3 The Ghost at the Farm

by SUE FINEMAN

  Charlie stuck his head under the hose and shook off like a dog. Julie handed him a tall glass of iced tea. “I thought summer ended last week.”

  He drained his glass. “Apparently the weather man didn’t get the message.”

  Donovan arrived with another man he introduced as Trevor. Charlie motioned with his head toward Andy. “Talk to him, Dad. You might have to introduce yourself.”

  “Are you kidding me?”

  Charlie shook his head. “He’s been like that off and on all morning. Whatever’s going on in Andrew’s life, he’s not happy about it.”

  Julie handed two glasses of iced tea to Donovan. “Take him a drink.”

  Andy sat on the back porch step, alone in a sea of people. These people were his family, but he didn’t know them. Julie wanted to wrap her arms around him and tell him everything would be all right, but at that moment, she wasn’t sure of anything. He’d been pulling away lately, distancing himself from her when she wanted to get closer.

  While Otis sat in a chair under the maple tree and Hannah passed out sandwiches, Julie finished cleaning Otis’s living room. Then she moved on to the front bedroom. Might as well finish it today. She didn’t know if she’d be back tomorrow, and from the looks of this place, nobody had cleaned in a while.

  An object on the dresser was covered with a dusty black velvet cloth. She took the cover off and stared at what looked like an opaque glass ball resting on a wood base. Only it wasn’t glass. On closer inspection, it looked like it had been carved from a piece of stone and polished until it gleamed. She shook the dust out of the velvet and rubbed the dust rag over the ball. Otis’s mother had been a gypsy fortune teller. Could this be her crystal ball?

  Someone touched her shoulder and she jumped.

  Otis said, “Looks like you found Ma’s crystal ball.”

  “I didn’t mean to snoop. I was just…” Touching his dead mother’s possessions. Snooping into things that were none of her business. “…cleaning, dusting.”

  “Ma used to say the crystal was a tool, nothing more. She was born with psychic abilities.”

  “What about you? Are you psychic, too?”

  He shook his head. “Not me. I may have her black eyes, but I didn’t get the gift.”

  As she continued dusting the dresser, he said, “Her clothes need to be thrown away, and you can have anything else in here you want.”

  “Oh, I couldn’t—”

  “Then throw it away. Same with my things. When I’m gone, keep what you and Andrew want and throw the rest away.”

  “How old was your mother when she passed away?”

  “Ninety-two. I’m seventy-five. Thought I had a few more years, until the doctor told me about the cancer. Ma knew, said it was my fate, that everyone had a time to live and a time to die, and there was no use fighting it. Said things would be better on the other side.”

  “You’re not afraid to die?”

  “No, I’m not afraid. I got people waiting for me. The only family I have left here on earth is Andrew.” He put his hand on her shoulder again. “Don’t you go worrying about me, girl. We’ll get the farm deal finished before my time comes.”

  Julie hugged him gently, holding his frail old body, giving comfort the only way she knew how.

  Funny that he’d call Andy his family.

  <>

  The corn was perfectly ripened and ready to harvest, and with four men, the work went quickly. Andy worked as if on auto-pilot; his hands knew what to do without him telling them. His mind drifted and he felt himself in another field.

  Andrew hefted another pumpkin into the wagon. “Why did you let them get so big, Matthew? Nobody wants to buy the big ones.”

  “Why didn’t you pick them?” Matthew retorted. “I can’t do everything myself, and you’re never here.”

  “I have a job in town.”

  Matthew tossed a small pumpkin to Andrew. “You also have a job here.”

  “I can’t be in two places at the same time, and I have to finish the house I started.” A smile pulled at Andrew’s face. “You wouldn’t believe how beautiful this house is. The plan was a good one, although I made some changes to suit the woman who’ll live there.”

  “How big is it?”

  “The living room alone is bigger than the main floor of the farmhouse. There’s also a library and dining room and kitchen and a bedroom on the main floor. Five big bedrooms upstairs. Attic big enough to build more bedrooms. And they have indoor plumbing, a bathroom with a water closet.” Andrew was especially proud of the secret staircase he’d put in for Charity, in case she needed to escape from Cal. He’d put in several other things that weren’t in the original plan, secret places nobody would ever find unless someone showed them they were there.

  “Big family?” Matthew asked.

  “No, just the husband and wife and one little boy. She’s expecting another baby soon.”

  Matthew shook his head. “Waste of money building a house that big for a small family.”

  Maybe it was, but Cal Taylor could well afford it. Mean son-of-a-bitch, though. Cal beat and bullied his wife and little boy. Andrew had warned Cal not to hurt them again, but Cal didn’t listen. Charity was too afraid to leave him. She was a beautiful woman, but when she was around her husband, her eyes filled with fear.

  In a few weeks, the house on Livingston Avenue would be finished, and Andrew would probably never see Charity Taylor again. Although Charity grew up on a farm, as he had, she socialized with the rich people in town, while Andrew’s friends were mostly farmers and their families. Cal Taylor had gotten rich off the war, profiteering when he should be fighting in Europe with other able-bodied men.

  Even if he was rich, Andrew couldn’t see himself ever socializing with the likes of Cal Taylor.

  He rubbed his leg. His foot had cramped into his calf again, as it always did when he worked in the field too long.

  A man walked over. He looked familiar, but Andrew couldn’t recall his name.

  “Andy?”

  Dad put his hand on Andy’s shoulder, bringing him back to the present. Andy blinked a few times. “Was I gone again?”

  “Does your leg hurt?”

  Andy realized he was rubbing his calf. “Andrew has trouble walking on rough terrain. He gets cramps in his foot and leg.”

  “I’m worried about you, son. We all are.”

  Andy glanced over and saw Charlie and Trevor watching them. Looking back at his father, he said, “You all think I’m losing my mind?”

  “I don’t know what to think, except I don’t want you coming out here alone until we figure out what’s going on.”

  “I know what’s going on, Dad. I have to let myself go back to figure out what issues need to be resolved. If I don’t, I could end up dead like Andrew.”

  Shaking his head, Dad said, “That’s a bunch of—”

  “Maybe it is, but I’m not willing to take a chance.”

  There had to be some truth in what the old woman said or he wouldn’t be flashing back to Andrew Jefferson’s life.

  Andy left Trevor and Charlie in the cornfield and drove Dad down the road to deliver a load of corn. Dad asked, “What’s happening with you and Julie?”

  “Nothing. I have too much on my mind to get involved with any woman right now.”

  “Seems like a nice girl. Pretty, too.”

  “She is a nice girl, and I am attracted to her, but… I don’t know, Dad. I brought her home because I felt bad about her cutting her arm. If I’d handled things different in the bar that night, she wouldn’t have fallen on the broken glass.”

  “You blame yourself?”

  “Yes, I blame myself. Once her arm heals and the farm deal closes, she’ll be gone.”

  “What about Brent Bosch? Men with an obsession like his don’t give up.”

  Andy pulled onto the scale. “I can’t protect her from that creep forever. I have my own problems.” If he didn’t pay attention to these visions, if he didn’t resolve
the issues from the past—whatever they were—he wouldn’t be around to protect anyone.

  Once Julie’s arm healed and she got her commission check from the sale of the farm, she’d move on and he’d be alone again.

  The thought of not having her with him left him with an incredible feeling of emptiness, but he had nothing to offer her. Nothing but a safe place to stay until her arm healed and she could take care of her problem with Brent Bosch.

  <>

  Brent talked with the manager of Julie’s apartment building. “Did Julie Tandry give notice yet that she was moving out?”

  “Yes, she did. She said end of the month.”

  This was a surprise. Surely she didn’t plan to move without telling him.

  “She sent me over to pack for her. I brought plenty of boxes, but I forgot to get a key, so if you could unlock the door for me, I’ll get right to work.”

  The landlord unlocked the door and Brent carried in several boxes. As soon as the landlord left, Brent started packing Julie’s clothes and personal items from the bedroom and bathroom. She wouldn’t need dishes or furniture in the new house, since it was completely furnished, so he didn’t touch those things. Except the rocking chair. Julie would want that.

  He cranked up the radio and filled the boxes. He and Julie would live in his mother’s place until the wedding, then they’d move into the house he’d bought especially for her.

  <>

  While Hannah made a pot of stew in Otis’s kitchen and the hospice nurse talked with Otis in the bedroom, Julie walked outside and called Bob.

  “What’s happening with the Collins deal? They were supposed to sign the papers today.”

  “It’s dead. The buyers are talking about suing for specific performance, but I don’t think it’ll happen.”

  “I hope not.” If they did, Ezra Collins would blame her for talking him into signing the purchase and sale agreement in the first place. She didn’t want to have to defend herself in court.

  “Will you be here for the sales meeting and tour tomorrow?”

  “No.” It would be the first one she’d missed in three years.

  “Your arm?”

  “It’s healing, but I don’t want Brent following me again. I can’t even stay in my own apartment.”

  A deep sigh came over the phone. “Julie, I don’t know what to say.”

  “I don’t blame you, but if I can’t shake Brent soon, I’ll have to leave River Valley, and I really don’t want to have to do that.” She couldn’t work in real estate with a man stalking her and interfering in her business, and no other employer would want to hire her when she had a man hanging around, watching her all the time.

  “He thinks you’re going to marry him.”

  “He’s wrong.” Dead wrong. As much as she hated guns, maybe it was time to buy one. She’d have to do something to protect herself.

  Without the Collins deal, she couldn’t make a deposit on a new apartment until the deal on the farm closed.

  She scratched at her arm. The heat had softened the tape, and the whole thing itched like crazy. Another reminder of the uncertainty in her life.

  <>

  After Dad and Trevor left, Andy continued to work with Charlie to finish the cornfield they’d started before dark. He was tired and hungry, and Charlie was griping about starving to death, but the weatherman said a cold front would move through on Friday, and they had to get the corn in before the weather turned. If they didn’t work longer hours, it wouldn’t get done.

  He spotted a man with a tripod in the distance. The surveyor. In a few days, this farm would be Andy’s. He hadn’t planned to buy this much land. He would have been happy with a few acres, enough to provide some privacy, a barn for a workshop, and a place to grow a garden. Buying the farm that once belonged to the Jefferson family was a huge bonus.

  The sun was setting when they filled the wagon for the last time that day. Charlie moved the combine in place for the next day’s work, and they drove the old pickup pulling the wagon to the barn. Julie came out to meet them. “I’ll have dinner ready when you come back. We’re eating with Otis tonight.”

  Andy nodded. He didn’t care where they ate, as long as he got to sit down. Farming was a physically taxing job, and he was tired.

  “I wonder what she made,” Charlie said when they pulled up to the scale. “I’m hungry.”

  “You’re always hungry.”

  “Something wrong with that? I worked hard today.”

  “I know.”

  When they got back to the farm, Julie had dinner on the table. Stew and biscuits with fresh strawberries.

  Otis split a biscuit open and steam poured out. He slathered on butter and jam. “During the hard times, we ate beans at least three or four times a week. This is a feast.”

  “Is that a chicken coop back by the garden?” Andy asked.

  “Yeah, we used to sell eggs, but it got to be too much work. Ma got too old to bend over and pick them up, and I had too many other chores, so we ate a couple chickens a week until they were gone.”

  Otis took a bite of stew. “Mmm, now that’s real good.”

  “Sure is,” said Charlie.

  “Ma’s garden is all overgrown now, but we used to grow most of our own vegetables, melons, strawberries, and we always had a big pumpkin patch. There were some years when the crops didn’t do so well. Those years, the chickens and the things Ma grew in the garden kept us going through the winter.”

  Andy noticed Otis moved easier, and the deep pain in his eyes was gone. “Are you feeling better, Otis?”

  “The nurse brought me some stronger pain pills. Said she’d stop by and check on me tomorrow.” He glanced at the faces around the table. “I want to thank you boys for your help. I hate to see good food rotting in the field when there’s people going hungry.” He put his hand over Julie’s. “This girl worked hard today, too. I can’t remember when the place was this clean.” He looked straight at Andy. “You bring her out again. She’s good company, and she’s been a big help to me today.”

  The room grew quiet except for the scraping of spoons on bowls. Charlie and Andy both refilled their bowls, and the biscuits all disappeared. Otis ate most of his stew before declaring, “I’m full. Best meal I’ve had in a long time.”

  Charlie asked about planting, and Otis talked to him about the different crops and when they should be planted and where. Andy listened quietly. Charlie could farm the land if he wanted. Andy didn’t have the time or energy to work two jobs. His design work brought in good money, more than he’d get from busting his ass on the farm.

  Julie’s bandage was gone, and the cuts looked like they were healing. She’d done a lot of work today. The trailer looked and smelled clean, and Otis smelled better, too. She’d not only cleaned this place, she’d gotten him to take a bath.

  He caught her eye and winked. She looked as tired as he felt.

  They said goodnight to Otis and walked outside. The moon winked through the trees and lit their way to the car. The sky out here was so clear Andy could see the stars, something he couldn’t do in the city. He inhaled deeply of the fresh air and felt thankful to be here.

  Andy drove Charlie home, then drove home to the condo. He glanced around for Brent’s car and didn’t see it. “Tired?” he asked Julie as he pulled into the garage.

  “Exhausted. It wouldn’t be so bad if Otis had air-conditioning, but he doesn’t even have a fan. He said he had one, but the motor died on it, so he threw it away. Otis doesn’t even have a comfortable chair to sit in. If I had a way to get it there, I’d give him my grandfather’s recliner. He needs it more than I do.”

  “Pop used to have one. He’d sit down and fall asleep every time.” He smiled. “Pop could sleep through anything.”

  They walked into the cool condo and Andy took a long, deep breath. “Feels good in here. You want the first shower?”

  “Go ahead. I need to find something to wear tomorrow. It’s too hot to wear jeans again.”
r />   “Do you want to stop by your apartment in the morning to get more clothes?”

  “Yes. Brent doesn’t like mornings, so he won’t be a problem.”

  Andy walked into his bathroom, shedding clothes as he went. Seconds later, he stood under the hot water in his shower. He was still standing there, eyes closed, soaking up the relaxing heat, when Julie said, “Mind if I join you?”

  He looked over and saw her standing there in his robe. Her eyes scanned his naked body and from the gleam in her eyes, she liked what she saw. Energized by the prospect of sharing a shower with this soft, sexy creature, his body came alive with a massive erection. “Come on in, honey. I’ll help you shower.”

  She dropped the robe and turned her back to him. She was naked except for her bra, which he gladly unhooked for her. She had a cute little backside, and when she turned to face him and tossed her bra on the floor, he couldn’t take his eyes off her. Her breasts were beautiful, full and pale and perfectly shaped, her nipples a delicate pale pink. He wanted to kiss them, taste them. “You’re gorgeous.”

  She shrugged. “I’m nothing special.”

  “Don’t argue with me. I’ve seen plenty of naked women, and you are definitely special.”

  She leaned into him and tipped her face up for a kiss. He pulled her closer and kissed her gently at first, and then more passionately as her hands wrapped around his waist and settled on his ass.

  He’d designed the showers in the condos with jets on both ends, so relaxing hot water sprayed on them from front and back.

  She soaped her hands and washed his back and shoulders, massaging his tired muscles. Her arms wrapped around him from the back and her fingers played with the patch of hair on his chest. “You’re so strong, so handsome. So sexy,” she whispered, dropping her hands to his penis, which had grown so hard it was downright painful.

  If he had any doubts about getting more involved with her, they dissolved in that instant. She wanted to make love or she wouldn’t be in the shower with him, and he wanted her so badly he wanted nothing more than to bury himself deep inside her. But he didn’t want her to have any unrealistic expectations. “Julie, honey, I want this, but I can’t promise you anything.”