3 The Ghost at the Farm

by SUE FINEMAN

  She pulled the salad from the refrigerator and took the roast out of the oven. “So what happened?”

  “Byron got a warning to do his own work from now on. If I’d had my way, I would have fired the son-of-a-bitch. He might have gotten good grades in college, but this makes me wonder how he got those grades.”

  “Dinner in five minutes.”

  He kissed her. “I’ll go change.”

  He came back wearing jeans and a faded blue T-shirt. “You did laundry today.”

  “I had to. I ran out of clean underwear.” She handed him the roast to put on the table.

  “Charlie takes his laundry to Mom. One of these days, she’ll get tired of doing it for him and he’ll have to do his own. She hasn’t done mine since I was in high school.”

  Seconds later, they sat down to eat. After Andy ate a few bites, he asked, “So, did you go out to the farm today?”

  “No, I’m saving my gas for Thursday. Someone needs to drive Otis into town to sign the papers on the farm.”

  “Thursday?”

  “They’re going to try to get you in at lunchtime, so you won’t miss work.”

  He shrugged. “I’ll go when Otis does. I want to be there when you are, so if I have any questions—”

  “I’ll be there, Andy. I always go to my buyers’ closings, especially first-time buyers.”

  “Good. Do you need money for gas?”

  “I can’t take your money. I’ve taken enough from you.”

  “You’ve repaid me by helping Otis, feeding puppies, finding me the perfect farm to buy, cooking dinner, doing my laundry. I usually take my shirts to the cleaners, because when I wash clothes, everything comes out this color.” He pulled his faded blue shirt out from his chest. “I’m hopeless when it comes to keeping things white.”

  “You don’t know enough to separate the colors?”

  “Yes, but a sock or two always sneaks in with my whites. I can’t tell you how many shirts I’ve ruined.”

  She shook her head slowly. “Maybe you should wear blue shirts.”

  “But I look so good in white,” he said with a straight face.

  She giggled.

  “I guess laundry isn’t hero work,” he said with a grin.

  “I guess not.”

  Any hurt that lingered from Saturday night disappeared in his gentle teasing. This man wasn’t Andrew Jefferson. This was Andy Kane, the man she loved.

  If only he could stay in the present.

  <>

  Tuesday morning, Charlie came by the condo to take Julie out to the farm. “Andy said to take your car,” said Charlie.

  “But—”

  “We’ll get gas on the way out. I’m changing the oil in the tractor this morning. When’s the last time you changed the oil in your car?”

  “It’s way overdue, but you don’t have to—”

  “Might as well do it all at once. Andy doesn’t want the pickup or the tractor to sit all winter with empty gas tanks, and they need routine maintenance Otis hasn’t been able to do. You can take care of puppies, give Cassie a bath, and pamper Otis, and I’ll take care of your car.”

  Now she understood. “Don’t want to bathe the dog?”

  He gave an exaggerated shiver. “I’d rather change your oil than give her a bath. She’s a grubby mess, and every time the puppies eat, they walk into the dish. Cute little stinkers, but there’s more of them than there is of me. By the time I clean one off, another one is walking in the dish.”

  She couldn’t help but smile. “They need a smaller dish, or several smaller dishes.”

  He cocked his head. “Why didn’t I think of that? Andy is meeting us at the farm for dinner, so make something good. Do we need to stop for groceries?”

  Julie packed some food from Andy’s kitchen and took a change of clothes—bathing a big dog was wet work—and Charlie drove her out to the farm. In her car. They stopped for gas and breakfast sandwiches on the way.

  The sun shone brightly that morning, and the breeze off the river rustled the leaves on the maple trees. The beautiful Indian summer day boosted Julie’s spirits and made her smile. It was easy to see why Otis loved the farm so much. Andy loved it, too, even if he didn’t want to be a farmer. There was a peaceful quality to life out here, away from the noise and bustle of the city.

  Otis met them at the door. “Hey, Julie, I was hoping you’d come along today.”

  She gave him a warm hug while Charlie started the coffee. “We brought breakfast, and if I can borrow your shower, I’ll give Cassie a bath today.”

  “She needs one, and she needs a rest from the pups. They’re getting rambunctious. Another week and they’ll be big enough to leave.”

  After breakfast, Otis called Cassie into the trailer. Julie changed into shorts and pulled her hair back into a ponytail. Minutes later, she stood in the shower, washing a sweet, but very dirty dog. Cassie put her head on Julie’s shoulder as she shampooed the long, silky hair. Julie talked softly, telling her what a good mother she was, and how pretty she’d be when they finished her bath. By the time she finished and Cassie shook off the excess water, the bathroom was a disaster, but the dog was clean.

  After running the hair dryer and brushing out the dog, Julie cleaned the bathroom. Cassie strutted around the trailer with her head held high, proud of how pretty she looked. Otis laughed. “Think you’re something, don’t you, girl.”

  “She is something,” said Julie. “She’s a beautiful dog. She doesn’t live outside all year, does she?”

  “No, she stays inside with me, but I couldn’t take care of the puppies inside. Not this time. There’s a lot of things I can’t do these days.”

  Julie hugged the dog, who snuggled in closer. “You can live inside now, girl.”

  “Charlie brought a portable fence enclosure out yesterday,” said Otis. “The pups can stay in there for now. Don’t want them running out into the road.”

  Julie walked outside with Cassie. Charlie had the puppies out on the grass—which he must have mowed yesterday—in their enclosure. They were playing in the sunshine. One was tummy-side up, soaking up the rays.

  By the time Andy arrived, Julie had the roast out of the oven and the rest of dinner nearly ready to put on the table. She’d done Otis’s laundry and cleaned up the trailer, and Charlie had the oil changed in all the vehicles and the gas tanks in the truck and tractor filled.

  Andy shed his jacket, rolled up his sleeves, and kissed Julie. She leaned into his arms and he pulled her close. It felt so good to hold her like this.

  They’d spent most of the past week together, and he missed her this week while he was at work. He was afraid he’d come home one day and she’d be gone. To stay or go had to be her choice, but if she left him now, she’d leave a huge hole in his heart and in his life. He’d never felt this way about a woman, never felt more complete than when he was with her.

  “Hey, no fair,” said Charlie. “I didn’t get any of that today.”

  “Stay away from my woman.”

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah.”

  “What happened to Terri?”

  “She dumped me for some guy in a suit.”

  Julie asked, “Is Gina still here, or did she move back to California?”

  Charlie shrugged. “Who knows? She isn’t living with Terri now. They had a big fight and Terri threw her out.”

  “Poor Gina.” Julie carried food to the table as she talked. “Everyone sit down. Dinner is ready.”

  “Did someone feed the puppies?” Andy asked.

  Charlie said, “I fed them three times today. Once more and they should be good for the night.”

  Over dinner, Otis asked, “What are you going to do with the old farmhouse?”

  “Tear it down or burn it down, if we can get some cooperation from the fire department,” said Andy. “Between the mold and the termites, it’s beyond help. I want to go inside one more time and see if there’s anything else worth saving.”

  “The washer and dryer aren
’t too old,” said Otis.

  “We’ll move them to the barn,” said Charlie. “I finished the connections today.”

  “You’re a handy guy. Make a good farmer.”

  Charlie grinned. “Me and the sexy tractor?”

  Andy shook his head. “Everything is not about women and sex.”

  Charlie put two big slices of meat on his plate and smothered it in gravy. “Of course it is. And food. A guy’s gotta eat.”

  Ignoring his brother, Andy asked, “What’s in the basement at the house, Otis?”

  “A broken water heater and an old coal furnace that stopped working years ago. That’s the year I bought the house trailer. When the water heater quit, I hooked up a new one on the porch beside the washing machine. It’s worth saving.”

  Charlie filled his plate again. “We’ll move it to the barn with the washer and dryer. Andy, we’ll need a dumpster, and the main power comes through the house.”

  “I noticed. I’ll call the electric company. We can’t start building until spring anyway, so we have time.”

  “Spring is planting season,” said Otis. “If you’re gonna plant anything.”

  “Sure we are,” said Charlie. He looked at Andy. “Aren’t we?”

  “You can plant whatever you want. I already have a full-time job.”

  Charlie smiled. “Okay.”

  “Let me qualify that.” Andy picked up the gravy. “You can plant whatever you want as long as it’s a legal crop.”

  With a big sigh, Charlie said, “Too bad. The illegal ones are so much more profitable.”

  Andy shook his head. Charlie was showing off again. Good thing Julie wasn’t interested in him.

  <>

  Brent sat in the doctor’s office again, muzzy-headed and irritated not just with the meds but with the facility and the staff. He didn’t want to be here. He wanted to go home and get his life back.

  The doctor asked, “How are you feeling today, Brent?”

  “My head isn’t working right. Get me off the meds so I can think.”

  “You can’t think now?”

  “No. Too many meds.”

  The doctor looked through the file on his desk. “But you told the police you were on—”

  “I lied. I haven’t taken anything for nearly a year.”

  “Why?”

  “Mother made me take them. When she died, I stopped. They make me feel funny, and I can’t think when I’m on them.”

  The doctor stared at him for a minute before saying, “All right. We’ll take you off all the meds and see how you do without them. I need some history from you before we can do that.”

  Brent knew they’d ask again. He hated to tell anyone about the trouble before, but they had the name of the doctor he’d been seeing for years on the med bottles, so they could track his medical history. The records from the arrest when he was sixteen had been sealed, but he had a feeling those records could be opened. If they were, he could end up living most of his life in the loony bin. He couldn’t let that happen.

  He stood and walked to the door, and the doctor’s voice called him back. “Brent, Julie wants to know what you did with her pictures. Where did you take them?”

  “To the new house. Julie’s house. She’ll be happy there, and she’ll love me forever.”

  “Is it all right if I tell her where her pictures are?”

  “I’ll show her after the wedding.”

  “I’ll have to tell the judge.”

  Brent sighed. “I know.” The judge was in control of Brent’s life. For now.

  <>

  While Charlie washed dishes in the trailer and Julie played with the puppies, Andy sat in the barn looking through one of the trunks from the attic. The top was covered with letters. None had been mailed, but they were in envelopes with Andrew written across the front. Each envelope was dated in the upper right corner, and in the upper left corner was the name Paulina. He was almost afraid to open them. Andrew should have known Paulina was pregnant when she said they had to get married, but he had too many other things on his mind in those days.

  Andy looked out through the open barn doors at Julie, sitting in the grass with the puppies. She had two on her lap and the others were sniffing around her, wagging their little tails. Too bad he didn’t have his camera with him.

  Cassie leaned her head over the fence and licked one puppy’s head, but she didn’t step into the enclosure. The puppies still wanted to nurse, and Cassie was finished with that. She was a beautiful dog, and as the puppies grew, more of their facial markings came in, distinguishing them one from the other. This was one reason he wanted a place in the country. He wanted a dog, a companion.

  A puppy nipped Julie’s ear, and she laughed, a warm, contented sound. She might be a city girl, but she was happy out here on the farm. She glanced over and smiled, and he didn’t care what was in the trunks. He wanted to take her home and make love to her. Paulina’s letters had waited this long. They could wait a little longer.

  As he closed the trunk, he slid into another vision.

  Andrew closed the trunk and pushed it back by the foot of the bed. Charity had given him some things to keep for her, and he’d put them in the old trunk his mother had brought from Ireland. She’d brought everything she owned from home in that trunk. Now she was gone, and all he had to remember her by was in the trunk.

  Mama’s family had saved for years to send a member of their family to America. Her brother was supposed to be the one coming, but he died, so the family pinned their hopes for a bright future in America on their oldest daughter, Rose. She was supposed to find a job and save money to bring the rest of her family to America, but by the time she’d saved enough for another passage, her parents had passed on and her younger sister had married and was living in Dublin. So Mama sent half the money to her sister and gave the rest to Papa to buy a tractor. Mama never thought of using the money for herself. She was the most unselfish person Andrew had ever known.

  Charity’s gold coins would buy Betsy a new stove and replace the worn living room furniture, but the coins didn’t belong to him, and he wouldn’t spend what belonged to someone else.

  Andy shook off the vision, wondering if any of Charity’s goodies were still in the trunk. He took the letters out and dug through the bottom of the trunk.

  Julie walked over. “What did you find?”

  He pulled a little black velvet bag out of the trunk and handed it to her. Then he took out another and another and yet another, until he had a dozen velvet bags piled on the barn floor. “If this is what I think it is, we have the money to start building the new house. Open one and let’s have a look.”

  She opened a little bag and poured out a dozen gold coins. “What is this?”

  “Twenty-dollar gold pieces. My great-great-grandmother gave them to Andrew to keep for her. Those coins you have in your hand are probably worth five or six thousand dollars.”

  “You’re kidding! Why didn’t someone cash them in before now?”

  He shrugged. “Who knows? This money would have restored the farmhouse and helped them through the hard times.” But they’d left the coins in the trunk, with Paulina’s letters and Andrew’s old clothes.

  Andy put the letters back in the trunk and tossed the bags of coins into the backseat of his car. The hiding places in the house on Livingston Avenue were filled with gold coins until Mom and Dad pulled them out and put them in the bank.

  “What else is in the trunk, Andy?” Julie asked.

  “Old clothes and letters to Andrew from Paulina.” He walked back to the barn to look through the trunk again, make sure he hadn’t missed anything.

  He found one more bag of gold coins tied inside an old pair of socks. Grinning at Julie, he said, “Look what I found.”

  These coins were worth several hundred apiece, and he’d found a bunch of them in the old trunk. He wouldn’t have to use his savings to have the old house torn down and the debris removed. The coins would more than cover the cost.<
br />
  Too bad they wouldn’t cover the cost of building the new house.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Julie slept alone in Andy’s guest room that night, as she had every night since Andy called her Paulina. She missed the passion, but mostly she missed the closeness, the intimacy they’d shared. He said he’d welcome her in his bed any time, but she had too much pride to go back when Andy was still having episodes as Andrew. It still hurt deeply how he could slip into the past while making love to her.

  Wednesday, she spent most of the day driving around the city, checking out property for Billy. There weren’t many parcels of land for sale in town. She might have to do some creative marketing to owners of parcels that might interest him. It wouldn’t be the first time she’d created a sale when the property wasn’t listed. Just because something didn’t have a For Sale sign on it didn’t mean the owners wouldn’t sell.

  Thursday morning, Julie drove Otis to the escrow company office. Andy was already there when they arrived. He shook Otis’s hand and pulled out a chair for him and another one for Julie. It took several minutes to sign all the papers, and although the escrow officer explained things, Andy turned to Julie several times for further explanation. Andy was an intelligent man, but this was his first real estate transaction, and she wanted to make sure he understood everything he was signing.

  By the time they finished, Otis looked drained and his hands trembled. Julie said, “I’d better get you home, Otis.”

  “Not until I finish my business in town. I want someone to notarize something for me.”

  “I’ll be glad to help you with that,” said Eve, the escrow officer.

  Otis pulled an envelope from his pocket and pulled a single page, handwritten document from the envelope. “This is my will. Couldn’t see any sense in paying a lawyer to draw it up. It says everything it needs to say.” He clicked his pen and signed, then had Julie and Andy witness his signature. Eve applied her seal and signed it, too.

  “Now then,” said Otis. “We need to go to the bank. I don’t know how much longer I’ll be able to pay my bills, so…” He glanced from Julie to Andy. “I want one of you to sign on my bank accounts with me.”