Honey’s heart thudded, but when she looked around, no one else had even flinched. Not Ethan, who still stared at his daughter with furrowed brows. Not Emma, who was practically folded in on herself.
Honey shifted her weight. She’d let herself get too distracted here. Too involved. She had no business sitting in on family meetings or comforting children or trying to whip a disorganized farm into shape. That wasn’t her role. She was here to do her audit and leave. The longer she stayed, the messier this got, and she didn’t do messy.
“Okay,” Honey said, a little too loudly. She cleared her throat and tried again, this time with authority. “Emma’s been making wishes to keep the orchard running, and somehow, they’ve been granted. Only now, the well’s not working properly, most likely since it desperately needs an audit, and that’s what she needed to discuss with me.”
“I blocked that thing off years ago,” Ethan said flatly. “No one’s touched the well. My girls know better than that.”
He turned to Emma for confirmation, but she didn’t look up. Her fingers kept twisting in her sleeve. He glanced over at Brooke, then Melly. Something shifted in his eyes, maybe the beginning of realization.
“Wishes are not keeping my farm running,” he insisted.
The girls were silent.
“That’s it.” He stood abruptly, the chair scraping against the floor. “Shoes on, everyone. Let’s go.”
He grabbed a pair of galoshes from the doorway and handed them to Honey without looking at her.
She took them, trying not to grimace. The soles were caked with something thick and dark, and she told herself it was mud. Just mud.
The back door flung open with a clang thatrattled the screen, and Ethan stepped outside, not bothering to wait for the rest of them.
“Go,” Marlene urged her as she bent down to help Melly with her boots.
She followed Ethan outside with the rest of the Hale family, Marlene coming out behind her.
They marched past the small barn without a glance. A goat bleated from within, and a few chickens scratched around the yard, feathers damp and tails high. Eyeing them, Honey stuck close to Marlene.
Her steps stuttered when they got before the orchard.
“This doesn’t even look real,” Honey remarked, scanning the field.
Rows and rows of trees stretched out before them. Each tree was heavy with peaches, plums, and apricots in various stages of ripeness. Leaves glistened with leftover rain, and the grass beneath their feet squished with every step. The scent hit her then—sun-warmed fruit, wet grass, the sweet, vaguely fermented perfume of fallen fruit.
Melly clomped along, jogging to keep up with her dad. She nearly tripped, but Ethan didn’t break stride. He just scooped her up in one smooth motion and shifted her onto his hip. She promptly whispered something in his ear that made him pause. He tucked her hair behind her ear and leaned in to bump their noses together, earning a little giggle from her.
Honey bit the inside of her cheek and willed the butterflies in her stomach to settle. He was a good guy. He might be a little rough around the edges, but she could tell he was kind.
She jogged to catch up with his long strides.
“I only want to do my job, and it just so happens that will help you,” she said.
“Even if I needed it, in my experience, the bureau is not in the business of helping.”
Of course he would think that. Convincing someone like Ethan that structure and order could better their lives would be difficult, but she was confident that order brings safety and safety brings happiness.
“We both want the same thing, Mr. Hale. I want that well properly fixed and regulated so no harm comes to your family.”
“I don’t need anyone else to keep my family safe. The only reason you’re still here is to prove the well is not being used.”
She didn’t believe he’d charge across the farm with his whole family in tow in order to prove to her, who he clearly wasn’t a fan of, that the well was blocked off. If he really believed the well hadn’t been used, then what was he so afraid of?
Maybe he didn’twantto believe it. Maybe denying it was easier than admitting how little control he had.
And maybe she understood that more than she wanted to.
The well sat at the far edge of the property. The grass grew taller out there, but Honey could see where it had been tramped down. Ethan paused and held out an arm to block the girls from going any closer. Marlene lingered behind them. Honey picked her way ahead toward the well. She crouched, fingers brushing over the stone. Ivy wrapped around the base as if nature was trying to take it back.
“Wishes are not running my farm.” Ethan stepped up behind her, jaw clenched tight as he took it in. The fresh impressions in the soil. The scuff marks along the rim. He said nothing at first.
