“Maybe you should know . . .” Tess hesitated, took a deep breath, then continued. “He sent me a second offer. I received it this morning.”
“But you won’t take it.” At Tess’s hesitation, Amy widened her eyes. “You’re not going to, are you?”
“I need to think about my future, Amy. And Gabe needs to think about his. Neither of us have the capital to turn things around here.” Tess flung out her arm, encompassing the entire property in one large swoop. “But Tapley does. He’ll make it a showcase. A horse in every stall, whitewashed fences, a seeded pasture. He’s even talking about building a small grandstand near the paddock. Whisper Lane will become the stables Rusty and I always dreamed of, even if we’re not the ones making the dream come true.”
Amy shook her head in exasperation. This could not be happening. “I’m surprised he’s keeping the stables. Though I guess it could be a draw for some of the residents.”
“What residents?”
“The residents who build here.”
“No one’s going to build here,” Tess said. “Tapley wants a working horse farm. To raise and train racing stock.”
“No he doesn’t.”
“I saw the plans.”
More puzzle pieces attached to the picture in Amy’s head. It was brilliant, really.
“Dylan wants to build a mixed-use development here,” she said. “Houses, condos, retail shops, and restaurants. He knew you wouldn’t sell to a developer—”
“Of course I wouldn’t.”
“So he lied to you. Once all the documents are signed and the deal is done, he’ll revert to his original plan. Believe me, he has absolutely no interest in training horses.”
“But the county would never let him build something like that here. This land is zoned agriculture. It’s protected.”
“Until someone gets a variance. He’s got the clout and the money to do that. In fact, I’m pretty sure he already has at least one county commissioner on his payroll.”
“Who?”
“I don’t know. At least not for certain.” Amy had made a point of chatting with each of the commissioners at the Heritage Celebration and was researching their voting records and campaign donations. But she didn’t want to make premature accusations.
“That seems farfetched. Even for Tapley.”
“Why would I lie to you, Tess? He’ll get Whisper Lane, and then he’ll go after AJ’s property.”
“Are you sure this Logan knows what he’s talking about?”
“I’m positive.”
Tess scrutinized her expression, then nodded knowingly. “Of course, you do. You’re dating him.”
“We’ve gone out a few times.”
“What about Gabe?”
Amy squirmed under Tess’s harsh gaze. But she could hardly tell Tess she was in love with her nephew.
“And here I thought . . .” Tess made a disgusted sound. “Does Gabe know you’re seeing someone else?”
“Gabe is seeing someone else too.”
“No,” Tess said firmly, “he’s not. He loves you.” She clammed up, apparently horrified by what she’d just said.
“Then who is Ellen?”
“Ellen is his cousin’s widow.”
Then why didn’t he say so? Why didn’t I ask?
Holding on to her exasperation, Amy fired up a retort. “He seems to be fond of her.”
“He is. But not like that.”
Not trusting herself to speak, Amy grasped Daisy’s halter and led her to the stables. Tess hadn’t meant to say that Gabe loved her, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t true. But if he did, why hadn’t he told her?
The answer was plain—he might love her, but he didn’t like the person she’d become. His love was based on a childhood crush. That was all. Perhaps she should forget her crazy plan.
As she brushed Daisy’s soft beige coat, she imagined how it would be. The two of them riding back to the Hearth as they had as teens. Pulling out the loose stone and removing the tin box they’d hidden there. Opening it up to reveal its secret contents.
She’d give him the arrowhead, slipping it into his hand as he had slipped it into hers at her parents’ memorial service. He’d be surprised to find it in their keepsake box. She’d tell him how she’d come back here before leaving for college. That the Hearth was the safest place she knew to keep the most precious thing she owned.
The arrowhead he had given to her on the saddest day of her life.
A strange gift, but nothing could have been more meaningful.
She’d ask him if he remembered when they found it. And of course he would say yes. And then, there at the Hearth, he would kiss her like he had all those years ago.
She slightly smiled. No, not quite like that. They were adults now, and the kiss would be more than the tentative touch of two adolescents.
How she cherished the memory of that first kiss.
How she longed for the second.
If he kissed her again, she’d never kiss anyone else as long as she lived. First and last—that would be their story.
If he truly loved her.
And if he would have her again.
Tess stood by the fence, reluctant to follow Amy into the barn. All the things Amy had said about Tapley’s plans—they couldn’t be true. Could they?
The misgivings Tess felt toward the man made it easier to trust Amy than to trust him. Especially since she hadn’t been able to shake her suspicion that he’d been behind the break-in.
Besides, Amy was obviously concerned that Tapley intended to acquire more than just Whisper Lane. Though he must be exceedingly deluded if he expected to snatch the Sullivan property from under AJ’s nose. The Somers/Sullivan clan weren’t divided anymore—not like they were last year over the Misty Willow homestead. Tess had no doubt that AJ, Amy, and Brett would pool their resources to protect the land that had belonged to their grandmother from Tapley’s development designs.
She seldom yearned for riches, but in this moment, she wished money didn’t have to be a factor in her decisions. Leaning against the fence, she prayed for guidance. At least she intended to. Instead, her thoughts mingled with her prayer, centering on Gabe then Amy and finally her own need to trust in God’s protection from the unscrupulous and deceitful.
A year ago, that was Amy.
But that was not who Amy was now.
The young woman had been stunned speechless when Tess blurted out that Gabe loved her. Had she really believed he was in love with Ellen?
If only.
Tess wishing it were so would never make it happen. Perhaps if Amy wasn’t living across the road, if she and Gabe hadn’t become reacquainted, he could have found happiness with Ellen. But it would have been a second-place kind of happiness. Both of them—all three of them—deserved better.
Feeling a heavenly push, Tess entered the stables and found Amy in the stall, brushing Daisy’s buckskin coat.
Tess leaned over the half-door.
“Gabe and Ellen went to high school together. They dated a few times, but she fell in love with Randy.”
“Poor Gabe,” Amy said dismissively.
Tess ignored Amy’s childish tone. “He moped around for a while, but it wasn’t all that serious. She didn’t break his heart.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
“I shouldn’t have said what I did out there. But since I did, and since you asked about Ellen, I thought you should know.”
Amy finally faced her, as if testing Tess’s expression for honesty. “Thank you.”
“I want to thank you too. For telling me about Tapley’s plans.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I won’t sell to him.” She’d have to do something, but it wouldn’t be that.
“Will you sell to someone else?”
Tess hesitated, wishing God would tell her what to do. Whom to trust. But she knew that wasn’t the way things usually worked. God speaks through our circumstances, Oswald Chambers had said. Something like that,
anyway. What was God saying to her?
Through Gabe, God had given her hope. Through Amy, God had given her a warning.
But a definitive answer still lay outside her grasp.
“I don’t know what I’ll do. Except wait for God to guide me.”
Amy gave her a strange look, which changed to determination. “While you’re waiting, I’m going to pay a little visit to Mr. Dylan Tapley.”
“Why?”
“I want him to know that I know what he’s up to.” Anger fueled her words. “And that he can take his development project somewhere else. No one around here wants that kind of traffic, that kind of disruption to our lives.”
Tess stood back, amazed at the outburst, then laughed. “Our lives?”
“That’s right,” Amy said, obviously annoyed at Tess’s laughter.
“Amy. Have you truly become one of us?”
She paused, grew thoughtful, then smiled. “I suppose I have. Though I never realized I wanted to be until now.”
“I’m not so sure of that,” Tess said. “I remember times when your dad had to bribe you to get you to leave here. Though he had a difficult time coming up with something you wanted more than being on Marigold.”
“Whatever happened to her?”
“I sold her a couple of years ago. It wasn’t easy, but she went to a good home. The family had a teenage girl who adored her. That girl reminded me a lot of you.”
Amy slowly brushed Daisy’s mane, and for a moment, Tess was in the past. A day much like today when Amy, a much younger Amy, brushed Marigold’s mane. Daisy was the spitting image of her mother, and though Amy had matured, her long blonde hair still flowed past her shoulders. Tess blinked, and the younger Amy disappeared.
“I wanted my dad to buy Marigold for my birthday. I thought he was going to, but . . .” She sighed heavily.
“I didn’t know,” Tess said. “Though I suppose I should have suspected.” All these years later, there was no need to tell her that Tess wouldn’t have sold Marigold back then.
“Rusty didn’t tell you?”
Tess arched her eyebrows. “Did Rusty know?”
“He and my dad talked a long time the last time we were here. Before the crash.” Amy gave a small laugh. “I remember sitting on the paddock fence waiting and waiting. It was so hard to be patient, but I didn’t want to interrupt. They were walking beneath the apple trees at the side of the house. All the way home, I wanted to ask Dad what they had talked about, but I didn’t want him to suspect I already knew.”
Tess’s heart jarred inside her chest as the memory came rushing back. She remembered it clearly now, the conversation Rusty had with Mr. Somers, the last conversation they’d had before the plane crash.
It had nothing to do with Marigold.
32
Amy waved as Tess stopped her truck in front of the cottage gate the next day. Ignoring her aching back and leg muscles, she hurried around to the passenger’s side, set her picnic basket on the floor, and climbed in.
“This is so much fun,” she said as she fastened her seat belt. “Thanks for asking me.”
“Glad you could come along,” Tess said. “But I didn’t mean for you to bring anything. I only thought you’d like to see what goes on in the fields.”
“I do.” Amy wanted to bounce up and down on the seat, she felt so giddy. The feeling was strange, especially given its reason. Even a month ago, she couldn’t have cared less what the farmers were doing, let alone want to have lunch with them. Strange things were happening to her, as if she were being drawn into a warm and comfortable place and away from darkness.
“What did you bring?” Tess asked.
“I know what you’re thinking,” Amy said mischievously. “And of course you’re right. I don’t often cook. But I promised Gabe I’d make him a lemon meringue pie. Gran’s recipe. So that’s what I made.”
Tess looked impressed. “I remember Joyanna’s pie. It took all kinds of ribbons at the county fair. Are you going to enter this year?”
The question took Amy by surprise. “I never thought about it. I wouldn’t even know how.”
“Easy-peasy. You just fill out an entry form.”
“I guess I can do that,” she said doubtfully.
Tess chuckled. “The fair is still a couple of weeks away. You’ve got time to decide.”
“I don’t know. It’s Gran’s recipe, but . . .”
“But what?”
“I’m not Gran.”
Tess shot her an amused glance. “As lovely a person as Joyanna was, God didn’t need for there to be two of her. So he only made one.”
“I suppose you and Gran visited a lot. Living as close as you did.”
“We did sometimes. Though of course we were both busy with our own lives. I had the stables, and she had a fairly active social life until she took that turn.”
“Did she ever talk about me?”
Tess didn’t answer at first, and Amy stared out the passenger window. It was a question she shouldn’t have asked, but something had compelled her.
“She was very proud of you,” Tess finally said. “Proud of your accomplishments—graduating from that prestigious college with all those honors, how you got to rub elbows with all those important people you’ve met.”
“Gran didn’t really care about those people. She thought they were too full of themselves.”
“Was she right?”
“I suppose so.” Amy studied her fingernails. The French manicure needed professional attention, but she’d canceled her appointment after Tess invited her to go to the fields. “Did she ever say she was disappointed in me?”
“She worried about you. About all three of you. But that’s what grandparents do. They worry.”
“We gave her enough reasons.”
They rode in silence for a moment, then Tess spoke. “I think she’s smiling down on you, Amy. She would want you to be happy and to be healthy. I’ve seen a difference in you just in the short time you’ve been at the cottage.”
“Do you mean that?”
“You have a glow and a sparkle instead of a surly frown. It’s good to see.”
“Maybe I have more reason to smile these days.”
“Gabe?”
“I so hope he likes the pie.”
Tess laughed. “I’m sure he will.” She maneuvered the truck down the long lane leading to the field where Gabe and AJ were helping Jason harvest his wheat. As she parked beside Cassie’s van, the men headed their way. Amy helped arrange the food on the tailgate of Tess’s pickup—fried chicken, green beans kept warm in a penguin pot, and homemade rolls.
“Looks like you’re about to pop,” Tess said to Cassie. “Shouldn’t you be at home with your feet up?”
“I feel great except for the cramps and the heat and the swollen ankles,” Cassie said. “I’m ready whenever she is.”
Amy felt a touch of envy when Jason arrived and greeted Cassie with a kiss. His love for her shone in his eyes, and he obviously thought she was beautiful despite her bulge and awkward posture.
After handing Jason a plastic cup filled with sweet tea, Amy gazed toward the field, shading her eyes against the glare of the sun. Gabe walked toward her. Dusty. Sweaty. And more attractive than anyone she’d ever seen.
Gabe took the basket Amy held out to him. “What do you have in there?” he asked.
“What have I been promising you?”
He gave her a knowing look and licked his lips. “The elusive lemon meringue pie.”
Amy nodded and laughed.
“Sorry, guys,” Gabe said over his shoulder. “The dessert is all mine.”
“I don’t think so,” AJ said. “I’ve been craving Gran’s lemon meringue for months now.”
“You’ll get a slice,” Amy said. “I made one pie for Gabe and one for the rest of you.”
“Oh, I see how it is,” AJ said. “Better a little than none, I guess.”
Gabe removed his Stetson and wiped sweat from his forehead
. “Did you really bake me a pie all my own?”
“I did,” she said. “The catch is, you have to eat it all—whether you like it or not.”
“That’s not going to be a problem.” Gabe set the basket on the tailgate with the rest of the spread. They filled their plates, and he and Amy sat a little off to themselves.
“I was surprised to see you arrive with Tess,” he said. “Even more surprised about the pie.”
“She called me this morning to see if I wanted to tag along. And then I scurried into the kitchen and got busy.”
“I’m glad you did.”
Amy bent her head and slightly lifted the brim of his Stetson so their eyes met. “Me too,” she said quietly.
If he’d been used to kissing her, he would have kissed her now. But he was still holding out for that special moment. Him sweaty from the fields while she was fresh as a daisy after a spring rain—this wasn’t that moment. As the hopeful gleam in her eyes dimmed, he wished he could tell her that. But he didn’t know the words.
On the drive home, Tess unconsciously gripped the steering wheel as she neared the cottage. She’d been up late last night and early this morning since two more horses had taken ill. While she tended them, her thoughts had been troubled by what Amy had said about her dad’s last conversation with Rusty. Once Tess had returned to the house, she’d written about what she should do in her prayer journal. Now she prayed for wisdom.
“Would you mind coming in for a few minutes?” Amy asked as Tess slowed before the cottage. “I want to talk to you about something.”
Guess that’s a sign.
“Great minds,” Tess said. “I have something I want to talk to you about too.”
“Is it okay if I go first? I have a great idea,” Amy said mysteriously. “And I wanted to see what you thought about it.”
Tess couldn’t get anything else out of Amy until they were inside the cottage with tall glasses of chilled blackberry lemonade.
“I’m not sure where to begin,” Amy said. “All I know is that I can’t have Dylan building a subdivision north of this property.”
Tess wasn’t sure what she’d expected, but this wasn’t it. “Believe me, Amy. I don’t want to sell. But I have to think of the future.”
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