Chapter Thirty-Four
Beth stood on the porch, watching as Ben’s truck pulled into the parking lot next to her Audi. Moments later, Molly’s VW Bug appeared at the farm’s entry.
A Whitaker family meeting was in order, and Beth had a feeling it wouldn’t go smoothly.
Yesterday’s storm had upended their plans, and her brother and sister needed to see it for themselves. She and Drew hadn’t discussed the future of the farm. He’d spent every waking minute since they’d left the chapel clearing away the debris that had rained down on their beloved Fairwind. Never in her life had she known someone to work with such diligence, especially for something that wasn’t his.
Why couldn’t they just crawl back underneath the chapel pew and pretend none of this was happening?
Molly and Bishop got out of the VW as Ben opened the door of his truck. Under different circumstances, it might have been a nice gathering.
Beth greeted everyone, the mood decidedly somber. “I asked Callie to join us too,” she said, watching her old friend’s car pull into the parking lot. “The bakery was one of the areas hit the worst.” She hated that she’d talked Callie into coming on this grand adventure with her and everything had fallen apart.
“I’ll show you guys the damage.”
They reached the main barn and took turns marveling at the harm the storm had done. Thankfully, most of the other outbuildings, including Birdie’s art barn, were unscathed. Beth would cling to that small miracle every time she looked at the hole in the main barn’s roof.
They stood in the doorway looking at the destruction as Drew cleared away all of the branches that didn’t belong indoors.
“Thank God you weren’t hurt, Beth,” Callie said.
“I’m fine. Drew’s fine. Even the animals are all fine,” she said. “But we have a lot of work to do.”
“I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” Molly said.
Beth’s eyes widened. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, I know Davis Biddle called you.”
Beth’s heart lurched. She could feel Drew’s eyes on her. Why hadn’t she told him about the phone call? Because she was actually considering taking the offer or because she didn’t want him to tell her to consider taking the offer?
It was an impossible decision.
“Who’s Davis Biddle?”
Beth couldn’t believe what she was hearing as Molly filled Ben in on Davis’s offer. Clearly her sister—the one who’d once fought tooth and nail for this farm—had given up.
Just like that.
“I can’t believe you.”
Molly turned to her. “What?”
“You think we should sell.”
“Of course I do, Beth. Look around.”
Beth could feel the slack in her own jaw. What had happened to Molly’s insistence that this was their second chance? Didn’t her sister understand how much Beth had grown to love this farm?
The realization wove through the back of Beth’s mind.
She loved this place. And she’d fight for it—even if her sister wouldn’t.
“No. Fairwind is not for sale.” Beth squared her shoulders.
“The way I see it,” Molly said, “we didn’t have enough money before the storm, but now? All the work we’ve already done is ruined.”
“We can fix it,” Beth said.
“Not for free.” Molly shook her head. “I think maybe you were right from the beginning. It might be time to admit that we’re in over our heads.”
“So, what? We’re just supposed to pack it all up? Sell the farm to a man who’ll turn it into God only knows what?”
“What do you suggest, Beth?” Ben asked coolly. “We’ve sunk about as much as we want to into this place.”
He was right. She had nothing more to give. She’d practically drained her trust on repairs for Fairwind Farm. But this couldn’t be the end. She couldn’t give up on her “why” just because she didn’t see a way out of this right at that moment.
Sunlight streamed in through the gaping hole in the roof.
“Just let me think for a minute,” she said.
“There’s nothing to think about.” Molly crossed her arms.
“Then what am I supposed to do now?” She was horrified when her eyes filled with tears. Behind her, Drew stopped moving, gaze fixed on her.
“Beth, you can go back to your job at Whitaker Mowers, and it’ll be like none of this ever happened,” Molly said.
“I can’t.” The words slipped out before she could catch them.
“Of course you can. They’ve probably been bugging you for taking so much time off.”
Beth’s eyes fell to the ground at Molly’s feet. “No, they haven’t. They asked me to resign.”
“They what?” Ben asked.
She looked up. Found their eyes, full of confusion. Drew took a step toward her—for moral support?
“I made a mistake. A big one. It cost the company a lot of money.” A knot caught in her throat. “Dad found out about it, and he covered for me, but after he died, I knew it was only a matter of time before someone else connected the dots.”
“Beth,” Molly practically whispered.
“How bad was it?” Ben asked.
“Bad.” Shame wound its way through her belly. “It was really bad. And Dad told me it was bad before I did it, but I thought I knew better.”
“Why didn’t you say anything?” Molly asked.
A tear streamed down Beth’s cheek. “Are you kidding? And admit that I was wrong?” She wiped the tear away. “What would you have thought of your big sister then?”
“Um, that she was human?” Molly reached over and tugged on Beth’s hand. “It’s okay, Beth. We all mess up.”
“I know that now. And I know that keeping it to myself only made it worse, but I was afraid of letting you all down. Especially Dad. I thought if I could make a go of this—make it work somehow—I could prove that I wasn’t a total disaster.”
She glanced at Drew, who watched her, his strength and support the only thing enabling her to continue.
“I know it doesn’t work that way. Dad forgave me. I guess I just needed to forgive myself.”
“That sounds like a smart idea,” Molly said.
“But you can understand why I can’t let you sell the farm to Davis Biddle.”
“You can start over, Beth.”
“She’s right,” Ben said. “If this guy wants the farm as much as he says he does, we’ve got some leverage. We can make sure we all get out of it what we put into it.” Ben had always been the voice of wisdom, and Beth always agreed with him.
Until now.
“What about your mom?” Callie asked, eyes hopeful. “I mean, it doesn’t change much for me, but I feel so bad for you guys. I loved your plans. Everyone in town loved your plans.”
“We agreed not to bring our mom into this,” Beth said. “Because of her health.”
Callie stilled. “Well, what do you think, Drew?”
Drew stood on the outside of their circle, arms crossed. “I think it’ll be hard to get everything repaired by fall.”
“But not impossible, right?” Beth could hear the naïve hopefulness in her own voice. Somehow Molly had become the voice of reason, and she’d become, well, the deluded one.
Drew looked away.
Not him too.
“It doesn’t seem like we have a choice.” Ben shook his head. “We don’t really have any reason not to sell to this guy.”
Beth caught a glimpse of Drew, who looked like he might choke on whatever words he wasn’t saying.
“What is it?” She turned to him.
His eyes widened.
“You have something to say, I can tell.”
He shook his head. “I don’t.”
She stared at him. Didn’t he know she’d been watching him swallow his thoughts for weeks now? Usually she let him off the hook, but not this time. “Tell me.”
“You’re just as much a part of this as the rest of us, man,” Ben said.
“You’re more a part of this than the rest of us,” Beth said quietly.
Drew shook his head, as if silently making a decision. “We’re not going to land on the same side of this one, Beth. Just let it go.”
“Why?” She felt like she’d been punched in the stomach. “You don’t want to fight for everything we’ve been working for?”
“Of course I do.” He kept his voice calm and even as always. “But you’re more important. You’ve got a chance to get out of this without losing everything. You should take it.”
Beth looked around the circle of sad faces that all told her the same thing. No matter how much she wished it, the only way to save the farm was to let it go.
None of them saw any other choice. And as much as she hated to admit it, neither did she.
Their dreams for Fairwind Farm had washed away in the storm.