Chapter 18 #3
“I always came to the farm during holidays and the summer months, and I loved it more than living in the city. Studying about farm life and ranching life seemed to be a natural path for me. I’ve got to admit, I would love to have a little bit of ranching thrown into the business.
I’ve eyeballed that forty acres just north of my and Brodie’s properties.
It would be an ideal place to run a few head of cattle,” she said.
“We’ll have to get together with Ursula sometime,” Endora said. “She’s the rancher in the family.”
Audrey picked up another cookie. “I thought she was a novelist.”
“She is, but Remy is a rancher, and she helps out with that a lot,” Parker said. “She puts baby Clayton in one of those things that she straps on her body, and away they go. The kid is going to know more about ranching when he starts to school than most foremen know when they’re forty.”
“I’d love to talk to her, but it’ll be years before I can afford to buy that acreage,” Audrey said with a sigh, and bit into the cookie.
Brodie had never thought of raising cattle until that moment. Organic beef might be something to research. His mother usually bought half a steer from a local rancher who only used natural food for his herd.
“I wouldn’t mind running a small herd in the future,” Parker said. “I helped build a couple of barns and put an addition on to a ranch house before I moved to Spanish Fort.”
“What made you decide to be a preacher?” Brodie asked the question that had been on his mind for months. With Parker’s tattoos and his choice of clothing—jeans and T-shirts—he could easily be mistaken for a biker rather than a minister.
“I ran from my calling for years,” Parker answered.
“I tried many things to get God off my back, so to speak. I was a member of a small biker gang that supported a shelter for homeless kids. I became a carpenter and roamed around the country building houses or, like I said, barns for ranchers. But there was no peace until I finally submitted to what my heart was telling me. And look at all the benefits I’ve been given because I did.
I’ve got Endora, a baby on the way, and a wonderful family.
I’ve got sisters and brothers and new babies coming along to go with Clayton, Heather, and Daisy. ”
“We all have a calling,” Endora said. “Some of us, and I’m talking about myself, just take the long road around to find it.”
“Amen to that,” Brodie said, and checked the time on his phone. “It’s already two o’clock. I should be going. Pansy didn’t get her walk last night, and she’ll be fussy if she doesn’t get one this afternoon.”
“Me, too,” Audrey said.
“Y’all haven’t eaten nearly enough cookies,” Endora said. “Let me put some in a couple of bags for you to take home.”
“My brothers will love that,” Brodie said.
“Aunt Hettie probably won’t touch them, but Walter and I will love having them for lunch tomorrow,” Audrey added.
“I’ll get those bags for you, darlin’,” Parker said and headed into the house.
“This has been great,” Endora said. “We should do it again, only next time plan to come for dinner and stay longer.”
Audrey and Brodie stood up at the same time. “I’d like that a lot and thank you for inviting me.”
“Don’t stand on formality,” Endora said. “You are welcome anytime. I know you are too busy to come to the quilting bees, but know that we’d love to have you.”
“Maybe someday,” Audrey replied. “Aunt Hettie will be there every time though. She is like the old saying about the mail: she wouldn’t miss a quilting bee even if it rains, snows, or another tornado blows through Spanish Fort.”
“Neither would Aunt Bernie,” Endora said. “That’s their time to banter back and forth or else give each other dirty looks. I really think they enjoy that more than anything in their lives.”
“That’s their spice,” Audrey agreed. “Without it, their lives would be bland. Then when we go home, Aunt Hettie calls her friend Bitsy, over in Wichita Falls, and tells her all the gossip.”
Parker returned with two small paper bags and handed them to his wife.
“I remember Bitsy. She made the best cookies and pies for church potlucks when I was a little girl,” Endora said as she loaded the bags with cookies. She handed one to Audrey and one to Brodie. “Have a great rest of the afternoon.”
“You, too,” Audrey said.
Brodie escorted Audrey out to her truck with his free arm draped around her shoulders.
“Want to take a walk with me and the pig?” he asked, and then laughed. “Never thought I’d ask a woman out with that line.”
“I would love to, and I never thought I’d be asked out on a date to walk a pig. Do you think I passed?” she whispered.
Like always, Brodie opened the truck door for her. “Passed what?”
Audrey slid in behind the wheel and started the engine. “The test to see if the sisters were going to like me or join Hettie’s side in trying to break us up?”
“Oh, honey, I believe you got a solid A.” He grinned. “Endora doesn’t send cookies home with someone that she doesn’t like.”