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Casimir was sitting on the porch when Troy pulled up. There were already other guests milling about, but he appeared to be waiting for him in particular. The look on his face, zeroed in on Troy the minute he put the car in park and alighted from the vehicle. Ben slapped him on the back as he got out of the passenger side, “Good luck,” he said, as he bounded up the stairs to where Emily stood to wait for his arrival.
Troy exhaled slightly, started up the stairs where he saw Katherine in the big bay window. She had a wry smile on her face and twisted her fingers as if to wish him luck. She had known this was coming.
“Have a seat, son,” Casimir said, indicating with the cane in his hand what chair he should sit in.
Troy lowered himself into the seat and waited.
“I hear I might have taken a shotgun out in response to your last visit to my family farm,” Casimir started.
“Yes, sir. But in your defense, there was a tiny brain tumor to blame for that,” he hoped the comment would diffuse the situation, and he could continue uninhibited to where the welcome home party was going on.
“Maybe, but I don’t take kindly to strangers seeking out my daughter,” he groused.
Troy was concerned by the surly tone, that the brain tumor wasn’t the problem in the earlier incident. Maybe Casimir honestly would not give his consent for them to date. His mind started to race in a million different directions.
“I’m sorry about that. I had meant to introduce myself that morning,” he said, telling the truth.
“Do you know anything about farming?” Casimir questioned.
“No, no sir, I can’t say that I do. I grew up in the city, and the only animals that I saw were in petting zoos,” he volunteered.
“Humph,” Casimir made an unhappy noise. “My daughter has had family on this land for generations, are you expecting to make her choose between you and this farm?”
“No, sir. I would never make her do that. I’m happy here in Little Bend, and if this is where Katherine is, then I’m good right here beside her.”
“You aren’t earning a salary down there at that community center. I agree it’s a brilliant idea and I’m grateful you have the time to take the project on, as it will help workers on my farm also get some essentials they need.”
“You are just worried about if I can provide for Katherine?”
“The land will care for her and you if properly kept for, but she isn’t any man’s bank,” he said, leveling a look at Troy. “I don’t want anyone to think this is his and causing her grief because she won’t sell when I am gone.”
Troy clicked a few buttons on his phone and extended it to Casimir. “One of my bank balances,” he said. “I will sign whatever you wish that all of this stays with Katherine and her children if that comes to pass. Of course, we are just considering dating right now. One step at a time.”
“You know when my Katherine loves; it is with her whole heart. I have a feeling dating, and marriage won’t be a long time apart, so I want to be straight from the onset,” Casimir said, finally turning to him. “I appreciate the information and honesty. I grant you permission to date.”
“Yes,” Katherine came flying out the door, where she had been listening. “Thank you, daddy,” she said, bending to hug her father as Troy watched happily.
“I will soon be able to get around like my old self, and have no quarrels with taking a shotgun to you if you break my little girl’s heart,” he said, leveling his stare at Troy.
“I would expect nothing else,” Troy returned.
“Come inside,” Katherine said. “Everyone is waiting for you.” She finished with a hand gesture to encourage.
“We have one other thing for you,” Katherine’s mom said, coming out on the porch. “Your father and I have been doing some soul searching. This health scare has put some sense into his head,” she teased her husband.
“Humph,” he said, but with a grin that immediately told Troy, he was playing along.
“Here,” she said, holding out a large envelope to Katherine.
Katherine glanced between her parents, and finally, when no one volunteered what was inside, she flipped it over. She pulled a good-sized stack of paperwork from the envelope and squealed. She moved to her mom, hugged her, and then to her father and mimicked the action.
“What is it?” Troy asked, standing as she jumped forward to hug him as well. She held the paperwork out in front of her.
He read the top, “the horse boarding business,” he said, as he read the beginning of the legal document.
“Yes,” Katherine said. “Are you sure?’ She turned toward her father.
“Yeah. You have a level head, and the plan was well-written. I finally had some time on my hands, so I read it. Your mother and I agree that it is time to allow you to spread your wings. Adding those services would be a benefit to our operation.”
“I am so excited,” she said. “We can discuss this later though, seriously daddy inside with you now,” she said, offering him her arm.
He finally rose, and Troy moved back to allow them to go ahead of him. As he glanced at the gathering beyond the front door, he felt the warmth of home and family calling.
“Are you good?” Katherine asked, slipping back to his side.
“Couldn't be better,” he said, planting a light kiss on her lips as the party swallowed them up.
He ran directly into Maxwell in his direct path, “congratulations,” the man said, extending a hand.
“Thanks.”
“I knew I wasn’t a contender the first time she said your name,” Maxwell admitted. “Treat her right.”
“Always.”
Soon glasses of apple cider were flowing, and a toast was called for as they celebrated the happiness of Casimir being on the mend, but more importantly it was a celebration of family, friends, and home.
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Read More by Everlee Whitman
Book 9: A Time To Search and A Time To Give Up
Book 10: A Time To Keep and A Time To Throw Away
Book 9: A Time To Search and A Time To Give Up
Chapter 1
Annalise rumbled down the road toward the Grazinski farm. She had just finished the morning at Living River Ranch and would spend the afternoon helping Katherine, who had just taken in her first couple of horses for boarding. While some around these parts still required horses to work the land, most just used them for recreational purposes. Those animals would get the best care and boarding from Katherine’s center, and Annalise was privileged to have been hired there. They will do therapy, immunizations, and complicated surgeries on animals. It was an exciting opportunity, on the heels of her graduating veterinary school.
She had initially thought to find a home and a practice somewhere closer to Lansing or even one in her hometown of Milwaukee. All those thoughts had died the moment she stepped on Living River Ranch earlier this year and discovered her long lost sister, Stormi. A mail-order DNA kit had confirmed what they had suspected, and spending time developing a bond while working together and socializing were critical for both of them. It was undoubtedly God’s intervention when both Living River Ranch and the Grazinski Therapy Center had part-time jobs to offer at the same time. She could do what she loved, and finally, have some family roots to hold on to into the future. This was the best of both worlds in her view.
Annalise pulled into the drive, and her eyes alighted on Katherine and Troy standing in the yard, unloading a horse from a trailer. The two of them were inseparable these days, and even Katherine’s dad Casimir had come a long way in accepting them as a couple. She waved and got down out of the cab of the old truck she drove.
“Morning,” she said, coming up to the group noticing Maxwell Higgins hanging back just to give Katherine a little room.
Casimir was by Maxwell’s legs in a wheelchair that was outfitted to make it across the rough terrain.
“Mr. Grazinski, I’m digging the new wheels,” she teased, with a huge smile.
“I’m just grateful to be out of the hospital, and appreciate everyone helping around here,” he smiled, with a welcoming grin.
“Hey,” she said, greeting the tall, quiet man next to Casimir. There was something about Maxwell’s reserved, steady nature that spoke to her in a way she couldn’t remember being drawn to a man before. He was about fourteen years her senior, though, and didn’t seem interested in her in any manner other than passing by her on the farm. That was too bad, but not her main focus today.
“Hi, Annalise,” Maxwell said, glancing away quickly and turning his attention on the horse that was giving Katherine a run for her money. It was jittery after the trip and kept rearing up on hind legs.
Annalise stood at attention to see where she might lend support. She backed up to stand next to Casimir and caught Maxwell out to the corner of her eye. Something was off today; he had big puffy bags under his eyes, which told her he wasn’t sleeping. The corners of his mouth were pulled tight, too, indicating an elevated level of stress. She leaned over to him, “Are you alright?” She whispered.
Maxwell glanced at her with a surprise showing in his eyes, “Yeah, just having a tough day,” he said with a shrug.
“Want to talk about it?” She asked, moving around Casimir to stand next to him. “I’m a great listener.”
He just stared down at her for a long moment, “Maybe we could get a cup of coffee at the café later. I really could use a female opinion on a problem I’m having.”
“I have nothing this evening, so how about 8 p.m. That should be after milking and chores, right?”
“Yeah, that works. Hey, I appreciate it.”
Annalise nodded and hoped the happiness she was feeling inside didn’t show. She did not need to make a complete fool out of herself over a man that had no interest. Though the coffee invite told her that maybe there was a smidge of promise there, that was enough.
“Hey, Annalise,” Katherine shouted, “come, take a look at this front foot. I think this is infected, but I can’t tell the source.”
Annalise surged forward as Troy rubbed the animal, and Katherine held the bit. She traveled her hand down the leg, gently trying to familiarize herself to the horse and not spook it. As she made it down further, the swelling was significant, and she realized that all the orneriness from the poor suffering animal was because of what looked to be an exasperated injury.
“Can we get him into the stall? He has something wrong here, the swelling is severe, so I need to get him into position to work with this more closely.”
“We got this,” Troy said, determinedly.
Maxwell surged forward to lend a hand, and Annalise felt her heart constrict. The poor horse was in distress, but she could help. This was what she had trained so hard for, and all these people had the same goal in mind. She focused entirely on the task at hand, to ensure the best outcome for the sweet animal and all the humans trying to help. She kicked into a place that was all about this shared mission and kept everything else at bay for the moment.
