Chapter 15
It was the coolest day they’d had in a month. Ruthie had opened all the windows, done two loads of laundry, and then pinned everything on the clothesline. Then, in celebration, she and Lizzie pulled out a blanket and decided to have a little break, out on the field.
As usual, after Lizzie wandered around a bit and smelled everything she could find, the portly basset hound sat down in the middle of the quilt and promptly fell asleep.
Ruthie knew from experience that she could either attempt to move the silly dog, which was an exercise in frustration …
Or, she could simply sit on the edge and let Lizzie sprawl in comfort.
“You are lucky you have a home with me, you silly hund,” she said as her bare ankles rested in a nest of grass. “Most owners would surely put you in your place.”
Lizzie opened one eye but didn’t budge an inch. Honestly, Ruthie was pretty certain that the dog had understood what she said and was pleased about it.
When she spied Kyle putting Velvet out to pasture nearby, she waved him over. “What’s going on?”
“Oh, I needed a project to keep my mind off some things, so I decided to work with Velvet a bit.”
“What do you intend to do?”
“Jah, I know, but I agree with you that she’s been a bit off.”
“That’s why I asked Daisy to come over. Velvet did seem to be a little bit brighter after she spent some time with her.
I haven’t thought about her much at all, I’m afraid.
Now that you do the milking every morning, all I think is that I’m happy I don’t have to sit on that milking stool when it’s cold and dark outside. ”
Kyle grinned. “I’d probably do the same thing.”
“Do you think she’s sick?” Guilt for taking the cow for granted hit her hard. But so did worry about vet bills. She and Mervin had talked more than once about how ignorant they’d been about veterinary expenses.
“Nee.” Staring at the cow some more, he shrugged. “I guess it was more of a feeling. Like, maybe Velvet is lonely or something.”
She shook her head. “Cows don’t get lonely.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because they’re cows,” she sputtered. “I think they only are concerned with eating and being milked.”
“Umm, I think you might be wrong about that, Ruthie. I know that Velvet hates thunderstorms, enjoys being talked to when she’s getting milked, and she watches me and Mervin whenever we visit the Percherons.”
Now she just felt foolish and ungrateful. Here Velvet was a living, breathing animal who provided all their milk. “Would you like me to call the veterinarian?”
“Nee, not at all. Like I said, I wanted to see if all she needed was a change of scenery for a few hours today.”
“Thank you for taking such good care of our animals.”
“No need for thanks. It’s my job.”
Ruthie realized that Velvet wasn’t the only creature on the farm who was acting a little under the weather. “Hey, are you all right?”
“Of course.”
“I’m serious. Maybe you need a day off?” He had been working an awful lot. Maybe she and Mervin had been allowing him to overdo it. “A break from here might do you a world of good.” She smiled so Kyle would know that she was being sincere.
“No, I am fine.” Kyle’s expression clouded for a moment before he blurted, “I’ve been thinking about Daisy.”
“Is her recovery still going well??”
“Jah. But … well, did you know that she’d been saving to buy this farm? And that Samuel Burkholder had verbally promised that he’d wait to sell it until she had enough for the bank to go in with her for the loan?”
“I had heard something about that, but I didn’t think anyone was serious about her wanting to run a farm.”
“She was very serious.”
“That’s a pity, then. But, Kyle, as much as I feel sorry that she didn’t get her wish, Samuel’s choice to sell the farm to Mervin and me was his choice. When the broker reached out to Mervin about this farm being available, he never said that we were taking it from another prospective buyer.”
“I understand. It’s just … well, I know a little bit about being caught off guard.”
“I do, too, but this isn’t what it was. The truth is that Samuel was exhausted.
This farm was too much for him to handle on his own.
He was ready to go live with his daughter and her family and start sleeping past five in the morning.
It’s a shame he didn’t take the time to tell Daisy that, but she surely didn’t expect he would continue to live here on his own until she could buy an expensive piece of land. ”
“I don’t know if she did or she didn’t.”
“If she did, then I feel sorry for her, because simply buying this land isn’t enough. One has to pay for the grain, the water, the gas line … and vet bills. Plus, she would’ve had to get some help to plow the fields. It’s a hard job for even a strong man like yourself.”
Kyle seemed to consider what she was saying. Nodding slowly, he murmured, “Jah. You’re right.”
“I hope she hasn’t made you feel guilty?” she asked, since she was starting to feel like Kyle was taking too much on his shoulders.
“I don’t feel guilty.”
She didn’t believe him. “Kyle, all you’ve done is taken a job that your best friend asked you to do. You had nothing to do with the Burkholders selling their farm, Mervin and me buying the farm, or Daisy not having enough money to purchase it.”
Kyle held up a hand. “Okay. I get it. I’m sorry I brought it up.”
So much for her trying to have a gentle conversation with him! All she’d done so far was defend her and Mervin’s purchase!
“Nee, I’m sorry if I’ve said too much. Listen, I know I don’t sound sympathetic about Daisy’s disappointment, but it’s not because I don’t care about her or wish that she’d been able to have worked something out.
” She chose her words with care. “But listen, life is filled with disappointments. Kids don’t get picked on teams, vacations are cancelled, accidents happen, people get fired …
the list goes on and on. It’s unfair of her to hold on to a grudge about something that was never hers to begin with. ”
“I understand.”
“I hope so.”
“I think I’m going to pay her a visit and see how she’s doing.”
“I’ll make another pie and you can take it over for me. Or, if you’d like, I’ll go with you,” she added eagerly. Anything to make him feel more at ease.
“If you don’t mind, I’d like to go over on my own. But I’ll take the pie, if you were serious.”
“Oh, I was serious. I don’t ever joke about pies,” she teased.