“What’s that?” I asked as he picked up a folder I hadn’t noticed on his desk.
“Have a look for yourself.”
When he handed it over, curiosity prickled up and down my spine. I opened it. Saw Olivia’s name. Stopped breathing.
The document went through some legalese I scanned, getting to the contract points.
The first of which granted me her fifty percent share.
I skimmed the rest, picking out a few other terms. But I couldn’t think past the first one.
The entire farm.
Mine.
I looked up at Jeremiah, who had that same sad smile on his face.
“She asked me to give you this too.”
I took the letter with shaking hands. Tore it open. Read it once fast, then again, slower. And with every word, a little piece of me fell apart.
Jake,
Please don’t say no.
I know you’re going to resist, but I’ve already relinquished my shares, and that’s the case whether you sign the contract or not. So I hope you’ll take the farm. It’s yours.
It was always yours.
I came here with all the best intentions, and I’m leaving having failed at so many of them. But in this one final act, I’m going to make that right and do what I should have done from the start. Give the farm to you.
How can I say I’m sorry when words aren’t enough? How can I explain how it feels to know that I broke the trust you give so sparingly? You were right—I came home like a bulldozer and changed everything. But I hope you know that I would never betray you. That everything I ever did was with the farm first, you second in my mind. Only I had it backward—it should have been you first, always.
Thank you for teaching me so much more than how to drive a tractor. You showed me what was important in my life and gave me what I was missing. You let me love you for a season, and that’s a gift that will carry me through the rest of my days.
I will miss this place more than you know.
I will miss you most of all.
I hope someday, you’ll forgive me. But in the meantime, please take care of the farm. Take care of Kit and Mack and Alice.
Take care of yourself.
All my love forever,
Olivia
I ran my thumb over the loops of her name with my heart nothing but glittering shards in my chest.
I should have been happy—it was what I thought I’d wanted, after all. But all I felt was deep, aching loss, coupled with an immediate rejection of her contract.
Because it wasn’t what I’d wanted after all. Not without her.
If she’d handed this paper to me a few months ago, I’d have signed without question. But not now. Because somehow, over the course of one summer, I’d come to rely on her. I’d shared every moment with her as we navigated our new, solitary lives without Frank. Every struggle, every success. She’d become the only person I could share the farm with, just like Frank had intended.
She couldn’t leave. I never wanted her to leave.
Long ago, I’d let her leave here without a fight, and then I blamed her for it. I’d pushed her away and locked the door behind her. And here we were again, history repeating itself. Except this time, it was me who’d caused the mess.
It was me who didn’t trust her. Not the other way around.
It wasn’t her leaving me—I’d all but sent her away, fulfilling my prophecy, sabotaging myself, my happiness.
Everything had changed because of her, but not one single thing—not even the goats—was a detriment. I couldn’t go back to the way things were. And I couldn’t do this without her.
I’d fallen in love with her.
I couldn’t help but wonder if Frank had intended that too.
What have I done?
It wasn’t a dawning of realization, a slow rise of understanding. It was the crack of thunder.
She would never have put the farm in danger. She never would have sold. She couldn’t have betrayed me even if she’d wanted to. Because she wasn’t the one to sell out.
The papers in my hand were proof—she would sacrifice everything to do what she thought was right. Even considering the Pattons’ money was all in the interest of the farm, just like she’d said. I’d just been too blind to see it. Too hurt to believe her.
I looked up at Jeremiah, who was watching me.
“I can’t sign this.” The words scratched their way up my dry throat.
“Well, why not?”
But I was already standing, folder under my arm. “Because without her, none of it matters.”
“Well, son—if you’ve got something to say to her, you’d better hurry. She’s leaving soon for the airport.”
“Leaving?” I breathed.
He nodded. “Back to New York. Asked me not to tell you.”
“She can’t leave. She can’t… I’ve got to—”
With a laugh, Jeremiah nudged me toward the door. “Go on, boy—get outta here quick.”
And I left him smiling behind me as I ran for my truck.
I loved her.
And I had to make sure she knew.
32
French Exit
OLIVIA
My pink suitcases were lined up like cheerful little soldiers on the porch.
I couldn’t stop crying.
Jolene lay so still in my arms, I wondered if she knew what was happening.
“Kit’s going to take such good care of you,” I promised, rocking her in a porch chair, scratching her neck and looking into her sweet face. “You’re going to be the most spoiled ever, you know that? She’s going to f-feed you hamburgers and steak and chicken with gravy. And you’ll have Bowie too. You’ll never be a-alone.”
The words dissolved, my eyes squeezed shut, and I gathered her up so I could bury my face in her scruff. She licked the tears from my cheek. I cried harder.
Alone again.
“Oh, honey,” Kit said from behind me, her voice cracking. “Come here.”
I stood, still holding Jolene in my arms as Kit wrapped me up in her arms, and for a moment, I leaned into her, tried to get it all out. But the tears were bottomless. By now, I knew that for fact.
When I broke away, I swiped at my cheeks.
“There has to be some way for you to stay,” Kit said through tears of her own. “There has to be.”
I shook my head. “It’s okay, Kit. I-I’ll be okay.”
“Just talk to Jake. I know he’ll come around.”
“It’s just better for everyone if I go. You all can get back to normal.”
“Nothing will ever be normal again, not like it was before Frank died. And here I thought we’d found a new normal, one Frank would be so proud of.”
“Me too.”
When my chin wobbled, she snatched me up again.
I’d gotten word from Jeremiah that Patton had signed the contract. The farm had all the money it could ever want for. James Patton, gone. Chase taking over. Everyone had gotten what they wanted.
Except for me.
Kit let me go and tried to dry her tears. “I don’t know how I’m ever going to get you to the airport in this state. Oh! I made you a meal. Let me go get it, and we’ll … well, we’ll go.” She paused. “Are you sure there’s nobody else you want to say goodbye to?”