A Place for Family

“Waffles!” Kyle shouted before John got his attention with a finger over his lips. “Sorry,” he said more quietly, turning to Amanda. “But I really love waffles. Are they burning?”

“Oh, no!” She’d forgotten all about them during her talk with John, and the griddle was smoking in protest. She flipped it open and used a towel to fan the smoke toward the open window. “Sorry, guys. I’ll make more.”

“Not for me,” Emily mumbled. “I don’t feel good.”

John’s frown alerted Amanda that his niece wasn’t the kind of kid who tried to dodge school with fake tummy aches. Resting a hand on the girl’s forehead, Amanda frowned, too. “That’s a fever, missy. No school for you.”

The pocket doors slid open, and Marianne entered the kitchen, apparently drawn by some inexplicable maternal instinct. “Not feeling too well, Emmy?”

“No.” Her lip quivered, and Marianne opened her arms wide. Looking miserable, Emily shook her head. “I don’t want to make you and the babies sick.”

“You won’t.”

“Are you sure?”

“A hundred percent.” Marianne sat down on the bench near the table. “Mommies know these things.”

She patted the seat beside her, and Emily cautiously joined her. When Marianne pulled her close, she snuggled in, closing her eyes as if everything was suddenly right with the world. Ridge appeared in the doorway and kissed the top of his daughter’s head before turning to Kyle.

“I’ve gotta get some things at the hardware store,” he said. “If you want, we can grab breakfast at Ruthy’s Place, then you can help me pick up what I need. When we’re done, I’ll drop you off at school.”

The boy grabbed his backpack, eyes bright with excitement. “Okay.”

“Ridge, you must be really busy,” Amanda said. “I can take Kyle to school if you’ll just loan me your car.”

Ridge traded a grin with his son. “Thanks, but we like to get some guy time once in a while, don’t we?”

“Sure do.”

“Just make sure he’s on time for his first class,” Marianne warned. “I don’t want to get another message from the attendance office and have to call all over town hunting for you two.”

“We’ll either be at Ruthy’s or Harland Hardware.” Ridge paused to kiss her as he and Kyle headed for the door. “Not hard.”

“Or the fairgrounds watching them bulldoze the dirt track, or at the airport watching the planes take off and land, or—” She was still talking when the screen door slammed shut behind them. Sighing, she pulled Emily in for a quick hug. “Those boys. What on earth will we do with them?”

“Boys are nothing but trouble, Mommy. I’m glad one of our babies is a girl.”

Smiling, Marianne broke a couple of pieces from John’s untouched waffles for her daughter. “Just eat a little bit, then we’ll give you something to get that fever down.”

Reaching into the cupboard, Amanda handed a bottle of children’s fever medicine to Marianne. That was when she noticed Kyle’s lunch still sitting on the counter. She’d lost count of the mistakes she’d made this morning, and it was only six-thirty. “I’ll take Kyle’s lunch to school later. What time does he eat?”

Marianne waved the idea away. “Don’t worry about it. He has a lunch account, so he can buy today. If he’s got any appetite left after the farmer’s breakfast Ruthy will feed him, that is.”

“Are you sure?”

“Definitely,” her new boss assured her. “You look a little stressed. Sit down and have something to eat.”

Touched by the concern, Amanda smiled. It was so nice to have someone looking out for her, instead of constantly fending for herself and pretending fate hadn’t buried her in an avalanche of failure.

She poured herself a glass of orange juice and sat down at the table with a bowl of fruit. Hoping to reroute her morning onto a better track, she chose a pleasant topic. “So, you’re expecting a boy and a girl. Do you have names picked out yet?”

“Andrew Ethan, and Chelsea Ann,” Emily replied proudly. “We all picked our favorite names and mixed them together.”

“What a fabulous idea.” She glanced over at John. “How do you like being an uncle?”

“It’s great. I get all the fun and none of the responsibility.”

“You and Uncle Matt are the best uncles in the whole world,” Emily informed him. “We love you to pieces.”

Recognizing the phrase, Amanda smiled at Marianne. “She sounds like you.”

“Well, I don’t say it often,” she commented, handing her daughter a small pill. “When I do, I really mean it.”

After obediently taking her medicine, the princess of the family gazed hopefully at her mother. “Can we watch Cinderella?”

“Again?” John groaned. “We just watched it the other night. Twice.”

“It’s my favorite.”

“This week, anyway.”

“You can pick next time,” she promised, getting a quick grin in reply.

“Sounds good.” Pushing off from the table, he stood and took a pair of work gloves from the shelf near the door. “Enjoy your day, ladies. Once I fix our beast of a tractor, I’m hoping to get started on that new field today.”

“Do you want something for lunch?” Marianne asked.

Amanda mentally kicked herself for not thinking of that. She should have asked Ridge, too.

“Nah. If I get hungry, I’ll wander back in.”

“They’re predicting rain today,” Amanda warned.

He shrugged as if it was no big deal. “God’s in charge of the weather. I just work with what He gives me.”

Kissing Marianne’s cheek and ruffling Emily’s hair, he glanced at Amanda briefly before strolling out the door. The other two decided it was movie time and headed into the living room, leaving Amanda alone with her breakfast.

While she munched on a piece of cantaloupe, Amanda watched John through the screen. As his long, easy strides took him toward the equipment barn, Amanda was struck by how different he was from the boy she’d known. Back then, he’d been a free spirit, and nothing had seemed to faze him. Now he worried, and despite his claim to have no responsibilities, it hadn’t taken her long to discover that was hardly the case. He had many, and he took them very seriously.

But some things—the most important ones—hadn’t changed a bit. His comment about the weather reminded her how strong his faith had always been. Trusting in God seemed to give him an even-keeled perspective she envied. Devoted to his family, John had never lived anywhere but this farm, and she wouldn’t be surprised to learn that he wanted to be buried here, too. In between, he’d work his family’s land, devoting his considerable energy to whatever task needed to be done.

Because that was the kind of guy he was. Grounded and content, not looking over the horizon, longing for something more. He’d been born into the life he was meant to live, and it suited him perfectly. While Amanda had restlessly pursued one dream after another, not once had she considered doing things differently.

Now that her splashy dreams had come crashing down around her, she couldn’t help wondering if she’d chosen the wrong path.

* * *

Putting in this new field just might be the end of him.

John slid the newly repaired engine into idle to cool it down. They hadn’t planted anything on this section of the farm since it flooded five years ago. In one sense that was good. The soil was well-rested and ready for crops. On the other hand, it was awful because the field grass had taken over, plunging its roots deep into the ground and wrapping around anything in its way.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, the receding creek had left behind hundreds of rocks. They appeared where he least expected them, forcing him to get down and toss them free by hand when the plow couldn’t move them aside. At this rate he wouldn’t have time to plant anything here until next season.

With those dark thoughts crowding each other in his mind, John climbed back up and moved the tractor along. In his imagination, he heard his father’s voice, wisely reminding him he had two choices. He could either give up or keep trying.

After some serious internal debate, he kept working because quitting just didn’t sit right with him.

At around one, the gray clouds that had been steadily advancing all day started grumbling with thunder. Normally, he would have grumbled right along, but today the storm was a relief. He was exhausted from his poor night’s sleep and a long morning of tedious work. In all honesty, he thought as he drove back to the equipment barn, he was ready for a nice, long nap.

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