Hometown Girl

by Courtney Walsh

  Old-fashioned lampposts dotted the street, and on the corner sat a horse-drawn carriage. It wasn’t quite tourist season yet, but there were plenty of people out enjoying the spring sunshine.

  Then there was the historical side of this place. Once the home of two different US presidents, Willow Grove had all kinds of stories to tell. And tell them, it did. There were museums and house tours and reenactments—a school field-trip destination for elementary kids within a two-hour drive in any direction.

  As Drew reached the other side of the street, someone shoved a piece of paper at him.

  “Community Work Day out at Fairwind Farm this weekend. Hope to see you there.” The young woman handed a flyer to another passerby and repeated the same words.

  He watched as she handed out another flyer, then another, each time saying the same thing. He stared at the paper. Even the image of the old farm stirred something inside him.

  The girl—tall, thin, brunette, probably mid-twenties—smiled at him. “You’re not a local, are you? Sorry.” She snatched the flyer out of his hand, then glanced at Roxie. “What a beautiful dog.”

  “Thanks.” He felt out of sorts after his night of no sleep. Or maybe it was hearing the whole town cheer over the thought of reopening Fairwind Farm. Or maybe it was the photo on that flyer.

  The girl squatted in front of Roxie and let the big dog sniff her face. “What a sweetheart,” she said. “What’s her name?”

  “Roxie.”

  “I love it.”

  Drew shook his head as he watched Roxie revel in the attention. “She seems to like you.” He motioned to the flyer in the girl’s hand. “Do you mind?”

  She gave Roxie one more head pat and stood. “Not at all.”

  He scanned the flyer. “So, are you the new owner of Fairwind Farm?”

  She grinned proudly. “I am.” She thrust her hand at him, and he shook it. “Molly Whitaker.”

  “Drew Barlow.”

  Molly continued to hand out flyers to passersby.

  People liked friendly people. He’d try to be one of those. “What’s your plan for the old place?” He reminded himself to keep his tone light. He wanted to get in there and take a look around, but he didn’t want to come off as a creepy stranger trespassing on someone else’s property. It’d be so much easier if she’d let him in.

  “You know Fairwind? I’ve never seen you around here before.”

  “I used to come here with my parents when I was a kid.”

  Molly hugged the flyers. “Wasn’t it special? That’s what I want to make it again. I thought we’d start with a Community Work Day. Willow Grove loved that old farm once upon a time. I just know they’ll love it again.”

  Drew saw an opportunity. “Maybe I can help.”

  “Really?” She grinned, and while he certainly didn’t presume to know either of the Whitaker sisters, they seemed about as different as they could be. He hadn’t purposely eavesdropped back at the diner, but no one in that place was exactly quiet. The other sister seemed uptight, like she’d spent too many days in an office.

  Judging by her conversation with the loud woman who’d practically accosted her and then the waitress, she already had her ticket out of town in her back pocket. This sister, on the other hand, could’ve been Willow Grove’s spokeswoman.

  “Do you have experience with any of this construction-type stuff?” She still smiled at him.

  “I have a little bit.”

  “But you’re not a local. You don’t have to put in a full day of work in a town where you don’t even live.”

  “I know I don’t have to,” he said. “I want to.”

  “Well, okay then. We’ll see you Saturday.”

  He nodded as she gave Roxie another quick ear rub and walked away.

  Molly was an idealist, but before long, she’d realize she was in over her head. He almost felt sorry for her.

  But she wasn’t his concern. He had a clear goal: get into Fairwind, dig around, see if the visit shook loose any old memories and get back to Colorado.

  He glanced at the flyer, a simple photo of the old farm with the words “Community Work Day” handwritten above it. The details were listed below, also handwritten. Simple, the way they did things here, not unlike the way he did things back at Elkhorn—but with a whole lot more baggage.

  The work day provided the perfect opportunity to get into the old barn and explore.

  If only he knew what he was looking for.

  Maybe being back at Fairwind would fill in the gaps of his spotty memories, not that he was too anxious to relive that dreadful day. But if this is what it took to find that elusive closure, he’d do it.

  Besides, he owed it to Jess.

  Chapter Seven

  Beth sat at her desk, latte in front of her, and prepared for another monotonous day at Whitaker Mowers. She didn’t often stop by Butler’s on her way to work, and she certainly didn’t drive to the office by way of Fairwind Farm, but after the week she’d had, she’d wanted to indulge herself a little.

  Instead, she’d been accosted by craziness.

  Darren Sanders, her father’s right-hand man, strolled through the office and stopped at her door.

  “Beth. You got a minute?”

  She glanced down at the sketch she’d been absentmindedly doodling in her notebook. The hand-drawn image of a large farmhouse with a wraparound porch stared back at her. Surely she’d lost her mind. “Sure.”

  He closed her door and sat down across from her. “How are you?”

  She’d been fine before he walked in, but now she felt uneasy. In all the years she’d been working at Whitaker, Darren had never once sat down in her office. “I’m fine, sir.”

  “Mother’s doing better, I hear?”

  “She’s recovering, yes.”

  “Good.” He looked away, but only for a second. “Listen, there’s something I’ve been meaning to talk to you about. You know it’s been challenging to get everything in order after we lost your father.”

  Beth studied her folded hands.

  “But we’ve had time to sort through everything, and, uh . . . a few things have come to light.”

  Her stomach dropped. “Oh?”

  He pressed his lips together, like a father having a hard talk with his kid. “I think you probably know what I’ve uncovered, Beth.”

  Her throat went dry.

  “You can imagine what an awkward position this puts me in.”

  “Sir, I can explain—”

  “The truth is, I’ve been trying to figure out why we’ve been hemorrhaging money, and now that I know, I’ve got to plug the leak.”

  “What are you saying, sir?”

  “I respect you. I respected your father. He was one of my best friends, but my job is to look out for the good of this company.”

  “My father’s company.”

  “He left me in charge, Beth. He had a lapse in judgment when he tried to cover this up for you.” His eyes were sad, and she could see he took no pleasure in this conversation.

  “Does my mother know?”

  “Nobody else knows. I can keep it that way if you agree to quietly resign from your position.”

  Beth’s fingers tingled, and she felt like the oxygen had been sucked straight out of her lungs. “I’ve been working on making this whole thing right. It’s all I do, Darren. You have to know that.”

  “I know, but I think we can handle it from here.”

  “But this is my family’s business.”

  “And it still will be. It will just be run by other people.”

  “And my mother?”

  “Your father left very clear instructions to make sure she’s taken care of. Your mom will be fine. And so will you.”

  She wasn’t so sure.

  He stood. “Beth, your dad always thought you had one foot out the door. I think he hoped for it, actually. Maybe it’s time to think about that.”

  She didn’t respond.

  He said something about gettin
g exit papers ready and walked out of her office, leaving her sitting in a puddle of sorrow and confusion.

  She knew it had only been a matter of time before someone found out what she’d done. Ordering materials from a new supplier for the parts Whitaker Mowers manufactured had looked so good on paper, but she hadn’t done her homework, not really. When the cheaper materials turned out to be defective (like her father said they would be), it had landed Whitaker Mowers on the wrong side of a lawsuit.

  It had cost Beth her father’s respect. It had cost him his reputation. And sometimes—often—she thought the stress of it all had cost him his life.

  She needed to get out of there—to clear her head. To figure out why her life had just fallen apart. Again.

  She picked up her purse and her latte, walked outside, got in her car and started driving.

  Ten minutes later, Beth pulled into the parking lot of the run-down farm, unsure of what drew her there. Especially since she’d felt so silly driving by only half an hour before. What was she doing here?

  She made her way to the porch of the old white farmhouse and surveyed the acres that had once brought in kids by the busload. She’d picked apples right off those trees. She’d worked up the courage to feed a goat at the petting zoo and got lost in the corn maze, only to have the wits scared out of her by her hidden brothers.

  Something inside her longed for those days again.

  But the amount of work it would take to host even one visitor? Not to mention the money. What was Molly thinking?

  But then, who was she to criticize? She’d just been asked to resign from her own father’s company.

  Dina’s words tumbled around in her mind. Brilliant, she’d said. She wished she’d thought of it herself. And the rest of the locals in the diner—they were all on board. It seemed everyone loved this idea. Everyone except Beth.

  She hadn’t even considered—not for a second—that it could work. She’d dismissed her sister out of hand. Written off the whole idea before Molly could even finish telling her what she was thinking.

  Beth couldn’t deny the excitement she’d felt listening to Marion and Verna reminisce about the old place. This little town had supported Fairwind loyally back in the day. Was it possible that could happen again? Did it matter that everyone’s lives were so different now, so busy and high tech?

  Molly’s car came into view in the distance, and Beth sighed. She’d wanted to be alone with her humiliation, but she couldn’t overlook the fact that she—not Molly—was trespassing.

  Beth met her sister in the yard near the worn-down parking lot and tried not to calculate the cost of repaving the entire thing.

  “I didn’t expect to find you here,” Molly said, a lousy smirk on her face. She got out of the car.

  “Don’t get any ideas,” Beth warned, heading back toward the farmhouse. “I just wanted some peace and quiet.”

  “Which you could have every day if you do this with me.” Molly followed her back to the house.

  Beth sat on the rickety old porch steps and inhaled the smell of late midwestern spring. Grass and dirt mixed with the quiet, still-cool breeze, the sound of cicadas humming in the trees.

  “It’s bonkers, what you’re doing. You know that, right?” Beth shook her head. “There are a million reasons why this is not a good idea.”

  “But Daddy always said ‘go with your gut.’” Molly sat down beside her. “My gut has never spoken this loudly, Beth.”

  Their father had been a brilliant businessman. He’d taught Beth everything she knew. Most of what she’d learned about leadership was a direct result of working for her father. And Molly was right, his business had been governed not by logic or common sense—not entirely, at least—but by this crazy gut feeling he’d never quite been able to explain.

  Why couldn’t he be here now to tell her what to do? Why couldn’t he give her permission to do something out of character just because she was curious what might become of it? Molly hadn’t gotten Daddy’s business sense. She’d gotten his sense of adventure.

  Envy rose up inside her. She tried to ignore the feeling, but she was jealous—of Molly’s ability to take risks, of her lack of concern for what anyone else thought of her.

  Beth had none of those things. And now, thanks to her own poor judgment, she didn’t have a job either. If only she’d listened to her father, she wouldn’t be in this mess at all.

  “You know, Beth, this could be your next great conquest,” Molly said.

  Beth laughed. “Why do you think I need a conquest?”

  Molly tilted her head and studied her. “Because you’ve always needed to prove something. You’ve spent your whole life climbing a ladder, collecting newspaper cutouts of your accomplishments. Everyone knew you were going to amount to something.” She held up her hands and affected a deep, announcer-type voice: “Big things were in store for Beth Whitaker.” Molly stopped. “And that’s great. Why can’t Fairwind be the next big thing? I mean, what else are you doing, really? You can’t tell me it’s really what you want.”

  It didn’t matter anymore, did it? Her job wasn’t an option now that Darren had uncovered the truth.

  “Is it what you want, Beth?”

  She didn’t know what she wanted. She only knew her life wasn’t supposed to turn out like this.

  But life didn’t dwell in supposed tos. And things didn’t often go as planned. As emotionally detached as she appeared to be, something was still broken deep down inside her. And that made her feel weak.

  Beth started off toward the main barn. A barn once filled with hundreds of people every weekend had become a mere skeleton of what it once was.

  She and that barn had a lot in common. Somewhere along the way, Beth had lost her drive, her ambition. She’d lost her resolve. Or maybe she was starting to realize there was more to life. It seemed selfish to ask for more, but here she was, asking.

  “You think I don’t know what I’m talking about, but I probably know you better than anyone.” Molly was close on her heels. “And these last ten months since Mom’s stroke, I’ve spent more time with you than anyone.”

  Beth pulled open the oversized barn doors and let the light penetrate the darkness.

  “And I’ve loved it. It’s like, finally, after all these years, I have a sister.”

  Beth turned and saw tears in Molly’s eyes. She had a wild look about her, like someone had cracked her top open and she was about to overflow. “I never felt like I was good enough for you. And because of that, I never even tried to do anything great.” Molly turned away. “Dad told me once I had to let go of your shadow—that I was the one who put myself in it. I got mad and tried to blame him and Mom, but he was right. I always thought he wanted me to be silly little Molly. He knew God gave me this big heart for a reason. He told me I was fearless.” She laughed as a tear trickled down her cheek. “Do you believe that?”

  Beth turned and put a hand on her sister’s arm. “Yes. I’ve always admired that about you.”

  Molly’s face puckered as she tried not to cry. “I didn’t know that.”

  “He told me once I worried too much. To stop trying to always find the ‘best way.’ That sometimes it’s okay to be wrong.” Beth swallowed the lump in her throat. “I guess if this is a mistake, it just feels like it would be a really big one.”

  Molly stilled. “But it’s our mistake to make, Beth.”

  Beth couldn’t afford another mistake. Her last one had cost her so much.

  “And who knows? Maybe we’ll fall flat on our faces. But that’s okay. I mean, if we’re going to fail, let’s fail gloriously.”

  The image of Darren’s disappointed expression rushed back. Beth squeezed her eyes shut. “I don’t know if I can do that.”

  “I know. Because you’ve never failed at anything in your life.”

  Beth thought about setting the record straight—telling Molly everything—but she couldn’t. She couldn’t stand the thought of everyone knowing what she’d done.

/>   “I’m an accomplished failure,” Molly said, “and I can tell you, if this is a disaster, we’ll bounce back.”

  “This is a terrible sales pitch.”

  Molly reached over and squeezed Beth’s hand. “And if it’s a success, it could be the best thing we’ve ever done in our lives. It’s like we get a second chance to do something really amazing.”

  “Did I miss our first chance?”

  “Everything before today was our first chance.” Molly smiled. “Today is a brand-new day. I remember a version of you that wanted to be an artist. You were good, Beth. And you gave it up because Dad convinced you it wasn’t practical.”

  “It wasn’t,” Beth said. “And he didn’t convince me. I came to that conclusion myself.” She’d known better than to pursue something so unsteady. It wouldn’t have suited her the way it might have suited Molly. Besides, her father had been right—she did have a head for business.

  Her sister let out an exasperated sigh. “Does everything have to be evenly measured? Life isn’t all about dollars and cents. There’s so much more to it than that.”

  Beth waved her off. “It doesn’t matter. That was a long time ago.”

  “Yeah, before you started letting your head make all the decisions.”

  Beth stilled. Every major decision she’d made, from where to go to college to what internships to apply for to how to manage the office staff at Whitaker Mowers, had been accompanied by lists of pros and cons. She was a rigid planner, but what if Mom was right? What if she and Molly really did make a good team? What if they filled in each other’s gaps?

  What if they could bring Fairwind back to life? She drew in a deep, long breath and closed her eyes. This was crazy. Absolutely, 100 percent, off-the-charts crazy.

  And going into business with her sister was perhaps the most foolish part of the whole idea. She hadn’t made a pro–con list for this yet.

  But for once, she wondered if she could follow her heart instead.

  “Fine,” Beth said, rushing the words before anything could make her change her mind. “I’m in.”