Chapter Nine
Beth stood in front of the crowd that had gathered in the old barn, looking out over a sea of friendly, excited faces. She wiped her sweaty palms on the sides of her jeans, realizing she was more nervous than she should be.
She’d lived in Willow Grove her entire life. Most of these people had known her that long—but maybe that was part of what made her pulse race. Would anyone take them seriously if they’d known them when they were little kids running around the playground at Page Park?
Worse, what about the people (person) who didn’t know her then? What was Mr. Handsome from the diner doing here? He sat in the back row, quiet, unassuming. She could feel him watching her, studying her. It made her feel wobbly.
“He’s totally into you,” Molly said as she passed behind her.
“Will you stop it?” Beth waved her off. “We need to start.”
“You’re the pro.” Molly motioned for Beth to take the stage. “His name’s Drew, by the way.”
Beth glared at her. “Focus.”
They’d been up almost the entire night attempting to make the barn presentable and solidifying their plan, but their work was only a reminder of what Beth had known all along. They couldn’t do this on their own. Hiring out all the help would be too expensive, and while she and Molly were willing to get their own hands dirty, she knew they lacked the sheer strength it would take to do what needed to be done.
And, for the first time in her life, Beth felt like she needed someone to tell her what to do. She hated that feeling. She hated knowing that she didn’t know something. She liked being in charge, and she liked feeling competent.
At Fairwind Farm, she was neither of those things.
In her panic, she’d called Ben, not realizing it was the middle of the night. He wasn’t exactly happy about that, but he did agree to come out for the Community Work Day. Ben’s business kept him busy most of the time, but Beth knew he could at least get them on the right track. As a landscape architect, his expertise would be invaluable. The only question was how involved he would be.
Agreeing to come at all was a big deal for her brother. He didn’t like the attention he got when he was home. Probably why he hadn’t shown up yet. He’d make a late entrance and slip out unnoticed—or try to, anyway.
He wasn’t the kind of guy who often went unnoticed.
Beth took a deep breath and reminded herself she was a professional. It didn’t matter that the barn was filled with people who had watched her grow up. If they had any hope of restoring Fairwind, they needed these people. And these people were obviously excited about the idea. All she had to do was tap into their nostalgia, inspire them to get on board. That would be her focus.
She said a silent prayer, cleared her voice and reminded herself not to meet the gaze of the handsome stranger in the back row.
“Hi, everyone.” She waited for people to quiet down. Across each row, familiar faces turned toward her and smiled, excitement dancing behind their eyes.
Beth smiled back. “For those of you who don’t know us, my name is Beth Whitaker, and this is my sister, Molly.”
Molly waved at the crowd, wearing a smile that made her look younger than her twenty-seven years.
“You’ve probably heard that we are the new owners of Fairwind Farm.”
The crowd erupted in applause, the kind she’d heard at Little League games every summer when she was growing up—celebratory, if a little rowdy.
Beth glanced at Molly, who grinned, reached for Beth’s hand and squeezed. Maybe it was lack of sleep or caffeine (or both), but the whole scene stirred something inside Beth, and she worked to swallow the lump that had formed at the back of her throat.
Molly leaned toward her. “I told you people would love this.”
Beth blinked several times in quick succession, willing away the unwanted emotion.
Obviously Molly understood something about these people that Beth didn’t. They’d gotten up at dawn to spend the day doing manual labor for edible payment and they were cheering? For them?
Something like a laugh rose inside her, and she gestured to the crowd that their applause wasn’t necessary. Finally, they quieted down.
“Wow,” she said. “You guys made me forget what I was going to say.”
Laughter scurried through the group, giving Beth a chance to pause.
“Here’s the truth,” she said. “When Molly came to me with this idea, I thought she’d officially lost her mind.”
More laughter.
“I have no idea if we can pull this off. We’re working on a business plan, and Molly has a notebook full of big, crazy dreams, but we’ve never done anything like this before.” She tried to make eye contact with as many people as she could. “One thing is certain. Without your support, we’ll never make any of those dreams come true. But with your support, with your excitement about Fairwind, I feel like we—all of us—just might see Fairwind flourishing again.” She glanced at her feet, then back to the happy faces in front of her.
Molly inched closer and wrapped an arm around Beth’s shoulder. “My sister is a brilliant businesswoman, as most of you probably know.”
Someone let out an embarrassing “Woot!”
“But she has trouble taking risks that don’t make much sense on paper.”
Beth nodded. “And Fairwind Farm makes no sense on paper.”
A murmur made its way through the crowd.
“Maybe not,” Molly continued. “But it makes sense in here.” She put her hand on her heart. “I don’t have to tell you all how much Fairwind Farm meant to Willow Grove for so many years. For most of us, it was one of the best parts of our childhood. How many of us walked the orchard with our bushel basket and filled it up with the very best apples we’d eat all year? How many nights did we spend out around that bonfire singing songs and roasting marshmallows? How many of us chopped down the perfect Christmas tree right out in that field?”
Beth noticed the sweet expressions on everyone’s faces as they nodded and reminisced along with her sister.
“We want to bring that back. The simple joys that kept our families strong. I’ve done my share of traveling . . .”
She had. Beth envied her that. Beth had lived a confined life while Molly saw the world. It had changed her sister, certainly, but deep down, she was, and always had been, Molly. It was like she never questioned herself. While that sometimes got Molly into trouble, Beth was often paralyzed by all her own second-guessing.
Not her best trait.
Molly went on. “I really believe there’s no place in the world like Willow Grove, and we want to be a part of this community in a memorable and important way. And we will be, for as long as you’ll have us.”
The crowd applauded again as Beth tried not to think about the ramifications of another professional misstep.
“So, why don’t we talk through the way today is going to work?” Molly sounded like she was leading a pep rally, and the people in the barn responded with a cheer.
Beth wondered if they’d all be this excited after they got their work assignments for the day.
She took a step back as Molly started outlining some of the jobs that needed to be done. Only then did she dare a glance in the direction of the good-looking stranger. She was surprised to find his eyes focused squarely on her. This time, instead of pulling her eyes away, she challenged his look with one of her own, locking onto his gaze and wondering if it would set him off balance the way it did her.
She doubted it, but when she detected the slightest lift in his eyebrows, she almost lost her resolve.
Was she flirting?
How ridiculous. She pulled her eyes away and focused on Molly, who was explaining what needed to be done. They’d consulted with Ben on this part too, just to get a list going, but secretly Beth hoped someone would take charge of the whole day and instruct all these people in the tasks that were most pressing.
“There’s weeding, yard work, sweeping out the barns. The barns will need some serious attention, and we haven’t even started talking about the orchard or the trees.”
Already Beth felt overwhelmed. Ben had warned them not to expect anything to look much different at the end of their work day, and she knew he’d never leave his business to give them the kind of help they probably needed. He just couldn’t—he’d worked too hard.
Still, she wished someone with some know-how would come forward and take a bit of the guesswork out of this whole project. Beth felt like a child who’d just been thrown into the deep end of the pool without a life preserver.
“We have to clear out the old before we can bring in anything new,” Molly told the group of willing workers after assigning them to various tasks. “And don’t forget to head back here for lunch at noon. We’ll be grilling hot dogs and burgers, and several of the ladies from Willow Grove Community Church brought dishes to pass. We promise they all have clean kitchens.”
The crowd laughed, and once Molly was finished, they dispersed to their respective jobs. Mr. Handsome sat for a long moment as the others shuffled out around him. He took what seemed to be the last drink of his coffee, stood and walked straight toward her. Beth stiffened—like a junior high girl at her first dance. What if he talks to me?
Her mouth went dry.
He met her eyes as he threw his coffee cup in the trash can right beside her, then quietly strolled out of the barn. Holy smokes. She needed to get ahold of herself. Beth Whitaker was not one of those girls who went weak in the knees over a guy. No matter how good-looking and mysterious he was.
She felt foolish that she’d half expected him to talk to her, when really he was just looking for the garbage can.
Get a grip.
She turned and found Molly and Callie staring at her. “What?”
“What was that?” Callie’s eyes were wide.
“What?”
“Whatever that long, sexy gaze was between you and Drew the handsome cowboy,” Callie said.
“He’s a cowboy?” Beth didn’t date cowboys. She’d always gone for guys in suits and ties. Guys like Michael. Of course, look where that had gotten her.
Molly shrugged. “Looks like a cowboy to me. A cowboy in a baseball cap.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You’re smitten with him, aren’t you?” Molly waggled her eyebrows, looking every bit the little sister she was.
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
“I think the feeling is mutual,” Callie said.
“What feeling?”
Ben. Thank God.
Callie snapped her jaw shut at the sound of his voice. She’d had this thing for Beth’s oldest brother ever since they were kids, and he seemed either uninterested or unwilling to notice. Beth had barely touched on the subject with Ben, whose own heartbreak had taken him out of the dating game years ago. They’d only spoken in generalities, but he clearly wasn’t ready for romance. Not yet.
Her thoughts briefly turned to Michael. Had their relationship put Beth’s whole life on hold the way Ben’s heartbreak had done for him?
God, I don’t want to be as closed off as my brother. Please help me get past this.
She’d prayed this so many times over the years. It never seemed to stick. But then, maybe she hadn’t meant it before. Something about seeing Ben unknowingly standing next to someone who would love him unconditionally pulled a sadness through her soul—not only for her brother, but for herself.
Neither of them needed to keep living in the past.
She pushed the thoughts aside. “It’s nothing. What’d you do, sneak in the back?”
Ben pulled his tattered baseball cap down even lower. “I think I was undetected, if that’s what you’re asking.”
Molly rolled her eyes. “You could’ve helped with our sales pitch, you know. Having a baseball celebrity on our little stage would’ve given us some street cred.”
“Former baseball celebrity,” Ben said.
“Around here, you’ll always be a celebrity.” The words seemed to have escaped Callie’s lips without her permission. She stared at Ben with that faraway look in her eyes. And he seemed as oblivious as he always did.
“Cal, how about you get started prepping lunch, and we can go pick Ben’s brain for a while.” Beth had gotten used to keeping her friend from making a fool of herself. She considered it her duty.
Callie sprang into action without a word, and the three Whitakers headed outside.
“Can’t believe how many people showed up,” Ben said. “That’s a good sign, I guess.”
“You guess?” Molly didn’t hide her annoyance. “Five years from now when this place is back on the map, producing apples and pumpkins and landing on the cover of Country Living magazine, you’re both going to have me to thank for it.” She stomped off toward Bishop, who looked about as awkward holding a hammer as Molly would’ve in a power suit. Beth had gotten used to seeing him in his police uniform, but today he sported old jeans and a gray T-shirt, covered by an open flannel. His freshly cut sandy-colored hair had darkened a bit over the winter, and he wore an eager expression.
“She’s spunky, we have to give her that,” Beth said.
“Don’t get so swept up in this that you forget why you’re here.” Ben crossed his arms. “You’re the brains. Be the brains.”
“I could use another brain, you know. And some of your millions.”
Ben laughed and started toward the house. “I don’t have millions.”
“But you have lots.”
“So do you, Beth. Don’t pretend you haven’t been squirreling money away for the past ten years.”
He didn’t know the truth. No one did. They would be so disappointed in her. The smart one. The sensible one.
Hardly.
“It’s not that simple,” she said. “Molly’s broke. I’m looking for a couple of investors. Of course, my first thought was you. I’m sure you agree we don’t want to bring Mom into this.”
Ben shook his head. “You’re right about that.”
“Even though she’ll never use everything Dad left her,” Beth muttered.
“No, we aren’t dragging her into this. We don’t even know if she’s healthy yet.”
“I know. And I agree.” Beth frowned. “So it looks like we’re on our own.”
Her older brother looked the part of a rugged outdoorsmen, like he’d just stepped off the pages of an Eddie Bauer catalog. In fact, he fit so well in the great outdoors, Beth couldn’t understand how or why he’d chosen to make a life in the city. He didn’t care as much as she did what people thought of him, so what was it? Why was he so intent on staying away from Willow Grove?
“I’ll look around and let you know what I think.”
“And you’ll help me come up with a plan?”
Ben met her gaze. “Isn’t that what I just said?”
She frowned. “No. That’s not at all what you said.”
“I’ll let you know. Just give me some space, you nutball.” He walked away, pretending to be annoyed. At least Beth thought he was pretending.
As he disappeared behind the old barn, she did a slow turn around the property. What if this was another bad investment? What if this time, instead of being purposely swindled by a slick-talking salesman, she was accidentally swindled by a well-intentioned sister?
Beth had managed to save back up a little—enough to match Molly’s investment, but not much more. What would she tell her siblings when they asked why she couldn’t put more toward their new pet project? She certainly couldn’t tell them the truth.
People bustled around the yard, hauling branches and piling garbage into the dumpster, all working diligently for the promise of something none of them could really deliver—pockets of peace in the middle of a much too busy life.
And it was all Beth could do not to wonder if she’d just sunk the last of her little nest egg into a project doomed before it started.