Chapter Fourteen

Charlotte had called Bob three times, and he still hadn’t come in for lunch. She marched outside and found him encircled by a group of guys.

On the outside he appeared calm. He was sharing stories about the farm—about the time he delivered a calf in a blizzard and the recent tornado that had touched down— but Charlotte could tell that on the inside Bob wasn’t at ease. His arms were crossed over his chest, and his fists were balled tightly. Even as he talked, his eyes weren’t on the faces of his listeners. Instead, his gaze moved around the farm as he took in where everyone was and what each one was doing.

Charlotte hadn’t heard him complain this time as she had when they’d hosted an open house for being named Adams County Farm of the Year. Then again, he hadn’t had much time to worry about it or complain. Everything had happened so fast. Still, that didn’t mean the reality of all these people on the farm was easy for Bob.

Charlotte approached, trying not to interrupt.

“So, would it be possible to get some tape of the combine harvesting?” Buck asked.

Bob chuckled. “Well, no. The crops aren’t ready yet. We have another month or so before it’s time to harvest.”

“And we couldn’t fake it?” Buck asked.

“Oh, you could fake it, but it’ll ruin my crop and my machine in the process.” Bob’s voice was stern, and Buck nodded and walked away.

Seemingly unfazed, Bob turned his attention back to the cameraman and pointed out the best angle to get a good shot of both the front porch and the barn. As he spoke, Will approached and listened, jotting notes in a small notepad.

Charlotte stood by and listened for a while, hoping Bob would get the hint that she wanted to talk to him. Then she finally gave up and placed a hand on his arm. “Would you like me to bring your lunch out to you?”

“Do you have enough food for everyone, Char? We can’t let our guests go hungry, now can we?”

Charlotte raised an eyebrow, looking around at the numerous people and tried to calculate how she’d pull off lunch for everyone. The thing was, she knew Bob wasn’t offering to be hospitable. He was offering because he wanted to be able to eat and keep an eye on everyone.

Will raised his hands. “Oh, no worries here. A caterer from town should be out any minute. She came highly recommended and she’s bringing us all lunch.”

“Is it Mel from Mel’s Place?” Bob asked. “She has the best food in town.”

“Yes, I think that sounds right. You’re welcome to join us.”

“Thanks, but no thanks. What I meant to say …” Bob straightened his shoulders. “Is that Mel’s food is second only to my wife’s. I’ll be back out in thirty minutes or so, and then we can talk about the type of paint you need for those fuel tanks.”

“They’re painting the fuel tanks?” Charlotte placed a hand over her heart. “Did you tell them that repainting those has been on your honey-do list for at least three years?”

Charlotte glanced at the two fuel tanks not far from the barn. One tank stored diesel for the tractors and the other had regular gas for the trucks and other farm machines. They were old and rusted, and had to be repainted every ten years or so.

“No, but now that you mention it, maybe I should give them the other items on the list too.” Bob was trying to be lighthearted, but she could tell from the look in his eyes that he was worried about what type of job they’d do painting the fuel tanks. Bob opened his mouth to say something; then he turned toward the house, and Charlotte walked by his side, wondering what to say, how to help.

They’d almost made it to the house when a shout split the air. It was a man’s voice, followed by cursing.

Charlotte turned around to find Britney saddled up and galloping through the front yard. A muscular man, dressed in tight Levi’s and a vest but no shirt, was chasing her. Two other guys, including Buck, were chasing the guy and the horse.

“What’s going on?” Bob shouted, and for the first time his calm exterior broke.

Buck paused and turned, catching his breath. Giving up the chase, he wandered over to Bob and Charlotte. “We were, uh, trying to get some shots for the video, and the horse went crazy, knocking our actor to the ground.”

“Who gave you permission to use my horse … to saddle her up?” Bob tried to control his voice, but Charlotte could hear the quiver of anger lacing his words.

In the distance, she watched as the two guys caught Britney and led her back toward the horse pasture by her lead. Charlotte was just about to head in that direction to offer a hand when Emily jogged around the corner of the barn, running toward them.

“Emily, do you know what’s going on? It’s not like Britney to act like that. Was anyone hurt?”

“It’s not Britney’s fault. They kept following her with the truck and camera thing, and it scared her. Besides, they didn’t even saddle her up right!”

Emily’s face was white, and Charlotte reached a hand toward her, pulling her granddaughter close.

Buck turned toward Emily, pointing a finger at her face. “Listen, little girl, my dad trained horses for years and …”

“Wait a minute.” Bob lifted his hands, stepping between Buck and Emily. “Don’t talk to my granddaughter that way. Emily, go ahead and go inside. I’ll take care of this.”

“But Grandpa—”

“Emily, I said I’d take care of it.”

Emily trudged up the porch steps and glanced back one last time before going inside and slamming the door.

Bob turned back to Buck. Bob towered over the man, and Charlotte was sure she’d never seen her husband’s face so red. “Shouldn’t someone have talked to me about my horse? That horse used to belong to my daughter; she means a lot to us.”

“Actually, Bob, it was in that contract you signed. I just assumed you’d read it. The contact says you’ve given us permission to use everything on the farm we might need for the making of the video.”

“Yes, but we assumed that meant our shovel and our hay bales, not our horses.”

“Well …” Buck let his voice trail off and he shrugged. Charlotte reached out and touched Bob’s arm, reminding him to stay calm.

“As you know, my son is a lawyer, and I’m going to talk to him about that contract. Things are getting out of hand—fast.”

“What are you saying, Mr. Stevenson?” Buck folded his arms over his chest. “That you’re trying to back out? That you’ve changed your mind?”

“I’m saying …” Bob leaned in close, peering into Buck’s eyes. “… that I’m going to talk to my son about my options.” And with that he turned and marched up the porch steps and into the house, letting the door slam behind him.

“Grandma!” Christopher’s voice split the air. “There are some people in here taking your stuff!”

Charlotte turned and noticed Tracy walking out of the house with some of her old milk bottles that had been displayed on a high shelf. She placed them on the porch next to the rocking chair and then hurried back inside. Through the kitchen window she could see Tami removing her curtains.

Charlotte hurried into the house. As if not knowing what to do, Sam and Jordan sat at the dining room table and seemed to watch the women in disbelief. Emily was looking out the window, focusing on what was happening in the horse pasture.

Charlotte approached the two women. “May I help you?”

“Yeah, can you tell me where your iron and ironing board are?” Tracy glanced around as if expecting them to materialize out of thin air. “I need to iron some clothes for Shae Lynne and some curtains for the window.”

“You got new curtains for the window?”

“Yes, bright white ones. They’re adorable. I hope you don’t mind,” Tami said with a smile. “It will really brighten the view from the porch.”

Charlotte didn’t know what to say. “I, uh, suppose that’s okay just as long as I can put the old ones back up when you’re through. Those were Bob’s mom’s curtains, and the windows wouldn’t be the same without them.”

“Oh, yeah, I’ll leave them in the laundry room—if you want to put them back up.” From the look on Tracy’s face Charlotte could tell that she thought putting the old curtains back was a bad idea.

“We’re just going to use the new ones, you know, for the video.” Tami explained. “I assumed you’d want to keep them because they’re white and bright.”

Charlotte didn’t have time to respond before Emily rushed up to her. “Grandma, Britney keeps running away.” She pointed out the window. “I think she’s scared of that man. He’s just so big and scary looking.”

“Well, your Grandpa’s upstairs talking to Uncle Bill on the phone. I’m sure when he’s off the phone he’ll take care of it—one way or the other.”

“What does that mean?” Emily’s lips puckered into a frown. “He’s not going to cancel the contract, is he?” Emily grabbed Charlotte’s arm. “Grandma, don’t let him do that. I have to meet Shae Lynne. I just have to.”

“Do you, now?” Charlotte patted her granddaughter’s hand. “But I didn’t think you liked them being there, scaring Britney like that.”

Emily bit her lip. “It’s not that I don’t want them to be here. Don’t you think Grandpa could just talk to them? Tell them how to take care of her?”

“We’ll see. Why don’t we just let your grandpa handle this. I think that either way he’ll make the right decision.”

Emily didn’t argue, but she returned to the window with a scowl.

Sam rose and motioned to Jordan.

Charlotte turned to them, anticipating their complaints. “And what about you two?” She placed her hands on her hips.

Sam just shook his head. “We’re heading into town to the rec center to play some Ping-Pong and maybe go to Jenny’s Creamery to get some shakes.”

Jordan crossed his arms over his chest. “Things are getting a little too intense around here.”

“Can I go?” Emily asked Charlotte. “I don’t want to stay and watch. I can’t take it either way.”

“Sure, do you mind taking Christopher too?” Charlotte hurried to her purse to get some money for their snack.

“Yeah, I’ll ask him if he wants to go.” Sam grabbed a soda from the fridge, and Jordan did the same.

Charlotte handed them some money, and Sam, surprised, didn’t complain about taking his younger siblings along. “Do you know what time you’ll be home?”

Sam shrugged. “Why don’t you call and tell us when these people leave, and then we’ll let you know.” Then he and the other kids scrambled out to squeeze into Sam’s little car.

As if sensing the tension, Tami and Tracy put down the curtains and walked out of the kitchen, stepping onto the porch.

Charlotte sighed. Outside, Buck was once again trying to get the actor on Britney, and upstairs she could hear Bob’s booming voice as he talked with Bill.

Will they let us back out? Is it too late to change our minds?

Charlotte sighed again. Nothing seemed worth all this conflict. Not even Shae Lynne.