Romance Grows in Arcadia Valley (Arcadia Valley Romance Book 0)

by Mary Jane Hathaway

Hayden definitely agreed this was a waste of time. He was hard-pressed to believe there was any abuse going on here, not with the way the cousins all seemed to care about Enid. But they’d started the ball rolling, and now that an investigation had been opened, they had to see it through.

  If only Enid hadn’t yelled, “elder abuse,” in front of Stephen and given him the idea.

  “Mrs. Bigby, we’re just here out of concern for you,” Hayden said gently.

  She eyed him, her eyes piercing him the same way Caroline’s did. “Then you don’t want to turn my farm into a golf course?”

  Stephen gave a small shake of his head, but before Hayden could answer, Caroline said, “they’re calling it a destination resort. Sounds just like the garbage those developers were spewing last year when they wanted you to sell them the farm.”

  Enid gave a slight nod, then turned her gaze back on Hayden. “Tell me the truth, boy. Do you want to put a golf course on my farm?”

  “Yes, ma’am.” He felt like a little kid in the principal’s office. Even though Stephen didn’t look pleased with his answer, how could Hayden have lied?

  “We may have the river nearby, but do you know how precious water is in our neck of the woods?” The old woman straightened, looking as regal as she would at the head of a boardroom table.

  “No, ma’am.”

  “I thought not.” Enid nodded slowly. “I don’t suppose you know how much water a golf course takes, either.”

  He hated to sound stupid by saying no, but that wasn’t his department. Hayden just drew up the contracts and convinced people to sign on the dotted line. The rest was up to someone else.

  But as he tried justifying it in his mind, with the hard glare of an old woman on him, it sounded an awful lot like a cop-out.

  “Ma’am, with all due respect, I work for a large development corporation, and we have a team who works out all the details, including the environmental impact. I’m sure it will be fine.”

  Actually, he wasn’t sure. He wasn’t sure of anything anymore, at least not since he first found himself under Caroline Hearst’s probing gaze.

  How could a woman he’d barely said a dozen words to make him question himself so much? Why did he care what some Idaho farmer thought?

  Despite those questions, he found his gaze settling on her, trying to discern her reaction.

  Caroline didn’t return his gaze, but turned her attention back on her grandmother. “Gram, we don’t have to listen to this. You need to rest, then you can do whatever you need to do to help Ms. Talcott with her investigation.”

  “You see,” Stephen said. “There she goes again, trying to influence her grandmother to avoid the discussion.”

  An orderly entered the room, carrying a tray. “I’m sorry to disturb you, but I’m supposed to bring this gluten free meal to the patient.”

  “Thank you,” Caroline said, smiling as she took the tray. “We really appreciate it.”

  As she busied herself serving her grandmother, Hayden couldn’t help but notice the level of care and attention Caroline paid to the older woman. A person would have to be blind not to see how much Caroline loved her grandmother. Surely Matilda would see that as well, and the case would be closed quickly.

  Hayden shook his head. What was he thinking? The wrong side, again.

  “See there?” Stephen gestured at the meal Enid was eating. “That is proof of why Caroline is unfit to care for her grandmother. My mother-in-law is delusional, accusing people of poisoning her through gluten, and Caroline encourages it. How is it safe for a mentally ill woman to be cared for by someone who feeds the delusions?”

  “Gram is not delusional,” Caroline said, her voice calm and firm. Almost like she was talking to a child. “She’s read a number of books and articles based on scientific research that have her convinced that gluten is not good for a person.”

  She gave Hayden what seemed like a tiny smirk before she turned to Matilda. “If you like, I’m happy to send you a copy of Gram’s reading list. She gives it to everyone she meets, so you’ll probably wind up with it anyway. Point being, she’s not mentally ill. She’s just very passionate in her belief.”

  It was a good thing he wasn’t going to be facing Caroline in court anytime soon. It wasn’t just the words she spoke, guiding everyone towards reason, but also the confidence with which she carried herself. Caroline Hearst was a woman who knew who she was and what she wanted out of life, and she wasn’t about to let anyone stand in her way.

  Something Hayden could respect, except that she was standing in his way.

  Matilda nodded. “Thank you. I would appreciate that.”

  Gram looked up from her dinner of chicken and rice. “I’ve got some flyers in my handbag. Make sure she gets the pink one and the green one.”

  As Caroline walked to the closet, making a big show of taking out the handbag, then pulling out the flyers, Hayden couldn’t help the way his mind drifted toward things that weren’t about the case. Like how pretty Caroline was, despite her unkempt appearance. He could see much of her mother in her, the same willowy figure, dark hair, and graceful way of moving.

  Caroline handed the flyers to Matilda.

  “I would like a copy of those as well,” Hayden said, giving Caroline a pleasant smile.

  He noticed that Caroline looked to her grandmother for approval before making the move to get the flyers. Nowhere, in any of these interactions, could anyone believe that Caroline had anything but the best intentions toward her grandmother. In some of his father’s dealings, he had seen people bullying an elderly relative into doing their bidding, but there was never the love and concern on their faces the way he saw in Caroline.

  “It’ll be good reading for you, boy,” Gram said, pointing her fork at him. “I’ll bet you eat gluten, don’t you? Ruins the disposition, and turns ordinarily sane people into complete nut jobs. You should see all the gluten Stephen eats. Not to mention the preservatives and artificial chemicals that’s probably in his food. I’m telling you, you read those articles and follow their guidelines, or you’ll wind up the same miserable soul.”

  “Gram...” It was hard not to smile at Caroline’s whispered warning. They all heard it, and though Stephen looked slightly embarrassed to be called out, Hayden knew he was probably adding it to the list of reasons why Enid was crazy.

  “What?” The old woman gestured with her fork again. “I’m not saying anything that’s not scientifically proven.”

  Hayden grinned as Caroline handed him the papers. She was trying so hard not to look him in the eye, not to touch him. Clearly he’d gotten under her skin. The question was, was it attraction, or was she afraid that somehow, he’d win his case? Just as the papers touched his fingertips, he let them flutter to the floor.

  “Sorry,” he said, just as Caroline mumbled an apology.

  As they both bent to pick up the papers, Hayden caught a glimpse of her flushed face and the look in her eyes.

  She was attracted to him. She might not like it, but she felt something. Which should have pleased him, giving him another weapon against her. But it only served to make the situation more awkward. One more reason he couldn’t do what he’d set out to do. Another time, another place, Caroline was almost the kind of girl he’d ask out. But he had a career to build, and as kissable as those full lips of hers were, he’d ignore any pull in that direction.

  Focus. Do the job, and get out.

  Once he stood, papers in hand, he smiled at Enid. “I appreciate you sharing your information. I’m sure it will be very helpful.

  The old woman glared at him. “Don’t try to charm me, boy. You know what would be helpful? Go out, stay on the farm for a month. Live the life you’re so eager to destroy. You do that, and we’ll talk. Otherwise, you and my money-grubbing relatives can leave and not bother coming back.”

  Hayden could feel the weight of Stephen’s stare on him. What, exactly, had just happened?

  Then Enid looked over at Matilda and smiled. “So
you’re my advocate, are you? Well, you’d better advocate for me, and tell these idiots to leave me in peace. That blood-sucking lawyer is not allowed to talk to me about selling this place unless he agrees to my terms. And I don’t want my stinking son-in-law anywhere near me.”

  As Matilda nodded and made notes, Hayden let out a deep breath. It could have gone worse, he supposed. Enid did offer him a chance to make his pitch. How hard could it be to live on a farm for a month? Maybe it would give him a chance to see what made these people tick, and to find a way to make the deal that didn’t involve selling his soul.

  Chapter 3

  Until today, Caroline had absolutely refused to believe that Gram was crazy. But clearly, she’d been mistaken. As she spread the sheet on the guest bed, Caroline tried comforting herself with the knowledge that Hayden probably wouldn’t be staying long. If you stayed in Gram’s house, you had to follow Gram’s rules. Considering Gram’s rules were a little on the strict side when it came to foods she allowed in the house, technology use, and Caroline’s personal favorite, prayer time, she was pretty sure Hayden wouldn’t last more than a day or so.

  Her parents had opted to stay at a hotel in nearby Twin Falls, even though there were plenty of places to stay in Arcadia Valley if they didn’t want to stay at Gram’s. But none of those were even close to the kind of luxury resorts they preferred. They probably wouldn’t last a week, not in a hotel that didn’t even have turn down service.

  “I’m not sure that sheet deserves your rage,” Andrew said, entering the room. “And you really don’t have to do this.”

  Caroline sighed and plopped into a nearby chair. “I know. But it gives me something to do while we wait for the suit to arrive with his stuff. Are you sure you don’t mind staying in the main house?”

  “It’s fine,” Andrew said with a grin. “I’d hate for the gluten in Hayden’s system to kick in and have you murdered in your own bed.”

  “Har-har.”

  Even though Andrew had a good attitude about the situation, it rankled that everyone had to upend their lives because of Caroline’s father. Andrew lived in a tiny house he’d built on the other side of the property, but because Gram thought there should be a man in the house to protect them in case Hayden turned out to be a serial killer, he was moving in to one of the guest bedrooms for the time being.

  Caroline’s refuge of having the entire second floor to herself would be gone. Allie was moving out of her room on the first floor so Hayden could stay there, and would be sleeping in the upstairs bedroom Caroline normally used as an office. While it would have made sense for Hayden to take that room, Gram didn’t want a potential serial killer sleeping next to Caroline. So, Hayden would get Allie’s room, Andrew would take the guest room next to Hayden’s, and the girls would stay upstairs. With the stairway door locked at night. Because Gram said so.

  What Caroline wanted to know was, if Gram was so afraid this guy was a serial killer, why did she want him to stay there in the first place?

  “Hey, it’s not going to be that bad,” Andrew said, grabbing the folded quilt off of the trunk at the end of the bed. “Come on, help me with this. If he is a serial killer and murders us all in our beds, your dad’s still not going to get the land. Gram has this place tied up in so many trusts, he’ll be in litigation for the next hundred years.”

  “Oh, goody.” Caroline got up and helped him spread the quilt across the bed. It was one of her favorites, a double wedding ring pattern her great-grandma Bigby had made. Every piece in this house was a part of Bigby history, from the faded flower sheets on the bed, to the rickety chair Caroline had just sat on, right down to the hand-sawn wood plank floors her great-grandfather had installed himself.

  “Hello?” Hayden’s voice called out from the back door. “Is anyone home?”

  “You go greet him,” Andrew said. “I’m going to see if Allie’s room is ready. I probably should have taken it, only Gram insisted it be this way.”

  The trouble with Allie’s room wasn’t that it was a mess. Out of all of them, Allie was the neatest. But she was very particular about how her things were handled, so they mostly steered clear of the back bedroom that their grandfather had tacked on when Gram found out she was pregnant with their fourth child.

  That was the great thing about the Bigby farmhouse. There’d always been enough room for everyone, and if there wasn’t, one of the Bigbys would add on a room so that they could all be together. Except with the man standing in the middle of the kitchen, Caroline wasn’t so sure it was all that fine.

  “I hope it’s okay that I used the back door. The front door was locked, and I didn’t see a bell.”

  “We only open it for funerals,” Caroline said, eyeing the suitcase he carried. Old and battered, it didn’t seem to match the polished look Hayden presented.

  “Ah, okay.” Hayden shifted uncomfortably. Caroline probably hadn’t sounded very nice, and she supposed that even though none of them wanted him here, Gram would be disappointed that she wasn’t being very welcoming.

  “Do you want a drink or something? Or I could just show you to your room.”

  She added a smile, an afterthought, like the room Hayden would be staying in.

  “A soda would be great, thanks. Whatever you have is fine.”

  This time, Caroline had no trouble grinning. “Yeah, so, I should probably acquaint you with Gram’s house rules. She doesn’t allow any gluten, processed foods, artificial sweeteners, high fructose corn syrup, and pretty much anything considered junk food. All that to say, there’s no pop, which is our country folk word for soda. And please don’t stop by the Gas N’ Shop and pick some up. We have water, milk, tea, and I think we might have some stuff to make juice, but Gram tends to prefer we save that for special occasions.”

  The poor guy looked shell-shocked, and Caroline couldn’t blame him. Ah well, there were plenty more crazy rules where those came from, and maybe they’d all get lucky and Hayden wouldn’t last the night.

  “Tea will be fine.” He smiled at her, like he’d decided to accept her challenge. All right then.

  “Iced or hot?”

  “Whatever’s easiest.” Hayden smiled again, turning on the charm that probably had dozens of girls falling at his feet. Well, Caroline was immune to that kind of charm. Been there, done that, had the dried up corsage somewhere in the back of her closet to prove it.

  “Iced it is,” she said, walking over to the fridge and opening it. “Gram likes to experiment with adding various herbs to the tea, and Allie does too, so I have no idea what flavor this is, but it’s usually pretty good.”

  She sniffed to be sure she wasn’t feeding him anything that had been sitting in there for a while. As busy as they’d been with Gram being in the hospital, who knew how old it was. The last thing they needed was to accidentally poison the lawyer, who’d probably sue and end up getting the farm anyway.

  “It might be blackberry,” she finally said, pouring them both a glass.

  Andrew walked into the kitchen. “Allie’s room is ready for Hayden.”

  “Thanks.” Caroline held up a glass. “Want some? I think it’s blackberry.”

  “Oh yeah. This batch was really good. I think Allie snuck some sugar in it while Gram wasn’t looking.”

  “No I didn’t,” Allie said, coming down the stairs. “I picked a bunch of stevia leaves and threw them in. Caroline, did you see where Gram put those extra thick blankets? Dan needs me to do the overnight shift at the Gas N’ Shop again this week, so I need to black out the windows to sleep during the day.”

  “What about some tarps,” Andrew asked. “I’ve got a nice black one that should do the trick.”

  “Show me.” Allie started towards the door, but Caroline stopped her.

  “Wait. What do you mean, you’re doing overnights at the Gas N’ Shop this week? We have spring break farm camp. With Gram down, I can’t lose you too. Enrollment is finally up, but I can’t handle twenty-five kids by myself.”

  A
llie shrugged. “Sorry. We had two people quit this week, both of them on the night shift. I can’t let Dan down.”

  “What about your family? You’re letting us down,” Caroline said, fighting the tears stinging the backs of her eyes. The last thing she needed was to start crying over something so stupid. But with all the other attacks on the farm, having Allie gone just seemed like one more.

  Allie let out a long sigh. “I’m sorry. But you know, this is my actual job. And maybe people don’t think it’s an important job, but it is the only gas station on this side of town, and for the people who live here, that’s important too.”

  Andrew came around and put an arm around Caroline’s shoulders. “It’s okay. I’ll check with Josh Patton to see if any of the girls from youth group at church want to help out.”

  “I can help,” Hayden said. “If I’m supposed to live on the farm, I might as well pitch in, right?”

  Right. Except if they succeeded in driving Hayden away, they’d be short another adult.

  “That’s the spirit,” Andrew said, squeezing Caroline’s shoulders. “See that? Between the two of you, and a bunch of teens from youth group, you’ll be fine.”

  Caroline looked up at him. “And you. Don’t think you’re getting out of this.”

  The long sigh that escaped his body told Caroline that’s exactly what he was hoping for. Andrew didn’t like little kids very much. Actually, he didn’t like people. His tiny house was at the edge of the farm, and they usually only saw him every couple of days, when he came around the house to help with chores or because Gram was cooking something good for dinner. Caroline was pretty sure he also used it as a means of skirting Gram’s dietary restrictions, since she’d found a few fast food wrappers on the floor of his truck when she’d borrowed it a few weeks ago to get feed. But she wasn’t going to rat him out.

  “Well, that’s settled,” Allie said, smiling. “Let’s go see about that tarp, shall we?”

  Andrew looked relieved to be leaving, and Caroline knew that despite his shows of support, he’d find every excuse he could to hide from Hayden. And with Allie working nights and sleeping days, that left Caroline to the task. Yay.