“I make no promises about that!” Gram shoved me. “Get going now. Leave us be.”
* * *
Pop and I worked hard on the tomato greenhouses until it was time to go back to the house for dinner. I’d brought a change of clothes so that I could shower before we ate, and considering how dirty and sweaty I was, that had been a good call.
Gram and Emma laid platters of hot food and cold salads on the table, and all of us dug in to eat. But even as I consumed massive quantities of ham, potato salad, green beans and biscuits, I kept my eyes on Emma, curious to see how she interacted with my grandparents. She and Gram seemed to have developed an easy rapport while cooking; they joked around as they passed food, and Gram beamed at me, which I was sure meant that she approved.
Pop was his typical jovial self, teasing Emma about being a Yankee. When he ribbed her about buying the trailer sight unseen from Bobby Lucas, I tensed, worried Emma might be offended, but she only laughed.
“If you could have seen my face when I drove out to that field and caught sight of my new, uh, home!” She shook her head. “That was after a banner morning, which had included a long overnight drive from Georgia, where my car had broken down, and a lecture from Mira about overstepping my boundaries. I was a mess. If it hadn’t been for Jenny coming to help me out, I probably would’ve turned around and gone back to Philadelphia.”
I winked at her. “I’m glad you didn’t.”
Emma shot me a saucy look. “You mean because you’d have to find yet another naturopath to fill the opening?”
“Well, yeah.” I nodded. “That would’ve been a mess.”
“Oh, Deacon.” Gram swatted my arm and shook her head. “You’re such a smartass sometimes. Don’t pay him any mind, Emma. I can tell you that he’s had nothing but glowing reports of your work since you started at the hospital.” She lowered her voice as though I couldn’t hear her perfectly well. “And he’s had complimentary things to say about you outside of work, too.”
Emma raised one eyebrow. “Is that true, Deacon? Do you really say nice things about me behind my back?”
I shrugged. “Eh, maybe once or twice. You’re not bad, I guess. I mean, for a hippie woo-woo doctor, that is.”
My grandmother pushed back from the table. “I’m going to save you from yourself here, my boy. It’s time to clean up and do the dishes.”
Emma rose, too. “I’ll help.”
“In this family, everyone helps with clean-up,” Gram informed her. “We’ve all been working hard, we all ate, so we all pitch in.”
And we did, working together in easy camaraderie. As I dried dishes, I stood behind Emma, who was washing, and I managed to cop a couple of subtle ass pats. She glared at me over her shoulder, but I had a hunch that she’d enjoyed it as much as I had.
After we finished, Gram led Emma into the living room to look at old photo albums, and I sat on the porch with Pop, both of us enjoying a beer and the quiet afternoon.
“How many are you hiring on for the fall and winter this year, Pop?” I took a swig of my beer and wiped my mouth. We were moving into what was the busiest season for farmers in this part of the country, and even when I’d been living here, my grandfather had always needed more hands to pick crops, to help with daily maintenance, and to package for the market, for our restaurant customers and for deliveries.
“Eh.” He rolled one shoulder. “Thinking maybe two. We have three WWOOFer families supposed to arrive end of this month, so between them, a couple of hired hands, you on occasion . . .” He cast me a teasing glance. “We should make out all right.”
WWOOF, or World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms, was an organization that linked farms like ours with people who wanted to work on them. Some of the WWOOFers only worked now and then, spending a month of vacation on a farm, while for others, it was a way of life, traveling the world as they moved from farm to farm depending on the season. There were single men and women who were WOOFers, and there were also those who traveled with their entire family, raising children on the road and on a variety of farms. In exchange for their work, they received room and board during their stay as well as a portion of the produce from the farm.
“I’ll do whatever I can, but this year might be a tough one. We’re still getting everything up and running at the new wing.”
“I know.” Pop nodded. “I don’t count on your help, son. I appreciate it, but I know you have your own work to manage.” He rocked in silence for a moment. “Everything going all right there so far?”
“Yeah. No complaints. A few bumps in the road, sure, but overall, I think the patients are happy—and our staff is stellar. Mira and Maybelle did a great job putting together our team.”
“Good to hear.” He took a long pull of his beer. “I like Emma. She’s smart, she’s easy to be around—and she’s quite a looker, too.” Pop wiggled his eyebrows at me. “Plus, she keeps you on your toes. She’s not hanging on your every word. Seems like she can hold her own in any kind of situation.”
“You’re right about that. Emma’s not one to back down easily,” I agreed. “She’s got a sharp tongue when she senses injustice or if she thinks a patient isn’t getting the care he or she deserves. On the other hand, she’s also quick to admit when she’s made a mistake. She apologizes when she has to. That’s a rare combination of characteristics.”
“True.” Pop’s mouth twisted. “She’s nothing like Laurel, that’s for sure.”
I waited for the pang of pain that usually accompanied any mention of my ex-fiancée’s name, but it didn’t come.Interesting.
“She really isn’t.” I heaved out a long sigh. “And I’ve got to stop looking for her to act like Laurel. When I left Emma here with Gram this morning, I was bracing myself for a tantrum after. You know how Laurel used to get whenever we came out to visit, accusing me of going off to have fun while I dumped her at the house. But I think Emma genuinely had a good time with Gram.”
“I think so, too. Your grandmother’s taken a shine to her, I can tell that. But in the end, Deacon, it doesn’t matter what we think. You’re the one who has to be happy. You have to choose the woman who’s right for you.”
“I know.” I finished my beer and set the empty bottle carefully onto the porch floor next to me. Clearing my throat, I changed the subject. “Have you heard from Ted lately?”
