Then he took a deep breath. “She had a pulmonary embolism during childbirth. She died.”
“Oh, no.” Aunt Hope’s hands flew to her mouth.
Sera sank into her chair and returned her brother’s gaze.
“They’ve been raising the baby. They didn’t know about me until recently.”
She slapped a hand on the tablecloth, causing Hope to jump in alarm. “They want child support. Oh, man, Chance, you can’t even afford rent. How can you pay child support?”
He shook his head, curly hair flopping in all directions. “No, they don’t want child support, Sera.”
Aunt Hope’s voice was soft. “They want you to raise your child. To bring your child home.”
Sera couldn’t help but feel Aunt Hope’s tone bore a note of triumph. Her head dropped into her hands. What else could go wrong today?
A voice boomed from the kitchen. “Sorry I’m late. The cows got out.”
Sera raised her eyes. Cyrus Carter stood in the doorway to the dining room, a big smile on his face and his hat in his hand.
He beamed at her. “Ready to go over those figures?”
CHAPTER TWELVE
THE FIRST THOUGHT in her mind when she woke Monday morning was that somewhere in Kentucky she had a niece. The second thought she had was one more mouth to feed. And she would continue to work her tail off. Cyrus had not been happy when she told him the negotiations would have to be postponed. Alex had made himself scarce.
She wasn’t sure what Chance wanted to do. The announcement had been so shocking. Chance said he wasn’t sure.
A knock sounded on her door. “Are you decent?”
“Come in.”
Chance came in and sat on the edge of the bed. “You must be disappointed in me.”
“I’m not disappointed. I’m just...worried.”
“What do you think I should do?”
“I have no idea. I mean, you would be a single father, and you work such a strange schedule. I mean, remember what it was like with Dad? He was never home.”
He hung his head. “You’re right.”
Resting a hand on his shoulder, she looked him in the eyes. “We have a lot to talk about. And I shouldn’t make any big decisions before caffeine. I’ll meet you downstairs.”
Ten minutes later she joined her brother in the kitchen. Aunt Hope stood at the stove flipping pancakes. Sera poured coffee into her favorite mug. “You’re full of energy this morning.”
“The idea of a baby in the house makes me feel young again.”
Sera’s stomach flipped. She exchanged a glance with her brother, who sat in Hope’s rocking chair next to Lucky. “I don’t think Chance has decided what he’s going to do yet.”
“What’s to decide? Bring the child home where she belongs. He’s the baby daddy. Nobody cares about single parents anymore.”
Sera stared at her great-aunt in shock but bit her tongue. She turned and stared out the back door. The tomatoes in the garden were dark green and healthy looking. That was good news. The corn was knee-high. Good news again. “I am in the garden from dawn to dusk, Hope. You’re too—” She stopped when her great-aunt glared. “Too out of practice to care for a baby.”
“Sera’s right, Aunt Hope.” Chance came over and stood next to the woman at the stove. “I can’t ask either of you to take this on. It’s my problem.”
“Nonsense. We’re family. That’s what we do. We take care of each other.”
She turned and poked a bony finger in her nephew’s chest. “I know what I’m talking about. If you leave that child with strangers, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life.”
Sera shook her head. Her great-aunt had never left the farm. What did she know? “What if giving the baby up provides her with a better life?”
“Then that would be different.” She waved her hand around like the queen in a parade. “But look at this place. What better place to raise a child than here at Last Chance Farm?”
Chance looked at his sister. “Then I’ll move back home.”
“You have a career to think about.” Aunt Hope flipped a pancake with practiced ease.
Sera was unable to believe what she was proposing. She took Chance’s seat in the rocker, going back and forth, back and forth.
Chance carried the plates with food his great-au
nt handed to him and set them on the table. He and Hope sat and then looked at Sera, who remained rocking. “You go any faster in that thing, you’re going to fly out the door. What’s on your mind?”
Sera stopped the rocker with one foot. Her head was swimming, whether from the rocking or the news she wasn’t sure. “Let me get this straight. You and Aunt Hope agree you should raise your child and you and Aunt Hope agree you should continue your career. Exactly how do those two goals work?” She crossed her arms tight against her chest and waited for one or both of her remaining family to solve the problem. And as had been the tradition for the last ten years, neither had an answer. They turned to their plates and drowned the pancakes with syrup.
* * *
“SMART OF YOU to avoid the kitchen this morning.” Sera set a steaming cup of coffee on the clean desk surface. “I figured you could use this.”
“Thanks.”
“I can handle Aunt Hope on her own. And I can handle Chance on his own. But together? They’re a formidable force.”
“They don’t want you to sell.”
Curled up in the Queen Anne chair, she shook her head. “The baby is the next generation of Callahans. Aunt Hope is over the moon.”
“I thought she’d be unhappy with the circumstances.”
“Surprisingly no.”
“Well...” Alex leaned back in the desk chair and pointed at the clean desk surface. “Every scrap of paper is filed in its proper folder.”
“Every scrap?”
“Every scrap. I was afraid to throw anything out. Your mother had a lot of notes about her crops.” He pointed to the desk. “Lower left drawer.” He raised his eyes to hers. “In case you change your mind.”
“Do you think Cy will ever speak to me again?”
“To borrow one of his sayings, he’ll get over it. The question is, what about you?”
“Me? I keep doing what I’m doing. If Chance decides to stay, maybe we can increase production.”
“Chance is giving up Nashville?” Alex pictured the young man sitting on the picnic table strumming his guitar surrounded by adoring fans.
Sera’s eyebrows shot upward. “Yet to be determined. He wants to have his cake and eat it, too.” Her shoulders drooped. “Of course, don’t we all?”
“So you’ve changed your mind about selling to Cy?”
Alex drummed his fingers against the smooth surface of the old desk. Sera had been talking about Chance and Hope, but Alex couldn’t help but think about his cousin, who also wanted it all. All of Last Chance Farm.
* * *
“WHAT ARE WE going to do?”
Sera inspected the underside of a tomato leaf for insect infestations. “We?” She straightened and pressed her hands to the small of her back, trying to stretch out the constant ache from bending over the plants. “I thought you and Hope had all the answers.”
“Come on, Sera, this is serious.”
“Are you staying or are you going?”
Chance looked out across the fields and sighed. “I guess I’m staying.”
“With the baby.”
“I’ll drive down to Nashville and bring the baby back home.”
“We don’t have a car.”
“Oh, right. Then I guess I’ll fly down and rent a car.”
Sera was sure she saw dollar signs flying through the air and up into the sky. “We’ll have to increase revenue. We’re barely getting by.”
“Maybe I can sing, do shows.”
“In Bear Meadows?”
“Sure, why not?”
“I’m not sure how much you’ll get paid.”
“Well, then, we’ll just find as many ways to make money this year as we can. Those apples by the cabin, for instance. They must be good for something. Why else did Mom plant them?”
“Good question. I don’t have the answer. She must’ve made a mistake.” Sera stared at the ridgetops in the distance, covered in varying shades of green from oaks and maples and pines. “I do have another idea, but I’ll need some help.”
“What’s that?”
“Believe it or not, a young couple from the area want to get married in our barn. Originally I said no. But what do I care if the barn is dusty and full of cobwebs? It’s not my wedding, right?” Sera knelt in the soil and continued to inspect her plants.
Chance propped his hands on his hips and threw back his shoulders. “That’s a great idea.”
She looked up at her handsome brother, his dark hair ruffled by the breeze, his scruffy beard giving him an air of adventure, and his blue-green eyes twinkling with excitement. “Glad you agree.” She felt a sense of relief. Maybe he was finally ready to lend a necessary hand.
“Sure, that’s right up my alley. I can sing at the wedding.”
Sera stared at the dirt. That’s what he got out of the conversation? But before she could ask him, he continued.
“Would you take me to the airport? There’s a flight out this afternoon. We can’t afford for me to waste another minute.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
“ARE YOU STILL INTERESTED?” Sera looked from Josh to Wendy.
Wendy looked at her sister. “What do you think, Katie?”
The New York reporter walked slowly around the barn. “We only have two months. The yard wedding would be easier.”
“But a barn wedding is friendlier.” Wendy wrapped her hand around Josh’s arm. Her diamond glittered in the sun. “It’s more us. You can have the backyard wedding.”
Her sister scoffed. “Unlikely to ever happen, little sis.”
Throwing back her shoulders, Wendy gave all three of them a look of resolve. “I want a harvest moon wedding.”
“Harvest moon. I’m guessing that’s in the fall.” Katie’s tone was dry.
“The full moon closest to the autumnal equinox.”
Josh stared at the birds flying among the rafters. He looked doubtful. “Leave it to a weather person to know that.”
“Former weather person.”
Sera marveled at the sisters’ differences. Katie was tall and willowy with dark blond hair. Wendy was of average height with sleek almost-black hair. But the sisters had the same oval face and high cheekbones and what one might call a television personality. She had hoped the entire family would have come at her call, but the parents were on a cruise to Bermuda. “Your father offered to hire a painter.” Sera almost cringed when she brought up the subject, but she certainly couldn’t afford to hire a painter, and if the couple could afford a cruise...
Panning the entire scope of the barn with her beautiful blue eyes, Katie nodded. “The barn certainly needs some work, doesn’t it?” Her gaze landed on her sister.
Sera should’ve jumped at Bernie Valentine’s offer. Fathers of brides would agree to anything. Now she was dealing with this savvy New Yorker. With Chance’s bombshell announcement, she was desperate for this wedding to take place.
“Dad did say that, Katie.” Wendy’s smile spoke volumes. She was already convinced.
“Did he?” Katie continued to stroll around the barn. She stopped when she came to the three square holes in the floor.
Sera went and joined her. Down below she could see the kittens playing in the hay. “That’s where we used to throw hay down to the animals.”
Katie nodded and looked at her. “They’ll need to be covered. Holes in floors are a hazard at weddings.”
“Of course.” Sera wrung her hands. She should’ve waited for Bernie and Babs. She looked at Josh and Wendy, who were watching Katie critique the space. She needed to distract them from all the things wrong with the barn. “So how did you two meet?”
With a sly smile, Josh eyed his fiancé. “I saved her life.”
“You did not.” Wendy slapped him on the arm.
“I was stuck in a snowdrift and Josh happened to come along.” She grinned at him, and suddenly the conversation seemed to be a silent communication between the two of them.
Katie joined them. “I do know a wedding planner.”
“Do you think she’d come out here?” Wendy gripped Josh’s arm so tightly he winced.
“For me, she would.” Katie smiled. “I’ll make a call. We have a wedding to arrange.”
* * *
“ASK AUNT JEAN if I can borrow her car.” Alex shifted in the desk chair. Now that the loose papers were filed away, he could see the desk was really a beautiful piece of furniture.
“I’ve heard you’re hard on vehicles.” Cy grunted. Alex had obviously caught him in the middle of doing some farm-related task. “Okay, I’m sure she’ll loan you the car. But what about the farm? Has Chance completely upset things over there?”
“You don’t even want to know.” Alex didn’t want to be the one to spread the word of Chance’s latest news. “Besides, isn’t one farm enough? Short of marrying her, I think you should forget about owning this farm. Just be happy she rents you her fields.” He held the phone away from his ear as Cy expressed his frustration, whether at the news or the task, he wasn’t entirely sure. “If Sera can give me a ride, I’ll be over in an hour.” Alex clicked off his phone. Cy was still cursing.
He looked at the computer sitting on the corner of the desk and checked the website. Sera had been right. The owners of the nursing home in Bear Meadows owned several in the eastern half of Pennsylvania, as well. Maybe he could make amends after all. Right now, he needed to find Sera. He needed a ride.
* * *
“I’M OFF TO pick up your great-great-niece.” Sera stood at the entrance to the bedroom that had been a playroom for her and Chance. Lucky the old house had six bedrooms. They were rapidly filling up.
Hope draped a familiar-looking baby quilt over the railing of a crib. “Look at this crib. Mac McAndrews brought it out. We have such good people in this town.” Chance had only been gone a week. Aunt Hope had been busy burning up the phone lines.
“Doesn’t he need it?”
“Apparently their little boy has graduated to a toddler bed.”
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