Page 7 of Conail

"I will swear any damn day of the year. Up and down this hallway. Do you really think a man like Conail McLauglin would ever go for our daughter?"

"What's wrong with her? Nothing. Yasmine is a beautiful girl. He'd be lucky to have her in his life."

"I agree with you." He shook his head as he continued to stare at her. "What are you going to tell her? The truth?"

"No. We want it to happen naturally."

"We as in you and Eleanor." He sighed softly. "Maeve, you cannot do this to her. Yasmine is never going to go for it. And a man like Conail is never going to give her a second look. A surrogate, for crying out loud. Why not go the original route? And does the man even want a biracial child? Have you and Eleanor thought to ask him how he feels about it? I'm guessing no."

"It does not matter to him. He's leaving everything up to his mother." She gave him a pleading look. "It's going to work out. We'll get the money for the farm, for all the things we need to do and have no way of doing so. This will give us the leverage we need. You know this is the only way. The bank keeps calling--"

"That son of a bitch who runs it knows that I have been ill, and the drought wiped us out." He could feel the anger gathering inside his chest and his helplessness made him want to just smash something. "He could have given us an extension."

Placing her hand over the one he had fisted on the table, she rubbed soothingly. "We already received two extensions. The man has a business to run just the same as we do. The money being offered for the surrogacy is substantial and will go a long way in tiding us over. Colin is trying his best, but I see the frustration on his face every single day as he tries to eke out a living from what we have left." She heaved out a breath. "You did not make yourself sick, honey. These things happen. We have plans to put things in place so that we are on even footing. And this will never happen to us again. I want you to understand."

He did. By God, he did. But it hurt and was a blow to his pride that everyone was pitching in except him. They would basically be selling their daughter's uterus to get them out of the hole they found themselves in.

"Does Colin know?"

"I mentioned it to him, yes."

"And? What did he say?"

"He's not too keen on the idea. I just wanted y'all to know before Yaz gets here."

"What do you think she's going to say?"

"I don't know, but it's the only way and we all have to play our part."

"Only, she's the one who will be doing the sacrifice." Pulling away from her, he pushed back his chair and rose and without another word, left the room. She sat there for a minute, staring at the empty doorway, then with a sigh, she pushed to her feet and went to rescue her stew.

*****

Colin hopped off the tractor and went straight to the stream to drink some of the cool water and just take a few minutes from the punishing glare of the sun. It was late afternoon, but the heat was still relentless.

Dipping his canteen into the water, he filled it up and took a long swallow, appreciating the sweet taste that flowed into his parched throat. Splashing some on his hand, he rubbed it over his face and the back of his neck. He might have to lay off until the sun went down and the time was cooler. He had fences to mend and the animals to feed.

Lowering, he stretched his legs out and sighed as the breeze cooled his skin. He was tired. His hands were raw and chapped. He longed to take a day or two or even a week and go somewhere but could not afford that luxury.

His sister was coming home. His brow furrowed at the thought of what awaited her. She was going to have to sacrifice herself for the good of the farm. It did not sit right with him. As soon as his mother had told him of the plan, he had been wracking his brain to come up with something, anything else that could get themout of the hole they found themselves in. But nothing came to mind.

Picking up the canteen, he was about to take another sip when he heard the sound of a vehicle approaching.

Turning his head, he went rigid as he recognized the jeep. Green chrome with a black finish. He would have known it anywhere. And he was not ready for this. What the hell was she doing here?

Rising slowly, he turned around and waited until she had stopped the vehicle and got out.

"Hi." Her smile was hesitant. "Your mother said I would find you here." She looked as fresh as a daisy in spite of the heat. Her thick curls were brushed ruthlessly back into a bun at the nape of her neck. The dress she was wearing had thin straps that exposed well-toned arms and slender shoulders.

"Is there something I can help you with?" Ignoring the churning in his stomach and the ache in his heart, he set his face like stone.

"Yes." She rubbed her hands on her dress. "I was on my way to the supermarket and thought I would drop by to see if you had eggs."

"Eggs?" His brow descended in a frown as he stared at her. "You were on your way to the supermarket and I'm sure they have eggs there."

She linked her fingers. "Aunty wants eggs fresh from the farm as well as milk." She started to bridge the distance between them, stopping when he took a step back. "Your mom said the ones you collected this morning are already gone."

"Then it appears we have no more." His expression was chilly. "What is it that you really want, Madeline?"

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