He reached for her hand, fingers grazing hers and their pinkies catching for a heartbeat before slipping apart. The spark wasn’t just in his hand; it tingled straight through to his chest. This trip was already turning into more than he’d planned. He only hoped it wasn’t more than he could handle. And the last thing he wanted to do was take anyone down with him.
“I’d like to know more about you,” he said.
“Good. I enjoy talking about me,” she said proudly.
He laughed. She really was so much like his sister that it hurt...in a good way.
And went right back to what had been on his mind all day and what more was planned for him here.
They got to the parking lot and climbed in his SUV. “Tell me where to go unless you’d rather drive?”
“If I cared to drive, I would have got into my car. I like to be in control, but I’m not a bitch about it.”
“That’s good to know.”
He followed her directions to downtown. They found a spot on the street rather than in public parking and walked to the restaurant.
“Gale,” the hostess said. “So nice to see you again. Table for two?”
“Yes,” she said.
Once they were seated, he looked at her grin. “You really do know everyone around here.”
She laughed. “It feels that way. It was like that before I opened my practice. A lot had to do with my parents’ farm.”
“Tell me about you on it. I can’t see you milking cows or gathering eggs.”
“Ugh,” she said, sticking her tongue out of her open mouth and faking a gag. Or maybe it wasn’t really that faked. “No cows, thank God. We had chickens and still do. I don’t like them and they didn’t like me. Ford had the touch with them. We didn’t have a ton of animals. Horses at one point to pull a wagon during the fall for hay rides. But slowly the animals got phased out and it was chickens for the eggs that my mother uses at the cafe.”
“Cafe?” he asked.
“I thought for sure you’d know about that. Don’t tell me you didn’t research my family the way I did yours.”
“I did, but hadn’t realized there was a cafe there. I just noticed the orchards were now for hard cider.”
She nodded. “Clay’s doing. My father broke his back about three years ago now. He couldn’t work the farm, we all had jobs and it was hard, but we did our part. Clay left the service and came home, but there was no way he was going to run things the way they were. Times are different and the money wasn’t there for the amount of work. The cafe was holding things togethermore. Now even that’s grown, but it’s still only open mornings during the week for baked goods, then Friday through Sunday for lunch for eight months a year. The other four they are open seven days a week and my future sister-in-law, Reenie, works there with my mother now.”
“That’s nice your family came together like that.”
“I’m sorry that yours didn’t. I’ve got to imagine in tough times you need more support, not less.”
“Not everyone is built the same,” he said. They were saved by placing their drink orders and since he’d known what he wanted for dinner, she made a quick decision and placed her meal order too.
“They aren’t. It seemed not one of my siblings was going to take over the farm and my parents were fine with it. Sad, but fine. I think they hoped one day there would be grandkids to do it, but nothing yet. Now with Clay there and Reenie, even Clay’s fiancée, Meredith, the family is expanding the way my parents always wanted. Things happen the way they should.”
“I don’t know that I believe that. I’d hate to think my sister was meant to be murdered.”
“No,” she said. “But if I’ve learned one thing, there is a lot of evil in this world, but more good to counter it. I have to believe that or it’d be hard to get out of bed daily.”
“My mother felt like that for years,” he said. “There was a time I’d come home and the mail was still in the box, my father was working late, dinner should be done and set on the table like it used to be, but the house was dark. I’d find my mother in her room with the lights off and lying on the bed sleeping. She’d been crying, I knew it, but who hadn’t been?”
He’d go in and wake her, hold her, do the things his father should have been there to do.
That was how they leaned on each other. That was when he realized it was going to be the two of them now to get through.
Their drinks were brought over. He’d gotten a beer; she’d gotten a wine.
“I can’t fathom what you went through. You were a kid yourself. The blame you carried on top of it. Returning home to those who knew you and your family couldn’t have been any better. I’d like to think your community rallied behind you.”
