Page 23 of Hometown Girl

“A ton of work.”

“Since when has hard work scared the invincible Beth Whitaker?” Callie’s raised eyebrows offered a challenge.

Before Beth could respond, a woman behind them let out a squeal, stealing their—and half the diner’s—attention. Beth turned and found Marion Proctor, with her bottle-dyed fiery-red hair, heading straight toward her.

“Little Whitaker!” Marion said, obviously confusing her with Molly. “My husband told me you bought the Fairwind Farm!”

Beth shook her head, begging the old lady to lower her voice, but she could almost see the gossip ripple through Butler’s like the water in a pond after skipping a stone.

“It’s about time. Poor Harold, after all he went through—that terrible tragedy—he should’ve moved away years ago, before the farm fell to ruins the way it has. But I speak for many, many people when I say we will be there to help you with whatever you need.”

“I’m sorry, Marion, I think you have me confused with my sister—”

“Some of my very best memories are from our trips to Fairwind,” Marion said, ignoring her. “Verna!” She called to Callie’s mom, who stood behind the counter. “Did you hear the Whitaker girls bought Fairwind Farm? They’re going to renovate it. We get our farm back!” She clapped her hands like a little girl about to get an ice-cream cone.

Verna rushed over. “Why didn’t you tell me this, Callie?” She swatted her daughter on the arm with a dish towel.

“I just found out, Mom.” Callie’s raised eyebrow told Beth her friend wasn’t happy she’d found out the way she had.

Verna sighed one of those nostalgic, overly romantic sighs. “I can still remember all of our families meeting out there for those big summer bonfires at Fairwind.”

Marion clutched Verna’s arm. “I remember. Everyone would gather around the fire and sing and make s’mores. Sometimes it felt like the whole town was there.”

“It was so good for our little community. Kept everyone together. It hasn’t been the same since.”

Beth had loved those bonfires. Her parents had often led the group in some of their favorite church songs. She and her friends would look forward to those nights because they got to stay up way past their bedtime, catching fireflies and eating toasted marshmallows.

The women prattled on, and a buzz shot through the diner as the locals picked up on the news, albeit faulty, that Beth and Molly had purchased Fairwind Farm.

She would’ve expected them to drone on with their opinions on how things should be run, but in every bit of conversation, she picked up nothing but excitement at the prospect of Fairwind coming back to life. Maybe none of them had realized how much they missed the old orchard until someone mentioned the possibility of getting it back again.

If that was the case, she had to wonder if maybe this little town really did have what it took to support Molly’s harebrained idea.

How had Molly predicted this when Beth had so obviously missed it?

“Ma’am?” Mr.Handsome’s voice cut through the chatter, and everyone paused.

“Oh, my,” Marion said. “Aren’t you good-looking.”

Callie pushed through the others. “I’m sorry. Are you ready for your check?”

He nodded.

“Follow me this way. I’ll get you taken care of.”

Before he left, Mr.Handsome tossed one more look toward Beth, and she found herself helpless to look away.

“Normally our service is a lot better than this,” she heard Callie say as she led him toward the register. “There’s not usually this much excitement.”

“Little Whitaker, you should get his number.” Marion literally did gawk at the man, whereas Beth had justlooked.

“Don’t be ridiculous.” Beth stood. “I’m perfectly happy being single.”

“And I’m perfectly happy being thirty pounds overweight.” Verna and Marion laughed.

“Will we ever marry these girls off?” Verna said as Beth pushed her way past them. “At this rate, I’ll be dead and buried before Callie has a serious relationship.”

Their voices didn’t seem to quiet even as Beth put distance between them. She waved to Callie, who had just made change for the handsome stranger, and walked out the door. She needed to clear her head—and she certainly couldn’t do that with half of Willow Grove prattling in her ear.

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