His Hometown Girl

by Karen Rock

  Tyler startled awake when they stopped behind Daniel’s house. He looked in every direction until he pointed at the green tractor.

  “Gah!” he shouted with a smile, and she reached back and patted his knee.

  “Home,” said Daniel, his tone wistful, his gaze on her.

  She forced herself to look away. How would she ever leave this incredible man? She wished this was home, but what she wanted and what she needed weren’t the same thing. She had to think about Tyler. What was best for him.

  Sue rushed outside as they shut the car doors, Colton a step behind her. Jodi’s heart leaped. She must have good news.

  “I did it, I did it! They approved my dissertation.”

  Delighted, Jodi rushed to give her a hug before Daniel stepped in and swung his sister around. He set her back on her feet with a kiss on the cheek. “Dr. Gleason, I presume?”

  Sue grinned. “Nice eleven-point word, Sherlock. Too bad we aren’t playing Scrabble tonight.”

  Daniel turned to Jodi. “Stay and we’ll celebrate. I made a cake last night and—”

  Sue’s elbow to Colton’s ribs cut off his guffaw. “He likes to cook. You like to sing. Can we agree that men do more things than stare at their belly buttons?”

  Jodi snorted. She loved no-nonsense Sue who’d fought to get her Ph.D. by believing in herself and Tyler, and might have gotten her man to boot.

  “Are you kids coming inside?” Daniel’s father called from the kitchen window.

  “Be right there, Pop.” Daniel put a hand under Jodi’s elbow and guided her up the steps as though she’d trip at any time. Honestly. But when her tender foot caught on the top step, she stumbled and he was there to catch her before the thought of falling had fully formed.

  Yes. That was Daniel. He was that extra pair of arms she needed, for her and Tyler. If only she could keep them.

  They burst into the kitchen, Daniel’s hands on her waist, and Sue behind them with Colton carrying Tyler. It wasn’t until she noticed Mr. Gleason’s elated grin, Sue’s knowing look and Colton’s confused expression that she realized they’d given themselves away.

  “Here’s the happy couple now.” Daniel’s father rolled his walker ahead and shuffled forward. “Knew you two would get back together.”

  “I—I—” Jodi stammered and shifted away from Daniel. How horrible that they’d discovered a relationship that had to end.

  “You two were a thing?” Colton set Tyler on his feet and her son tottered over to Goldie and grabbed the sleeping dog’s tail.

  “No,” Daniel protested, and she knew, without him saying it, what he meant. They were never just a thing. It’d been more than that then, just as it was now. An unfurled rose, an unopened present, an uncut pie. The painful thought cut through her—she’d never know the promise their relationship held.

  Sue nudged him in the arm. “Come on, you two. We all knew what was going on that summer. We’re just glad you came to your senses and have a second chance.”

  Jodi met Daniel’s eyes, dismayed that their secret was out. The more people involved, the more who would be affected when she left. They followed the rest of the family over to the table as Tyler alternated between stroking and batting a wriggling Goldie. Thank goodness he appeared not to have noticed the exchange. Hopefully he hadn’t grown too attached and wouldn’t miss Daniel as much as she would. The thought of going through the motions of her life without his teasing smile, his banter, his intuitive understanding made her feel hollow and scraped out.

  The smell of rich buttercream frosting and chocolate filled the room. A three-layer fudge cake wobbled as Daniel set it down. Dr. Gleason was spelled out in looping letters that grabbed her heart and wouldn’t let go. What a good brother. She watched him as he served his father the first slice. A great son. Her gaze drifted to Tyler. Someday he’d make an amazing father, too, and the thought made her stomach drop. He’d be a dad someday, just not to Tyler.

  Now that she’d visited a Midland farm, had seen how attached Tyler had grown to Daniel, she realized how much in danger he was of getting hurt. If she stayed much longer, Tyler would grow so close to Daniel that leaving him might bring on the same reaction he’d had when his father disappeared. She recoiled from the thought. Although she’d made mistakes as a parent, she wouldn’t make that one. Tyler deserved better from her, no matter that she’d wound herself to protect him.

  She swallowed a bite of cake, tasting only despair. Their relationship couldn’t work. Even from a distance. Every time they saw each other, Tyler would find it harder to say goodbye, to understand why people he cared about kept vanishing from his life. She couldn’t do that to him. The pain of what she’d need to do lanced through her as she forced a smile at Daniel.

  “Here’s to Sue,” Colton said. He lifted his glass of milk and they followed suit. “Here’s to you.” He angled his drink toward Jodi and Daniel. “Here’s to Pop.” The older man’s eyes disappeared into his laugh lines. “And here’s hoping we bring in a good crop.”

  They all clinked glasses and Jodi noticed that Colton and Sue saved each other for last, their eyes meeting as they each took a sip. How sweet. That was how life should be. Straightforward and uncomplicated. Yet hers had taken so many turns she barely knew the way, or where, exactly she was heading.

  Mr. Gleason’s glass rose again and wavered, the milk shimmering up the sides. “I’m awfully proud of my little girl. I wish you’d had your mother longer. Wish I’d been around more, too.” When his voice broke, Sue rushed to his side and laid her head on his sloped shoulder.

  “No, Pop. You did what you could. You had the farm to run. And with Mom gone, well—I could have helped out more instead of doing so much schoolwork.”

  Daniel’s father lowered his glass and patted his daughter’s cheek. “No, sweetheart. That was your way out of this life. Now you can have a real family. Not be a slave to this farm.”

  Jodi saw Daniel flinch and her heart went out to him. Was his father proud of him, too? Of the sacrifices he’d made? Of his ingenuity in saving the farm and working to save his hometown? He should be. Daniel was an amazing man.

  “I don’t plan on leaving.” Sue’s eyes flashed to Colton. “Not soon anyway.”

  “That’s what I was afraid of.” The older man pointed to a folder on the counter. “Would you give that to Jodi?”

  Jodi looked at him in surprise. “Me?”

  He nodded slowly as Sue passed her the large envelope full of papers, her expression puzzled. Daniel, however, looked horrified. When she opened it and spotted the farm’s deed, she understood why and her lungs seized.

  “Jodi, I’m selling my farm to Midland.”

  “No!” Daniel’s chair toppled backward when he shot to his feet. Tyler screamed, the noise startling him.

  With the envelope under her arm, she hurried over and scooped him up, settling him on her hip. Her mind struggled to understand what Mr. Gleason had just done. The hurt he’d inflicted on his son. Her vision swam as though she’d been hit in the head. If she took this gift, it’d save her son and destroy Daniel.

  “This is my inheritance.” Daniel’s eyes gave off green sparks as he spoke through his teeth.

  “We’ve got more acres than anyone else in this county. With that money, you can do whatever you want. Put me in a nursing home and move to Chicago with Jodi. You’ll have the family you deserve.”

  “No!” Sue and Daniel bellowed at the same time, though Jodi disagreed. Daniel should have a family.

  Mr. Gleason waved his hands. “Look. I’ve lived my life. Wasted it, more like, and now it’s over. At least give this old man the pleasure of seeing both his children happy.”

  “I am happy,” Daniel protested, looking anything but. She wished she could hold him, wipe the pain from his eyes. “And it’s never been about the money.” When his gaze
slid to Jodi, she shook. She couldn’t say the same. Guilt twisted her insides until they were a ball of searing pain.

  His father studied him until Daniel’s eyes dropped. “You’re only fooling yourself if you say that.”

  Jodi’s heart pounded. Was it possible? Would Daniel move to Chicago with her? Give up the farm the way he’d asked her to give up her job and Wonders Primary?

  Daniel blew out a noisy breath and her hopes sunk. “I’ll never leave.”

  She swallowed hard. There it was, simple and clear. Daniel cared more about farming than her and Tyler, and her son deserved a father who put him first.

  “You won’t have a choice.”

  “Then I’ll buy another farm. Start over.”

  Pinpricks of tears stung Jodi’s eyes as sorrow rolled through her like a thunderclap. Why couldn’t Daniel see a future outside of farming? Care enough about her and Tyler to take this chance and start over with them?

  But as soon as she thought it, she realized she was as guilty of that as he, wanting only Wonders Primary for Tyler. And if she accepted this deed, she’d be ripping away the only life Daniel had known.

  She set Tyler down when he struggled and tightened her grip on the folder. The acreage she’d glimpsed on the form meant she’d have acquired enough to return to Chicago, earn her promotion and get Tyler the help he needed. Perhaps, if she focused on that, she could get through this. Deal Daniel this mortal wound, although it’d nearly kill her, as well.

  Daniel’s anguished eyes caught hers and she returned his pleading look, wishing she could give him the reassurance he needed. He knew she had to take this offer.

  Unwilling to drag out this unbearable time for Daniel, she said, “Mr. Gleason, I’ll need you to sign a purchase agreement.”

  But the old farmer waved her off. “Some chaw-bacon came over here while you two were at that other farm. He shoved one of those papers at me. What was his name? Brandon, Bradley...”

  “Brady,” Daniel rasped, his voice jagged and furious. She flinched. “You didn’t sign for him.” It sounded like an accusation rather than a question.

  “No. But I took it so I could sign it and give it to Jodi.” His thin lips stretched into a faint smile. “It’s in the folder, darlin’.”

  “Thank you, Mr. Gleason,” she murmured, her voice barely a notch above a whisper. How could she do this to Daniel? She glanced at Tyler. How could she not?

  Daniel held a hand out to her. “Tell me you’re not taking my farm.”

  She found herself stepping away, as if propelled against her will by the intensity of his gaze. Their mutual pain was too much.

  “I have no choice, Daniel.” She brushed away Tyler’s tears, her fingers trembling. She couldn’t bypass the brass ring before her.

  She didn’t flinch, but confronted Daniel’s angry grief. She opened her mouth to tell him that everything she’d done she had done because Tyler needed her. But after meeting his tormented eyes, she saw that she couldn’t make more excuses. Better that he hate her than lose both his farm and the woman he thought he cared for.

  Tyler’s fussing turned into thrashing. “I’m sorry. He didn’t get to finish his nap. I should go,” she said, wishing she could stay but knowing the door to Maplewood Farm was forever closed to her. She felt the slam of it echo where her heart had been.

  Mr. Gleason looked from her to a stone-faced Daniel. “Will you drive her home, son? Seems like you two have a lot to talk about.”

  There was a little silence between them, as if they observed the death of their hopes.

  “I’m done speaking,” Daniel said at last, his voice as cold as a stab. She winced at his meaning, intentional or not. Either way, she deserved it for stealing his home. At least there was some comfort that she hadn’t stolen his heart.

  “Goodbye,” she said, and couldn’t help herself—she looked at him and she ached, knowing she would never again touch him or see him smile.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  DANIEL POURED WARM milk into the cat trough the next morning and stepped away from the crowding, meowing felines.

  He spotted the rag-doll cat but didn’t grab it for a belly rub, ignoring the one-eyed Tom butting against his leg for a head scratch. Instead, he watched them as he might an old family movie, one that was already fading, the tape’s end snapping against the reel.

  What would happen to them once Midland took over? He hadn’t seen any cats at their industrial farm. Would they be trapped, caged and shipped to animal shelters? Turned out of their home? He leaned against a support beam and tipped his baseball cap’s brim low over his stinging eyes. He could relate.

  Since his father had sold the farm to Jodi, he and Pop hadn’t spoken. He’d brought him his morning coffee, but hadn’t answered his dad’s request to talk. There wasn’t anything more to say. His father had given away his childhood home, his life and his future. Although he’d never stop loving his dad, it’d be a long time before he could forgive.

  He hunched his shoulders against the burning in his chest and watched dust motes swirl in the midmorning light. How could his pop be so misguided, or Jodi betray him? He’d been fixing everyone’s problems and had missed the trouble brewing in his own backyard. His fingers tightened around the milk canister’s handle as he rinsed it out, then set it down. Fate had thrown him a wild pitch and he hadn’t spotted it fast enough to duck.

  “Thought I’d knock off early,” Colton said beside him, his silent approach startling Daniel from his thoughts. “Help Sue with the alpacas. She’s pretty broken up.”

  Daniel nodded since he didn’t trust himself to speak. Colton turned to leave and stopped to look back, his overgrown bangs falling across his forehead. “Sorry about all this, Daniel. That’s a tough break.”

  “Yep.” He forced the word out over the swelling in his tight throat.

  “Are you going to be all right?” The young man flicked the hair out of his gray eyes, revealing dark rings beneath them. Daniel wasn’t the only one who’d lost sleep last night.

  He pinched the bridge of his nose and nodded. “I’ll survive.”

  And he would, he thought, as he listened to Colton’s work boots clomp away. But surviving wasn’t living. He’d have enough money to start over. Go anywhere he wanted, but the only place he wished for was no longer his. And neither was Jodi.

  He grabbed a bag of feed before heading to the chicken yard. The roaming chickens’ clucking echoed in his hollow chest as he stepped outside. He fumbled with the poultry feeder top before lifting it and pouring in grain, hens pecking at his ankles until he backed out of their way. He smiled faintly at the bossy animals. Their pushy, independent spirit appealed to him.

  Over in the chick area, he filled the smaller feeder and watched them wobble his way, some tripping in a flurry of feathers and wings to reach him first. He wondered what destiny held for them. Like him, they were at the mercy of others. He’d wanted a life molded by his own two hands, but Jodi and his father had tied them.

  He thought of Mr. Donaldson’s hesitance to sell and understood why he’d decided, in the end, to join the co-op. When farming was all you knew, it was tough to imagine your life any other way. Maplewood Farm was his home, and no matter where he moved, it’d always remain that way in his mind.

  After refreshing the chickens’ water, he latched the gates, looked for any holes in the wired enclosure then headed back inside. Jodi had been a part of how he’d once seen his life. They’d grown up together, teased, tormented and fought until they’d given in to feelings that, for him, had never faded. Had he been waiting all this time for her to come home? If so, he’d been a fool.

  He released a long breath as he walked, heavy-footed, down the empty barn—the cows were outside enjoying the fresh midsummer air. He passed the birthing pen, recalling Jodi’s courage that day, her elation in help
ing him birth the calf, Tyler, an animal he’d intended to raise as a herd bull for backup breeding. She’d been as exhilarated as he. They’d made a good team and with her son, they’d have made a good family, too. Yet she hadn’t trusted him enough, couldn’t see the possibilities beyond Wonders Primary. And in the end, when it’d come to choosing between the two of them, she’d chosen Tyler.

  The thought crushed him. She’d warned him Tyler would come first and he didn’t disagree. But why hadn’t she refused the deed and looked for other sales? Or followed a different path altogether—one that led to him instead of Midland? The only answer was that she hadn’t cared enough to fight for them. Of course, if she had refused the deed, his determined father would have sought out Brady anyway.

  He may have won the battle for Cedar Bay, but she’d laid waste to his heart. Like his mother, she’d pursued her needs and hadn’t considered the ruined lives she’d left behind.

  Before exiting the barn, he paused at the empty infirmary pen and leaned against the railing, his slack arms dangling, his head falling to rest on them. Jodi’s leg had healed, and the elderly cow now grazed with the rest of the herd. His stomach dropped when he imagined what Midland would do with an older, nonproductive cow. A profit-driven ranch made no allowances for sentiment.

  As he headed outside, a breeze twirled the tire swing he’d once pushed Jodi on, ruffling the petals in his grandmother’s rose garden and sending a stray burlap sack tumbling along the ground. The world seemed to slow, spinning around him. All this would be gone. Disappeared like Jodi and Tyler as they flew to Chicago. According to Sue, Jodi’s flight would be taking off now. He scanned the clear sky, his eyelids gummy as he searched for her plane.

  He’d kept most of Cedar Bay intact, and she’d gotten enough sales to earn her promotion and pay for Tyler’s preschool. A win-win, yet he struggled to breathe over the weight crushing his lungs. While fighting for others, he’d left his home and heart undefended, and he’d lost both. He hadn’t truly imagined she’d leave him again. Not this way.