Chapter 11 #2
“I love this idea. But how about you let me think about it and pray about it, and you do the same thing, and… Maybe we can talk about it in a day or two and see how you feel?”
“Yeah. I think that’s a good idea. You pray about it, I will too, and we’ll see what we come up with. I can come back in here for another muffin. Now that I know you work here. Will you be working on Wednesday?”
“Yeah. I will. I’ll actually be here all day, because the parade is Wednesday night.”
He nodded absently. Apparently he had forgotten about the parade.
But it didn’t matter. Not to her. She wasn’t riding in it, she was working through it, and Sunny expected to be extremely busy that evening.
Sunny would be in the parade, playing the cello, so it was going to be up to Summer to hold down the fort, so to speak.
“All right then. I’ll see you Wednesday.
” He nodded at her, and started away, then turned back around, setting his muffin down one last time.
“I thought I probably ought to give you my phone number. If you have any questions, or ideas, or things that you think I need to think about before we talk about it, just give me a call or text me, okay?”
“Sure,” she said, unable to contain her smile that he kept walking away and coming back, although this time, he seemed a lot more like his normal, competent self.
And to think she thought he was a jerk. He didn’t seem like that at all, he just had a serious demeanor that belied a soft heart.
There were very few people she knew who would buy a home and then open it up to an almost stranger, just because he felt compassion for them.
She refused to label it pity. She could stand on her own two feet, but sometimes God didn’t want a person to do that.
Sometimes God wanted a person to accept outside help and to work with other people in order to accomplish the things that needed to be done.
He gave her his number, and she hesitated a moment before she texted “hi.”
“That way you have mine too,” she said, thinking that she was probably safe giving him her number. After all, this was Marjorie’s son, and Marjorie was one of the sweetest, most godly women she knew. In fact, if she could choose her mother, she would have chosen Marjorie.
“All right. It’s settled. Text me if you need me, I’ll do the same, and I’ll see you on Wednesday.”
“We’ll be busy in the evening, so I might not have a whole lot of time to talk.”
“I’ll keep that in mind. Maybe I’ll wait until the crowd leaves, and we can chat, if you don’t think you’ll be too tired.”
“No. I don’t think I’ll be too tired.” She would make sure she wasn’t too tired, because somehow in her heart, she started getting excited about being able to move back to her farm.
The problem was, she would have to stop thinking about it as her farm.
And how long would it last? How long would he allow her to work on his property, running her business from his barn?
What if he got upset? Could he just kick her out of his house?
She wasn’t sure the apartment over the stable was livable. The last she remembered, there wasn’t even a bed in it. It was the one place on the farm that could use a substantial upgrade.
But if it got her back on the property, that would be good.
Maybe she shouldn’t worry about the future. Maybe she shouldn’t be concerned about how things would work out down the road. Maybe it was up to the Lord to work all that out, and she just had to step through the door He opened.
Although, on the other hand, she felt like it would be wise to think things through and make sure that she was making a wise decision. She should have safeguards in place for herself.
Of course, man’s wisdom wasn’t always God’s wisdom, and she needed to remember that.
“Who is that? Did he just give you his number?” Sunny came out of the back, and from the look on her face, Summer assumed that she’d been watching for quite a while.
“It’s the dude who bought the farm,” Summer said quietly, almost thoughtfully. The whole exchange seemed strange and left her with this odd feeling. This…strange desire to go running after him.
She didn’t quite get that, but she shook it off.
“Wow. So why did you give him your number?”
“Actually, he gave me his. He…invited me to live on the farm and start my equine therapy business back up again.”
“But you sold your horses,” Sunny said, setting the tray of muffins that she’d brought out from the back down and carefully putting them into the display case.
“I know. I know I could buy them all back, but… It would be weird, working with him, not owning the farm, I mean…would he kick me off anytime he wanted to?”
“That’s something you’d have to figure out. You have to have some kind of agreement in place and whatever rent he was going to charge you.”
She hesitated, and then she said, “He wasn’t going to charge me anything, because I’ve been giving his kids free therapy since before his wife died.”
She didn’t want to brag about that. She didn’t do it for the accolades or to have anyone think she was a good person. She just did it because…she felt like they needed it, and she heard that his business was on the brink, so she wanted to do what she could to help.
She’d never refused anyone because they couldn’t pay. Although, she knew she had to run a business, and in order to do that, she had to make enough money to pay her bills.
So it wasn’t like she went around handing out free stuff all the time.
“Wow. I didn’t know that. So he’s not going to charge you?”
“No. But like you said, we still have to have some kind of agreement in place. If I am running a business out of there, he can’t just kick me out.”
“I don’t have any guarantees that I’m going to be able to renew my lease every year. They could just decide they want to sell the building and I’m out of the place to work. So, that wouldn’t be too much different than what I’ve got here.”
“All right. I guess… I’ve always worked on my own farm, and I didn’t really realize how those things work.”
“Typically you sign the lease, it could be six months or a year. I suppose there are longer leases, although I’ve never had one. But there’s no guarantee that you’ll get offered another six months or a year. And they can raise your monthly payment anytime they want to.”
“That hardly seems fair.”
“I know, right?”
“Yeah. Maybe this is a better offer than I thought.”
“I guess I just wouldn’t worry about whether or not he’s going to rip the rug out from underneath you. Doing equine therapy is what you were born for. You’re so good at it, and everyone says that, not that I want to lose the best worker I’ve ever had.”
“This is my first day.”
“I know. And this says something about the quality of workers I’ve had.” They laughed together.
“Well, I guess if you think it’s a good idea, that kinda sways my opinion a bit, because I was concerned about getting into something where I might end up getting the short end of the stick.”
“It’s totally up to you, of course, but I guess I wouldn’t let that bother me if I were you.
After all, it could happen anywhere, not just with him.
Although, with your horses it would be nice to have a little bit of advance notice, but maybe you could put that in the lease, that you needed a month’s notice if he’s going to sell the farm or not allow you to stay anymore. ”
“Yeah. That’s smart. I suppose I ought to see a lawyer.”
“You could probably download something from online. I know a lawyer would be recommended, but I tend to avoid them.”
“Same. But I guess I have another question if you’ve got some time.”
“I sure do. This is kind of exciting, although I’m not trying to get rid of you. You’re welcome to stay. I was looking forward to having a roommate and friend.”
“And I was looking forward to staying and having a change of pace, although the idea of getting my horses back and hopefully getting most of my clients back really has me excited.”
It was also exciting for her to be in contact with Gilbert some more.
He…had some kind of aura around him that drew her.
She wasn’t sure what it was. But she remembered how nervous she was when he had been watching her.
She hadn’t really thought about it too much then, other than it was strange, but…
She noticed him in a way she didn’t normally notice people.
“I’m sure it does, and I’m excited for you. Mostly because I know how good you are. But what did you want to ask?”
“He’s offering to let me stay in his house.
My house. I guess it’s his house now, but…
There’s also an apartment over the barn, but it’s not very nice, and I’m not even sure that everything works.
It’s not furnished at all. I’d rather stay in the house, but I’m not sure that that might be too much, you know? ”
“Too much in what way? Because he’s a man? Doesn’t he have three children?”
“Yeah. I wasn’t worried about that so much, because of the kids. It’s not like we would be without chaperones and living together. But I don’t know… Wouldn’t I be interrupting his family time?”
“Maybe he’s looking for a babysitter?”
“I don’t think so, his kids are old enough that they don’t really need one. I think the youngest is nine. So it’s not like he would need that.”
“Maybe he’s looking for a housekeeper.”
“He does have a lovely kitchen.” She paused.
“My old kitchen.” It was so hard to remember that it wasn’t hers anymore.
“That’s something else I’m concerned about.
If I’m living there, will I feel like it should be mine?
Will I forget that it’s not mine anymore?
It will feel weird to not be in charge of what happens to my house.
And what if the kids destroy it? And he allows it?
Will I be able to just stand there and take it? ”
“Those are good questions to ask yourself. I’m not sure I’ll be able to answer them for you though. You’re probably the only one with the answers to those questions.”
“Yeah. I don’t know. I guess… I guess it will be a little bit depressing to be there and know that it’ll never be mine again.”
“Maybe you can flip that thought.”
“How so?” She drew down her brow, unsure what she meant.
“Look at it as a positive.”
“How?” she asked, confused.
“Well, if the septic system backs up, it’s not your baby.
If the electricity goes out, you don’t have to worry about it.
If the roof needs to be replaced, it doesn’t come out of your pocket.
I mean, sure, it’s nice to own it, but you have no responsibility at all.
Just all the benefits of living there. And…
If he’s being honest and doesn’t charge you, you can only benefit. ”
“Wow. I never thought about it like that. Instead of focusing on what I don’t have, focus on what I do. Everything I want, and none of the responsibility that goes with it. I wouldn’t have any bills. None. Unless one of the horses got sick.”
“Yeah. And then you might make a hard decision, because sending your horse down to have an operation that only had a fifty-percent success rate maybe wasn’t the best choice you’ve ever made.”
She’d told Sunny all about what had led her to be so far in debt that she had to sell, and part of her wished she wouldn’t have, because she didn’t need that rubbed in, except maybe she did. Maybe she needed to be reminded that sometimes she had to make the hard decisions.
“Yeah. If I could go back and do that over…” She sighed. “I’d like to say I’d make the choice I know I need to make, but there was just something inside of me that didn’t want to let Princess go, I wanted to do everything I could to save her.”
“And I totally get that. But sometimes you have to make that tough choice.”
“I know.”
“I say go for it. If you’re asking me. But if you just need to use me as a sounding board, keep talking.” She stood back, with the tray pressed against her stomach, as though she were willing to wait all day to listen and be a sounding board.
“I think I’m leaning toward saying yes. He is going to be here after closing time on Wednesday, and we’re going to chat about it more then.”
“I’ll try to make sure that I’m here early so you can knock off if he comes before that.”
“You are going to be in the parade.”
“The parade isn’t going to last all night. I’ll get back, go upstairs, change my clothes, and be back down and throw my soul into my other favorite thing.”
“All right. No rush, because I told him I was working, but that sounds good to me. Maybe we can get something figured out.”
“I really hope you can. I know that having you here is a blessing, but you’re not doing what you were born to do. And I think that’s sad. This could possibly be God opening a window or a door and hoping that you’ll head through it. Who knows what’s going to be on the other side.”
They sounded like prophetic words.