Chapter 5

Cameron

My alarm goes off thenext morning, and I’m out of bed and dressed before I even hear Craig begin to stir. Sleeping in an actual bed instead of an Army issued rack is one of the comforts I’ve quickly become accustomed to. I pull on a pair of work boots and head downstairs to make a pot of coffee. As the coffee brews, I stare out the kitchen window as the first light of dawn begins to fill the sky. I’ve watched a lot of sunrises in different parts of the world, but there’s nothing like watching it in your own backyard.

When the coffee finishes brewing, I take two cups out of the cupboard and pour one for myself and one for Craig when I hear him coming down the stairs. "Morning," I say when he steps into the kitchen. I motion to the cup of coffee waiting for him on the counter. "I wasn’t sure how you take it, so I left it black."

He walks over to the refrigerator and pulls out a jug of milk. "Thanks, I take it with a splash of milk."

He holds the milk up to me in offering, but I wave him off. "Just black for me. Depending on where we were, sometimes we didn’t have milk, so I got used to drinking it straight."

He stirs his coffee, rinses the spoon and puts it in the sink. As he raises the cup to his lips he asks, “Did you sleep okay?”

His concerned gaze stays locked on me as he takes a cautious sip of his coffee. I’m not about to tell him about the nightmares I’ve had since the day I lost my friend and Army brother to an IED. The scene plays in my mind far too frequently, and he doesn’t need that image in his head as well. Instead, I nod. “Yeah, the bed is much more comfortable than an Army cot that’s for sure.”

We drink our coffee in silence. When Craig drains his cup, he rinses it and places it in the sink. I do the same as he claps me on the shoulder. "You ready to start the day?"

"Yep, let’s get going."

We walk out to his truck, climb inside, and drive over to the barn. When we arrive, Kenny is opening up the barn. “Morning,” he says as he pushes open the barn door.

“Mornin’,” Craig and I reply in unison as we follow Kenny into the barn.

Kenny hands me a lead. “You remember how to muck a stall.”

I chuckle as I take the lead from him. “Yeah smartass, I remember.” I head back to the first stall where Samson is standing with his head over the door. “Hey boy,” I say as I hold my hand out, giving him a minute to recognize me. He whinnies and bobs his head, and I can’t help but smile. “Yeah, you remember me, don’t you?” I slip the bridle on his head and clip the lead in place. Opening the door of his stall, I lead him out of the barn and into the paddock with Cinder and Brutus.

“Is Aubrey up?” Craig asks when Kenny leads Delilah out.

Kenny chuckles as he unhooks the lead and closes the gate. “You know she is.”

Craig taps my arm as the screen door closes. “Man, wait until you see this.”

“Morning boys,” Aubrey says as she approaches the paddock.

“Morning,” we all reply. Kenny and Craig stand with arms folded grinning as Aubrey stops on this side of the corral. One by one each of the horses line up vying for her attention. I watch in amazement as she greets and gives each one special attention. Before she leaves, Aubrey reaches into the bag she’s holding and feeds each one an apple.

I glance over at my brother and cousin, grins still on their faces. Craig shakes his head, “Isn’t it the damndest thing you’ve ever seen?”

“How long have they been doing that?” I ask as Aubrey joins her husband.

Kenny wraps an arm around her waist and kisses her cheek. “Since the first day she visited the farm. When she went back to Ohio to get things settled to move, they continued waiting for her to show up.”

“I’ve not seen anything like it before. I think you may have a gift, Aubrey.”

Aubrey waves off the compliment and smiles. “I’m glad you enjoyed the show,” she teases. “They charmed me as much as this one did.” She squeezes Kenny’s arm making him grin. Aubrey shrugs. “Now I’ve spoiled them.” She turns, kisses Kenny, and waves her hand toward the barn as she walks back to the house. “I’m going to finish up breakfast. Get to work boys, you know the rule, never keep the pregnant lady from food.”

Craig laughs, “Yes ma’am, we’ll be in shortly.” He walks into the barn and begins filling the feed bags.

Kenny shakes his head and smiles as he watches his wife walk back to the house. Once she is safely inside, he turns back to the barn.

I smile at the happiness and love I see between Kenny and Aubrey. I fall in step beside my cousin and clap him on the back, “You got yourself one helluva girl there.”

He nods his head in agreement. “Can’t imagine my life without her. Come on, let’s get started on these stalls.”

Once we finish the stalls,we head into the house for breakfast. Stopping in the mudroom, Kenny, Craig and I remove our boots before washing up. “Mornin’ Aunt Jane, Uncle Ken,” I greet as I await my turn at the sink.

Aunt Jane wraps her arms around my waist and hugs me, “It’s wonderful to have you back with us.”

“It’s great to be back,” I say, returning her hug.

Uncle Ken smiles as Aubrey teases me. “And look at you, removing your boots without being reminded.”

I laugh, knowing my cousin is going to have his hands full with this one. “I practically grew up in this house, I know better than to track dirt in on Aunt Jane’s floor.”

Aunt Jane and Aubrey look at Kenny. “You didn’t tell him?”

Kenny shrugs. “It hadn’t come up.”

Aunt Jane rolls her eyes skyward as Uncle Ken chuckles. “Kenny and Aubrey live in this house now. Ken and I live in the original house.”

My eyes bounce between my aunt and uncle. “No kidding? Does that mean I can wear my boots in the house now?”

Aubrey answers my question quickly as I make my way to the sink. “No!” I laugh and she levels a glare at me while trying to hide her smile. “Don’t you give me any trouble, Cameron Hutchinson. I’ll make you do dishes.”

I dry my hands and toss her a wink. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”

“Uh-huh,” Aubrey hums as she carries a plate of biscuits to the table.

Once we’re all seated around the table, Uncle Ken says grace thanking God for my safe return to the family and farm. When the prayer ends Aunt Jane squeezes my hand.

Growing up on the same property, Uncle Ken and Aunt Jane were practically a second set of parents to me and Craig. It didn’t matter to them if we were their children or not, they were our champions as much as they were Kenny’s. Of course, they also had no problem doling out punishments when needed. There’s no question, I love my parents, and I’ll visit them as often as possible in Arizona, but this farm is home. Blossom Creek is where I belong and where I want to build a life.

While we eat, Craig asks, “Is there anything pressing that needs to be done this morning?”

Kenny glances up from his plate. “I don’t think so. Why?”

Craig glances over at me. “Cam needs to return his rental and I need to follow him into town.”

“Sure,” Kenny says. “Take the whole day if you need to. I can handle things here today.”

Craig nods, and I respond, “Thanks, man.”

After breakfast,we head back to the house to pick up the rental and drive to town. Once we’ve returned the car, I climb into Craig’s truck, ready to drive back to the farm. Craig starts the truck, “Anywhere you want to go?”

I think for a minute. “Mind if we drive over to the high school? Take a walk out on the football field?”

Craig grins as he puts the truck in reverse. “Relive your glory days?”

I laugh. “Something like that.”

We drive down highway thirteen toward the high school and Craig fills me in on all the changes that have occurred since the last time I was home. When we reach the school, Craig parks and we hop out of the truck and walk out to the football field.

The closer we get, I notice the team on the field doing drills. A whistle blows, drawing my attention to Coach Markham standing in the end zone. As we approach, I call out, “They still let you have a whistle?”

He turns and begins walking over to where we stand. “You want to join them in drills Hutchinson?”

I laugh. “No sir.”

He extends his hand and pulls me in for a slap on the back. “Good to see you, Cam. How’ve you been?”

“I’m good, Coach. Spent the last eight years in the Army, now I’m home to help Craig and Kenny with the farm.”

Coach crosses his arms over his chest while widening his stance. “Thank you for your service. It’s good to see you.” He turns his attention back to the field and blows his whistle. Waving the team in, he yells, “Bring it in boys,” and the team immediately obeys.

Stopping a few feet in front of him, each player takes a knee. “Boys, I want to introduce you to someone.” His arm sweeps out in my direction. “This is Cameron Hutchinson. If his name sounds familiar, it’s because you’ve seen it on multiple awards in the trophy case in the hallway. Cam was one of the best tight ends I’ve had the pleasure of coaching.”

I raise my hand and wave to the team. “Hi, I look forward to watching you all play this fall.”

One of the boys raises his hand as he speaks, “Mr. Hutchinson? Did you play in the NFL?”

I smile and shake my head. “No. After graduation I joined the Army.”

Coach hitches his thumb in my direction. “He was a lot scrawnier when he played for me. Good to see the Army could do for him what our weight room couldn’t.”

I laugh and Craig lowers his head to hide his amusement.

I answer a few more questions from the team before Coach sends them out for one more round of drills. I wave to the team as they return to the field, then turn my attention back to Coach. “Thanks for letting me interrupt your practice. It was great seeing you again, Coach.”

“Feel free to stop by anytime,” Coach says as he shakes my hand and then waves to Craig.

We walk back to the truck and as I open the door, Craig raises a brow. “Where to now?”

We climb inside and buckle up. “We better head home, I don’t want to leave Kenny to do all the work by himself.”

Craig starts the engine. “Home it is.” We pull back out on the highway and drive back to the farm.