A Family for the Farmer

by Laurel Blount

  “Too tough to decide. I’ll take one of each and a cup of black coffee. Please.”

  “I didn’t know there were chocolate muffins, too,” Herb said, his eyes on the plate Emily was preparing for Abel. “I’ll try one of those. Hush, Marjorie. I’m having one, I said. We’ll eat salads for supper.”

  Emily set another chocolate muffin on a fresh plate and handed it over the counter to Herb, who sighed happily as he took a generous bite. When he could speak again, he nodded at Abel. “You’d better hang on to this one, Whitlock. Not only is she pretty as a picture, but she can really cook, too.”

  Emily flushed and shot an uncomfortable look in Abel’s direction. “Oh, but we’re not—” she began, but Abel reached across the counter and covered her hand with the rough warmth of his own.

  “You’re a mighty smart man, Mr. Austin,” he said, his blue eyes holding Emily’s. His thumb stroked the back of her hand gently, and Emily’s butterflies reacted as if they’d just been given a round of espressos. She could feel the color flaming up in her cheeks, but somehow she couldn’t detach her gaze from Abel’s.

  Dimly she heard Herb chuckling and Marjorie fussing. “Stop teasing them, Herb. You’re embarrassing her. Come on. Let’s go sit by the window and leave the sweethearts in peace.”

  Mixed signals. Bailey’s voice echoed in Emily’s mind, and she jerked her hand away belatedly. “What are you doing in town?” she asked, busying herself with ringing up the sale.

  “The part for the tractor came, and I drove in to pick it up.” From the corner of her eye she watched as Abel settled himself on the stool at the counter. “While I was here I thought I’d stop in and see how you were getting along. Maybe take a look at that oven that’s been giving you trouble.”

  “Thanks, but you don’t have to do that.”

  “I don’t mind.” Abel set down his coffee mug and got to his feet. “Matter of fact, why don’t I go on back to the kitchen and—”

  “No!” Emily spoke sharply. She glanced at the Austins, who were lingering over their muffins at a corner table, and lowered her voice. “I figured it out this morning.”

  “All right.” Abel sank back down on his stool and raised his coffee mug to his lips, his blue eyes watching her warily over its rim.

  “We enjoyed it, girlie,” Herb called as he and Marjorie rose to deposit their trash in the bin. “We’ll be back soon. You can count on that! Mind what I told you, Whitlock. If you have any sense, you’ll hang on to this one!”

  Abel chuckled and waved as the couple ambled outside. “Herb Austin’s one of the biggest gossips in Pine Valley, Emily. He’ll tell everybody in town about your muffins. They’ll be beating down the door in the morning.”

  “That’s probably not all he’ll be telling, either,” Emily muttered. She put down the cloth she’d been using to wipe off the counter and looked Abel squarely in the eye. “You heard them. They think we’re sweethearts. And you’re encouraging it.”

  There was a beat of silence. Abel gently placed his half-eaten muffin on his plate. “And that bothered you.”

  “I don’t want people around here thinking we’re a couple.”

  “Ah.” Something shifted slightly in his expression, hardening it. “Worried about your reputation?”

  Disbelief flashed through her. “Are you trying to be funny? You know as well as I do what my reputation is in this town. No matter what I’ve done or how I’ve changed, I’ll always be the girl who got herself in trouble with Trey Gordon. But I certainly never thought you’d be the one to cast it up to me!” She turned to go back into the sanctuary of the café kitchen, but he reached out fast and took hold of her wrist.

  “Whoa! You’re shoveling some pretty hard words in my mouth, Emily, and I sure don’t need that. We both know I talk myself into enough trouble without any help. Maybe I’m not so good at making myself clear, but you ought to know me well enough to give me the benefit of the doubt. You know that’s not what I meant, and after church last Sunday you ought to know that’s not what other folks think, either.”

  The gentle pressure of his fingers on her arm made her throat go suddenly dry. “What did you mean, then?”

  “I was talking about me. Who I am. My family isn’t exactly known for boosting folks’ reputations.”

  Emily swallowed and pulled her arm away. “You should take a dose of that medicine you’re so busy dishing out. You ought to know me well enough to know I’d never think such a thing, Abel Whitlock. Your last name has nothing to do with this, and you should really consider taking that chip off your shoulder. You’ve already proven that you’re not like the rest of your family, ten times over. Everybody knows it but you.”

  There was a pause as they stared at each other over the counter. Abel took a slow breath. “All right. Now that we’ve got that settled, I reckon we might as well get the rest of it out in the open. We both know what the real trouble is. You’ve been as nervous as a cat with nine tails ever since I kissed you.”

  At his words, the memory of it flashed through her mind, and she jumped, knocking over the napkin dispenser. She righted it with shaking fingers, swallowed and tilted up her chin. He was right. They might as well meet this head-on and get it over with. “That kiss should never have happened.”

  “You think so?” He raised his eyebrows at her. “Looks like I’m about as bad at kissing as I am at talking.”

  “That’s not what I meant! You’re very good at... I mean, it was...” Emily stopped and flushed. “That’s not the problem.”

  “What is the problem?”

  “Well...” Emily picked up her rag and scrubbed hard at the countertop, avoiding his eyes. “For one thing, I’m only here temporarily. I’m moving back to Atlanta as soon as the summer’s over, and you...well, you’ve got no plans to leave Pine Valley. Do you?”

  “No. I can’t say that I have.”

  “See? That’s what I mean. You’re the kind of man who stays put.”

  “That’s true enough, I suppose.”

  “And I have the twins to consider. I can’t afford to go chasing after every man I feel an attraction to. I made a decision a long time ago that I wasn’t going to be like...” She trailed off. No point in bringing her mother into this. She started again. “I made a decision that I wasn’t going to bring men in and out of my children’s lives. I know firsthand what that’s like, and I won’t put the twins through it.”

  He nodded slowly. “I can see the rights of that. I surely can.”

  “Good.” Emily blinked, feeling slightly taken aback by his easy agreement. She ignored an illogical flare of disappointment and nodded. “I’m glad you understand.”

  “I think I do.” Abel got to his feet, placing his napkin neatly over his half-eaten breakfast and pulling money out of his wallet. “And it looks like I owe you an apology.” She opened her mouth to protest, but he went on. “That kiss was a long time coming for me, Emily, but it looks like maybe it was too quick for you. I’m sorry about that.”

  What did he mean a long time coming? Emily shook her head. “No apology necessary, Abel. It was just a mistake, that’s all.”

  “That what you’re calling it?” The corner of Abel’s mouth quirked up slightly. “Sweetest mistake I’ve ever made, then, and one I sure won’t mind making again sometime when you’re ready.”

  Emily felt her heartbeat quicken at the promise in his words, but she shook her head. “You’re not listening to me,” she began.

  “Oh, I’m listening. When you’re as bad at talking as I am, you get mighty good at listening. And what I’m hearing you say is that you’re feeling the spark that’s between us same as I am, and it’s scaring you out of your mind. I understand that, and you can rest easy. I won’t be rushing you. But I’m not going anywhere, either, not until we get this sorted out between us. It’s like you said.” The tilt
at the corner of his mouth spread into an easy smile. “I’m the kind of man who stays put.”

  Chapter Ten

  Abel finally maneuvered the agitated Jersey into her stand and clipped her halter to its front hook. “There you go, you stubborn old bovine,” he muttered under his breath. The hardest part of his job was done, and he was glad Tim Anderson had to deal with the rest of it. Just in time, too. He could hear Anderson’s truck rumbling up the driveway.

  “That was quite a show!” Emily observed nervously. She and the twins had been watching him tussle with the rampaging cow from the far corner of the barn.

  “It always is.” Abel paused and wiped the sweat off his forehead with the sleeve of his cotton shirt. “Beulah’s not exactly a fan of the artificial insemination process, and somehow she always knows what we’re up to.” He smiled at the twins. “But next spring we’ll have a pretty new calf and lots of fresh milk, so it’s all worth it.”

  Emily cleared her throat. “Being bred makes her worth more, right? Remember, we’ll be selling her at the end of the summer.”

  Emily’s words jabbed at him, and he felt a wave of irritation. Ever since their talk at the coffee shop, she’d been using every opportunity that came her way to remind him that she and the twins would be leaving the farm as soon as they could. As usual, he’d somehow managed to say the wrong thing. She was well and truly spooked now, and it was all his fault.

  Today she looked even more tense than usual. She’d been that way ever since she found out that Tim Anderson was not only Miss Sadie’s go-to guy for cow breeding but the county extension agent, as well.

  Anderson came into the barn at a trot, both hands clutching the metal tackle box he used to carry his equipment. Glory was running behind him with her wings outstretched, honking nasally.

  “Get on, goose! I’m telling you, Abel, that bird knows my truck. Every single time I’ve been out here, she’s been waiting for me in the driveway.” The county agent wiped his ruddy face while Glory hissed at him from the barn doorway. He set down his box, ran Beulah over with a practiced eye and nodded. “Looks like you’ve timed it just about right, Abel, as usual.”

  “Not hard to do,” Abel replied easily. “Beulah always lets us know when she’s ready for a new calf.”

  “She’s a good old girl.” Anderson slapped Beulah on the rump affectionately and then began to pull on his long rubber glove. “I sure was sorry to hear about Miss Sadie’s passing. Even sorrier when I heard I was the one supposed to come out and check on how her granddaughter’s running the farm. Didn’t see anything amiss outside, but I expect she has you to thank for that. She’s a city girl, I hear.”

  Abel shot a glance in Emily’s direction. Anderson hadn’t seen her standing in the shadows with the twins. Before Abel could point her out, Anderson continued.

  “They tell me she caused a big ruckus in the Pine Valley Church last Sunday. It looks like the preacher may lose his job over it, and that’s a shame for sure.”

  “What are you going to do to our cow?” Paul came out of his corner, his small face creased with worry as he regarded the shoulder-length rubber glove on Anderson’s right arm. “You’re not going to hurt her, are you?”

  Anderson jumped and spilled the contents of his tackle box across the barn floor. “Well, little man, you came out of nowhere, didn’t you?” The man nodded in Emily’s direction, looking embarrassed. “Ma’am,” he said politely before turning his attention back to Paul. “Naw, I’m not going to hurt her. I’m going to help Beulah here make you a pretty new calf in about nine months. How does that sound?”

  Emily had followed Paul out of the shadows and into the square of sunlight streaming through the barn door. “What did you mean when you said that Pastor Stone might lose his job?”

  Anderson coughed. He leaned over and began gathering his equipment. “I was speaking out of turn, ma’am. I shouldn’t be spreading gossip.”

  “But that’s what you’ve heard?” Emily pressed her point, her gray-green eyes fixed on the man’s ruddy face. “That his job is on the line over what happened on Sunday?”

  Anderson cast a worried glance at Abel, but Abel offered him no help. “Aw, well. I wouldn’t worry about it, ma’am. It probably won’t come to anything. The church board’s been a little agitated ever since Stone spearheaded that whole coffee shop thing, but everybody knows that they’re not going to have an easy time finding another preacher half as good. They’ll probably just yowl at him a little and then let it blow over.”

  Anderson began to prep his equipment, looking grateful for the distraction of his work. Abel’s eyes met Emily’s, and he knew they were both thinking the same thing. Lois Gordon wouldn’t let this blow over. Not in a million years.

  Anderson quickly finished his job and got back into his truck, leaving an irritated cow and two disgusted twins in his wake.

  “That was icky!” Phoebe said, wrinkling her nose. Paul nodded his agreement.

  Abel chuckled as he put the soiled rubber glove and the empty breeding straw in the trash bag he’d had ready. “Worth it, though,” he said cheerfully. “Jersey calves are the prettiest little things you’ve ever seen, all big brown eyes and knock-knees. Just wait until springtime. You’ll see.”

  “We won’t be here in the spring, remember?” Emily’s voice had an edge to it. “In fact,” she muttered under her breath, “considering the amount of trouble I’m causing, I’m starting to wonder if we should be here now.”

  “Paul, why don’t you and Phoebe go out and see if the plums are ripe yet? Pick a couple and bring them here for me to check. All right?”

  “Sure! Come on, Pheebs.” The twins scampered out the wide door into the sunshine, and Abel turned his attention back to their mother.

  “Emily, if Stone’s got a problem with his church board, that’s not your fault.”

  She blew out a heavy sigh and shook her head. “If it weren’t for me, none of this would have happened.”

  “I think you’re wrong. Lois Gordon’s been like a powder keg for years now, ever since Trey died. If you hadn’t set her off, something else would have.”

  “Maybe so, but I sure wish I hadn’t been the one to strike the match.” Emily frowned and rubbed her face with her hand. She left a smudge of dirt across her cheek in the process. “I hate to think that Pastor Stone might lose his job just because he took my side.”

  “Stone doesn’t strike me as the kind of guy who takes sides. He just does what he thinks is right.”

  “That’s exactly why I don’t want to be any part of him leaving Pine Valley Church.” Emily scrubbed at her face again, leaving another smear of dirt across her forehead. Abel considered telling her, but he thought she looked cuter dirty than most women looked clean. “I can’t let this happen. I’ve got to fix it if I can.” She swallowed hard as he took a step toward her.

  “Emily,” he began, but she shook her head and waved him off.

  “I’m going to clean up and go into town. I need to see if there’s anything I can do about this. I’ll quit the job at the coffee shop if I have to. Can you watch the twins for me? Please?”

  “Sure. But—” he tried again.

  “I won’t be gone long,” she said, and left the barn without meeting his eyes. Feeling uneasy, Abel watched her go.

  He didn’t like the direction Emily’s thoughts were taking, not one bit. Not only didn’t he like how Emily was clinging so stubbornly to her plan to leave Pine Valley, he wasn’t crazy about her being so gung ho to rescue Jacob Stone from the clutches of his church board, either.

  He heard the excited voices of the children, and through the barn doorway he could see them headed his way with their hands dripping full of ripe plums. Their faces lit up as they saw him waiting for them, and Phoebe waved happily, dropping several of her plums on the ground.

  In sp
ite of his worry, Abel found himself grinning as the twins halted and tried to scrabble up the plums Phoebe had dropped without losing the ones still in their hands. It was tough going, but they were laughing as they chased the rolling plums across the barnyard.

  His heart swelled up and filled with a new determination. He’d meant what he’d said to Emily back in the coffee shop. That kiss had settled it as far as he was concerned. He’d set his heart on Emily Elliott, and he was staying put.

  Now he just had to convince her to stick around, too. Somehow he had to find a way to help Emily see how happy she and her twins could be on Goosefeather Farm.

  With him.

  * * *

  “Nope, I’m not letting you quit.” Jacob Stone had plenty of charm, but during the course of the last twenty minutes, Emily had discovered that he also had a steel-plated backbone. “The coffee shop needs you.”

  She blew out an exasperated breath and frowned at the man seated behind the big varnished desk in the church office. “You could lose your job.”

  The pastor laughed. “Maybe.”

  “I can’t let that happen!”

  Jacob Stone laughed again. “You’re not in charge of it. And neither am I. I work for God, Emily, before I work for any church. He’ll let me know when I’m done here. In the meantime I’m going to do what He calls me to do, church board or no church board.”

  “Lois Gordon,” Emily began, but the pastor waved his hand dismissively.

  “Miss Lois doesn’t run this church no matter what she may believe to the contrary, bless her heart.” Stone got out from behind his desk and walked over to Emily with his hand extended. “I appreciate your concern. I truly do. But don’t waste your time worrying about me.”

  Emily sighed and stood up. She accepted the handshake and conceded defeat. “You know, I’m starting to see why your church board finds you so frustrating.”

  “Keep them in your prayers. They need all the help they can get, believe me.” He walked with her to the office door. “I’m hearing great things about your muffin ministry, by the way. It looks like you’re a hit.”