27. Marnie

Dusty’s lightning fast mood swing has me feeling dizzy.

I dig through my luggage, grabbing a pair of jean shorts and a sweatshirt. Shrugging into my clothes, I shove my feet into a pair of sneakers and move through the house.

Nerves flutter in my stomach.

I wanted to sell the place, but now that things are swinging into action, I feel wildly out of depth.

Too bad I don’t have my farm manager on my side. Dusty clearly wants nothing to do with this Jerry character. I’ll have to ask him about that later.

Pushing open the back door, Ed trots over, tail wagging. He sits on my feet, head tilted up with pride. Dusty and Jerry stand near a shiny new pickup truck. It’s pretty apparent neither man is very fond of the other, but they’re both making an attempt to be civil.

Dusty catches sight of me, winking at me reassuringly, before turning to trudge back across the farmyard. Jerry looks almost relieved to be free of him.

When he turns and starts towards me, a surprised laugh slips off my lips.

This damn town.

Even the old ones are hot.

Jerry’s got to be pushing seventy. He’s all silver hair and distinguished angles. Tall and lanky. His skin is a dark tan, which for this neck of the woods isn’t all that unusual. All the farmers out here have a permanent tan.

He stops in front of me, flashing me a bemused smile. “Jerry Lind. And you must be Gus’s niece.”

“Marnie.”

I offer him my hand. His long fingers swallow mine up.

His eyes scan my face, studying me with a strange intensity. Realizing he’s staring, he laughs sheepishly. “I’m sorry. It’s just striking. You look just like her.”

“My mother?”

He nods. “Naomi and I were in the same class.”

Jerry Lind.

JL?

“Were you now?”

I should be asking him about his interest in the land, but the letters burn bright in my mind. “Did you date?”

It’s an abrupt question. I realize that, once it’s out there, hanging between us.

He pauses, taken aback. Then he scrubs a hand over his jaw with a laugh. “You’re just like her. Bold as brass.”

He shakes his head. “No. Marnie and I weren’t a couple. Although, she did let me take her to homecoming one year.”

“Ah. You were the football player from the picture.”

Ed shifts so that he’s fully sitting on my feet. “I saw your alumni posters at the bar.”

“I don’t even want to talk about which reunion we were celebrating. Makes me feel older than dirt.”

He laughs, turning his gaze towards the farmyard. “I reckon you know why I stopped by.”

“You wanted to talk about my uncle’s ground?”

He nods.

Even if Dusty hadn’t planted seeds of misgivings, I wouldn’t have sold to the first man who came by. “I’m still processing everything. Trying to decide whether I should just rent instead.”

I don’t want to rent the land. I wasn’t kidding when I told Dusty that. But Jerry doesn’t need to know that.

“You could.”

Jerry tips his head, allowing for this fact. “But there’s an awful lot of management that goes with that. You’d need to get a farm manager. Rent to someone you can trust.”

“I already have a farm manager.”

He can’t quite keep the doubt from his expression. “Dusty Larson?”

“He’s a hard worker.”

“I can’t dispute that. You know much about the Larson kid?”

I don’t like the look on his face, the fake concern. “My uncle trusted him. That’s about all I need to know.”

“Your Uncle Gus was a good man. Soft-hearted. All the Larsons come with a reputation. Not the good kind. You ought to know that.”

Jerry clicks his tongue. “Well, anyway. I don’t want to put on the pressure or anything. You need to make the decision that works best for you. I just thought I’d at least make an initial offer before anybody else comes sniffing around.”

He grins at me, and I offer him a wan smile in return.

Reaching into his back pocket, he pulls out a folded up piece of paper. “We drew up an offer based on UNL’s real estate averages for farm ground like yours. It’s all drawn out for you.”

I accept the paper, holding his gaze. “Which field are you interested in buying?”

He expression grows serious. “Every last one.”

My stomach flips.

“Well, anyhow. I know you’re in touch with Carl Steiner. You run this offer by him, he’ll play you straight. If he thinks we need to come back to the drawing board, just holler.”

He holds out his hand, that intense glint is back in his eye. “It was a real pleasure to meet you, Marnie. I mean that.”

I wait until his truck is out of the yard, before unfolding the paper.

“Holy shit.”

Ed cranes his head to look at me.

I knew the land was worth something. I just didn’t know it was worth that much.

There are more commas and zeros in one number than I’ve seen in my life.

With that kind of cash, I could open a whole chain of bakeries.