These two made Phinny smile. “Do you only sell your honey at the festival? You don’t have an online shop or anything?” Her parents were nothing like this. They didn’t tease or give each other knowing smiles. The only looks they exchanged were quelling ones.
Don’t say another word.
Don’t tell her that.
Watch what you’re saying.
“No,” Leddy said at the same time Carl lifted himself out of the chair and walked out the door, letting the screen slam shut behind him.
“Oh, I’m sorry. Was that the wrong thing to say?” Phinny watched him lumber across the lawn.
“Not at all.” Leddy smiled. “I hope you have room in your car. Now, I do have a story to share with you.” She got up. “I’ll be right back.”
The moment she left, Declan reached for her hand. “Hey, I think you took what she said the wrong way. About Kurt not hanging out with people he didn’t have a connection with? That’s got nothing to do with you. You were his daughter. And you were only five the last time he saw you, so it’s not that.”
In her agitation, she pulled her hand away. “There’s not a single photograph of me in his house. After that summer, he never reached out to me. And now? Now, I have to jump through hoops to win land I clearly have no business owning.” She couldn’t stand the weight or smell of the newspapers, so she dumped them on the coffee table. She never lost it in front of her friends or family. Or if she did, she quickly turned it into a joke. But this time, she couldn’t help herself.
“It’s humiliating. And I feel…God, I just feel so useless and small.”
He got to his feet and surprised the hell out of her when he pulled her into his arms. “I knew him, Phinny. And I swear to you, he would never try to humiliate you. I don’t have the answers you’re looking for, but I know he didn’t hold a grudge against your mom or you. He just wasn’t like that.”
She knew exactly why she could let herself go around this man. Because she trusted him. She sank into his embrace, relishing the feel of the strong arms holding her.
“You want to get the door?” Carl carried an orange crate.
She pulled away to let him in. As he set the box down on the table, he pulled out a jar. “You got wildflower honey.” He picked up a few others, his thick finger tapping the labels. “Orange blossom. Whipped.”
“Whipped?” she asked.
“It’s real buttery. You’ll try it and see.”
Inside the box, she found honeycomb and a honey dipper. “This is for me?”
“Yep.”
“Oh, thank you so much.”
Carl hunched a shoulder. “Let me know which honey you like best.”
Leddy came out with an envelope. “She’ll like the wildflower.”
Carl scowled at his wife. “I think she can make up her own mind.”
“I think she can hear my opinion and make up her own mind.” Leddy arched a brow. “Women are marvels at multi-tasking.”
Carl shot her a hard look. And then he burst into a deep, phlegmy laugh.
Phinny loved them. “You know I’m running the farm stand at the ranch. If you’d like to sell your products, I’d split the profits with you.”
“Fifty-fifty, huh?” Carl asked.
“Yep.”
He held out his big hand. “You got a deal. Give me ten minutes to put something together for you right now.”
“Well, hold on a minute,” Leddy said. “Let me tie some little gingham bows on the honey dippers. And we should probably get ribbon with the name of our apiary. Packaging matters.”
“Oh, now we’ve got an apiary?” Carl teased.
“Yes, Champion Farms.”
“Nah.” Carl headed out the door again. “We’re gonna call it Leddy’s Hunny.”
“You’ve been thinking about this for a while now, haven’t you?” Leddy called after him.
“I’ll meet you at your car,” Carl called. “You can start selling tomorrow. In the meantime, we’ll get on those labels.”
Leddy gave her a warm smile. “You not only look like your father, but you’ve got his same spirit.” She handed over the envelope. “I looked through my old boxes of photographs and picked out the ones with Kurt in them. They’re yours now.”
Phinny held the envelope against her chest. “This is so kind of you. Thank you.”
As she followed Leddy and Declan through the kitchen, she had to accept the fact that Kurt had been a good man. Worse, that Declan might be right. It was possible her father had loved her.
A riot of energy pulsed through her body.
Because if that were true, maybe her mum had lied to her?
And she didn’t know how to process that.
Chapter Eleven
With the wind blowing her hair, and the sweetly scented alfalfa fields nothing but a blur, Phinny clung to Declan for dear life. She’d grown up on a country estate, so she’d ridden every kind of vehicle imaginable, but she’d never known anyone who drove an ATV like this man.
Was he aiming for the ridges in the soil? Probably, since he accelerated every time they neared one, swerving around it at the last moment. It was the most terrifying and exhilarating experience of her life. A spot of green caught her attention, and she patted his taut belly with one hand and pointed with the other. “There.”
He jerked the wheel, flying across the gap between two planting fields and headed toward the road. When he arrived at the green hut, he came to a smooth stop.
She shoved him—move—so she could swing her leg off the four-wheeler. “You’re an absolute nutter.” Feet finally on solid ground, she yanked off her helmet. “Do you know that? You’re positively mad.”
“Did you have fun?” He took it from her and set it on the handlebar.
“My soul slipped out about five miles back. I think I’ll walk home, thank you.” She stood in the warm sun and pine-scented air, taking in the small RV park. “The festival must be bigger than I thought if he’s cleared a whole section of his property for the artisans.”
“It’s the biggest event of the year. Most towns have fireworks for the Fourth, but Calamity makes it a three-day event with the annual art festival and Wild West Days.” He gestured to the park. “He’s had the same people coming out every year for decades. The blacksmith’s from Fort Worth, Texas, the weavers come all the way from New Hampshire. It’s a big deal.” He opened the black cargo container on the back of the ATV and started pulling out rolls of toilet paper.
She grabbed the bag of soaps. As she followed him to the green hut, she couldn’t help noticing the site was situated along a dirt road. “Wait. We could’ve taken a road like normal people?”
“Where’s the fun in that?” He set the toilet paper on the shelves.
“If they’re traveling in RVs, don’t people bring their own supplies?”
“Sure, but Kurt liked to stock the basics in case they run out of anything.”
While he tromped back and pulled out a case of water, she lingered inside. Because something struck her. Her mum would’ve seen a basic hut—the cheap wood, dirty windows, and spider webs in the corners. She wouldn’t have seen this place for what it was—an incredible gesture of kindness.