Chapter Eighteen
George
A series of low rumbling sounds echo through the valley for several seconds. I remain undeterred, scrolling through my phone for answers. I always come to the old fort and treehouse when I’m anxious, the canopy of leafy branches arching over my head, sealing me in like a cocoon.
The roof of the old fort my grandfather and I built as a child had rotted through and collapsed several years ago.
Only the four rudimentary walls were left standing, the rough edges of the ancient wooden planks ready to give you a splinter if you weren’t careful.
And the treehouse was inaccessible, with only a few broken boards left dangling high in the mighty oak.
It’s hard to believe I used to sit way up there, scouting the horizon with the wind blowing through my hair.
With the afternoon summer thunderstorm rolling in, I know I don’t have much time before taking proper cover. The clouds above have turned iron gray and angry. I sit on an old stump in the center of what used to be my imaginary castle and read through my findings.
I quickly learned that Gulfstream Dynamics is a major manufacturer of business jets located in Savannah. Confused, I shake my head when I remember Madison telling me she was from Atlanta, not Savannah.
“In addition to the manufacturing plant, Gulfstream Dynamics has a fifty-acre campus that includes a research and development center and their corporate offices,” I read out loud.
Scratching my chin as the thunder overhead grows louder, I stay focused and squint at the tiny phone screen in front of me. The phrase “land acquisitions” suddenly jumps out at me.
“Gulfstream Dynamics is pleased to announce they are in the negotiation phase with plans for expansion. The development site is located in the growing I-75 South corridor extending into Pike County. This will include a new half-a-million-square-foot service center, paint hanger, and fuel distribution center. The county commissioners approved a rezoning request for four hundred acres on the outskirts of…”
My eyes grow wide as I read those words illuminated on my phone, the last sentence coming out of my mouth in a hot breath. "…on the outskirts of Heartsboro, Georgia.”
A sharp crack followed by a resounding boom startles me. Or maybe the unimaginable words I’ve just read out loud are shocking me back to reality.
All at once, a sizzle of raindrops strike the leaves overhead, the sky opening up with a deluge of precipitation. I angle my head and look up through the branches, the sting of water immediately hitting my face as it bounces off the trees toward the ground.
I slowly slip my phone into my back pocket, out of the elements. I’ve read all I need and sit there in a daze, not budging. I want the rain to drench me. To cover me up and hide me.
To drown me.
Rain pools on the rim of my cowboy hat. I tilt my head forward, catching the water in my cupped hands. I watch it sluice through my fingers as the earthy scent of petrichor hits my nostrils, the rain soaking into the dry soil.
I know I should be happy at this moment, the summer pop-up storm drenching my crops and flowers with much-needed rain. Instead, I wallow in my feelings, the hot sting of tears mixing with raindrops and rolling down my face.
Miss Jenny was right. Madison is in town for one reason only, and it’s not for me. She’s trying to buy our farm for the company she works for. A company called Global Dynamics.
It’s April Fools' Day all over again.
Pressing my eyes shut, I choke back tears when I realize I must be the butt of the biggest joke in Heartsboro. If Miss Jenny knows why Madison is in town, my grandfather has to know too.
And who else?
Smug Kip and his gremlins? Mr. Garcia? Miss Simpkins from the bank? She surely knows, because that’s where my grandfather keeps the land deed in a safe deposit box.
Sniffling, I can’t fathom Pop keeping something like this from me.
For allowing me to fall head over heels for the pretty city girl, who spent the last week with us on the farm.
But I know my only father figure, my forever hero, is dying.
The man is doing his best to ensure I’m cared for in his absence.
Flashbacks of my Grandma Rosie’s death come to mind, my grief immediately stabbing me in the heart. Pop helped me through my feelings back then. But who will be there to help me when his time comes to an end?
I shiver at the thought of losing him. But losing the farm? Where would I go? What would I do? This is the only home I’ve ever had.
My mind spirals, and I bring my knees up to my chest, wrapping my arms around my saturated legs, head pressed against my jeans.
Lightning cracks overhead, my shivering turning into shaking from fear. I’m downright scared out of my mind.
“George?”
I jerk my head to see Madison standing in the makeshift doorway of the fort, her beautiful face wet from the elements, errant strands of dark hair sticking against her forehead and cheek. She’s wearing a bright yellow rain poncho with a hood tied under her chin and my grandfather’s wader boots.
“Go away,” I mutter, clumsily rising from the stump.
“No. Something’s wrong. Tell me what’s wrong.” She takes a tentative step inside the four walls.
I run my hand underneath my nose and stare. I want to scream at her. Cry out. Shake her by the shoulders and ask her why. Instead, I continue to gape at her like she’s no one. Like she’s a complete stranger. And isn’t that what she is?
I really don’t know her at all.
I choose my words carefully, my voice flat with indifference. “Global. Dynamics.”
She exhales a pitiful sigh and starts toward me. “George, I can explain.”
“No!” I put my hand up into a stop position, and she freezes in her tracks. Her heated brown eyes watch me.
“You… you lied to me.”
“No, I didn’t.”
“Stop it!” I hiss, my face twisting with agony.
Her lower lip quivers as if she’s trying to hold back tears.
I pace back and forth across the muddy terrain and sodden vegetation, trying to find the words. Finally, I stop, my stormy eyes drilling into hers.
“I’m not—” my voice cuts out, my throat closing around my words.
“You’re not, what?” She’s unabashedly crying now, her whimpers and tearful eyes cutting me in half.
“I’m not stupid.”
“I never said you were.”
I pinch the bridge of my nose. “You once asked me what makes me happy.” I drop my hands to my sides, suddenly feeling very tired.
“But here’s the real question: What makes you happy, Madison?
Does Global Dynamics make you happy? Are you following your heart and doing what makes you truly happy? That’s all I want to know.”
“It’s complicated,” she whispers.
“Tell me.”
Clasping her hands in front of her, she stares at a puddle on the ground, not able to look at me. Is she ashamed? She should be. I’m emotionally disoriented because of her lies, making me question the authenticity of our relationship.
“Madison?”
She nods and looks up at me, the rain dissipating around her into a light mist. “I’m not here to buy your farm.”
“You’re not?”
“George, I meant what I said. I want to help you.”
I tip my hat back and harrumph. “Well, buying our farm is not going to help me. It will destroy me.” My voice croaks with pent-up emotion.
She takes a step forward and blinks back more tears. “I know that now. I’ve just been too busy to see straight.”
I frown. “I don’t understand.”
“I know you don’t. And I’m trying to explain myself in a way that will make sense to you.” Her words come out slowly and with intention.
“Here’s the thing. When you finally realize that joy is less fireworks and more fireflies, less rock and roll, and more wind chimes, the joy comes back more often. And you’re the one who taught me that, George Jamison.”
Now I’m really confused.
“I’m sick of the fast pace of my life. I want to breathe in the simple pleasures you’ve shown me.
I feel like a slower lifestyle has been beckoning me for some time now.
” She presses her lips together before another deluge of tears slips from her eyes.
“I keep thinking about how you hugged me goodnight yesterday with your quiet warmth. I want more of that. I want more of you. George, you brought me back to life.”
A tiny part of my heart cracks open even though I still don’t totally understand what she’s saying.
But I can feel her honesty, and I want to wrap my arms around her like before.
To run my thumb across her tear-stained cheeks and soothe her.
I want to show her compassion. Even though I still believe she lied to me, I know deep down that I care about her.
She’s standing directly in front of me now. The rain has stopped, and the earth steams in the aftermath of the storm. I watch her untie the yellow hood from her head, the two of us in a staring contest. She reaches for me, her hand locking around my wrist and squeezing.
“I told you I came to Heartsboro on business, which is the truth. I just never told you what kind of business.”
“You buy land,” I state simply.
“Yes. I’m a contractor for a company called Global Dynamics. They’re looking for property in this part of Georgia to expand their manufacturing. But your farm isn’t the right piece of land for them. I know this now.”
“Were you buttering me up? Were you going to get me to sign something without my knowledge? Like Kip does?”
The space between her brows creases with horror. “I would never do that. And I promise I’ll never let Kip do that to you ever again.”
“But how? You don’t live here. My grandfather is dying, and everyone in this town knows I can’t run the farm by myself.”
Madison interlocks her fingers with mine. I hold on for dear life.
“We need to have an open conversation with your grandfather on the best way to handle this, okay? And I apologize for not being honest with you about everything from the beginning. You have to know I care about you and your grandfather.”
“You do?”
“Yes.” She lets go of my hand and hugs her rain-slick body against mine.
“I don’t want to leave you or Heartsboro, but I have to have an in-person meeting with my boss. I need to find a way to get him disinterested in your land. You’re not going anywhere. This is your home. This is your kingdom. You can do this, George. But you have to be brave.”
Her whispered words against my ear strike a nerve.
I have no idea how to muster bravery. But standing here in the middle of my broken-down castle below the busted tree house with Madison in my arms, maybe I can.
Perhaps I can be heroic. Maybe I can be her knight in shining armor, full of chivalry and bravado.
And I could be the one who saves her.
“And while I’m telling you the truth, there’s something else you should know.”
I press my eyes closed and breathe in the flowery scent of her hair, dragging my nose near my favorite spot against her ear. I feel… lighter. Like the rain has cleansed me after all.
“Tell me,” I whisper.
“I like you, George. I like you very much.”
I pull back and hold her face in my hands. My voice grovels with emotion. “I’ve liked you since the first day you pulled up to my produce stand.”
Relief sweeps across her expression before I boldly press my lips against hers, her sweet mouth warm and generous. If there had been a bed in my childhood castle, I’d have taken her right then and there in the middle of nature with the expansive sky overhead.
Nipping at her lips, I resist the urge to rove the curves of her body with my hands. Instead, I step back with newfound boldness.
“Stay with me,” I rasp. “I don’t know how else to say it.
Be with me. I’ll make you peanut butter and jam sandwiches, and we can invent new flavors of ice cream.
We can sit on the porch, and I’ll tell you about the stars.
I’ll make you flower arrangements every day.
” My eyelashes hold droplets of water, framing my wide-open eyes.
Madison blinks back tears, and her lower lip quivers.
“Don’t cry,” I whisper.
With tenderness, I comb my fingers through her wet hair. She leans her head against my hand and closes her eyes.
“I’m not sad, George. I’m very happy.” She blinks her eyes open and looks right at me. “You make me very happy.”
I nod, every fiber of my being knowing exactly what I want to do. “Come with me.”
Helping her across the threshold of my crumbling castle, we hold hands and traverse the fields on a path less traveled back to my cottage, away from the prying eyes of the farm workers.
It helps that Mother Nature decides to send another deluge from the skies, Madison quickly flipping the hood of her poncho back over her head.
Not saying a word, I palm open the front door of my home and allow her to walk through first. Shutting us inside, I stand there and watch as she slowly peels off her rain-soaked slicker and lifts her T-shirt up and over her head.
My center throbs with want, my chest rising and falling in deep breaths.
I grip my cowboy hat with both hands in front of me, entranced by her strip tease, allowing my gaze to drift lazily from her pale shoulders and heaving bosom down to her small waist. Heat floods my core.
She is so utterly and profoundly beautiful it makes me want to weep.
Standing in nothing but her underwear and lacy bra, heat flares in her eyes when she notices my desire.
“Do you need some help?” she asks.
I shake my head, drop my hat, and fumble with my belt buckle.
Frankie meows, causing my attention to divert. I freeze for a split second and count to three. I clear my throat, but my mind is unfortunately deflected toward my cat. “I… uh, need to feed Frankie real quick, or she won’t leave us alone. I’ll… meet you in my bedroom.”
“Okay,” she giggles.