Page 128 of Hometown Girl

“I know it doesn’t work that way. Dad forgave me. I guess I just needed to forgive myself.”

“That sounds like a smart idea,” Molly said.

“But you can understand why I can’t let you sell the farm to Davis Biddle.”

“You can start over, Beth.”

“She’s right,” Ben said. “If this guy wants the farm as much as he says he does, we’ve got some leverage. We can make sure we all get out of it what we put into it.” Ben had always been the voice of wisdom, and Beth always agreed with him.

Until now.

“What about your mom?” Callie asked, eyes hopeful. “I mean, it doesn’t change much for me, but I feel so bad for you guys. I loved your plans. Everyone in town loved your plans.”

“We agreed not to bring our mom into this,” Beth said. “Because of her health.”

Callie stilled. “Well, what do you think, Drew?”

Drew stood on the outside of their circle, arms crossed. “I think it’ll be hard to get everything repaired by fall.”

“But not impossible, right?” Beth could hear the naïve hopefulness in her own voice. Somehow Molly had become the voice of reason, and she’d become, well, the deluded one.

Drew looked away.

Not him too.

“It doesn’t seem like we have a choice.” Ben shook his head. “We don’t really have any reason not to sell to this guy.”

Beth caught a glimpse of Drew, who looked like he might choke on whatever words he wasn’t saying.

“What is it?” She turned to him.

His eyes widened.

“You have something to say, I can tell.”

He shook his head. “I don’t.”

She stared at him. Didn’t he know she’d been watching him swallow his thoughts for weeks now? Usually she let him off the hook, but not this time. “Tell me.”

“You’re just as much a part of this as the rest of us, man,” Ben said.

“You’re more a part of this than the rest of us,” Beth said quietly.

Drew shook his head, as if silently making a decision. “We’re not going to land on the same side of this one, Beth. Just let it go.”

“Why?” She felt like she’d been punched in the stomach. “You don’t want to fight for everything we’ve been working for?”

“Of course I do.” He kept his voice calm and even as always. “But you’re more important. You’ve got a chance to get out of this without losing everything. You should take it.”

Beth looked around the circle of sad faces that all told her the same thing. No matter how much she wished it, the only way to save the farm was to let it go.

None of them saw any other choice. And as much as she hated to admit it, neither did she.

Their dreams for Fairwind Farm had washed away in the storm.

Chapter Thirty-Five

Beth sat in one of two Adirondack chairs she’d salvaged after the storm, staring at the empty fire pit and trying to figure out how to let the farm go.

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