Page 54 of Grounded
Annie sat down and thought the swing was a few inches high, especially for her grandmother, who would want to sit easily.
“Maybe down a few inches,” she said. “Yes, that looks about right.”
“We can put a coat of paint on it before we go,” Elbert offered.
“No, no. I can do it while you all finish the house,” Annie said.
Jim and Elbert left the porch to go around back where the last bit of painting needed to be done. Before Annie started on the swing, she decided to sit again just to make sure the height was right. She sat and swung for a bit, enjoying the feel of it and imagining how pleased her grandmother would be when she saw it.
Just then, a crack sounded above and before she knew it, her side of the swing thumped to the concrete floor and pitched her headlong into the boxwood bush.
Annie rolled and scrambled to stand up as footsteps approached from the side of the house. She did not want to be the center of attention yet again today.
“We should have checked those old hooks,” Elbert said, reaching for the loose chain.
Annie fought back the urge to cry, what with the sudden dump into the bush on top of her mortification at parallel parking. Instead, she brushed herself off.
“Who would have thought,” she said.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Evelyn had invited Annie to eat dinner with her and Jake when he arrived Friday night. Annie had been tempted, but she wanted everything ready for her grandmother’s return.
“How about a movie after dinner?” Jake asked her when he called to check on Beulah. She had agreed and suggested including Lindy.
While Annie waited outside for Jake, she saw Nutmeg in her favorite spot and staring at her with wide and questioning eyes. Annie started to walk over and give her a rub on the nose, but the crunch of gravel signaled Jake’s arrival.
When she scooted into the seat, he said, “How’s Beulah?”
“Ready to come home! I can pick her up tomorrow morning. And thanks for bailing me out today. I was horrified to see half the town watching.”
“I liked it,” he said. “And the single guys I was with wanted to know who you were. I told them not to bother, you were way too good for them,” he teased.
“Good. I’m not interested anyway. What was the meeting about?”
“The plan for a processing facility outside Rutherford. We want to start a butcher shop to sell only meat grown locally and handled humanely, with access to pasture and no hormones or antibiotics. They need growers and I would need a place to process the meat.”
“It sounds like the farming stuff is coming together,” she said.
“It is. I feel confident enough to give the bank my notice. The more I dig into the foundation work, I realize it’s not my passion. That narrows my options down to farming or going into business with Cam’s dad. Either way, a partnership with these guys is important. I’ve been thinking that if I go the hotel route with Cam’s dad, it should focus on a small boutique hotel with sound environmental practices and a restaurant with an emphasis on local food: a farm-to-table concept. This next couple of weeks of working through the business plans and having Cam here to weigh in on everything is critical.”
Annie felt a slight pang of envy at his reference to Cam. Annie had grown used to being Jake’s adviser, especially during a time when Cam seemed busy with work and unavailable.
“Grandma wants to have you, Cam and Evelyn over for dinner. She said she would help slice and dice if I could put it all together. My cooking has improved in the few weeks I’ve been here.”
He laughed. “I remember you making us donuts one time and catching the kitchen on fire!”
She giggled. “We made them out of biscuit dough and tried frying them in the iron skillet. They weren’t bad until I dropped several in at one time and the grease caught the dish towel on fire!”
“You ran screaming, and I dumped the whole jar of Beulah’s flour on it.”
“And you looked like a ghost! Even Grandma laughed after she gave us both a tongue-lashing,” Annie said, trying to catch her breath from laughing.
He stopped the car in front of Lindy’s office and apartment and turned to look at her. The fading sunlight cast a warm glow on his face.
“Annie, thanks for listening to me through this whole process. It’s been good to have somebody who understands.”
Annie had never before noticed the tiny white specks that made his blue eyes look crystalline.
