I wanted to take a sample of his tone and study it under a microscope because I couldn’t see how someone could be both bored and confrontational inside a handful of words. It was art.
Before I could gamble on another question, he waved at the expanse of Thomas land fanned out before us. “What are you going to do with all this?”
I gave him the best answer I could cobble together. “Not a clue.” I wandered down the path leading toward the huge heart of wildflowers. “I had no idea Twin Tulip would be mine. Lollie never said anything.”
“I’m sorry,” he said from several paces behind me. “About Lollie.”
I glanced over my shoulder at him. “Thank you. She always liked you.”
“You don’t need to bless me with the approval of people no longer living,” he said. “I get too much of that as it is.”
“She always liked you,” I repeated. “You know she liked you.”
After a pause, he said, “She was one of the good ones. I tolerated her.”
We walked in silence for several minutes, circling the wildflowers and starting toward the tulip fields.
“Are you getting bulbs in the ground come November?” he asked.
I stared at the field, now nothing more than topsy-turvy rows of weeds and the occasional patch of wildflowers. “I don’t know. Maybe? I wouldn’t even know where to start with that.”
“I can—” He stopped, scratched the back of his neck. “I can send some guys down here to help you when things slow down for the season.”
Since I couldn’t think more than a few days ahead at a time, I didn’t jump on his offer. I didn’t say anything at all. We looped back toward the kitchen garden and the yellow barn, silent for several minutes. I gestured to the gentle hillside leading down to the cove. “This is the very best spot on the whole farm. Isn’t it beautiful up here?”
“Yeah,” he murmured.
I glanced over and found him nodding at me, his cap pulled low and his eyes shadowed.
“No, not up here. Not this part. The cove,” I said, pointing again. “I always told Lollie this would be the perfect spot for weddings. Can’t you see a little arbor here and seats there? The photos would be amazing.” I took a sip of water. “You know what would be even better? A space for wedding receptions too. And gardens. More gardens. Three seasons of gardens. Not just five minutes of tulips in the spring. It’s so unique and charming here. I just know there would be massive demand.”
“Then you should do that,” he said.
I laughed. “Build a wedding venue? No. I should not be anywhere near weddings right now, and that sort of project takes time, which isn’t something I have. I’m only here until next summer. I can’t keep Twin Tulip after that.”
Even through the shadow of his hat, I could read his scowl. “What?”
I went for my water again, buying myself a second before unloading this story on him. “I have a year to move here permanently and get married. If I don’t do both, the Thomas land is handed over to the town’s historic trust.”
Noah folded his arms over his chest. “Says who?”
“Lollie’s will.”
“That won’t hold up in court,” he said. “I want to see this will. None of that sounds right.”
“That was my reaction too,” I said, “but it’s what Lollie wanted.” I shook my head. “Since I can’t keep Twin Tulip, I’m just taking this year to enjoy it while I can. I’ll go back to Boston next summer.”
“I want to see that will,” he repeated. “I can’t imagine the town has the interest or resources to fight you for the land. If you contested it, they’d probably fold. Litigating a matter like this isn’t in their best interest.”
“So, you’re a real big-time lawyer,” I mused, taking in the man wearing the hell out of jeans and a t-shirt. “Just like you’d always planned.”
“Why don’t you want to fight this?”
“Because what am I going to do with this place?”
“You’ll build the wedding thing,” he said. “It’s a good idea. I get so many inquiries about renting out our barns and sheds for weddings and events but we need all the space we have. We don’t have an inch to rent and I’ve looked. You’re right. The interest is there.”
“But my life is in Boston. My friends and my job are in Boston. I’m taking a break from everything right now but I can’t stay here forever—and then there’s the issue of getting married. I’m not optimistic about my prospects, Noah.”
