“I don’t want any money for the place, Ben.” He held up his hand as the man started to speak. “I already know she’s going to get antsy over that but hear me out, please. I love the farm and that building, while it’s certainly useful, it’s not what I need. Needless to say, if someone can use it, I’m more than happy for that to happen because an old building left unused will only fall into ruin. Can you imagine how much it would cost to replace it? Especially with all of that great stonework?”
The door opened and the smell of coffee reached his nose, making his mouth water. “Thank you.” Adam accepted a cup and placed it on the table in front of him. When they were alone he continued. “Lena would be doing me a favor taking care of the place.”
“Would you have offered it to anyone else if she hadn’t come along?” Ben sipped his coffee and watched Adam over the rim of his cup.
“Probably not. But if I heard of someone looking it would have crossed my mind.”
“What exactly do you hope to get out of this apart from the building being looked after?”
“You know I have an ulterior motive. I like your daughter very much. But on the same token, you can rest assured it’s not the main thing. I love her cooking and hopefully I’ll eat there on a regular basis.” He put his cup down and leaned forward. “I won’t hurt her, Ben, that I promise you.”
“Good. So long as we have that clear between us, let’s get on with it then. How much do you want in rent a month for the place?”
Chapter 15
Adam piled deer nuts into the bucket in his hand when Spencer started to bark. He put the bucket down as Lena walked into the shed followed by her father and son. None of them had a smile on their faces, they all looked somber.
Lena stepped up to him and placed both hands on his cheeks, and reached up to kiss him fully on the mouth. Startled, he froze, glancing at Ben and Kyle standing at the door watching them.
“Thank you so much.” She dropped her hands and stepped back, a gleam in her eyes.
“You’re welcome anytime, but what have I done that deserves that? Not that I’m complaining, mind you.” If her father wasn’t there he would have asked for another one. Or two.
“I was presented with a lease today.” She looked from her father and son to Adam, a big smile on her face.
“Okay, well, you’re doubly welcome. So I take it you’re going to open the Hidden Café for real then?” He leaned against the feed bin and folded his arms, watching the delight on her face.
“Yes, I am. Not sure when because I have a lot to do to get it ready, but if you’re all so willing to put your faith in me, then I’d better start believing in myself too.”
“That’s wonderful. You’ll make it a great place, I have every faith in you.” He winked at Kyle, glad they had a man’s secret between the two of them. “If you need any help at any time, just shout out.” I’ll be there.
“I will. Likewise, not that I know anything about farming or anything but you know, the offers there.” Adam loved the way her cheeks tinged pink. She was pretty shy and unworldly even though she’d been in the big smoke for years. She seemed better suited to the quieter pace of life in a small town in his mind.
“Thanks.” If she could help him with the problem he faced today when the vet arrived, it would lift a huge weight from his shoulders, but that wasn’t going to happen. He watched them walk away and then got back to the job at hand, feeding his herd. Once the original deer were fed, he made his way down the back to the new animals in quarantine and looked for any semblance of the animals that had arrived a few weeks ago. He could find none. There was nothing for it.
Adam walked to the front gate to meet the vet, hopped in his truck, and guided him down to the bottom paddock where the deer were huddled in a corner. When he walked out to feed them this morning he’d noticed a few of them including his new prized buck had diarrhea and he had a niggling in his mind this was something bad. He’d gone through everything he could think of before making the call.
The feed hadn’t been changed since the animals arrived, and it was the same feed the original herd ate every day. The water was clean and so was the yard they had access to shelter in. He leaned on the fence with Max and tossed out a few ideas of his own, dreading what the vet was going to say. Adam had a considerable amount of cash wrapped up in these animals and high hopes for the future. To have that stall now was going to hit him hard.
Max opened his bag and took out a pair of bootie covers and slid them over his shoes. He pulled on disposable gloves before grabbing a sample bottle and climbed over the fence. The deer huddled in the far corner of the yard ready for flight given the opportunity. He crouched down on the grass and scooped up a sample, capping the bottle before walking away from the animals. He climbed though the fence again, dropped the sample bottle into a zip lock bag, and stashed it in a safe place before snapping his bag shut. He stood up, peeled off the protective booties and gloves, zipped them into another disposable bag, and walked back to Adam his face somber.
“Adam, I can do some bloods as well if you like and see what happens, but I
