Her father drained the bacon, then set a plate of it on the counter. Becca assembled their sandwiches, added fruit she’d cut for breakfast and poured tall glasses of milk. At the table, she tried another topic, hoping to make him happy. Her daily assignment. “Did you answer that lady’s message? She sounded nice.”
He took a bite of his sandwich, chewed and swallowed, then pushed the BLT aside. “Becca, doesn’t matter if she’s nice or a raving lunatic. You should never have signed me up on that website. I don’t need a date—or a second chance. No, I didn’t answer and I’m not going to. Now eat.”
The firm note in his voice ended that discussion. Well, she’d tried. Maybe in a few weeks, another month, he’d change his mind. The thought of his being lonely made her feel like a traitor. It wasn’t right for him to spend so much of his time alone. Always, her father had had Mom waiting when he came in after evening chores. Her dad would smile, bend his head to kiss her mother’s neck and the two of them would laugh, looking into each other’s eyes with all that love they’d shared. The kind she wanted for herself. Becca couldn’t wait to get out of the house to see Calvin tonight.
She said with a familiar lump in her throat, “Think about it, Daddy. Really, you need someone, maybe not right now, but Mom would want you to be happy.”
A line appeared between his brows. “Becca. I was happy. Nothing can take that away from me. I don’t need anyone new. That would be sacrilege to your mother’s memory.”
She disagreed but didn’t say more. Her main goal was simply not to add to his sorrow.
Her dad took a slice of apple from his plate, then stood. One slice, when he used to eat several apples at once, would have had two sandwiches and another glass of milk. “Back to work now. I need to spread manure on the east pasture squash and melons.”
Becca wished they ran cattle like her friend Willow’s family did. In her view the crops took too much care and effort, sapping what little energy her dad seemed to have. Couldn’t cows take care of themselves? Even the roses required work.
“I’ll thaw steaks for dinner. How does that sound?” Becca wanted to eat early and felt a small thrill of anticipation then guilt. “Five thirty today?” Usually they ate after seven or even after dark, whenever he finished evening chores. His gaze homed in on her, his mouth set. She shouldn’t have said that.
“You going somewhere tonight?” He knew Willow was away on vacation with her family.
“Um, I thought I’d see a movie in town.”
He also knew what that meant. “You mean with Calvin Stern? Didn’t I make myself clear? A boy with his history, no family I’ve heard of...not to mention the company he keeps.”
“Kept,” she murmured. “He has an uncle in Farrier. Fred Miller. You know him, don’t you? Calvin doesn’t see those other guys anymore.”
“Yeah, well, people may say his pal Derek Moran’s a reformed sinner, but what about Cody Jones? He’s still awaiting trial. He’ll soon be in prison, Becca, where they all belong. They’re a bad bunch.” He took a breath. “I’m telling you again to break it off with Stern. He’s not welcome on this property and he’s sure not going to take my little girl away from me.”
Becca wanted to curl up in a ball. This had been the worst day, except for meeting Elizabeth, who might make life easier for her with Olivia. Tonight’s movie wasn’t going to happen. She’d have to call Calvin and tell him their date was off. She didn’t dare mention to her father the fact that she wanted to move in with him.
CHAPTER SEVEN
“MOM, I’M BORRRED.”
Elizabeth’s daily phone reports from Colorado had changed like the weather, and this latest seemed to be another omen. Outside her windows the Kansas sky had darkened, thick leaden clouds closing in, followed by the occasional rumble of thunder. Seth’s homesickness was still there, but this morning it was Jordan who was verbally pouting in her ear.
“There’s nothing wrong with feeling bored now and then,” she said. “That’s part of life. You have to learn to entertain yourself.” After her first few days on the job, her talk with Becca Carter remained in her mind if not at its center just now. She didn’t want her oldest son to reach his twenties without feeling better grounded in himself. Watching Becca fumble her way through her days at work could be painful enough.
“Dad spends too much time on his computer,” Jordan was saying. “Yesterday he dropped us at the kids’ club for the whole afternoon. I’m too old for that silly stuff, Mom. I don’t need a sitter. All we did was make lanyards out of beads and string—a baby thing, like, for Seth,” he added. “I wanted to go canoeing.”
“Jordan.” He couldn’t be serious about boating on his own.
“Then Dad ordered room service for dinner and while we were eating, he holed up in his own place—he has the upper floor—and we watched movies. Do you know how many times I’ve seen Paddington? It’s Seth’s favorite but not mine! And Stella? She still likes Frozen, the first one, so we had to watch that too. Dad won’t let us see The Avengers because Seth might get scared.” He groaned aloud in frustration. “There’s nothing for me to do here.”
Make that two out of three. Only Stella, her middle one, hadn’t complained. Elizabeth stifled a yawn. She couldn’t seem to wake up, and her energy level was down. What would happen once the kids came home with school activities to fit into the schedule? Plus, her job? “I’m sorry to hear all this. Your father doesn’t get much time with you during the year, and now—”
“We don’t even see him!”
Elizabeth
