“Buy three more cows, then plant more berries, herbs, and heirloom tomatoes to sell at the farmers markets. I’ve heard there are fancy restaurants in Iowa City and Cedar Rapids, those farm-to-table types, that will pay good money for local organic produce. Not that I could get certified as organic. Having the inspectors out costssomuch money.”
Blaze chewed slowly and then swallowed before he reached over and plucked a strawberry out of the bowl by its leafy cap. “I’ll bet there are even more restaurants in Chicago that would be interested. If you could buy anything youwantedfor the farm, what would it be?”
“Horses.”
He raised an eyebrow at her again. “That was quick.”
Sarah chewed one of the sun-warmed strawberries, the juice filling her mouth, and swallowed, thinking about the beauty of a barn full of horses. “There are many other things I should buy that would return a positive ROI for the farm like cows or chickens, raised garden beds, and fancy heirloom vegetables, or big automated farm equipment, but you asked what Iwanted.Ilovehorses. I was one of the horse girls in 4-H, not the ones who raised a lamb or calf for slaughter.”
“I didn’t know they still had those competitions at state fairs.”
“Oh, absolutely. I usually place in the Western riding divisions at the Iowa State Fair. And my pies have always done well, of course. My baking still usually places. My sewing isn’t that good, but I usually enter something for fun.”
Blaze nodded, like the city boy was contemplating the notion of competing at the state fair. “The state fair is big here, isn’t it?”
“Iowa isthebig state fair. It’s the one that the movie musicalState Fairis about. It’s just fun, you know? It starts about five weeks from now. I just signed up for my entries last week.”
“That’s August. Huh. What kinds of pies?”
“Well, strawberry, of course. That’s why I have so many heirloom alpine bushes in the garden. Grocery-store berries can’t compete with homegrown. The lemon meringue category is cutthroat, though. I don’t do that one.”
“Interesting.” He popped another strawberry in his mouth.
“The canning categories are fun. I can my produce for the winter anyway, so it’s fun to enter some of my preserves. It’s ten dollars to enter ten categories, and I usually get several prizes.”
“Sounds like good ROI.”
“The prizes can be big bags of flour or specialty things. My good stand mixer was first prize in the chocolate cake category. Inevercould have afforded one otherwise.”
“But whyhorses?”Blaze asked.
Sarah stared out the back window at the empty country road outside and pondered, chewing, before she answered. “Because they’re good for the soul, you know?”
Blaze nodded and ate another bite.
“Horses are good people. I mean, there are a few jerks, just like humans. But for the most part, they have good souls. They’re like dogs, like that. And they’re smart. Riding and taking care of them is soothing. Charlie really helped me get over my parents’ passing. I cried with Muffintop, but Charlie showed me why I should go on and keep the farm.”
Blaze was watching her while he held another strawberry, his blue eyes not wavering in his intensity. “Charlie sounds like a special horse.”
“He’s special to me, but most horses have empathy like that. A good horse will restore your faith in the world.”
“Sounds like horses could help people,” he said.
“They’re not magic, and they’re not a replacement for a good therapist, I’m sure. But there’s nothing as good for the inside of a person as the outside of a horse, you know?”
Blaze chuckled two chuffs, a sound that still seemed alien to Sarah. “Interesting.”
“YourVets in Crisispeople should pair your veterans up with horses. It would be good for them. Surely there are stables where your people live who need someone to comb their horses and muck out their stalls.”
Blaze set down his fork, loaded with a massive chunk of potatoes. “Interesting that you put it that way.”
Sarah chewed her bite of potatoes. She did have to admit, she was pretty darn good at making crispy potatoes. A lifetime of cooking what grows on the farm will do that. She had no idea how to cook rice or anything exotic like that. “But that’s all just pie in the sky. There’s no way I could afford even one hired hand, let alone five, let alonehorses.Having a plan for that kind of scenario is a waste of time.”
“Right,” he mused, “Plans never survive first contact with the enemy, butplanningis everything.”
Sarah glanced out the screen door at the dirt road outside. No dust clouds were scuttling above the corn, so no one was driving out there. “How long do you think we have before someone comes looking for us?”
Blaze chewed and glanced at the road, too, and must have seen the same lack of evidence of anyone out there. He swallowed and said, “Twist may have been tracking my phone before I wiped it, when we were heading north and stayed overnight in Stony Point. That route looks like we were making a run for the Canadian border. Hopefully, they won’t bother to fly someone out here to check for at least a few days.”
