“Are you all right?” Abel asks.
Blake offers comforting whispers and sweet touches beside me. I watch as Savannah Mae disappears into the kitchen. “I’ll be fine. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to wake up everyone in the house.” Abel stands there. I think he wants to come to me, but he doesn’t. It isn’t his place to comfort me. Savannah Mae hands me an unopened bottle of water. Blake opens it for me, and I drink the icy cold liquid. Since the incident so many years ago, I don’t drink anything that isn’t sealed shut. I wonder why she would know that. “Thank you, Savannah Mae.”
She just gives me a sad smile and takes her place beside Abel. She wraps her arms around him and he holds her close. Blake strokes his fingers gently on my arm. “You okay, Babe?”
Taking a sip of the water, I say, “I am, now.”
Abel Lee
Maria is having nightmares about that night. I knew she did, and I just knew that night still haunted her. It haunts me, and I can’t even remember it. The aftermath, her injuries, and the details that have been told to me haunt me. It was a mistake bringing her here. I have no idea why I thought that was a good idea to bring her to Rose Farm. The selfish part of me that wanted to protect Savannah Mae is to blame. I didn’t think of what it would do to Maria. “We’ll leave you now. Do you need anything else?”
She doesn’t look at me or answer, but Blake does. “No, we’re fine. Thank you.”
Savannah Mae and I walk into the bedroom. She doesn’t mention Maria’s dream, she doesn’t need to. She knows what haunts Maria in her sleep.
I don’t sleep, I can’t. Lying there, I try to put together a foolproof plan to find Maria’s brother and to ensure his safety. Even if he’s responsible for the murders, I can’t have him injured or worse. I can’t do that to Maria, she’s been through enough.
The next morning, I get ready for work. We just got back yesterday, but I need to get back into my routine. Life doesn’t stop because of Josh. I smell the coffee and I’m grateful for the automatic timer. I didn’t want to wake everyone up, but I’m sure the aroma of coffee will.
When I walk into the kitchen, Blake is standing at the kitchen sink with a steaming mug in hand. Savannah Mae must have set the mugs, powdered creamer, and sugar out on the counter.
“Mornin’.” I reach for a mug and the coffee pot.
“Good morning, Abel.”
There’s an uncomfortable silence. It’s not because he’s married to my ex-girlfriend. It’s not because I’ve dated his wife when she was single. It’s because I’m the reason of Maria’s nightmares, or night terrors. I’m not sure I know the difference. Whatever she’s having, I do know she’s having them because of me.
“I thought I would go to work for a bit this morning. Been awhile since I’ve been there. You’re welcome to join me if you’d like.”
“What about the girls? Are they safe here alone?”
I lift the mug to my lips. “See that building and playground?” I nod toward the kitchen window.
“Yeah.”
“That’s where I work.”
He nods his understanding of the closeness of my job to my house. “Is there a gym around here? It looks like you work out, and I wouldn’t mind hitting the gym later.”
“It’s about a half hour away. I get my exercise working on the old school and on the farm. I do run, though, for my cardio exercise.”
“That’s good enough for me. Let me get dressed and then I’ll be ready.”
Walking the short distance to the old school, I’m pleased with the progress my employees made while I was away. Everything looks good and almost completed. The schoolhouse is done and is now the furniture store. I still haven’t been inside and won’t be until the opening; Savannah Mae and Mia forbid me from entering months ago. The signs are posted and the dedication plaque is above the front door: “In dedication to our friend and neighbor Larry Adams.” The store sign is out front in the yard of the old school: “Old School Furniture, Figurines, and Sculptures.” A diagonal sign over it says, “Opening Soon.”
“This is your business?”
“It is. We have a store here, there’s the workshop, and there’s a playground or a park, whatever you want to call it.” I look over his shoulder at Savannah Mae’s house, and I can see the girls standing in the kitchen window. I wave and smile. It’s nice being so close to home. Blake turns around and also waves.
“What are they doing over there?” Blake looks in the direction of my and Savannah Mae’s future home.
Although it’s far back from the road, stacks of timber are within view. “I’m happy to say they’ve broken ground on our new house.”
“It looks like big things are in store for you guys this year.”
“I hope.” I look Blake in the eyes. “After what I did to Maria, I didn’t allow myself to move on. I know they say it wasn’t my fault, but I was fully responsible for what I did to her.” I pause and swallow the knot in my throat. “Last night proves it.”
Blake’s jaw twitches. “It was pretty fucked up and I hated you for it.” He looks away and looks towards the house. “From what Maria says, you were drugged and completely and totally out of it. It’s the bastards’ fault who drugged you.” He pinches the bridge of his nose. “The whole night was fucked up. She said the drugs were meant for her.” He pauses and looks away. “You know what they had planned for her that night.”
I do know. It was a date rape drug, and I know what the police had told me the dickheads had admitted to. I fight the rage that builds inside of me. I can feel the veins bulge in my neck and arms. What if we had stayed in that night? What if we didn’t go to the party? I try hard to not think about the what ifs. We went to that party and I can’t change that. “I do.”
Pops pulls in along with some other guys, and I’m grateful for the distraction from the conversation. We all walk through the workshop and I’m happy to see that the guys have been busy working on the furniture. Some of the guys are being trained in the workshop to make good-quality furniture. The catalog is done and is currently being published. Once it’s approved, we’ll get it circulated to every wealthy person and lucrative business in the U.S. I anticipate selling within a short time every piece of furniture we can make.
“Your guys make this?” Blake runs his hand down the smooth finish on the coffee table.
“They did. Meet Ethan and his dad, Kevin,” I say as Ethan and Kevin walk into the workshop. “Kevin learned this quality craftsmanship from his dad, and he taught his son, Ethan.”
Blake extends his hand. “Nice to meet you both. This is amazing.”
“Thank you,” Kevin says as he stands tall and proud. He should be proud.
“Kevin and Ethan, this is Blake Landon.”
Ethan nods.
“Is this for sale now?”
“Some things are. You’ll need to get with Savannah Mae if you want to look at anything. I’m forbidden to enter the store until the grand opening.”
Everyone laughs. Savannah Mae and Maria walk into the workshop. “Tell ’em why you aren’t allowed in there, Abel Lee.”
I look at Savannah Mae as she stands in the doorway. Plaid red shirt, jeans, work boots, and her blonde hair high into a ponytail. “Because she thinks I’ll go in and start moving things around.”
“No, that’s wrong. I know you’ll move stuff around and mess up my hard work.” I laugh because it’s true. “It has to be appealin’ to look at, or no one will want to buy it.”
We introduced them as friends of ours. They don’t need to know that she is Abel Lee’s ex, and they don’t need to know the circumstances leading to their visit. I was really worried that it would be awkward with them here, but it’s not.
Blake walks over to stand near his wife. Maria’s taller than Savannah Mae with almost jet black hair. She’s dressed in designer jeans, flats, and a white blouse. She’s not exactly dressed for the country. He bends down to kiss her.
“So, Ethan, I guess you’ll be teaching your children to follow in y
our footsteps. To have four generations in the furniture-making business would be amazing.” Blake wraps his arm around Maria and waits for Ethan to answer.
“I will when the time comes. Sawyer Jackson ain’t nowhere near ready to learn woodworkin’.”
I can see Blake and Maria working it out in their heads that Sawyer Jackson is Ethan’s son. Maria flashes me a look, but Blake doesn’t falter. “I’m sure when he gets older, he’ll jump at the chance to learn this amazing craft,” Blake says.
“Thank you, I hope so.”
Savannah Mae says, “I’m gonna show Maria the store.”
“Okay, then what are you going to do?” I don’t want her outside until we find Josh. I also don’t want to treat her like a child either.
“We’re going to hang out in the house.”
We walk out of the workshop and walk with the girls to the store. “What are you guys gonna do?”
“We’re going to walk over and check the progress of the house. Do you want to come with us?”
“No, thanks. When we’re done here, we’re headin’ back to the house. We’ll see you both for lunch?”
“Sure will.”
I walk closer so I can peek into the store when Savannah Mae swats me away. I laugh at her playfulness and her seriousness. We watch as the girls walk into the shop before walking over to the field where construction is underway on our log cabin home. I get a feeling I’m being watched, but when I look around, no one is there. I search as far up and down the road as I can and I don’t see anything suspicious.
As we walk over to the construction site, Blake says, “You’ve employed Sawyer Jackson’s dad and his grandfather.”
It’s not a question but a confused statement. “Jobs are scarce in this area.” I don’t owe him an explanation, and I don’t expect he’ll understand the logic behind it.
“As long as his dad’s working, he’ll be in a better position to care for his son.”
We continue our steady stride. “Yes, that’s my thought.” I don’t look over at him, I look straight ahead. “Sawyer Jackson is an amazing boy. He deserves great things in his life, no matter how they are offered to him.”
“You know, I really wanted to hate you for the things that happened in Maria’s past.” I hate myself for those things that have happened. He continues, “But you really are a stand-up and noble guy.” He doesn’t look over at me, he stares straight ahead. “I may have misjudged you.”
Savannah Mae
I’m happy when Maria seems to like what we’ve done with the inside of the old school. She’s the first person other than a family member to see it. Family members will almost always tell you they like something because they don’t want to hurt your feelin’s. She walks around and looks at everything. “Nice display and arrangements. I think this looks great.”
“Thank you.” I tell her about 16-year-old Johnny, who makes the wooden figurines. I also tell her about Rick Crooks, who makes the metal sculptures from memory. She’s just as impressed as the entire township is at the talent we have in this small community.
I lock up and we go over and make lunch for everyone. I look around and lock the door behind us. It feels like someone is watchin’ us, but Abel Lee and Blake are at the construction site of our future home. I look outside through the kitchen window, and all of the guys are workin’ on the landscape and plantin’ trees. No one is watchin’ us that I can see.
I decide to make a big pot of chili soup and peanut butter sandwiches for all of the guys. We still need to go to the grocery store, so I’m thankful when I have the ingredients for the chili in the freezer and pantry. Maria is a big help and offers to help with the cookin’ and the cleanup.
Everyone is grateful for a hot meal. It’s in the early stages of fall and it’s just beginnin’ to get cool enough to have hot soup in the daytime. In the summer, cookin’ soup would heat up the kitchen — summer is too hot to eat or cook hot soup.
Maria and Blake laugh and talk to all of the guys. They seem to fit in and I like that. . Abel Lee stands close, and I know he’s concerned. As soon as we’re done eatin’, Maria and I go back into the house.
Mom, Daddy, and Samantha Marie come over and visit. Abel Lee already called them and filled them in on our plan. It’s good seein’ them. They don’t stay long and rush off to see Sawyer Jackson at Nelly and Bud’s. Sawyer Jackson surely is loved by many.
Because I miss Sawyer Jackson, I call Nelly to check on him later. The house is loud with music playin’ in the background. “What are you guys doin’?”
“Hold on, let me go into another room.” I wait only a few seconds before Nelly gets back on the phone line. “We’re havin’ a dance off.”
“What? It sounds like you said you’re havin’ a dance off.”
“I did. Mia’s here with Harley and she brought a video game called ‘Just Dance.’ Savannah Mae, that boy of yours, sure does have some dance moves. Mia can barely keep up.”
I laugh and it makes me happy to know my son is havin’ such an amazin’ time. “I won’t keep you, it sounds like you’re havin’ a great time.”
“Whew, we are. I’ll have him call you when we’re done.”
“Okay, thank you, Nelly.”
“You’re welcome. He’ll be callin’ ya soon.”
Maria and I don’t cook dinner. After Maria and Abel Lee walk around the neighborhood, we go into Zanesville and pick up Adornetto’s pizza and salads. After we eat dinner, we play Monopoly at the dinner table. I quickly learn the guys are very competitive when it comes to this game. Maria and I roll our eyes a lot and laugh at their eagerness to win. The game lasts longer than I wanted it to. Maria and I go to bed and the guys stay up turnin’ their houses into hotels and buyin’ up the leftover, less valuable properties.
The next day I expect something to happen with Josh. We spend a lot of time outside and we walk around the neighborhood hopin’ to lure Josh out of the shadows. Nothin’. Maria tries to call and text Josh, but it’s useless: He doesn’t reply. I just want to move on. I miss my son. On day four, we have dinner on the farm with Bud, Nelly, and Sawyer Jackson. Ethan has been visitin’ his son on the farm. He thinks it’s because we have company in our small house. I can’t tell him about the letters, photos, and threats. I also can’t tell him that the murderer and my stalker may be the same person. Maria is so sweet and soft spoken, I can’t imagine her brother would be capable of causin’ physical harm to me, no matter how mad he is.
Mia, Levi, and Harley are also here for dinner. They even brought their new puppy, Adrie, with them. Harley is soon bein’ passed around, but I focus my attention on my son. I’ve missed ’im. He shows me his new room that he’s been sleepin’ in. It’s Abel Lee’s old room and I’m happy to see that Sawyer Jackson has recently claimed it as his own. He talks excitedly about the farm animals, the eggs he collects every day, and about the nut tree. I guess he didn’t know that nuts grow on trees. I hope he isn’t shocked when he learns where eggs and milk come from, but he’s country, so I’m pretty sure he already knows that.
I should be helpin’ Nelly with dinner, but I don’t want to miss any more precious time with Sawyer Jackson. There’s something in the barn that he wants to show me. He puts on a cowboy hat that looks like it was made just for him and we walk through the house.
“We’ll be right back,” I say as I open the kitchen door to walk outside with Sawyer Jackson.
Before I can close the door, Abel Lee is callin’ my name. “Savannah Mae, where ya headed?”
“To the barn. You wanna come?”
“Sure.”
We walk together with Sawyer Jackson between us.
“Is this your old hat?” I ask Abel Lee.
He looks down at Sawyer Jackson and nods. “Sure is. I haven’t seen that in years. I didn’t even know Momma still had it.”
Sawyer Jackson doesn’t tell us what he wants to show us, but he’s eager to get to the barn. When Abel Lee opens the barn door, Colonel and Bluebelle are st
andin’ at the stall door.
“See, Momma, they have horses.” He reaches into a bin and pulls out two apples. “This is Bluebelle and she is really nice.” He holds the apple and lets Bluebelle feed from his hands.
Moving over to the next stall, he says, “And this is Colonel, he’s bad.” He takes the apple and kicks it inside the stall. Colonel lowers his head to eat. “He don’t like kids.”
I smile to hide the laugh. I go into the bin and grab two more apples.
I pat Bluebelle and stroke the large white diamond shape on her nose. After she takes the apple from my hand I say, “Bluebelle is a sweet girl.” I walk over to the massive black stallion. “And Colonel’s nice, too; he just likes his space.” I place the apple in my hand and let him take the apple from me.
Abel Lee gets into a cabinet and pulls out some sugar cubes. He picks up Sawyer Jackson and places a few sugar cubes in his small hands. “Bluebelle is the sweetest girl around next to your Momma.” Sawyer Jackson feeds Bluebelle some of the sugar cubes. Abel Lee walks over to Colonel. “And Colonel is a big ol’ stallion who tries to intimidate people with his massive size.” He looks at Sawyer Jackson, who is still holdin’ some of the sugar cubes. “Go ahead and feed him, he won’t bite.”
Sawyer Jackson does and smiles when Colonel doesn’t bite him. Sawyer Jackson and Abel Lee even pet Colonel as he enjoys his sugary treat.
Nelly yells, “Dinner time,” and rings a dinner bell that hangs on the porch post. All this time, I thought it was just a decoration.
“Your Momma really uses that thing.”
“She sure does. It’s amazing how far away you can hear that.”
We walk into the house with Abel Lee still carryin’ Sawyer Jackson.
Chapter Fourteen (Country Love)
Abel Lee
We have dinner and everyone talks about children. I’m not sure if it’s because of our upcoming wedding or because Momma wants some more grandbabies. I never wanted children until I met Savannah Mae. Now, I’m all for having a big ol’ family.
Levi and Mia announce that Harley will sadly be their one and only child. We don’t ask why, we don’t need to.
Rose Farm Trilogy Boxset Page 41
