Page 145 of Hometown Girl

“And what about me?” He felt vulnerable asking.

“What about you?”

“What if I invested in Fairwind?”

She pulled out of his embrace, eyes locked on his. “I could never ask you to do that.”

“You’re not asking. I’m offering.” He stared out over the barns, the fields, the plans for the farm ingrained in his mind. “I built those fences. I tore out the rotted wood on the small barn out back so Blue and whatever other animals Molly brings home can have a safe place to live.” He turned, then held her gaze. “Feels like home for me here.”

Did she know how hard it was to say? To admit he’d wandered through life feeling lost and alone? To admit he didn’t want to live that way anymore?

Of course she didn’t know how hard it was. He’d never told her. But he needed to—he wanted to let her in.

Before he could, she asked, “What about your job in Colorado?”

“I called them yesterday. Told them what they already knew—that I’m not coming back.”

Her shoulders sank ever so slightly. “Why?”

“Because I am stupidly in love with you, Beth Whitaker.” He took her face in his hands and brushed a tear from her cheek with his thumb.

He kissed her forehead, then each cheek, then finally let his lips find hers. She kissed him back, arms wrapped around his neck and standing on her tiptoes. Her kisses began to chip away at the bricks encasing his heart.

And he didn’t even try to stop it.

She leaned back and watched him. “How much money are we talking about here?”

Drew laughed. “Enough.”

“How?”

“I never made much money, but I didn’t spend anything. My room and board was always included in my job—what else did a guy like me need?”

“So you’ve just been saving it all?”

He shrugged. “For a rainy day.”

“Are you sure you want to do this?”

He kissed her again. “I’ve never been so sure about anything in my life.” For the first time, he didn’t feel like he was watching his own life from the sidelines. He was an active participant in the world around him—and this farm, this woman, had everything to do with that.

He pulled back and studied her face, her lips, her eyes. She saw him even when he didn’t want her to, and she hadn’t run away. No one had ever loved him like that before—without condition, without permission.

And he vowed in that moment to return that love every day for the rest of his life.

Chapter Forty-One

Two Fridays later, the day before the Fairwind Farm Market, Beth awoke early. Her nerves kicked up when she realized the weight of what lay in front of her. Today would not be like every other Friday. This weekend would not be like every other weekend.

Special moments deserved to be amplified, so Beth made a conscious effort to do that.

Every day that week, members of the Willow Grove community had joined them on the farm, rebuilding what the storm had stolen and helping them set up for the sale. She’d been woefully absent from the preparations, deciding instead to focus her attention on something possibly even more important than saving their dreams for Fairwind Farm.

Still, sacrifices were being made on their behalf—the weight of that didn’t escape her. She’d become a part of this community, not because she was a disappointment who had no other option, but because she loved it here. This was exactly where she belonged.

Now, she walked practically on tiptoes, careful not to let her heels sink too far into the earth behind the old farmhouse. Up ahead, the chapel stood underneath one divinely placed beam of sunshine. Beth stopped to breathe it in, certain God had positioned the light just so and just for her.

She opened the door to the chapel and looked across the rows of wooden pews, light filtering in through the skylight and windows. At the front of the space, on the tiny platform, a large photo stood on an easel she’d found in Birdie’s art barn.

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