Chapter 9
The dream haunted Brodie all day on Monday as he and his brothers fertilized all the apple, peach, and pear trees, then covered the ground under them with a bed of straw. When they finished, all three of them sunk down in the lawn chairs in the front yard.
Knox passed out the last three beers in the cooler and groaned. “This farming business is more tiring than framing out a five-thousand-square-foot house.”
“Or tooling an entire saddle,” Tripp added. “I’m almost too tired to enjoy the lovely sunset.”
“All I want to do is take a shower and fall into bed,” Brodie said, but he wondered if Audrey was sitting on her porch enjoying the lovely sunset that splashed the sky with brilliant colors that evening.
Tripp took a long drink of his beer. “Have you been bored today?”
“Were you ready for a little peace and quiet?” Knox asked.
Brodie had trouble following their trains of thought. “Why are you asking me those questions?”
“We haven’t seen Audrey all day. After all the excitement you’ve had recently, fertilizing and laying straw would seem a little boring, right?” Knox answered the question with another one.
Brodie glanced across the fence that was still broken down.
“Been a wonderful day. Got a lot done with y’all’s help, and I was not bored.
I love this farm, and tomorrow we sign all the papers to buy the barn for Tripp.
” He changed the subject in hopes that they didn’t talk about Audrey anymore since, if he was truthful with himself, he missed the excitement of seeing her that day.
“Yep, and then I’m calling all the favors for helping you with the farm the last three months,” Tripp said.
Brodie stretched his long legs out in front of him and leaned his head back. “I’ll be there to help all I can, and I’ll bring Pansy with me.”
“If you do, you will keep her on the leash,” Tripp said with a nod. “Maybe she and Aunt Bernie’s yappy little mutt will be friends.”
“What makes you think those two will ever meet?” Brodie asked.
“Bernie takes Pepper for a walk every day,” Knox answered. “Usually, it’s down to Luna and Shane’s beer, bait, and bologna store. Since the barn is on her way back to the Paradise, chances are she’ll use the excuse to come see how the work is going so she can pester you about the next blind date.”
“I’m done with that,” Brodie declared. “If she sets me up with more, I simply will not show up. It’s your turn, Tripp.”
“I’ll pass. Knox can have it,” Tripp said without a hint of a smile.
“Thank you so much, brother.” Knox’s voice was dripping with sarcasm. “But I’ll let the next eligible bachelor step right up to the plate.”
Brodie chuckled. “How many bachelors, other than us three, have you seen in this part of the state? Bernie is running out of product to sell.”
“Yuk!” Knox said. “The notion of being a commodity for her matchmaking mill makes me need a shower.”
Tripp laughed out loud. “Brother, after the way we’ve sweated all day, we all need a shower.
When it comes to Bernie, I’m going to swear that I’m too busy to date because I’m working on my new store, and then I’ll be too busy producing product.
” He air quoted the last word. “Then I’m going to hire a pretty lady to help me out, and one of the prerequisites to her working with and/or for me is that she has to pretend to be my girlfriend. ”
“Dang it,” Knox groaned. “Why didn’t I think of that?”
“I called it first,” Tripp said.
“Or you could both say N-O , like I’m going to do,” Brodie told them.
Tripp shook his head. “ N-O reads Y-E-S in Bernie’s head. Let’s get on home to the Paradise. I put a big pot of chili on to simmer all day before we left this morning. I’m hoping there’s enough left to feed us tonight.”
“If it’s all gone, I’ll whip up breakfast for supper,” Brodie offered.
A picture flashed in his head of him and Audrey making pancakes together in a small kitchen and bumping into each other at every turn.
A warm feeling rushed through his body, and he was glad that his brothers had walked on ahead of him so they couldn’t see the smile on his face.
***
“Think that Callahan feller will ever sell his place to you?” Walter asked as he wiped sweat from his brow with a red bandanna.
Audrey shrugged. “I’m trying, but the news isn’t good.”
“Well, whether he does or not, I’m retiring, so get ready for it,” Walter said.
“I went to work right here back when Frank and Ira were teenagers, and their daddy was still alive. I want to have a few years to relax before I die, and besides, trying to supervise all the work on both places would be too much for this old man. Heck, this farm alone is too much, and you can count this as my notice to quit after the fall harvest is in.”
“No!” Audrey gasped. “You’re the backbone of the place, Walter. You’ve been like a grandpa to me all my life.”
He removed his worn straw hat and fanned his face.
“I know, baby girl, but the time that I spent down on the coast with my sister and her family got me to thinking real hard about retiring anyway. She owns one of them tiny houses right next door to her place, and she’s offered to let me move into it.
But don’t you worry none; I ain’t planning to leave until after fall harvest.”
“Fair enough,” Audrey said, but down deep she hoped she could talk him into another year before he went south.
Walter was eighty years old. That crazy pot-bellied pig of Brodie’s could have hidden in the deep wrinkles in his long face.
His tall, lanky frame looked like a gentle spring breeze could blow him all the way across the Red River and into Oklahoma.
He would make a perfect actor to play the scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz , but when folks got to know him, they looked right past his age and body build and saw only his big heart.
“Now, let’s put that conversation on the back burner and talk about that fence that’s down. Want me to have one of the hired help fix it?” Walter asked.
“Nope,” Audrey answered. “Brodie says since the barbed wire is on his side of the posts that the fence belongs to him.”
“That’s right. Ira put it up when he and Frank divided the land.
He had the place surveyed and them little flags put up in a row, so he’d know what was his property.
Frank told him that he’d better not take an inch of what belonged to him, so Ira set his fence back one foot from the edge,” Walter explained.
“Them fightin’ over a woman like they did broke me from suckin’ eggs. ”
Audrey slapped a hand over her mouth. “Is that the reason you never married?”
“Yep,” Walter answered. “Love ’em and leave ’em with a smile on their faces has been my motto ever since that fence was put up.”
“And you’re saying that if I walk right up to that fence, then I’m actually on Brodie’s property.”
Walter looked down at her feet. “I reckon with a shoe size as small as you wear, the answer would be yes.”
“Well, dang it all!” Audrey said.
***
Brodie was more than a little nervous the next morning when he walked into the real estate office with his two brothers. He scanned the office and then breathed a long sigh of relief when Linda Massey was nowhere in sight.
“Little spooked, were you?” Knox asked under his breath.
“No, not a little—a lot,” Brodie admitted.
“Hello!” A short lady with gray hair came out of a door at the end of the short hallway. “You must be the Callahan brothers. Jody will be with you in a minute. He’s just finishing up with another client. Please have a seat. Can I get you a cup of coffee, a cold soda, or water?”
“I’m fine,” Tripp said with a smile.
“Me, too,” Brodie and Knox said at the same time.
“Are we really doing this?” Knox asked. “We can always run out the door if you aren’t sure that you want to sink so much money into renovations. We can start fresh and build a spanking brand-new place for your business.”
Brodie chuckled. “That sounds like the speech you would give a groom just before he walks down the aisle.”
A smile tickled the corners of Tripp’s mouth. “I’m not marrying the barn, but I am sure about buying it.”
An older man came out of the first office.
A younger one, not much older than the Callahan brothers, shook his hand and then motioned for them.
“Y’all come on in. I’m sorry that my meeting went a little longer and apologize that you had to wait.
I’m Jody Thompson, and I’ll handle all the paperwork on this deal.
Y’all have a seat.” He opened up a thick folder and riffled through some papers.
“My Uncle Walter told me that you guys own the farm next to Audrey’s place.
If you’re interested in selling it, he says that Audrey would give you top dollar for it. ”
“Thanks, but I’m not interested,” Brodie said. “Actually, I own the place, and Tripp will be the only one on the deed for what we’re buying today.”
“But we help each other out,” Knox said.
“So, you are putting a leather store in the old barn?” Jody asked.
“That’s right,” Tripp answered.
Jody looked over at Knox. “What about you? There’s a couple of parcels of land just east of Spanish Fort going up for sale soon. Keep me in mind if you decide to buy something to build on.”
“Thank you, and when I get ready to build or buy, I’ll give you a call,” Knox said with a nod. “But today, Tripp needs to sign whatever papers you have and write you a check.”
“Uncle Walter?” Brodie asked.