Rose Farm Trilogy Boxset

by Kennedy, Brenda

  “Chicken and dumplings and blackberry cobbler. Your mom called and told me it was about ready.” He wraps his arms around me and kisses me. “Feeling better?”

  “I am.” I smile big so he knows that I am feelin’ much better. “It’s amazin’ what sleepin’ an entire day can do for a person.”

  He doesn’t say anything as we walk arm in arm into the house. Abel Lee and the guys warsh up as we gather extra foldin’ chairs from the basement and place them around the table to accommodate everyone. Pops says grace and we all eat. There’s no talk of Abel Lee’s jailhouse visit. There’s no talk of the tampered water bottle or of the handkerchief. On this Sunday, we talk only of blessin’s and gratitude.

  Sawyer Jackson shares about his day yesterday and today. He talks excitedly about his new friends. I didn’t realize what a difference a park or a playground had on children, or the lack of one. Today, when normally everyone would play in their yards, they gather at the park. Kids play, parents sit and read or walk the cobblestone path around the perimeter of the playground, and some lie on blankets on the plush grass eatin’ snacks and just enjoyin’ the fall day.

  Kevin tells everyone about prayin’ to God for guidance on comin’ up with the perfect piece of furniture for George Beatty’s granddaughter. “I went to church and prayed, then I went home and prayed some more.” He laughs. “I woke up this mornin’ at 5:00 a.m. and God had answered my prayers.”

  He explains in detail his vision and the amount of work it’ll take to complete. Johnny and Rick don’t share their ideas. This is Kevin’s turn to shine and they let ’im. Abel Lee is excited and asks questions. It appears that this is takin’ his mind off of our problems.

  Later that night while lyin’ in bed, Abel Lee tells me the man he saw in jail didn’t tell him anything. He said he’s no closer to knowin’ who is responsible for the tainted water bottle than he was this mornin’.

  Abel Lee

  I lie in bed awake while Savannah Mae sleeps. The more I think about this stalker, the more I think it may be a person trying to scare but not hurt Savannah Mae, but I don’t know who or why. I showed her a picture of Josh and she said it wasn’t him. I’d like to hear from Maria to see if she has actually seen Josh. Maybe Josh didn’t really go to Vegas like he said. Maybe he’s really hanging out in Rose Farm lurking in the shadows to attack Savannah Mae.

  Rolling over on my side away from her, I pray that this nightmare ends soon.

  The next morning Savannah Mae and I shower and get ready for a day in the furniture shop. At Momma’s request and at Sawyer Jackson’s insistence, we take Sawyer Jackson to the farm so Momma can watch him. Mia is also there dropping off Harley.

  Mia and Savannah Mae work inside the shop, and since it’s her business, I try to stay out of it. The guys are in the workshop steadily working on new furniture pieces. Johnny’s at school and Rick is at his own workshop welding pieces together for his own sculptures. I’m happy and thrilled to see the progress with our new house. When traffic inside the shop slows, I walk over and discuss a few additions to the house with the foreman. I’ve been thinking and recently started researching privacy fences and security gates, and I think it’s best to have a security gate installed. It seems I can’t protect Savannah Mae on my own, so this will be useful to have.

  I call the detective at the police department and he still doesn’t know anything. Of course he doesn’t; it’s only Monday and this happened on Saturday.

  Chapter Seventeen (Country Love)

  Abel Lee

  It’s been three months since the furniture store opened and someone gave Savannah Mae a bottle of tainted water. A lot has happened and yet at the same time, very few developments have happened. Maria called and said Josh is home with his new bride. I actually spoke to him and he apologized for his years of anger towards me about what happened to his sister. He said he was young and it wasn’t until his fiancée, now wife, did research on things like this and the effects that drugs have on different people that he realized I was innocent. After we finished talking, I disconnected the call and was glad it wasn’t him, but discouraged because I still have no idea who it could have been. Fortunately, nothing else has happened since that isolated incident. Well, I’m not sure it was an isolated incident. I keep thinking that something is going to happen and it put me on high alert. It’s almost impossible to move forward and put this mess behind me.

  The detective called when they had some news. The water bottle was filled only with water; no drugs or chemicals were added. The handkerchief was a generic brand and could be purchased at any Wal-Mart or K-Mart.

  The guys from college pled guilty and have already been sentenced.

  Winter is fast upon us. The baby is growing and today we find out the gender. Savannah Mae and I were adamant with our family that we wanted to find out the gender in private. Not because we don’t want our friends and family there, but because the room is so small and only a few people can be present. I wanted Momma and Pops to be there and, of course, Savannah Mae wanted her mom, daddy, and sister to be there.

  Sawyer Jackson and I wait patiently as the doctor situates the device on Savannah Mae’s belly. He adds more lubricant and moves the wand around. We stand in the darkened room watching the black and white monitor while we listen to the rhythmic beat of my baby’s heart. I haven’t missed a single doctor’s appointment since my wife’s pregnancy. We both hold Savannah Mae’s hand while we wait. Sawyer Jackson holds his momma’s hand, and I wrap my large hand around both of theirs.

  This appointment is different from the others. We hear swishing noises before a hand comes into view on the monitor. It disappears and a foot comes into view. My tiny baby has body parts that I can actually identify. I’ve been present for previous ultrasounds, that I only pretended to know what body parts the doctor was pointing at and describing. For all I knew, we could have been looking at a lizard baby. Savannah Mae wipes away a tear and I can’t look away.

  “Is that a hand?” Sawyer Jackson asks as he points to the monitor.

  “It is,” the doctor says.

  “That baby has little hands, too.” Sawyer Jackson pouts.

  We all chuckle. “Do you want to know if you’ll have a baby brother, or a baby sister?”

  “I want a baby brother,” Sawyer Jackson says.

  The main concern for this pregnancy was if our baby had the extra chromosome to cause Down syndrome. It doesn’t and nothing else mattered. We made the doctor double check and run the tests again to be certain. Although the gender of the baby makes no difference to me or to Savannah Mae, Sawyer Jackson wanted to know. I guess we wanted to know, too. Samantha Marie and our parents really wanted to know. Now that I think about it, Mia wanted to know, too: “As soon as you find out, you better call me.” Those were her exact words before we left for the appointment.

  “Let me see what I can do for you, Sawyer Jackson.” We watch intently as the doctor moves the wand around Savannah Mae’s belly. She squeezes my hand as we watch the monitor. For the most part, I have no idea what I’m looking at. Everything looks blurry. Sometimes, a body part will appear that I can identify.

  “Would you be disappointed if you had a baby sister?” the doctor asks. My heart skips a beat and Savannah Mae lies still.

  “I want a baby brother.” Sawyer Jackson says again.

  The doctor smiles and says, “Let me look again.”

  “You’re killing me, Doc.” I say. He looks up at me over his glasses and smiles, before looking back at the screen. My heart can’t take it much longer. It didn’t matter what we were having until I was this close to finding out what it is.

  “Can you tell what it is?” Savannah Mae asks.

  “I can. Do you see this thing here sticking out?”

  “It’s a boy,” Savannah Mae says excitedly.

  “I’m havin’ a baby brother?” Sawyer Jackson asks.

  I ask, “We’re having a son?”

  “Almost certainly, you’re the proud parent
s of another son.”

  I look again at the arrow that’s pointing to my son’s boy part. It looks nothing like mine and I still can’t be certain it’s a boy. “You’re certain, that’s a boy?” I ask, pointing at the monitor.

  “I’m pretty certain. I don’t see anything that indicating it’s a girl.”

  I lean in and kiss my wife. I feel warmth on my cheek and I know Savannah Mae is crying. “It’s a boy,” I whisper.

  “It’s another boy,” she confirms.

  “Yay, it’s a baby brother,” Sawyer Jackson says excitedly.

  The doctor laughs as he prints off still photos of the baby. I lean down and stay close to Savannah Mae. My mind is trying to adjust that I’m having a son. We’re having a son. “Our son has a name,” I say when I remember Savannah Mae’s baby’s name.

  “He does,” she smiles. “Stetson Lee,” she whispers.

  Stetson Lee, Savannah Mae, and Sawyer Jackson, I say over and over in my head. It’s a bit of a tongue twister, but if it’s what Savannah Mae wants, then she’ll have it. “It’s perfect.”

  When we get the appointment for the next month’s visit, we turn to leave. The waiting area is full. Not of patients, but of family members. Our family members. Savannah Mae laughs and squeals, and everyone stands. “It’s a boy,” she blurts out louder than she should. Everyone screams and the nurses in the check-in window are laughing. I stand tall and proud. It takes a special man to make a boy. If it were a girl, I would say the same thing. Sawyer Jackson smiles and stands beside me. “I thought we told you guys not to come,” Savannah Mae says.

  “Since when do I ever listen to my sister.”

  Savannah Mae and Samantha Marie both laugh and hug. “I’m glad you’re here. I’m glad y’all are here,” she says, looking around the room.

  Once we get the congratulations in order, everyone moves outside to the sidewalk and to the parking lot. I watch Momma — she is all smiles. She doesn’t seem disappointed at all. This will be another grandson for both sides of the family. So far, there are no granddaughters on either side. A daughter would have been nice, but having a son feels amazing.

  Mia tells us that she closed the store down for lunch. This isn’t uncommon for Mia and Savannah Mae to do. Although they mostly work during their lunch break, on occasion they’ll close down and enjoy lunch at Peaches Place or outside in the workshop with the other staff members. We chat for a bit in the parking lot before we all leave to get back to work.

  Later that night during the community meal at the church, Sawyer Jackson announces that he is having a baby brother. Pearl and her family come over and hug Savannah Mae and pat her protruding baby bump. I stand back and watch. I watch my beautiful pregnant wife as she looks radiant. She carefully rests her hand on her belly and pats it softly. Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined that this would be my life. Just over a year ago, I was preparing to fight in a championship fight. If I had won, I would have gone on to fight again and again. I’ve never been so happy over a loss in my entire life. That loss has led me back to my country roots, my family, and the most incredible woman I have ever met. Never did I imagine that I would be married with a four-year-old son, and a child on the way. Of course, Sawyer Jackson isn’t my biological son, but I love him as if he is. I don’t call him my stepson, or my son, or Savannah Mae’s son. None of those titles seems to fit in with our family. If he didn’t already have a father, I would claim that title and wear it proudly.

  Although the meal is a community meal and it’s free, it feels like a meal we would have at Peaches Place with friends and family. I would eat the community meal every night if they were open.

  As usual, everyone is in a good mood. They are laughing and visiting with friends they haven’t seen since last week. Winter is here and the struggles that many face with the high heating bills will soon be affecting everyone in the room. I don’t want to see the same problems the community faced last year when the blizzard hit. We lost a good man, Larry Adams, when he didn’t have the money to warm his house. Since we are building the house, we had to clear several wooded acres. We told our friends and posted flyers in the church and at Peaches Place for free firewood. The trees are cut down, but it still took some work to cut them into firewood. I need to do my part to make sure everyone is fed and warm this winter.

  Savannah Mae and I walk around and speak to everyone before we start with the cleanup. Sawyer Jackson joins us at the insistence of his mother. He’d rather play with Harley in the corner of the room. I don’t recall any other time when I felt so proud. I think now I understand the smile that Pops wore on a daily basis, and still does.

  “So, Abel, what are you gonna do with another boy in the family?” Mark asks.

  I don’t need to think about that. Looking at Savannah Mae, I already know the answer. “I’m gonna spoil the only girl in the house.”

  She leans into me and I kiss her. Sawyer Jackson yells, “Cooties,” and we all laugh.

  Even though we are in a room with family and friends, I’m on guard for something to happen, someone to appear, or something to go wrong. I see Savannah Mae looking around, and I know she is also concerned. She doesn’t drink coffee from the carafe like she used to. She drinks beverages only from a can when we’re out in public. She now fears that someone can tamper with the plastic bottles.

  Everyone stays and cleans up before heading home. As we walk home, I see a light on in the workshop. Ethan’s car is parked in the employee parking lot, so we walk over to see what’s going on. He’s in the back when we enter unannounced.

  “Anyone here?” Savannah Mae shouts.

  “I’ll be right out.”

  Sawyer Jackson looks around at all of Rick’s sculptures. Savannah Mae and I stand near the door.

  “What brings you out this evenin’?” Ethan asks as he walks out of the back room, wiping his hands off with a rag.

  “Just finishin’ up over at the church. You should have stopped over for dinner. Nelly made beef stew, salad, and homemade rolls.”

  “Hey, Buddy,” he says, looking at Sawyer Jackson. He dries off his hands and says, “I was thinkin’ about it, but I wanted to work on things for the shop.”

  I walk further into the workshop and look around. “We won’t keep you. We saw the light on and thought we’d stop over.”

  “I’m just getting’ ready to head home myself.”

  “What are you working on?” I finally ask, taking Sawyer Jackson by the hand.

  He looks in my direction. “The finishin’ touches for Mr. Beatty’s order. Dad said he’ll be here next week to look it over.”

  “He and his wife are flying in next Thursday.” I watch as he maneuvers around the room towards the front door. “If all goes well, he’ll be one very happy customer.”

  “That’s the plan. I’m headin’ home. Y’all comin’ in or stayin’?”

  Savannah Mae says as she watches Ethan, “We’re leavin’, too. Just stopped in when we saw the lights.”

  I lock up and we wait for Ethan to pull out in his car before we walk the short distance home. I bathe Sawyer Jackson while Savannah Mae gets ready for bed. The house is filled with boxes as we prepare for the move into the new house.

  She says, “Hey, I meant to ask you what’s up with the gate at the new house.”

  I wrap a towel around Sawyer Jackson.

  “Your pajamas are on your bed,” she says as he walks past her.

  “Are they the Buzz Lightyear ones?”

  “They are.”

  “Yay, thanks.”

  I stand and dry off my hands. “It’s a security gate. I thought it would be a good idea since the water bottle incident.”

  “You mean it’s a security gate where there’s a man who stands in a guard shack 24 hours a day?”

  “No, not exactly. It’ll have a keypad and we’ll have a code to push when we enter or leave.” We’re still standing in the tiny bathroom. This is obviously important to her.

  “How will ou
r family and friends get in?”

  “Some will have the code and can come in when and as often as they want. Others will have to push a button and then they’ll wait to get buzzed in.”

  “You know you live in Rose Farm, right?”

  I want to laugh but I don’t. “I do.”

  “And you think we need all that security in this small town?”

  “Until I find out who’s watching you, yes, I do.”

  She mumbles something before walking away.

  Savannah Mae

  The next mornin’, my sister’s watchin’ Sawyer Jackson. She has plans to take him to see a matinee at the movies in Zanesville. As they leave to have breakfast at Nicol’s Restaurant in South Zanesville, Abel Lee and I also leave to begin our day at work. He walks with me to the shop when I see the foreman standin’ at the security gate of the new house. I quickly change my mind, and I walk towards the foreman instead. I expect Abel Lee to follow, but he stands there shakin’ his head with a smile on his face.

  “Hey, I see the gate’s about done.”

  “Yes, Ma’am. Been workin’ on it for a while. It won’t be completely done until next week. Wanted to leave it open until the guys are done workin’.”

  “So, y’all be done next week on everything?”

  “Yes, Ma’am, on Friday. You’re husband’s in a bit of a hurry to get moved in.”

  “And my husband also told you to install a gate.”

  He looks behind me. “And a security fence,” he adds. I hear footsteps and I know Abel Lee is walkin’ up behind me. I place my hand on my belly, pattin’ gently to calm my kickin’ baby.

  “Hey, Abel,” he says when Abel Lee gets close enough.

  He doesn’t say anything, so I assume Able Lee nodded.

  “Is there a problem, Savannah Mae?”

  I watch the foreman’s eyes and he watches Abel Lee ask the question. I think the foreman’s worried that he’s done something wrong.

  I smile and turn slightly so I can face Abel Lee, who is now standin’ beside me. “I was just gettin’ ready to tell… I’m sorry, what’s your name.”

  “It’s Bob, Ma’am.”