“So how can I help?” Hayden asked, sitting at the kitchen table like he belonged there. Gram’s voice warning her about catching more flies with honey than vinegar sounded in her ear.
“It’s something we do for every school break. Most folks around here don’t have a lot of money. Farming’s funny business, some years, it looks like it’s going to be great, then one storm destroys it all. Other years are better. Point being, living in this community, on this farm, for four generations has strengthened our commitment to the community. We run low-cost day camps for the school-age kids, teaching them about farming, nature, and the simpler way of life. Gram’s worried that a lot of the things we’ve done for generations will be lost to this new generation as they become more reliant on technology.”
As Caroline watched the thoughtful expression on Hayden’s face, an idea formed in the back of her head. Maybe they were going about this all wrong. They’d assumed they could just drive Hayden off and be done with it. But the truth was, her father would just find another way to get to Gram. To get the farm. But what if they were able to convince Hayden that the farm was a good thing, and that he should join their side? He could help them fight her father and the rest of their family in their pursuit to take over the farm.
* * *
Hayden hadn’t seen such an animated expression on Caroline’s face in the short time that he’d known her. Well, maybe that wasn’t entirely accurate, since she’d been pretty animated when she’d been angry. But this animation, it was different. More passionate.
“Most kids don’t know where their food comes from,” Caroline said, pointing out the window. “But we take the time to show them our gardens, to help them plant, even visit the livestock, so they understand that it all works together. Everything we eat and drink comes from Bigby farm. We’re very proud of the fact that we don’t consume anything that isn’t locally sourced.”
Hayden held up his glass. “What about the tea?”
Caroline’s shoulders rose and fell with her laugh as her cheeks dimpled with a smile. “You’ve got me there. We do buy a few things at the grocery store, but we research everything we buy to make sure it is organic, ethically sourced, and sustainable. The tea Gram buys comes from a tea plantation in Kenya, started by missionaries and run by women to help support their families. We also add our own herbs and spices for variety, and Gram makes incredible herbal teas.”
He listened as she continued talking about the teas, taking out various containers to show him, even asking him to sniff a few. The thing that impressed him most wasn’t so much the vast knowledge Caroline had, but again, the passion she showed in explaining it all to him.
“Would you like a tour of the herb garden?” Caroline smiled at him, and for the first time, Hayden thought that she really meant that smile. All he’d seen from her so far was politeness, or covering up extreme irritation, but now, in her element as she shared her passion, he could see the genuine warmth in her.
“I would love that, thank you.”
Surprisingly, Hayden realized that he meant it. He’d never toured an herb garden, or any garden, for that matter. Until today, he’d never been interested. But how could he not be with how it had changed Caroline’s demeanor so greatly?
As they walked through the herb garden, at first, they seemed like random plants to Hayden. Just a bunch of stems and leaves. But as Caroline pointed out each one, sometimes picking a leaf to have Hayden smell or taste, he saw how much he’d been missing. Sure, he still couldn’t tell you which one was thyme or oregano, but it didn’t really matter.
Caroline stopped at a bench near the center of the garden. “This is my favorite part of the garden.”
She sat and patted the bench next to her. “Close your eyes, and just smell.”
Hayden did as he was told. Sat there, eyes closed, and inhaled.
“Isn’t it amazing?”
He could honestly say that he’d never smelled anything like it. All the years he’d spent living in San Francisco, the city smells were often overpowering. As much as he always said he loved living by the bay, close to all the sights and sounds of the city, sitting here in the silence, surrounded by incredible scents, he could almost see himself giving it up.
Only it wasn’t silent. Birds sang. Wind rustled through the leaves of nearby trees. Some kind of insect was chirping. In the distance, a car puttered by. An airplane flew overhead. Each of those moments were punctuated by incredible stillness.
He opened his eyes and stole a look at Caroline. Her eyes were still closed, and he saw the rhythmic rise and fall of her chest as she breathed deeply. Every once and a while, he thought he could see her lips move, almost as though she was praying. She seemed to sense he was watching her, because she suddenly opened her eyes and looked at him.
“Wonderful, isn’t it?” A lazy smile filled her face, and Hayden could honestly say he’d never seen anyone looking so content before.
“I’ve never experienced anything like this.” The wind changed, and suddenly the breeze carried over a new scent. “Now it smells like what I’d imagine an Italian kitchen to smell like.”
Caroline nodded. “That’s the oregano. Gram planted more along the fence last year, and even though we’re still pretty early in spring, it’s already very fragrant.”
“I’m amazed at how green and lush it already is.” He looked around the garden, noting that for April, the garden seemed to be full of life.
“Well, we cheat a little,” Caroline said, standing. She pointed to a greenhouse on the other side of the herb garden. “We grow things year-round in the greenhouse, and though many of the herbs overwinter in the garden, we keep some in there so we have fresh all the time. The way the greenhouse sits, and the house, along with the back wall, the herb garden is sheltered from a lot of the weather. We learned about it when we went to Mt. Vernon, where George Washington had a wonderful garden.”
“Isn’t that in Virginia?”
Caroline smiled. “Yes. But some of the principles still apply here. By surrounding the herb garden on all sides, yet giving it plenty of access to sun, we’re able to lengthen the growing season considerably. Plus, it makes for a wonderful place to sit and contemplate the world. It’s my favorite place to pray.”
Part of him wanted to ask if Caroline thought God actually listened to her prayers. But it would probably antagonize her, and since she’d begun giving him the tour, they’d been getting along so well. It didn’t seem right to spoil it.
“Tell me about the rest of the farm. What else do you have here?”
Her smile faded. “Ah, yes, you want to see what your investment will get you.”
“That’s not what I meant.” Hayden swallowed. Took a deep breath. “Look, this seems like a great place. Clearly you care about it. I’m curious what else there is. You want to talk money, fine. How do you make money?”
Hayden gestured around the herb garden. “This, for example. How does it translate to generating a profit?”
She pressed her lips together, and the lightened atmosphere disappeared. He shouldn’t have brought it back to a profit, but she started it. Hayden had simply wanted to know more about the property, but Caroline had taken it as an attack.
“I suppose that’s where you and my father will have a hard time. The herbs and vegetables we grow are mostly for our own consumption. We do have a stall at the farmers market, but Gram is generous in her prices. We often make just enough to cover expenses.”
Caroline led him out of the herb garden, her steps more purposeful. She stopped in the middle of a large parking area. “As I mentioned earlier, we host camps for children to spend their breaks so that their parents have an inexpensive place to send them and don’t have to take off work. Gram considers it her ministry to the community, so she only charges enough to cover expenses. And sometimes, it doesn’t.”
They walked toward a large barn. “This is where we host the indoor activities when the weather is bad. Originally, my great-grandfather sta
rted Bigby Farm as a dairy farm, but when my aunts and uncles grew up and moved away, my grandfather had a hard time keeping things going. So he cut back. Now, we only keep enough cows for our needs and for a few of our neighbors.”
When they entered the barn, Caroline flipped a switch, and Hayden noticed that though they’d done a good job of trying to keep up with the maintenance, there was still a lot to update in this place. But to their credit, you couldn’t tell that this once had been home to a bunch of cows.
“Until recently, the fields my great-grandfather used for grazing and to grow hay for the winter feed were leased to a nearby farmer. But he couldn’t afford it, so Allie suggested turning them into lavender fields. She’d done a lot of research into cash crops that wouldn’t put us in competition with our neighbors, and we decided that lavender would give us the most bang for our buck. We’re still establishing our lavender business, but I think we’ll get there.”
Caroline led him through a set of doors, and brought him into a more modern part of the building. Bundles of lavender hung in various places, but a huge corner of the room was taken by a large metal vat.
“This is where we distill the lavender into oil. It’s a very small operation, because we can’t afford all the equipment to expand, but we’re all in agreement that we’re not going into debt. So growth is slow, but steady.”
Hayden looked around, noticing the various empty workstations. “What about employees?”
“Just us,” Caroline said. “Andrew runs most of the lavender operations, though Allie is our master blender, and comes up with all the formulations. Gram and I help where we can.”
“Your grandmother helps?”
Caroline let out a long sigh, one that he’d gotten used to as being her greatly irritated sigh. “I know, you’re probably going to tell Matilda on us. But you have to understand, Gram is the youngest 80-year-old I know. She doesn’t like to be idle, and won’t sit still unless you make her. Working with us, that’s her choice, and if you ask her, her joy. Trust me, we’ve tried to get her to slow down, but how can you keep someone from what they love?”
She picked up a sprig of lavender and held it to her nose, inhaling deeply, then handed it to him. “Smell.”
He took a long breath, noting the deep floral scents, and immediately finding himself relaxing.
“Nice, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, I haven’t ever taken the time to smell so many things like you’re having me do. I can’t believe how relaxed I feel.”
Caroline smiled at him, returning to the peaceful woman she’d been. “It’s one of the healing properties of lavender. I think we both need it.”
Hayden exhaled, long and slow. She had no idea how badly he needed it. “I’m not trying to be the enemy, you know,” he said quietly.
She cocked her head, giving him a funny look. “But you are. Anyone who would want to destroy this is naturally the enemy. Hopefully, in the next month, we can change your mind. Now, let me show where Gram keeps her bees. You’re not allergic, are you?”
Hayden shook his head.
“Good. We’ll see the bees, and then you can meet the animals.”
Dutifully, he followed Caroline. How could he tell her that he’d changed his mind even before he set foot on the farm? And the longer he spent here, the more he knew that turning the farm into another resort community was the wrong thing to do? He didn’t need a month to know that he was absolutely on the wrong side.
But he also couldn’t just pick up the phone and call the whole thing off. Caroline might have made peace with the fact that she and her father would never have a relationship. But Caroline had the whole rest of her family. Hayden’s father was all he had. There was literally no one else on this earth who could care about and love Hayden Donnelly. And unfortunately for him, every ounce of that love had to be earned.
Chapter 4
Hayden Donnelly wasn’t half bad, Caroline decided the next morning as they brought Gram home from the hospital and got her settled in. He hadn’t complained about anything since he’d moved in, even when Allie declared it vegan night and made her infamous lentil soup. One would think lentil soup wouldn’t be bad, but whatever Allie’s secret ingredient was, it made the whole thing taste like a science experiment gone horribly wrong.
Now he was getting Gram situated in her favorite chair, with a cushion under her leg propped up on a settee.
Her parents were there, as were Uncle Bart and Aunt Mary, but the other aunts and uncles had gone back to their respective homes, presumably confident that the others could handle the situation. Matilda had come as well, taking notes on her ever-present clipboard.
“I see you’re all still alive,” Gram said, eyeing Hayden.
“Is there anything else I can get you, Enid,” he asked, sounding way too efficient and helpful.
That was the trouble with Hayden. The man seemed so helpful, so nice. So how did he get caught up in her father’s schemes? Unless that was the scheme. To make them let their guard down enough that he could find a way to make an opening for something really, truly evil. But what?
Gram turned to Caroline. “Get me some of that salve you made last month. I want to rub it on my leg to help it heal.”
Ordinarily, Caroline was all for the natural remedies, and she and Gram would spend hours researching them. But with an advocate watching, making notes as to whether or not Gram belonged at home?
“I should probably check with the doctor first, to make sure it’s all right,” Caroline said, reaching for the phone. An easy compromise that hopefully made it look like she really did care about Gram’s best interests. Something some advocate probably knew nothing about. After all, Matilda didn’t know Gram, didn’t know her values, and what made her tick.
“You don’t need to call that squalling brat,” Gram said. “I helped deliver him. Breech baby, and as contrary as any baby you’ve ever seen. He doesn’t like my homemade remedies. Why, when he was suffering from the gout, I made him a soup that would have cleared it right up. But did he eat it? No. Said he’d rather take a bunch of pills made in some factory. You know what I think of those pills? Those pills killed your grandfather, that’s what.”
Then Gram turned her attention back to Hayden. “So you’re some kind of fancy lawyer, are you? You should help me sue those pill makers for killing my Edward.”
Caroline tried not to sigh, but somehow she had to help Gram understand that these tirades were not helping her case. If anything, they made her look all the more unhinged.
At least Hayden didn’t seem ruffled by that request. “That’s not really my specialty. I deal more with real estate and estate law. I could put you in touch with someone, if you wanted.”
“No, no.” Gram waved her hand. “I don’t have time for that nonsense. I’ve got some cuttings I need to plant. Caroline, you bring them in here to me, along with that good compost from behind the old barn. Andrew, get those pots from the shed. You know the ones, we were going to use them for herbs at the farmer’s market, but then Allie got one of her hare-brained ideas and we never did it.”
Andrew promptly left to do her bidding, probably because he didn’t want to have to sit around and socialize with his parents. AKA listening to them try to convince him that he was throwing his life away on the farm and should move to a respectable city where he could have a career again. Which was never going to happen, but his parents, like Caroline’s, never listened to what any of them wanted.
Caroline, however, stood there, trying to decipher the expressions on her parents’ faces. They’d been in the house all of fifteen minutes, and neither of them had given her so much as a, “nice to see you,” or “wow, we’ve missed you.” At least Uncle Bart and Aunt Mary had tried acting like they cared, giving Caroline and Andrew very sterile hugs. Allie was off sleeping, since she’d worked the night before.
“Caroline, those plants are not going to find their own way here,” Gram said.
“I thought you’d want to rest for a
while, since you just got home.”
“Rest? All they’ve been making me do is rest. I can sleep when I’m dead. Those cuttings aren’t going to plant themselves. Now bring them to me, before I have to go get them myself.”
“Yes, Gram.” Caroline sighed as she started for the door.
Hayden grabbed her by the arm. “You want some help?”
What she wanted was for her life to go back to normal and not have to worry about everyone judging her and thinking that she didn’t care about Gram.
But at least, if Hayden wasn’t in there alone with her father and Gram, there was little chance for collusion. And maybe, with Matilda there, her father would behave himself.
“Sure.” Caroline tried smiling at him, but found she lacked the energy.
“At least you have him earning his keep,” Gram said. “The rest of you sit down and relax. I can’t think with all of you hovering over me. Camille, you go make us all some tea. Things haven’t changed around here since you left, even if you have.”
“Mother!”
For a moment, Caroline felt sorry for her mom. It had to be hard for her, not feeling like she ever lived up to her expectations. After all, Caroline felt much the same way with her parents. But, one would think, with as much as Camille hated the way her mother treated her, she’d be easier on Caroline. No such luck.
Before Caroline could dwell on any more family drama, she led Hayden into the greenhouse, where the clippings were waiting.
“Your grandmother’s a character, isn’t she?”
Caroline looked over at him. “I guess you could say that. As a kid, I wished I had a normal grandma who wasn’t trying to feed all my friends weird green stuff. Trust me, no one wants to trade lunches with the girl who has the kale chips.”
“So this isn’t a fad then? I mean, kale is so trendy right now.”
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