Bountiful Harvest

by Darlene Tallman

  Looking at his watch, he realized he had enough time for a quick shower before he headed to the clubhouse. He couldn’t wait to see Dorrie again. After the debacle that was his first marriage, he wasn’t sure he would ever let someone else in again. But she was oh so different and he looked forward to learning about her for the rest of their lives.

  Chapter Thirteen

  The BBQ Pulling up to the clubhouse where Frank had told her to park, she saw his bike was already there and he was leaning against it, apparently waiting on her to arrive. As she went to open her door, he was already there, opening the door and leaning in to take her by the hand and help her out. “Hey beautiful. You look great,” Frank said as he kissed her cheek.

  “Hey you, you look pretty gosh-darned good yourself! Care to give a gal a hand so we can carry this food in for the masses?”

  “Your wish is my command.”

  “How far can I push that?” she asked, giving him a look under her lashes.

  “Ha! I knew there was a little minx hidden beneath that innocent exterior!”

  “Now wait a minute, I am innocent. Maybe.” “Don’t believe a word she says, Brother,” Joey yelled, coming up and grabbing one of the boxes in the back seat. “This girl here? Was the first one to race Devil’s Pass after it was built. And she crushed the competition.”

  “Wait, what? You used to RACE too?” Frank asks. “Um, yeah. Back in high school. Us girls were more into the whole outdoors thing so we hung out with Cory and Joey and did what they did. When they learned to hunt and fish, we did as well. When they got dirt bikes, we begged until we got them too and then we made them teach us. You could say we were a bit incorrigible.”

  “That’s one word for it. I know Cory and I both had other words for the three of you!” Joey snickered.

  Cory, coming up on the trio, decided to add his two cents in. “Yeah, we called them the Terrible Trio, the Three Musketeers, and the Triple Threat because there was nothing the three of them were afraid of, and nothing they wouldn’t try.”

  “How did you manage to get through to adulthood without any significant injuries,” Frank asked, somewhat incredulous at hearing what this petite and somewhat docile woman had gotten herself into when she was younger.

  “Well, I do have a scar running down my left forearm from a bad break and there’s still a road rash scar on my right hip from wiping out.” Of course, she didn’t mention the scar that ran along her upper left arm from Drew; that was for another day and time.

  Shaking his head at their remembered memories, he grabbed Dorrie’s free hand as they made their way into the clubhouse and out back where picnic tables were set up and the food tables were beyond groaning, laden down with food.

  Walking around and seeing all his brothers and their families, he felt a sense of contentment he hadn’t felt in years, if ever. Seeing his chapter president, he walked Dorrie over intending on introducing them.

  “Hey, Pres, this is Dorrie; Dorrie, this is our chapter Pres, Jam-“

  “James! How have you been? You’ve not been in for a cut in a while, is everything okay?” Dorrie asked. “You know him? Of course you do, you’ve lived here forever and I think I heard that most of the guys and their old ladies use your salon when they need something done,” Frank said.

  “Yeah, in fact, I went all through school with James and his wife!” “Well, now that that’s out of the way, where are the boys, Dorrie? Or is it time for one of their trips to Margie and John’s place?” James asked.

  “They left earlier today, after we ate lunch at Buckner’s. That place is awesome. Wish I could get my fried chicken to come out that tender, but I don’t know their secret,” Dorrie replied.

  “Buttermilk. Soak it in buttermilk. Makes it tender and juicy,” James stated.

  “Huh. Never thought about that one. I’ll give it a try the next time I make chicken then, thanks!”

  “Pres, is everyone here yet?” Frank asked. Looking around, James determined that the patched club members and their families were all there, and most of the prospects as well. “Yeah they are. Do you want to do it now before we start eating?”

  Frank just looked at him, then said “Absolutely.” “Okay then.” Giving a whistle that cut through the music and the talking going on around them, James said “Alright folks, Frank here has something he wants to say, so listen up, y’hear?”

  With catcalls and whistles, Frank led Dorrie to the front of the group. Unaccustomed to being “up front and center” she could feel herself blushing, but kept quiet, unsure of what was happening.

  Taking a box and opening it, Frank shook out a cut that looked like his except on the back, in hot pink lettering, it said “Property of Frank” and on the front, it said “Dorriegirl”. Looking at her, he cleared his throat and then said “Dorrie-girl, I am a firm believer in second chances. God has given me many of those, but the best one He gave me was the one of eternal life. I know that He led me here, to this town and this community and this brotherhood, as well as to you, and in front of my Brothers and their old ladies, I want to give you something I’ve never given anyone before, my cut, with a promise that I will do everything in my power to show you every day what a blessing I think you are in my life. I know you said you would be my old lady the other day; please say it again so this crazy crew can hear you.”

  Looking at him with eyes that wanted to overflow, her first thought was “Wow that was better than the marriage proposal I received from Drew. This man has mad skills with words for sure.” As he waited for her answer, she reached up and put her hand on his cheek and softly said “Yes” and then waited as he helped her put her cut on while the rest of the Brothers and their old ladies cheered and yelled and whistled.

  With foreheads now touching, she looked up at him and said “Frank, with everything you say and everything you do, you show me just how much I mean to you and I have an overwhelming feeling of gratitude that God brought you here to me, to this town, to the boys.”

  As he smiled down at her, he softly said “Always and forever and a day, my Dorrie-girl. Always and forever and a day. Now, let’s go see if Pres will pray over the food so we can eat because I’m hungry for some of my girl’s cooking!”

  Later that afternoon, as the kids’ games started to wind down and the bonfires were lit, Dorrie found herself helping the other old ladies put up the leftover food. They had been teasing her about Frank, and she was blushing like crazy — for the millionth time, at least! — when one of the old ladies she didn’t know well said, rather snarkily “Huh, wonder what he’s going to do when he figures out the real you.”

  Dorrie looked up when she heard Nancy say “Oh hell no, you didn’t!” as she launched herself at the woman. “Nancy! Don’t! She’s so not worth it; we know better and more importantly Frank knows better!”

  “She deserves a beat down for that one, chica! No one disrespects my girls, either of you, and gets away with it!” “That may be so, but we need to take the high road. I know you could totally rock the orange suit, but you and Joey have been trying for kids and I’d hate for your child’s first memories to be of their mom behind bars!”

  Looking at Dorrie, Nancy burst into laughter then grabbed her in a hug. “You’re right. She’s not worth it at all. If she’s petty enough to believe the gossip around town, then she likely needs altar time. Let’s go find our men, shall we?”

  Linking arms, Dorrie looked back at the old lady who had made the initial remark and said “You don’t know me and you don’t know about that marriage. You have no idea that the rumors he started were a way to abuse me by undermining my self-confidence and self-esteem. You have no clue that he was emotionally and verbally abusive to the point I questioned my sanity. You.don’t.know. But, now you do, and hopefully, you will realize that gossip may be fun to spread but it’s hurtful to those it’s spread about.”

  “That’s why you’re going to make a rocking old lady, Dorrie. You just put someone in their place without raising your voice
or your hand, while wild woman over here was going to make me have to break into the Disney money for her bail!” Renee said, as the trio walked away. “She’ll get it. The others here know you and they will set her straight. Plus, I’m sure her old man will hear about it so that means Frank will hear about it and it will be dealt with. You’ll have no further issues out of her, I’m sure.”

  Reaching the guys, Dorrie sat back down next to Frank. He could see her cheeks were flushed, but when he questioned if she was okay, all she would say was “It was handled. No worries on my end, okay? Please, don’t make a big deal out of it if you hear about it.”

  He was about to question her again when he saw Marcus coming toward their group. He looked a bit nervous, but still strode forward until he was in front of Frank and Dorrie. “Uh, Frank, I want to apologize to your old lady for my old lady’s behavior. She bought into the lies that were spread over the past few years, and said some things she shouldn’t have said. Your old lady had every right to call her out on it, but didn’t do so. Dorrie, I’m sorry. It will never happen again.” “Marcus, I don’t know what happened, but Dorrie said things were handled, so I have to claim ignorance other than what you’ve said. I appreciate you coming over and making the apologies, but you’re going to find that my girl here extends grace and mercy constantly.”

  Dorrie spoke up then and said “Marcus, I don’t know your old lady, but please let her know if she needs anything, she can come find me at the salon. The MC and their old ladies get a discount and either myself or Renee would be happy to serve her. Nancy isn’t employed there, which is probably a good thing, because the results probably wouldn’t be stellar.”

  At that, the whole group, Nancy included, start laughing, because five of them knew that Nancy had no problem throwing down or taking up for her friends, and Frank had come to realize that when it came to those she loved, Nancy became some kind of ninja warrior princess. She figured that’s what Jesus would want her to do, so she did it. As Marcus looks around the group, he started to chuckle and after getting the chin lifts from the men, he looked at Dorrie and says “I’ll be sure to pass that on, Dorrie. Thank you. Congrats on claiming Frank. He’s a good guy.”

  Looking around at the people he now called his Brothers, Frank felt peace and contentment wash over him. He was silently thanking God for bringing him here and allowing the beautiful woman sitting beside him to fall for him when Cory said “Hey Frank, when are your daughters coming into town? I know we all want to meet them and I’m sure they will be tickled to see how this community has thrived since the market opened.”

  “They’re coming in later this week and staying the summer. Both girls are studying agriculture, so my prayer is they will see this and maybe have some ideas about how we can expand some more.”

  “Speaking of ideas, Frank, Renee, Nancy and I were wondering what you guys were planning to do with the building next to the market? We had an idea and wanted to pass it along, since you guys have to vote on things,” Dorrie said.

  “What is it, beautiful?” he said, looking at her. “Well, we now have a market that allows the residents to barter with time or items to get what they need to feed their families, so everyone is looking healthier. We were thinking perhaps a consignment store of some kind could be developed. Folks could swap gently used clothing for clothes in the correct sizes for their kids. Also, we could see about getting seconds from local places of jeans, t-shirts and such for adults and sell those at a discount to help defray the cost of the utilities. It’s big enough that it could be divided into sections – babies, kids, teens, men and women – and stuff that was brand-new could be in the front of the store. That way, the kids from here won’t be ridiculed by their classmates. It’s not so bad with the younger kids, but I know that now that our middle and high school kids are bussed to the next town, they likely get grief.”

  Sitting back and processing what she had just said, Frank thought about the kids he had seen in town. The parents did the best they could, but it was economically depressed area, and shelter and food, clothes tended Already his mind was thinking of the contacts he had made and how this could become a reality if the MC voted it in.

  “Sweetheart, I think that would be a great idea. The guys and I will take it to the table the next time we meet. Any other ideas you ladies have?”

  Laughing, Renee looked at him and said, “Well, now that you mention it, we do have a few more ideas, but we’ll wait to share them. We know that the market is relatively selffunded, and were wondering if you guys had considered making it a non-profit so that grants could be applied for to further benefit our town?”

  still a rural somewhat when the priority was

  to go by the wayside. “I like that idea too. I know we have been covering the costs, but I would like to be able to pay a few folks to take over some of the running of the market. Bartering is fine and dandy, but folks still need actual money to be able to do some things. Wonder if there are any other businesses we can come up with to establish for paying jobs?” Frank mused.

  “What has the six of you all intense over here?” James called out. “Nothing major, Pres, we were just talking over some possible ideas that the guys and I will bring to the table to keep improving our town,” Frank responded.

  “Ah, gotcha. Well, bring ‘em to the table and we can take a look at them, y’hear?” James said. Frank looked over at Dorrie and saw she was trying hard to stay awake. It had been a busy, whirlwind weekend for them. So much for a slow courtship! The first four dates in three days? Yeah, he had it bad for her. “Dorrie-girl, are you getting tired? We’ve had a busy weekend and I know you’re off tomorrow, but I’m sure you don’t want to laze around all day, so if you’re ready to go, say the word, okay?”

  “I’m fine, Frank. A little tired, but I usually sleep in a bit on Mondays when school’s out. With the boys gone, housework will be minimal once I get everything in order. Just the puppies and Maisie and the cats to look after!”

  “I think I’m going to take you home anyhow. If you’re not going anywhere right away tomorrow, leave me your keys and I’ll get someone to bring your car home, okay?”

  “That’s fine with me! I was looking forward to a ride.” With goodbyes all around, Frank led Dorrie over to his bike. He had gotten her a helmet already and got busy helping her get it on. “Frank, you know I know how to put one on, don’t you?”

  “Yeah, sweetheart, but I like being able to help you.” Grinning up at him, she kept silent and let him help her get her helmet on, before he got on the bike and tipped it so she could climb on. Wrapping her hands around his waist, she felt that little frisson of excitement go through her when he started the bike. It had been so long! She knew their relationship had taken another step this weekend. With the built-in mic, she heard Frank ask her if she wanted to go straight home or if she wanted to ride for a bit. “Oh, let’s ride for a bit, please! It’s been too long!”

  Frank could hear her chuckling and he loved the feeling of her pressed against his back. Again, that peace and contentment washed over him as they headed out of town opposite of Dorrie’s house. He had found a place he wanted to show her.

  “Oh Frank, it’s beautiful! How did you find this place?” she asked him. “On one of the rides with the guys, we came out to check this land out to see if it was something we could purchase, and I found this field of wildflowers. Didn’t know you as well then, but they made me think of you and I’ve wanted to bring you out here ever since.”

  “Has anyone ever told you that you have a way with words?” “Not recently, no. I don’t have a lot of fancy words, Dorriegirl. I tend to be forthright and matter-of-fact, but I’ll always tell you the truth.”

  “Frank, that’s something I appreciate more than you’ll ever know. So, are you excited about the girls arriving? I’m a little nervous about meeting them, but I know that’s just me.”

  “Sweetheart, my girls are going to love you. And the boys? They have already been asking if they will b
e able to watch them for us. I think this will be a good thing for all of us this summer.”

  “I think you’re right, Frank. I think you’re right.”

  Seeing her shiver slightly in the cooling summer air, he turned back toward the bike, grabbing her hand and pulling her into his side. “Love you, sweet girl. I know that’s not something you feel comfortable saying yet, but I don’t want you to ever doubt it from me, y’hear?”

  Nodding her head, she stopped him and looking up at him, simply said “Frank, I lived a lot of years hearing that phrase but not seeing the actions behind the words. You have shown me more love in the past few months than I’ve ever known. Believe me when I say that I know I do too, and it won’t be long before those words pass my lips as well.”

  Giving her a quick kiss on her forehead, he said “That’s all I ask. Your actions show me how you feel, even if you cannot say the words yet. Now, let me get you home before you fall asleep on me.”

  Laughing, she continued on to his bike where they repeated the process from earlier when leaving the BBQ and headed back into town and out to her house.

  Chapter Fourteen