Second Chance at Sunflower Ranch

by Carolyn Brown

  Anna Grace hesitated for a moment but then nodded.

  Cricket went on to say, “At the end of the day you’ll go home with me and help me in the garden, then learn how to cook and clean. It will be a crash course in life. That’s what I can offer if you love Tommy enough to leave your fancy lifestyle.”

  “You’d do that for me after the way I’ve treated you?” Anna Grace’s expression showed total shock.

  “No, I’ll do it for you because that’s what Jennie Sue would do,” Cricket said. “Leave your high heels at home. The closet in the spare bedroom at my small house isn’t very big, so you will need to limit what you bring to no more than two suitcases. If you don’t have anything fit to pick beans or dig up potatoes or even to clean house in, you can borrow some of my old shirts, but my cutoff jean shorts will be too big for you.”

  “I can’t believe I’m even considering this,” Anna Grace gasped. “I don’t know how much you’ll charge me for all that, but I do have a little bit of savings, so I can pay you.”

  “Nope. I’ll give you minimum wage for working here in the bookstore forty hours a week. I’ve been thinking about hiring some help so I can take a few hours off now and then anyway, but the rest of it is free for the help you’ll be giving us in the garden and helping me clean the house. You might even pull a few more dollars in if you offer to clean Jennie Sue’s house, or Lettie and Nadine’s for the rest of the summer. We only work half a day on Saturday and we’re closed on Sunday at the bookstore,” Cricket told her. “And trust me, I can’t believe I’m offering this any more than you can.”

  “When would I start?” Anna Grace asked.

  “I’m going to a party tonight at Lettie and Nadine’s. I’ll leave the front door open. If you’re there when I get home, then you’ve started. You’ve got twenty-four hours to make up your mind. If you’re not there, then I figure this was a prank, or that dollar bills mean more to you than love. But Bryce is off-limits, no matter what you decide. Not because I’m in love with him or want to be a pharmacist’s girlfriend, but because he’s much too nice of a man for the likes of you if you throw Tommy over and give him back that gorgeous ring for prestige and money,” Cricket said. “And another thing—jeans and T-shirts are just fine for work in this place. You can leave all your fancy suits at home, too. Who knows? You might be able to save up enough money by the end of summer for you and Tommy to drive out to Vegas and get married there.”

  “I just might see you out at your place later.” Anna Grace smiled.

  “I can honestly say that I hope not,” Cricket told her, “but it’s up to you. I’m not easy to live with, and I speak my mind. You won’t bully me ever again, or I’ll kick your skinny butt out in the yard.”

  “I’ve lived with my mother for more than thirty years,” Anna Grace said. “That doesn’t sound too bad at all, and I can never repay you or thank you enough for this offer. There’s just one problem. Daddy says if I ever leave, I won’t even have a vehicle. If he’s serious, then he’ll send someone to take my car or else make me give him my keys. Mama will be mortified, and Daddy doesn’t like it when she’s not happy.”

  “If you need a ride, call me.” Cricket didn’t figure she’d ever get that call. “You can ride to work with me, and if you want to go somewhere in the evenings, there’s an old work pickup truck out at the farm. It doesn’t have air-conditioning, and you’ll have to put your own gas in it.”

  Tears began to stream down Anna Grace’s face. “Not one of the Belle daughters would ever offer to do all this for me. They’d all be too afraid of my mother and their own mamas.”

  “Honey, Mary Lou had better be afraid of me. I’m determined that no one is ever going to make me feel inferior again.” Cricket had actually stretched the truth, because, deep down, she felt rather plain and chubby in Anna Grace’s presence.

  “You haven’t dealt with my mama,” Anna Grace said, “but I’m not going to argue with you. Can I have your cell phone number?”

  Cricket picked up a business card for the shop, wrote her number on the back, and handed it across the table. “Welcome to the world of the poor and proud.”

  Anna Grace pulled a tissue from a box and wiped the tears from her face. “I’m going to call Tommy and talk to him on the way back to the office. Thank you again, Cricket. I damn sure don’t deserve this, but I appreciate it more than you’ll ever know.”

  She pushed open the door just as Lettie and Nadine were about to open it. She stepped aside and allowed them to enter, then went on her way.

  “Am I seeing things?” Lettie asked. “Was that Anna Grace leaving this store without a black eye or bloody nose?”

  “Yep, and I still don’t know if she tried to pull a prank on me, or if what she said was real, but I think I shut down the joke if it was one, and I made her feel like crap.” Cricket went on to tell them what she had said and done.

  “Holy hell!” Nadine sputtered. “What are you going to do if she shows up at your house tonight with her things in tow?”

  “Teach her how to work and how to cook and clean,” Cricket said. “Jennie Sue gave me a chance when I treated her like crap, so I’m paying it forward.”

  “This is like that one book we read a few months ago, or was it years ago?” Lettie drew her dark eyebrows down and tapped her chin with her bony finger. “Doesn’t matter how long ago it was, but I remember that someone said that the heroine was letting the villain define her actions. You just proved that Anna Grace doesn’t have any power over you anymore. I’m right proud of you, girl.”

  Nadine shook her head slowly from side to side. “Man alive, you’ve got your job cut out for you if you think you can teach that girl a blessed thing in just three months. She’s probably never even pushed the button down to make toast.”

  “Don’t I know it,” Cricket agreed. “She doesn’t even know how to work a microwave.”

  “I want pictures of her the first time you take her out in the garden and teach her how to cut okra.” Lettie headed for the coffeepot. “That’d be something even more bizarre than aliens.”

  “Oh, no!” Nadine grabbed her chest. “If she does this, she will be at your house on Saturday when you’re supposed to go fishing with Bryce. Do you think she’s just initiating—no that’s not the right word—” Nadine pursed her lips. “Insinuating—that’s the word—into your life so she can get next to Bryce? Is this just a ploy to be a pharmacist’s wife after all?”

  “I warned her about that,” Cricket said. “If it is, she’s going to find herself landing out in the yard flat on her butt, and I hope it’s good and muddy when it happens.”

  “I’ll help you,” Lettie said. “Just give me a call, and I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

  “Let me drive and we’ll be there in five,” Nadine declared.

  Cricket just hoped that she never had to make that call.

  Chapter Five

  Rather than get dressed for a party, Bryce would have liked to put on his overalls and go out to the farm to spend the evening with Cricket. Time with her was refreshing to his soul. Even from the beginning, she didn’t put on airs or try to cover up what she was thinking, and he liked that in a woman. But tonight, he would be going down the stairs from his apartment into the garage, and then into Lettie and Nadine’s house to celebrate Nadine’s ninety-fifth birthday. He’d known them for only a few days, but he already wanted to grow up and have the kind of attitude about life that they had. One that said he loved life and living, and that he was so confident in his own skin that he didn’t give a rip what people thought of him.

  On his way out the door, Bryce picked up his present—a box of fancy chocolates that he’d bought at a local gift store. He’d called his mother to see what he should take, and she’d suggested a bottle of wine, but his grandmother said a box of candy was a better gift since he didn’t know if Nadine liked wine or, if she did, what kind.

  When he had gone down the stairs and crossed the garage, he stood at the back door,
not knowing whether to go in or to knock. A breeze wafted the scent of roses across the space to him. He turned to look over his shoulder, and Cricket waved at him.

  “Hey, good evening.” She smiled.

  She was wearing a cute floral sundress printed with roses, and red sandals. Her brown hair was twisted up on top of her head and held with a bright red rose clip. Surely, he wasn’t just imagining that beautiful, clean smell that got stronger as she neared.

  “You sure look pretty tonight,” he said.

  “Thank you.” Her smile grew even wider, seeming to light up the whole garage. “You clean up pretty good yourself.”

  “I do my best with what little I’ve got to work with,” he chuckled. “I didn’t know whether to knock or not.”

  “No, just go on in. Judging from all the cars and trucks parked along the road, we’re not the first ones here.” She brushed past him and opened the door.

  He motioned for her to go on in ahead of him and then followed that enticing scent through the back door. Nadine was in the kitchen, swiping her finger across the icing on a cupcake, and she just grinned when she saw them coming into the house.

  “Busted!” she giggled. “Just remember, when you get to be ninety-five, you can do whatever you damn well please.”

  “Nadine Betterton!” Lettie shook her forefinger at her sister as she came into the kitchen. “That’s the third cupcake I’m having to set back.”

  “It’s my birthday, and besides, I’ll have those three for my midnight snack tonight.” Nadine slapped her finger away. “You’ve made too much food anyway.”

  “Where do we put presents?” Cricket asked.

  “We’ve got a table set up in the living room,” Lettie answered. “I’ll take them if you two young’uns will guard this woman and keep her from ruining anything else.”

  Bryce handed over his gift but wasn’t sure how he was going to guard Nadine without hurting her feelings.

  “Are we the last ones here?” Cricket looped her arm in Nadine’s and pulled her toward the archway leading into the living room. “If so, it might be time to cut the cake and start eating. You sure look pretty tonight. Blue is definitely your color. I hope I look as beautiful as you when I’m eighty years old.”

  “Eighty nothing! I’m only thirty in my mind,” Nadine laughed. “And you know very well that my birth certificate says I’m ninety-five, but thank you for the compliment.”

  Cricket was absolutely awesome, Bryce thought, and he couldn’t wait to go fishing with her the next evening. For that matter, he already planned to spend as much time with her as he could in the coming days and weeks.

  “Hey, hey,” Nadine called out, “the gang is all here.”

  “And all ninety-five candles are on the cake. Amos, will you help me light them?” Lettie asked.

  “Be honored to help, but only if you’ve got the fire department on standby,” Amos laughed.

  “Amos and his wife, who passed a few years ago, owned the bookstore before Jennie Sue bought it,” Cricket whispered as everyone watched Lettie and Amos light all the candles.

  Amos reminded Bryce of the late Mickey Rooney. He was short, had a smile that covered his round face, and by golly, Bryce liked the man before he even said a word because he’d worn bibbed overalls to the party.

  When they’d finished, Nadine stepped up behind the table. “Okay, Lettie, now you have to help me blow them out. You could have bought a couple of those candles that are shaped like a nine and a five. You didn’t have to put one for every year.”

  “Oh, no!” Lettie shook her head. “You’re the one who’s lookin’ a hundred smack in the eyeball. You blow them out, and you better hurry because the ones in the middle are about to burn to the bottom. They’ll ruin the icing and that’s your favorite part, so don’t take another second to make your wish.”

  “I’ll remember this when you need saving from the aliens.” Nadine took a deep breath, started at one end, and blew out every one of those candles.

  A tall man with just a rim of gray hair around his head started the “Happy Birthday” song in a deep baritone, and everyone else joined in. Bryce paid particular attention to Cricket, who had an alto voice and carried a tune very well. Was there nothing this woman couldn’t do?

  When the song had ended, Amos and the tall guy helped Lettie remove all the candles, and then Nadine cut the first piece.

  “I like a corner because it’s got the most icing,” she said with a smile. “I believe in having dessert first because life can be short. Not that I know anything about that business of it being short, but I do like chocolate cake. The rest of you feel free to enjoy all those finger foods that Lettie has worked on for a week, and please eat it all, or she’ll make me have it for breakfast, dinner, and supper until it’s gone.”

  “Tables are set up in the backyard,” Lettie announced. “Thank goodness it’s a decent night and not too hot.”

  Cricket wasn’t a bit shy about loading her plate with finger foods, so Bryce did the same.

  “This is some spread,” Bryce said. “I was expecting cake and punch.”

  “Not at this house. Lettie and Nadine love to entertain,” Cricket said. “And they’re offended if you don’t eat hearty.”

  “Well, I sure wouldn’t want to offend anyone, especially my landladies.” He liked these people. They were like the country folks he had grown up around.

  The tall guy who’d led the “Happy Birthday” song fell into line behind Bryce and introduced himself. “I’m Frank Bartell, the pastor at the church that most of the folks here attend. I’ve been meaning to get down to the drugstore and welcome you to Bloom, but this has been a busy week. We’ve already had a funeral, and two members of my congregation are in the hospital in Sweetwater. But welcome, and I’d love to have you join us on Sunday.”

  “Thank you, sir,” Bryce said and then turned to face Cricket. “Is that where you go?”

  “Yep, been going there my whole life. Lettie took care of me in the nursery,” Cricket answered.

  “Can I drive out and pick you up for church on Sunday, and then maybe take you out to dinner?” Bryce asked.

  “That sounds great. I’ll be ready at ten thirty. Church starts at eleven,” she said. “Come on outside and sit by me. I need to tell you about today.”

  “Lettie said she saw Anna Grace go into the bookstore. Is everything all right?” Bryce asked as they made their way outside, where multicolored balloons were tied to the ends of two eight-foot tables. Framed pictures of Nadine in every stage of her life were strewn down the middles. “Now, this is a party,” he said as he put his plate on the table and sat down beside Cricket.

  “Everything is fine, or, at least, I hope it is,” Cricket answered. “I figured someone would have seen her in the bookstore and spread the gossip.” She told him the short version of what had happened that day.

  “That’s pretty sweet of you after the way she’s treated you, but I’ve got to admit, it sure takes a load off my shoulders. I was dreading even filling prescriptions for her and her family,” he said in a low tone.

  Cricket shrugged. “I treated Jennie Sue like crap, and she gave me a second chance, so I should do the same for Anna Grace. Besides”—she leaned over and whispered—“if she was just playing a mean trick, I turned it around on her and took the power away from her.”

  “If she’s not, you have to live with her for three months,” Bryce said.

  “If she’s not serious, she won’t last a week in the garden or the kitchen, and she’ll leave for sure on Saturday afternoon when I tell her it’s her turn to scrub the bathroom.” Cricket picked up a stuffed mushroom and popped it in her mouth. “I love food, but then that’s evident from the way I look.”

  “I think you are gorgeous,” Bryce said with all sincerity.

  * * *

  Cricket was glad she had food in her mouth and could use that for an excuse not to say a single word. She was even happier that she didn’t have a mouthful of sweet te
a, or she would have spewed it all over a picture of Nadine when the elderly lady was probably about sixteen.

  “Well, at least you don’t have to worry about breaking me with a big hug,” she finally said, “and the way I like to cook and eat, I never will. But I’ve got to admit, I’m probably the clumsiest woman in the whole state.”

  “I’ll catch you if you fall,” Bryce said.

  Was he flirting with her? Sweet Lord! She had never learned how to bat her eyelashes and flirt like the Belles. While they’d been learning all about fashion and how to make a man fall all over himself to get to kiss their pretty sweet sixteen rings, she had been learning how to cook and plant a garden.

  “If you do, I’ll probably just drag you down with me,” Cricket said.

  “Sounds like fun if it’s in a muddy garden. We could take mud baths together, and then wash up with the garden hose,” Bryce teased, and stole a small tomato off her plate.

  A shiver chased down her spine when his hand brushed against her bare arm. Cricket had started to think that she would grow up to be like Nadine in more ways than just age. She would probably be an old maid who knew all the gossip in town and who took care of her two precious nieces. But that little spark she felt gave her hope that Bryce was serious and that there just might be a better future ahead for her.

  Nadine sat down beside her, and Lettie claimed a chair across the table. Cricket loved both of them, but tonight, she wished they had sat at the other table with Amos, Ilene, Tandy, and the other guests.

  “Bryce, has someone introduced you to our preacher?” Nadine asked.

  “Yes, ma’am.” Bryce nodded. “We met when we started around the food table. By the way, this is an awesome party.”

  “I do my best, even though living with her is like sharing a house with an old bear one day and a teenager the next.” Lettie nodded at Nadine.