CHAPTER 3
Darby
“Mom… there’s a man over there holding a gun across his lap,” Linnie says. I follow the direction of her gaze over to the hardware store.
Sure enough, a big bear of a fella sits on a rocking chair on the sidewalk with a shotgun resting across his lap. He rocks back and forth with his fingers tapping to some beat perhaps playing in his head. He’s got a bushy gray beard that hangs down his chest and a pleasant smile on his face. The shotgun, however, lends an air of menace to him.
I guess that’s life in a small town.
“I’m sure he’s harmless,” I tell her, but my hand goes to her shoulder to push her more quickly into the front door of Sweet Cakes Bakery.
The bells hanging over the door chime merrily as we enter, and a woman who I know immediately to be Larkin Mancinkus smiles at Linnie and me. I know this is Larkin Mancinkus—a.k.a. sister of Laken Mancinkus—because they’re identical twins. Although Laken wears her hair long and past her shoulders, Larkin’s is cut into a sweet pixie with stylishly frayed bangs that sweep across her forehead. She has a face that was meant to wear that haircut.
“You must be Darby and Linnie,” Larkin says with a welcoming smile and her hands beckoning us further into the store. “Laken told me you made it into town yesterday.”
My hands go to Linnie’s shoulders as I smile back. “Laken told us you have the best baked goods this side of the Mississippi, so here we are.”
Larkin laughs and waves the compliment off. “She’s my sister. Of course she would say that.”
“Well, we’re here to get stocked up. I’m going to drop Linnie at Laken’s veterinary clinic, and she’s going to help her out for the morning while I shop for school supplies.”
I don’t need to look down at my daughter’s face to know she’s probably grimacing at the reminder I’m pawning her off on a stranger. At least that’s exactly what she said to me this morning when I told her she was going to go hang out with Laken and Jake while I went shopping.
Linnie isn’t bent out of shape because I’m not letting her come school shopping with me.
Quite the contrary.
I asked her to come with me, but she resoundingly turned me down. She’s still in snit-mode over me making her leave Illinois, and she’s taking it out on me by making it clear she doesn’t want to be in my presence. I wasn’t going to leave her at the farm by herself, so I gave her the choice of either coming with me to the Walmart in Milner or hanging out with Laken and Uncle Jake.
Linnie wrinkled her nose as if it was no choice at all, but grumbled she would rather spend time with Uncle Jake.
Yes, that really hurt.
I can only hope this attitude will start to mellow once she settles in. Last night, she talked to her father on the phone and he got her riled up. She had him on speakerphone as they talked, and she laid it on super thick with her dad.
“I miss you so much, Daddy,” she’d told him. This was not a lie as Linnie loves her father, but I knew it was exaggerated as she never calls him “daddy”. He may not be doting or overly invested in her entirety, but he is her father and there is love there.
“I really want to come home. Can I please come home and live with you?”
I gritted my teeth over her proclamation because that also hurt, but I braced myself because I knew her father’s response was going to hurt her more than she had just hurt me.
“That’s just not possible, Linnie,” Mitch told her in a firm voice. I call it his “CEO voice” that he usually reserves for the people who work below him. “I’m just far too busy to take care of you full time. That was your mother’s job, and well… she ruined that now, didn’t she?”
That last line was said in the most scathing voice possible. Of course he sees it as all my fault, as he doesn’t want our marriage to end and he’s extremely bitter over me leaving. I guess I just can’t figure out why. We didn’t get along, and nothing I did seemed to please him anymore. Add on the fact he has a mistress who he kept in high style for the last two years, and I’m just not quite sure why he even cares I left. Maybe it’s because I did those things he believes are the woman’s role like cooking, cleaning, and raising the kids.
Might as well keep me barefoot and pregnant while he’s at it.
Larkin puts her forearms on top of the glass case, which hosts an amazing variety of cakes, cookies, breads, and other pastries. She beams down at Linnie. “See anything you like? It’s on the house as a welcome to Whynot.”
Linnie just twists out of my hold on her shoulders and pushes past me to the door. She mutters, “Not hungry” as she jerks it open and walks out.
I watch in dismay as Linnie stomps over to a bench that sits in front of the large glass window to the bakery. She throws herself on it and immediately slouches into a defensive posture, crossing her arms over her chest.
I rub my forehead in frustration and embarrassment before turning my weary gaze back to Larkin. “Sorry about that. I swear she’s a pleasant child, but she’s having the hardest time accepting this move.”
Larkin waves her hand at me, brushing off my apology. “Please… kids will be kids. No need to apologize. That just means you get to have Linnie’s treat.”
That makes me laugh and for the first time, I have a tiny surge of happiness over the move I’ve made. Like validation I made the right decision.
Of course, I immediately liked Laken when I met her on my first visit several weeks ago, so it’s no surprise her twin sister is just as lovely.
But Larkin has something a little bit extra in her smile I don’t get from Laken. It’s almost a gentle sweetness that comes from deep within her soul. I can just look at Larkin and know she’s about the kindest woman I will ever meet. It’s definitely in her eyes, and perhaps the fact she offered me two treats from her case.
After I pick out a chocolate croissant and a slice of banana nut bread for myself, I also order two of the jumbo chocolate chip cookies, knowing it would have been Linnie’s choice. I start pointing to a variety of muffins for Jake and Laken’s breakfast and as a thank-you for watching Linnie today. And without any guilt at all, I tell her to throw in a cherry pie I’ll serve with dinner tonight.
As Larkin starts packaging all the treats in pretty pink boxes with cellophane windows, she chatters up a storm about the town of Whynot. I learn quickly the man on the other side of the square with the gun across his lap is Floyd. He owns the hardware store he sits in front of, and he’s a self-appointed town protector even though Whynot has its own police force. She told me not to be alarmed, but Floyd often prowls around at night with his shotgun to help protect the citizens.
Luckily, I find this more charming than alarming, and it bolsters that previous surge of happiness within me. I have a feeling I’m going to like this area a lot.
“So peaches, huh?” Larkin asks as she stacks the boxes up on the counter before ringing up the purchases.
I pull my wallet out of my purse and nod. “Yeah. Peaches.”
That’s the main crop I’ll focus on at Farrington Farms. I’m going to build Jake a peach orchard from the ground up.
“How did a woman like you get interested in agronomy?” Larkin asks me, and I realize her sister must have told her quite a bit about me since she knows my educational background.
“My sister Kelly and I grew up on a farm in Iowa,” I tell her as she punches buttons on the cash register. “It was a big operation, and I was always more interested in the science behind it all.”
“A smart and beautiful new girl in town,” Larkin says with a wink. “All the boys are going to be after you before too long.”
I give a humorless laugh, because having boys chase me is the last thing I want. I’m in the process of running away from a bully and would just like some peace. But sharing my history with Mitch is a little too personal right now, so I merely say, “I’m going to be far too busy getting the orchard up and running to worry about boys.”
Larkin’s face softens, and the empathetic look she gives me is one of perhaps self-recognition. She gives a tiny smile and says, “Girl, I know exactly what you’re talking about. Running my own business has only assured I stay single. I don’t seem to have time to do anything but work and sleep.”
Something in those words causes a shift within me, as if I recognize very much of myself within Larkin. Or the “self” I want to become.
Like a subtle understanding washing through me, I suddenly know Larkin and I could become very good friends. “Well, I think you and I should at least budget time to go out to lunch or something together.”
Larkin grins at me. “Lunch is good. Wine and cheese one night would be better.”
I grin and nod. “Much better.”
I pay for the pastries minus the two Larkin gave me in welcome, and leave after exchanging phone numbers with her. We promise to try to get together within the next week.
When I step out onto the sidewalk, Linnie pretends to be engrossed in her fingernails. I hold my hand out to her. “Come on. Let’s get over to Laken’s clinic.”
Linnie pushes up with a heavy sigh, ignores my hand, and turns toward the car. I stop her with a, “Nope. We’re going to walk.”
I get another overly dramatic sigh as if she’ll die walking a few blocks, but I merely smile at her brightly. “It’s not going to kill you.”
As we walk beside each other, I make up my mind I am going to kill Linnie with kindness no matter how trying she is to me. She’ll warm up to me sooner rather than later, but I would like to speed things along.
I point across the town square that’s occupied by a large, red bricked courthouse. It has a beautiful lawn, grand oak trees, and a pretty, white gazebo on the southern end. “I found out the guy over there is Floyd. He’s the town protector and always carries a shotgun, but I’ve been assured he’s harmless.”
She looks over to Floyd sitting in front of his hardware store but doesn’t comment.
I point at the different businesses, trying to facilitate conversation. “Larkin told me this is called ‘Courthouse Square’. As evidenced by the large courthouse in the town center. And that is her sister’s law firm, and this bar here is owned by her grandfather.”
I point out a pretty restaurant called Clementine’s and tell her we need to try that. Throwing my thumb over my shoulder, I point back at an antique shop behind us. “I bet there are some cool things in there. We’ll have to check all these shops out.”
She doesn’t respond, but I’m heartened to see her glance around with what I would deem a slight interest. We walk south along South Wright Street and then hang a left on Freemont where Laken’s veterinary clinic sits one block down. She had a few appointments this morning, and I thought it would be cool for Linnie to see how a veterinarian works. It’s never too early to consider career possibilities.
With some difficulty, I’m able to push open the front swinging door of Laken’s clinic with my shoulder while I balance the three pink boxes on top of each other. Linnie walks in before me and comes to a dead halt. I run right into her back after I let the door close behind me, causing the boxes to tilt precariously. After I get them under control, I raise my head to see what might be the most gorgeous man I’ve ever seen in my entire life.
Wavy brown hair a little too long but no, on second look, not really, and bright hazel eyes. Tanned face and cut cheekbones.
His jaw is stubbled and locked hard.
And… he’s glaring at me.