Page 31 of Let Me Be the One

She would have married Sutter. Just because it was easy. Because her parents wanted it. To keep the peace.

And to have her fancy wedding.

Ugh. She didn’t like who she was—or rather, who she used to be, because more than ever, she was determined to make herself anew, with better principles and more awareness, and this timeshe’duse her whole heart.

Turning to Addie, she asked, “Feel like taking a break?”

“Right here,” Addie said, looking up at the thick branches of a massive oak tree. “With just a little sunlight filtering through and all the fresh air a body could want.”

Beautiful sentiment, and it perfectly expressed how Callie felt in that moment. “Just a sec.” She set aside her rake, then jogged to the porch to grab a folding lawn chair, which she brought out to Addie. “Right here suits me, too, but you should sit. It’s been a long day already. I’ve never seen anyone work as hard as you do—and for a neighbor you barely know.”

“Oh, honey, I’ve known you—or about you—forever.” Gratefully, she settled into the chair. “Isn’t this nice, here in the shade? I always thought Reggie had a beautiful yard.”

“Agreed.” Given the shape of the house, the yard was probably the best thing about the place…next to the nice bathroom. “I love the entire setting.” And the more Callie cleared and cleaned and rearranged, the more she enjoyed it.

“I tried to talk Reggie into getting outside more, but he was falling apart and ashamed of how he looked. Poor man hid inside most of the time. Toward the end, he wouldn’t even walk to our house to join us for dinner.”

“Was the walk too strenuous for him?”

“Nah. See that spot right there?” Addie pointed at some overgrown hedges. “We kept it cleared for Reggie. It’s a shortcut right through to our yard. One minute walk or so. When he quit using it, it grew over again. Tanner reinforced the fencing on the other side to make sure the goats didn’t wander in and eat our saplings.” She confided, “They’ll eat anything, you know.”

No, she hadn’t known, but she was learning, keeping mental notes on every bit of farming wisdom Addie shared. “Do you need something to drink?”

Addie laughed. “Just like my boys, always trying to pamper me. I’m seventy-two, not a hundred.” She nodded at the porch. “I left my water bottle up there, but I’m fine for now.”

“Seventy-two?” Studying her face, Callie saw the wrinkles, mostly when she smiled, which Addie did a lot, and she saw the tiny veining in her cheeks, a few dark spots, likely from being in the sun so much. Most of all,she saw a woman who enjoyed living. She saw happiness. “I thought you were younger. You’re really pretty.”

“Ha! Thank you for the kindness, but I’m like a lot of old people, wearing skin that’s two sizes too big now.” She grinned, showing how her aged skin bunched together. “I don’t mind. Getting old is a sight better than the alternative.”

Callie smiled, too. “Seriously, I thought you were in your early sixties.”

“You’re smooth, just like my boys.”

“I’ve met your boys, so I’ll take that as a compliment,” she said, and they both chuckled.

Despite how hard she’d worked, peacefulness settled over Callie. Odd that the woods had seemed so creepy last night and now they just felt serene. Her stomach was rumbling with hunger, she had blisters on her palms and sweat in unheard-of places, and she hadn’t yet explored the attic or basement of the house.

In that moment, it didn’t matter.

Chickens, currently roaming free, pecked at the ground, occasionally scratching, and the goats ambled about, often climbing atop everything they could.

The spring sunshine was beautiful, birds were loudly singing, and she was filled with gratitude. Closing her eyes a moment, she imagined the house and how it would be when she finished with it. She wasn’t a decorator but she had good taste. She felt certain she could make it not only comfortable, but beautiful.

In turn, her life would become more beautiful, too. She was done with the mundane, done with taking things for granted.

And done trying to please everyone in her life…except herself.

CHAPTER FIVE

TANNER GRUMBLED TOhimself as he rummaged in the linen closet, breathing in the scents of bleach and fabric softener. Not unpleasant smells at all. They brought back his earliest memories of staying with Addie, sleeping on a soft, clean bed with a fluffy pillow. The quilt had been worn, frayed in places, and he’d loved it. Long ago Addie had repaired it, but her talents were in the kitchen, not with a needle and thread. That made him grin, remembering the mismatched stitches.

Didn’t matter. It was her care that had really touched him.

Using a laundry basket to hold it all, he stacked in two sets of sheets, two quilts, an extra blanket, and lastly, two pillows.

Good thing Addie kept everything so well organized.

He was just about to start down the steps when Blu barked a greeting and a second later, the front door opened. In came Kam, predictably sniffing the air.

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