Without having any interest in contacting the man again, Camryn did accept his card. She set it on an end table and opened her front door. “If you gentlemen will leave us alone, I’d like to talk to Becky a moment.”
The men headed outside. Becky grabbed Camryn’s arm. “Don’t be mad at me, sweet pea. I told those hucksters you wouldn’t sell one square foot of your property.”
Camryn glanced at the card she’d set nearby. “Is that what you think, Becky, that they are hucksters?”
Camryn’s friend tucked a loose strand of graying hair behind her ear. “Mercy, I don’t know, Cam. All that talk of computers and soil data. I never heard anything like it. We don’t farm that way around here. I just came with them because they stopped in the feedstore to ask the directions to Cottontail Farm. I didn’t want those city fellas to waltz right up to your door. Figured they might scare you half to death.”
“It’s okay, Becky,” Camryn said. “I appreciate your loyalty. If I hadn’t seen you I probably wouldn’t have let them in. Do you know if any of our other neighbors have heard of them or received similar offers?”
“I haven’t heard of anybody. I knew you wouldn’t let them in, and I think they knew that, too,” Becky said. “Probably thought that if you saw me, you’d think I was in favor of this nonsense. Well, I’m not. I just figured you ought to be aware of the offer.”
“At least this made my afternoon more interesting than it would have been,” Camryn said. “It’s not every day a girl is offered three hundred thousand dollars. But I searched long and hard for this land, and I’m not leaving, not yet anyway.”
The business card seemed to wink at her from the end table. She shook her head to dispel the weird sensation in the pit of her stomach and gave Becky a hug. “I know you have to get back to the store,” she said.
“I do, and this is your decision to make, but I sure wouldn’t like to see you leave us. Other folks feel the same. Debbie at the diner says you brighten her day every time you come in. And the kids at the elementary school like getting those magazines. You’re part of this community, Cam.”
“And I don’t want to go,” Camryn said.
The visitors left but Camryn barely had time to contemplate the amazing offer before Reed came in her back door. “Camryn, are you here?”
“Yes, Reed. I’m in the living room.”
His footsteps sounded on her wood plank floor seconds before he appeared in the doorway. “Are you okay? I saw a strange car in the drive. I was at the birdcages so I ran over just to make sure everything was all right.”
Wearing gloves, a baseball hat and an old barn jacket that he’d probably picked up in a secondhand shop somewhere, he looked like he’d been cleaning cages again. She couldn’t help smiling. Dressed up like he’d been that night at dinner, or dressed down, like he was now, he was a pleasure to her eyes. And an ache to her heart.
“Everything is fine,” she said. “Can I offer you some hot chocolate? Two men came to see me, but they’ve left now. I’ll tell you all about it if you’re interested.”
“Absolutely, I’m interested.” He grinned at her. “And not just because I can practically taste that hot chocolate.”
They went to the kitchen. Camryn made the drinks and they sat across from each other at the old table as they’d done many times in the past couple of months. To Camryn, staring across at Reed seemed as natural as the first sip of hot chocolate. She’d often, though not lately, thought about sitting just like this every morning, Reed on one side of the table and her on the other, for a long time to come. Now she simply accepted that the chair he now occupied would remain empty unless he came to visit.
Cradling the steaming mug between his hands, Reed got the obligatory questions out of the way. “How are you feeling? Did that baby grow another pound overnight? You aren’t working too hard, are you?”
Healthwise she’d never felt better. Yes, in the small of her back, she was beginning to feel the extra weight she was carrying around, and her stomach made some chores cumbersome. But now that she was looking toward the end of the second trimester, her energy was boundless, her appetite voracious and her hopes for this baby blossoming each day.
“The two men who came to see me today were from a corporation called Agri-Crops,” she began.
“Never heard of it.”
“Neither had I, but apparently they are horticultural scientists who apply their knowledge to growing food. They study soil conditions, monitor growing times. In short they farm with a computer and fancy combines.” She sighed. “And make a great deal of money or so they want me to believe.”
“What did they want with you?”
Camryn didn’t mind telling him all the details. Reed no longer had a personal interest in her, but he was, and might always be, a good friend. She trusted him and his judgment. And like her, he was a newcomer to Bufflehead Creek and they often talked about the benefits of living on the outskirts of the small town.
“They want to buy my remaining acres,” she said. “They like its location so near the low country with the nutrients from the estuaries. And they already own property abutting mine.”
“But you’re not going to sell?” he said. “I mean, you just got here. You have your chickens and your plots...”
“I’m not considering selling,” she assured him. “But the beauty of the offer is that I wouldn’t have to give up my chickens or my house.”
She explained all the details as she remembered and understood them. Reed listened intently, nodding occasionally, frowning once in a while. She ended with the generous offer she’d gotten from Palermo.
“Holy cow, Camryn. Twice what you paid?”
“I know. Pretty good profit for living here a few months only.”
“Phenomenal. Are you sure they haven’t discovered oil somewhere on your acres? Or a hidden gold mine?”
“I don’t think so. They convinced me they just love my dirt.”
Reed braced his elbows on the table and leaned forward. “Wow. Almost makes you think you’d be crazy not to...” He paused. “Nope. I’m not giving you any ideas.”
He was about to suggest that she sell? She knew what he’d been about to say, and she couldn’t disagree with the logic. But his conclusion still left an even bigger ache in her heart. “So you think I should consider it?”
“I think you should do what you want to do, what you think is best for you and your children.”
“Nice cop-out answer, Bolden.”
“Sorry, but I don’t want to influence you.”
“That money would easily pay for two college educations,” she said.
“And it would give you a lot of options,” he said. “You could stay here, move back to Charleston, be near your family again. It’s not what I would like to see happen, but being close to your family could be important once you have two kids.”
Great. Despite his promise not to influence her, he was freely giving his opinion, and it was sensible. But it was not what she’d been hoping he would say.
“It’s not easy being a single mother with two children,” he said. “I mean you’ll still have me across the field, but I won’t be coming over every day like I have been.”
She stared at him. “You won’t?”
“Cam, I’ll always be close, but I’ve broken ground on my own barn. It’ll be finished in the spring.”
“Oh. Of course.” She stood, carried the empty mugs to the sink. “You’ve given me a lot to think about.”
He put on his jacket, hat and gloves. “It’s a big decision. On the one hand...”
No. She wasn’t going to allow him to put more sensible thoughts into her head. “Please don’t list the pros and cons, Reed,” she said. “I can take it from here.”
He gave her an odd stare as if he wanted to say more but thought better of it. “Okay, sure. I know you’ll do
the right thing. But if you want to talk, give me a call.”
She went back to the sink, began rinsing the mugs. “Will do,” she said. But she’d heard enough. She knew what Reed thought the logical decision would be. She knew what he would advise her to do. She also knew he felt guilty about the way he reacted when she told him she was pregnant. If she took Agri-Crops’s offer and she moved back to Charleston, he could forget about the promises he’d made to take care of her.
* * *
AFTER LEAVING CAMRYN’S HOUSE, Reed could have wandered anywhere. He wasn’t paying attention to putting one foot in front of the other. Luckily he continued to head in the direction of his house across the field.
“What did she think I was going to say?” he said aloud. “If she didn’t want my opinion, she shouldn’t have told me about the offer. I had to say something, and darn it all, they made her a good deal and she would be silly not to consider it. After all, she’s a single lady working twelve hours a day on the farm, not to mention the time spent on her illustrations. Why would she turn down such a great offer to make her life easier?”
As so often happened, his mind raced back to that night along the seawall, under the stars, when all he could concentrate on was Camryn. She’d filled his mind and his heart and caused him to think about a future. Oh, he hadn’t been ready to pop any sort of question. They still had to deal with the problem of his rambunctious boys and her overprotected daughter. But once they’d overcome that hurdle, well, he could imagine it. Yes, he could.
And then she’d dropped a couple of bombshells on him. Divorced only a couple of months. Pregnant with her ex-husband’s baby. She’d even confessed to panic attacks over bringing a healthy infant into her world.
Her honesty had been too much for him. He was new to this life, as well. He’d only just established himself in Bufflehead Creek with boys that tested his patience constantly. He’d only just begun to establish a practice and a sanctuary for wounded animals. He still had to deal with an ex-wife who questioned his motives and an ex-father-in-law who had made it perfectly clear that he wanted custody of Phillip and Justin.
They were just a bad match, him and Camryn. Or this was bad timing. Sure, she was cute and determined and caring, all qualities Reed admired. She was as much in love with the low country as he was. She loved animals. She was hardworking and ambitious. But she suffered from anxiety about raising her children in an environment of calm and absolute security. Well, darn it, life didn’t come with a security net, and Reed didn’t need the responsibility of providing her with one.
“You really got yourself into a mess this time, Bolden,” he said. “You don’t want to live with the extra responsibility but you can’t see yourself letting it go.” He’d gotten so used to his role as Camryn’s champion, to being there for her, watching out for her, checking his cell phone every night before he went to sleep to make sure he hadn’t missed a call from her.
That was all okay. He liked being her friend and protector. But did he want his responsibility to Camryn to become full-time? Did he want to entangle himself and his family with hers? Could he see himself adjusting to her ways of raising kids? Did he want another kid, especially one with a father who would probably only complicate the delicate balance he’d have to establish to have a happy marriage and make four kids living under the same roof work?
He answered each question with a decided no. He wasn’t happy, hadn’t been since that night she’d told him what was happening, which changed everything. In fact after that night, he couldn’t remember being so miserable in a long time. But he’d talked himself into making his own sensible decisions about a future with Camryn. If she left, he told himself he would be okay. His life would settle into a routine that suited him and his sons.
“You were right to point out the advantages of her moving back to Charleston,” he told himself as he approached the birdcages.
Camryn needs her family. She should be with them, not with some half-baked father of two boys who can’t see himself with another kid—ever.
He’d done all he could for her.
He put his gloves on, picked up a trowel and resumed cleaning the bottom of one of the cages. “So why do I have this awful sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach?” he said to the barn owl who was staring at him with bright, knowing eyes. Frowning at the owl, he said, “Yeah, like you have all the answers.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
TWO DAYS BEFORE CHRISTMAS, Camryn was busy with last-minute details before she and Esther left for Charleston to be with her family. Esther was excited. She would see her father, who’d promised to give Es a special time without his girlfriend and her daughter. And Cam’s parents were beyond anxious to see their girls again.
When her cell rang, Camryn stopped putting ribbon on a package and picked up the phone. Brooke. They hadn’t talked yet today, and it was already near dinnertime.
“Merry almost-Christmas,” Camryn said.
“You too, sister.” Brooke asked the normal questions about Camryn’s condition. Though Camryn appreciated the concern, she would be glad when the baby was born and people would stop asking her how she was feeling all the time.
“So when do you think you’ll get here tomorrow?” Brooke asked. “Mom and Dad are counting the minutes. Frankly, I’m starting to think that you’re their favorite.”
Camryn laughed. “We’ll be there by noon,” she said. “I’ve hired Becky’s son, Randy, to feed my chickens and goats, and I want to be here when he comes for the first time.”
“You must be a mind reader,” Brooke said. “I was just about to ask what arrangements you’d made for the chickens.”
“Sure you were.”
“Any changes in your relationship with Reed?” Brooke asked.
Camryn had told her sister about the mess she’d made of her confession to Reed. As usual Brooke had sympathized. But she continued to assert that honesty was the best policy. Blasted honesty! Although as Camryn stared at her tummy these days she knew the truth would be obvious now.
“No,” Camryn said. “Reed is still a great friend. But the relationship continues to suffer from internal combustion.”
“Well, he’s not as bright as he thinks he is, that’s all,” Brooke said.
Camryn smiled. “Yeah. All that education and he doesn’t know when a good thing marches right into his life.”
“And have you made a decision about selling your land?” Brooke questioned next.
Camryn had made Brooke promise not to tell their parents. She was having enough pressure from Brooke without adding their parents’ opinions. Her mother and father would have insisted she move back, probably even saying that the offer from Palermo was a gift from above. She stole a quick look at the business card that still lay on the end table. “No, not yet.”
“You’ll wait so long that Palermo will rescind the offer,” Brooke said.
“Then the decision will have been made, right?” Camryn said. She’d thought long and hard since Palermo’s visit about the offer from Agri-Crops. Yes, it was a financial boon. But finding this property had been a life-changing event for Camryn. She loved the low country, the peace and calm, even the work. If she had to decide today, she wouldn’t sell. Cottontail Farm was the perfect home for herself and her two children. Even if Reed would never be more to her than he was now. A fulfilling life was more than discovering a great love. Camryn sighed. But a great love certainly had its place in a fulfilling life.
Reed had refrained from giving her more advice on the topic of selling. For that Camryn was grateful. Unfortunately he’d already stopped coming over every day, and she missed his voice on a regular basis more than she appreciated his silence on her decision. The walls of his barn were going up, and he needed to supervise the construction. His veterinary clinic was open and attracting patients. Consequently, his daily visits to Cam had been replaced by phone calls or messages fr
om his sons who stopped by often to play with Esther. Ironic that the children were getting along well now that things weren’t so great between the parents.
“Dad said if you need anything...” Justin said the other day.
Camryn had simply smiled at the boy. What she needed most was Dad.
Bringing Camryn’s thoughts back to the present, Brooke said, “You know what I think about you returning to Charleston...”
“Yes, I do,” Camryn said. “And let’s change the subject to you. Any interesting men in your life?”
“Only one, and I’m not having much luck finding him.”
Camryn frowned. “Oh, Brooke, you’re not still looking for Edward, are you?”
“He’s our brother, Cammie. We can’t pretend he wasn’t born or that he doesn’t exist.”
“But Brooke, he may not exist,” Cam responded. “He obviously doesn’t share our birth mother’s name or you would have found him. I’m sorry, Brooke, but Edward may not even be alive. Your efforts could be a huge waste of time.”
“I told you I located the home where he was sent when our mother gave him up,” Brooke said. “It’s a start.”
“No, Brooke. It’s an end. You haven’t found any information since. I wish you’d give up this idea of finding Edward and concentrate on your own life.” As far as Camryn knew, Brooke hadn’t had a promising date in weeks. And Camryn wondered if Brooke’s boss at the TV station was aware of how much time she spent spinning her wheels trying to locate Edward. If so, Brooke had better watch out for her future with the broadcast company.
“I’m not going to give up,” Brooke said. “You know that. You and I need to agree to disagree on a couple of things. You’re not giving up your farm, and I’m not giving up on Edward. Okay?”
“Fair enough, I guess,” Camryn said. “I love you, sis. See you tomorrow.”
“Love you, too. Can’t wait.”
The sisters disconnected. Camryn went back to gift wrapping but stopped again when out of her front window she saw Reed’s car pull up to her house. Reed and his sons got out. Each one was carrying a package.
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