Chapter 22

Keith Whettstein came in from his fiancée's stables and called, "Everything is good to go, Linds."

The scent of maple and bacon hung in the air, and Keith reached down to get off his boots. That done, he continued through the utility room and into the kitchen. His gorgeous almost-bride stood at the stove, her hair already twisted up into a topknot. As he watched, a little awe-struck she was about to be his wife, she lifted a pan and flipped off the flame under it.

"Breakfast is done," she called.

"Okay," he said, and she turned toward him.

"Oh, you're right there."

Keith gave her a warm smile. "You didn't need to make breakfast on moving day."

"We have to eat, don't we?" She gave him a smile. "Besides, we don't have to be out for a few more hours, and I wanted to use my gas range one more time."

"I'll get you a new range when we get back from our honeymoon." Keith let her set down the pan of bacon before he took her into his arms. "Tomorrow," he whispered into her hair. "We'll be married and on our way to Florida."

"I can't believe it," she murmured back.

"You still want to marry me?"

"Of course." Lindsay beamed up at him and stretched forward to kiss him.

He could waste hours doing this exact thing, but he didn't let himself carry on for too long. "Great," he said. "Because I can't wait to marry you."

"Let's eat." She stepped out of his embrace and picked up a plate. Lindsay handed it to him and then took the second one for herself. Neither of them seemed to have much to say while they ate the bacon, eggs, and pancakes she'd put together while he'd done her farm chores.

Leaving Twilight Fields was going to be harder than he'd anticipated—and this wasn't even his place. He watched her swipe the last bite of her pancake through her syrup and put it in her mouth.

"Derrick and I went by the new place last night," he said. "Everything is ready for the animals."

Lindsay met his eye. "You texted me that."

Yes, he had. He nodded, not sure why he'd said it out loud too. "Maybe I'm just trying to reassure both of us that we want to move over to the new place."

"I sold this farm," she said. "We have to move even if we don't want to."

"But we want to." Keith picked up her plate and stacked it on his. "Because it'll be our place, and we'll be living there together." He actually couldn't wait for that; he was tired of going to bed alone, and tired of dealing with three other men in his cabin.

"Right," she agreed. "I can't wait."

"You'll be there alone tonight, but that's it."

"I'll be fine," she said. "I have Hamlet."

Keith nodded and moved into the kitchen to clean up breakfast. Lindsay said, "I'm going to go finish in the bedroom and bathroom, and then we can start loading."

"My dad and Lars will be here in thirty minutes."

"I'll be ready."

Twenty minutes later, Keith had the kitchen clean and boxed up, labeled, and waiting with the other things that needed to be taken out. Only a couple of minutes later, the front door opened, and his daddy called, "We're here."

Keith went out into the living room, relief flowing through him. "Hey," he said, glad when his uncle's broad shoulders came through the door next. Then Lars, his sister's husband, and Hunter Hammond.

"Thanks for coming to help," he said, easing into his father's arms. "Everything is pretty much ready to get loaded." He stepped back and looked at the couch and love seat. The coffee table, the entertainment center, the TV—with cords and remote taped to the back of it—and all the boxes they'd packed, labeled, and stacked against the wall.

"There's a lot." Keith reached to hug Uncle Boone and then Lars. Finally, Hunter grinned as he shook his hand and pulled him into his chest.

"Ryder's outside," he said. "He was talking to Molly for a sec."

"My kids are around back," Uncle Boone said. "We won't have a problem with any of this."

"You got the truck?" Keith asked his father.

"Parked out front, the ramp down and ready."

Gratitude flowed up through Keith and out the top of his head. "Thank you, everyone."

"Hey." Lindsay grinned as she went by him. "Thanks for coming to help." She hugged Keith's daddy too, and the front door opened, and more people entered. His cousins, his mom, Ryder, and Mission Redbay—one of Keith's best friends from the Hammond Family Farm.

"All right," Keith said. He drew in a deep breath. "Hon, do you want them to…? Where do you want them to start?"

"I think the bigger furniture items," she said. "We've got everything in here. A big bed and dresser in the master. My dining room table and chairs. A few bookshelves and cabinets." She exchanged a glance with Keith. "It's a lot."

"We've got a twenty-four-foot truck," Dad said. "And a few pick-ups."

"Let's get the house done," Keith said. "Then we'll work on the animals." The enormity of moving her horses, chickens, the big mama pig…. If he let himself dwell on it for too long, he just wanted to sag to the ground and give up.

He couldn't do that, so he went with Hunter down the hall to the master bedroom. Together, they got the mattress and box springs out, then returned for the headboard and frame. Item by item, and with strong, willing men, the house emptied and the truck filled.

"I'm ordering lunch," Lindsay said. "Then people can eat whenever at the other house."

"Okay," Keith said. He wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. "It's hot today."

"Good weather for the wedding tomorrow." She gave him a quick smile, and they got back to work.

An hour later, Keith pulled up to the house and property he and Lindsay had purchased. The place they'd start their new life together. It was only twenty-two acres instead of over eighty. The barns and stables and other outbuildings Lindsay needed for her animals stood ready for them, and while the house needed some work, it would be a safe haven and sanctuary for them right from the beginning.

Keith could paint walls and install new appliances. He could rip out carpet and put down newer, better flooring. Lindsay could sew and hang curtains and stain a deck and fix up the barn the way she wanted it.

They'd work hard here, and for the first time, Keith didn't get overwhelmed by that prospect.

The truck got emptied almost as fast as they'd filled it, and they all loaded up again and started the drive back to Twilight Fields to get the second half of the farm loaded and moved.

Animal feed, supplies, equipment. The chicken cages filled the back of Uncle Boone's truck, and Lindsay loaded her horses into her trailer and sent Lars on his way with them.

"You guys have been working hard," Dad said.

"I'm already abusing you," Keith said as he lifted a saddle in each hand. "The last thing we wanted was to not be ready for you."

Dad grinned at him. "I'm so proud of you, son."

"Yeah?" Keith hesitated before leaving the barn. "Why's that?"

"Because you wanted something different for your life, and you went out and found it. Worked for it."

Keith had done that, but he didn't think he'd done anything special. "Lots of people do that, Dad."

"And many more don't," he said.

Gloria came into the barn and found them standing there. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah," Dad said, turning toward her. "Just telling Keith how amazing he is."

"He's taking it well," she quipped. They chuckled together, and even Keith laughed.

He wasn't sure how, but after he put the saddles in the truck, it seemed they'd gotten everything. He and Lindsay walked through it all again, and she nodded. He texted his father to go, and they'd be behind them in her truck.

Lindsay wandered over to the fence separating the epicenter of the farm from the fields beyond, and she put her foot up on the bottom rung. He'd approached her in this same position before, in another place, at another time.

He gave her a few moments to herself, and he didn't have to wonder or ask what she was thinking or feeling. She'd told him everything while they'd been planning this move, this wedding, all of it. He'd laid on her couch and held her while she talked, while she wept, while they made their plans together.

He loved her so deeply, and he couldn't wait to continue to get to know her. He approached and eased to her side. She looked over at him, and he put his arm around her and drew her close. "This is such a beautiful place," he murmured.

"I'm going to miss it."

"Me too."

The wind tried to converse with them too, but Keith couldn't tell what it wanted to say. Lindsay said, "I'm going to love our new place."

"Me too."

"Let's go," she said. "Shadow and Sunshine are going to love the new pasture."

"They sure are." Keith placed a kiss on her forehead. "I love you, Linds."

"I love you too, Keith." She smiled at him, a measure of light and happiness chasing away the melancholy that had descended on them for a minute there.

"Let's go finish today, and then tomorrow is our day." He led her toward the truck and opened the driver's door for her. She got behind the wheel, and Keith wasn't surprised to find her wiping her eyes before she put the truck in gear.

"Here we go," she said, and the truck started down the lane and off the farm she'd bought for herself—for her fresh start—several years ago.

Keith thought about what his dad had said. He hadn't been happy at the Hammond's farm for months before he'd left. Then, he'd struck out at a different place, trying to find new people, new friends, new opportunities.

And now, he had them. A pretty woman at his side. The chance to buy into Blackhorse Bay. A mini-farm of his own.

"God is good," he said quietly.

"That He is," Lindsay said. "That He is."