“Did Dora Lynn do something with her hair?” he asked, mouth half full. Or half empty, depending on how optimistic you were feeling.
“Good morning to you, too,” I said, rolling my eyes. “And her hair is the same as always. I mean, it looks great, but it’s not different.”
He shrugged. “Well, she looks nice today, is all I’m saying.”
My brother was a simple creature. He worked with his hands all day at his mechanic’s shop, so he always had a big appetite. The way to his heart was absolutely through his stomach, which was also true for cholesterol. And since I didn’t want him keelingover from a heart attack, I snagged the last piece of bacon off the plate in front of him and popped it in my mouth.
“Hey,” he said, shoulders slumping. “You never take the last piece. Everyone knows that.”
“There’s more on the way.” I sipped my coffee and settled back into the booth with a sigh. “Sweet, sweet caffeine.”
He turned to look at me. “Still selling your eggs?”
I wrinkled my nose in disgust. “I don’t like it when you phrase it like that. I sell chicken eggs, notmyeggs. And some duck eggs.”
“Oh yeah?” He snorted. “Do the chickens get a cut of the profits? Do the ducks?”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “No, of course not.”
“Then they’reyoureggs.” Shane shot me a smug grin. “The prosecution rests, your honor.”
I was about to tell him what I thought of that when Dora Lynn brought us two breakfast platters. We never had to order here since she knew what we liked. We thanked her, but when she said, “You’re welcome,” she was looking at Shane, not me.
Interesting.
Dora Lynn hustled off to shift more orders, and Shane dug in like he was ravenous. His plate had been loaded, courtesy of his secret admirer. I would have to keep an eye on that. They would make a great couple.
I forked some eggs up, happy knowing they’d come from my hens. “So what time’s your flight?”
“I need to be at the airport in a few hours.” Shane wiped his mouth with a napkin and leveled a serious look at me. “Is there anything you want me to tell Mom and Dad when I get to Georgia?”
“I have nothing to say to them.” I stabbed a sausage link with my fork and chewed on it angrily.
“I wish you all would make up already. This feud is dumb.”
“We’re not feuding. I just disagree with every single one of their life choices.” I put my fork down. “First, they sell the farm out from under us without warning. Then they sell our house and move out of state? Well, I’m just fine never talking to them again.”
“That’s dramatic,” he said with a sigh. “What were they supposed to do? Go bankrupt?”
“They were supposed to at least discuss it with me,” I said, throwing my hands up in frustration. “They knew I wanted to take over the farm. So they kept the sale a secret from me. Cowards. And then they sold to Allory, the worst company on the planet. And what did Allory do? They shut the whole farm down and everyone in town lost their jobs. How’s that for a cherry on top of this whole shit sundae?”
Shane chuckled. “No offense, but I won’t be passing any of those messages along to them.” He picked up his coffee mug and held it up like he was making a toast. “At least you still have Grandma’s part of the farm.”
“Only because Mom and Dad weren’t legally allowed to sell it.”
“Still,” he said, still holding out his cup.
I nodded and clinked my mug against his. “Yeah, it’s the only silver lining to all this. Grandma’s parcel isn’t much, but I’m going to make it work. I have to.”
“I believe in you,” my brother said with a smile. I rolled my eyes, pretending his support didn’t mean the world to me, even though it absolutely did. With Mom and Dad being selfish jerks, he was the only family I had left, and it was comforting to know he was in my corner.
He paid for breakfast, too. I hugged him and told him to have a safe trip. He went out the front, and I exited through the kitchen, saying goodbye to Dora Lynn on my way out. The rain had gotten worse while I’d been inside. It was like stepping into asolid wall of water. Good thing my work van was rugged enough to make it back to the farm. I just hoped Shane didn’t run into any trouble with his flight.
On my way back to my place outside of town, I was on the farm road I drove every day, but I saw something I didn’t see every day. A very fancy car was stuck in the mud on the side of the road, hazards flashing, hood gaping open.
Beside the car was a man in a sleek raincoat talking on the phone while repeatedly wiping water out of his eyes. I wasn’t sure why he wasn’t inside his vehicle, like common sense would dictate, but in my experience, people who drove cars that expensive had more money than sense.
A voice in my head told me to drive on by. It wasn’t my problem. Mr. Money Bags could take care of himself. But then I imagined it was Shane stranded on the side of the road. I would want someone to stop and help him.
