Extra Lessons

Chapter Twenty-One

"Good job, Mister Hargraves," Bennett says as I turn in my final exam.

I smile at Bennett as I hand over my test and walk to the door.

There's still another hour left in the class time for the exam so I'm heading to the farm.

We're planning on meeting up later for drinks at Cannon Waters and then spending the night at my place.

I'm supposed to hear from the seller on the house this week as well.

I put a bid in, just above asking price.

The news that the farm was being sold obviously didn't go over well with my parents.

There was yelling and tears from all parties.

The blame was passed around quickly and words were said that no one really meant.

Charlie has doubled his effort in trying to figure out how to save the farm.

I don't know if he's even slept in the last week.

Joyce has come by the house more than once, asking me to talk to him.

I don't know what to say to him. I felt the same way Dad did when I first found out.

I'm still upset about it, but I have a plan in place now.

Looking back, I can see a difference in myself from the beginning of this summer to now.

Even Bennett has pointed out that I seem more confident in my decisions, personally and in my work.

When I get to the farm, I'm surprised to see Finnigan and Bailey together on the porch. They're sitting side-by-side on the swing. No other cars are in the drive, which means they must have just been sitting here waiting. I didn't even know Finnigan was back in town. Or why he's with Bailey.

"Can I help you?" I ask, walking up the stairs. I really just want to go relax after that exam, but I'm not going to leave them here.

Finnigan holds up a stack of papers and Bailey smiles. I have no idea what is going on.

"You're not loosing your farm." Finnigan stands and holds out the papers. I flip through them, not sure at what I'm looking at.

"What?" I look between him and Bailey.

"You're not loosing your farm," Finnigan repeats.

"You were scammed. Well, your brother was scammed.

Dirty bastards played a new trick, but I caught it.

It took a bit of trickery myself, but it's all there.

That's the original contract with the very small percentage of acreage your brother actually sold them.

Which, they've sold back to you. Him. Well, once he signs this document.

They're paying triple what your brother sold it for and are also paying court, lawyer, and emotional distress costs to each member of this family. "

This is too much to wrap my head around. I stare at Finnigan, hoping the blank expression will alert him that I have no idea what he is talking about. He sighs and Bailey laughs. "Dude, call your brother and tell him to get home now. We'll explain everything."

"How do you know about all of this?" I ask, looking from Finnigan to Bailey and back.

"Just make the call," Bailey says. "It's an exciting story, but I only want to tell it once."

I do as requested. Joyce and Charlie are on their way home already. They'd been out grocery shopping. I go inside and make a couple glasses of sweet tea and we wait for them on the porch. Charlie is wearing a similar, very confused expression on his face that I had. Still have, really.

We make our way inside and sit at the dining room table. Finnigan lays all the papers out as Bailey starts explaining what they did. He's eccentric about it, way too excited and using too many details to get to the point. After a minute, Finnigan lays on a hand on his shoulder to stop him.

"We'll be here all day if he tells this story.

Basically, I read over the contract. It didn't read right from one page to the next, like there was a section missing.

" He points to the third page of the contract and then the fourth.

"It's not a common thing to add into contracts, but as someone who knows the differences in what is usually found in what type of contract, this felt off.

At first, I reached out to the company to request a physical copy of the original one.

They pretty much blocked me immediately.

Red flags went up. So, I got a bit more creative.

I found out who the contract was written by and reached out to them as a potential land developer for another farm around here. "

"That's where I come in!" Bailey says. It's almost comical how excited he seems about this. "I pretended to be the kid that didn't want to inherit the farm and wanted it sold."

"And you played your part perfectly," Finnigan says.

The smile he gives Bailey is a bit too soft and I wonder what's going on between them.

Finnigan turns back to Charlie and myself.

"Anyway, I finally made contact and the guy was all too eager to tell me how they did it.

The original contract was for just that plot of land in the back, but when they realized you left without requesting a copy of your own, they had someone go in and adjust things here and there to reflect something different.

I could go into details, but it's a bunch of jargon. "

"So, we're not selling the farm?" Charlie asks. Finnigan smiles.

"You're not selling the farm. Not even the original plot of land." He flips several pages and points to a section. "I made them write this in myself. If you sign here, you own everything again, plus they're paying you back a lot more than what you were selling to them for."

Joyce comes up behind Charlie and hugs him. I can see tears in her eyes. She reaches a hand over and squeezes my arm as well.

"And this is legit? This isn't something that is going to screw us over again?"

"I promise," Finnigan says. "Besides, my brother would murder me if I screwed over his boyfriend."

I stay silent, not sure how I feel about this.

I'm happy, of course. It means the farm stays in the family.

Dad will be happy too. Hopefully, after we explain that they scammed us, he'll forgive Charlie.

I don't know what it means for me, though.

I finished the class, I'm getting the certification.

I'm supposed to be training for the job starting next week.

I love the farm and always thought that I would live and die working on it, but this summer taught me that I have more to offer than just this.

I've grown to like the idea of doing something else.

"I think we need to celebrate," Charlie says. For the first time in a while, I see him smile. A genuine smile. He turns that smile on me and I do my best to not show my thoughts. "You can keep the house, Nel."

I nod along and smile, but my eyes catch Finnigan's stare and I can tell he sees right through me.

He doesn't say anything, which I'm grateful for.

I watch as Charlie signs the documents where Finnigan tells him to.

It only takes a couple of minutes before he sits back, stacking the papers back together.

"I'll make extra copies of this original contract and give each of you one, plus keep a copy for myself. I'll take care of sending this and filing everything."

"I don't know how to thank you," Charlie says. "You have to stay and have dinner with us, at least."

"I appreciate it," Finnigan says. "But I promised this one I'd drop him off at work and then I have to fly back to Chicago tonight. I still have a job there waiting for me. It felt good to be on this side of a contract for once, though. That's payment enough."

Charlie stands and shakes Finnigan's hand.

I do the same before walking outside with them.

I want to ask what's going on with them, but I'll see Bailey at work later.

I'll interrogate him then, when he's obligated to talk to me.

I nod toward both of them as they head to the car.

I turn around when the screen door opens. Joyce steps out.

"Your brother is calling your parents to tell them the news," she says simply. I nod. I'll have to talk to Bennett tonight about all of this. It's a lot to process. "You have a tough decision to make, don't you?"

"You always were able to read my mind," I say and roll my eyes. She gives me a side eye glance and laughs. "I'll make the decision soon. I just feel like I have to talk to Bennett first."

"Have you heard on the house yet?"

"No. They're supposed to make the decision by tomorrow, so I guess it'll depend on that, too."

"You know you always have a place here if you want it," Joyce says. She says it like I've already made up my mind. "You better come around for Sunday dinners, though. I don't care what you have going on or what Bennett says. Sunday evenings are for family; I'm making that a new rule."

"Yes, ma'am." I turn and give her a hug.

"Now go on and get back to your place," she says. "We have time enough to talk about this."

I give her one more hug before heading to my truck. I can't believe that we're keeping the farm. I'm grateful for it and have a whole new appreciation as I drive to my house. I decide to wait outside for Bennett. He shouldn't be too much longer coming home.

Home.

I know it's only been a few weeks with him, but I was serious that night up at the overlook.

I don't need two years to decide if I want to spend the rest of my life with him.

I don't have a ring, but I know that if I asked he'd say yes.

I close my eyes and rock back and forth gently in the chair.

I love my rocking chair on this porch. It was my Mama's growing up and it'll definitely be coming with me if I do decide to move off the farm after all.

I picture our life together a few years from now from both sides.

Me, managing a team during the week and working the farm on the weekends.

Bennett being a full time college professor.

Maybe a dog and a kid running around. I smile at the thought of a future with Bennett.

I'm so lost in my daydream that I don't hear his car pulling up, or him walking up on the porch.

I startle when he kisses my cheek. His smile and soft laugh calm me down immediately. "You looked either deep in thought or just asleep."

"Deep in thought," I say. I stand up and pull him into a hug. When he pulls back, I cup his face and smile. "I love you."

I see a range of emotion on his face. Shock, then happiness, with everything between. He drops his bag on the porch and kisses me. "I love you, too, Nelson."

We stand there until we're both breathless and sweating from the early afternoon heat. I whisper the words to him over and over between kisses. He takes my hand and pulls me inside the house. I know exactly what he has on his mind.

"You'll be happy to know that you passed my class," he says. He's still pulling me through the house, heading straight to the bedroom. "I took a preemptive look at your test. You must have learned something from me because you scored very well."

"I think I scored very well in other areas too," I say. I stop and pull him closer to me. "A plus for partner, I think."

"Stop it." He says it playfully and swats at my chest. "You're going to make me blush."

"Oh, I have many ways I can make you blush." He wiggles out of my grip and turns to head to the bedroom. I follow after him.

I stop short when I walk into the bedroom.

The whole room has been decorated. The usual gray blanket is now a deep crimson color, the curtains are pulled shut to block out most of the natural light.

There's a lamp on the bedside table that gives off a warm glow.

Rose petals are scattered around the room and there are several candles next to the lamp. Not lit, but I see the box of matches.

"What is this?" I ask.

Bennett turns around to face me. "You haven't walked in here yet?"

"No." I shake my head. I try to take it every little detail I can. "Your brother stopped by and then I was waiting for you on the porch."

"Wait, my brother? Why was he here?"

"It's a long story, but a happy ending. I'll tell you later." I walk toward the table and pick up one of the candles. I recognize the brand label as the one Bennett told me about that burns down into an oil for your skin. "When did you do all this? We left together this morning."

"I circled back around," Bennett says easily. "I know how hard you worked this summer and with everything going on at once, I wanted you to come home to something nice. We don't have to use the candles, but they're there just in case."

"No, I definitely want to." I set it down and hold out my arms. "Come here."

Bennett steps into my embrace and I hug him tight. "You're the best. You know that, right?"

"You're the best," I say. I start unbuttoning his shirt as he undoes my belt and jeans. "Now, where's this obligatory lotion I must rub on you?"