Page 16 of Loving Decker

And Decker was suddenly filled with a sick worry. What if she and Randall had developed some kind of thing. He shared a look with Dylan who looked equally sick.

Deck stood. “Well, now that we’ve deteriorated into talk of Randall McKinney, let’s help Mama clean up, and then Faith and I talked about taking a ride.”

“Oh, that’s wonderful. You doing your old chores?” Mama laughed.

“Yes, we are, Mrs. Dawson.” Faith rested a hand on her arm as she stood beside Decker. “It’s been too long since I’ve been out on the property. I want to tell Grandpa all about it.”

The mood changed somewhat after that. “You tell your grandpa how much we love him.” Bailey’s shining eyes were full of caring.

Deck was proud of his family. They were all good people with other’s best interests in mind. He knew they would make a good decision about whether or not to sell. Or at least he hoped so.

Once he was out in the pastures, he knew what he hoped that decision would be.

He didn’t think he could part with any of it. Everywhere he looked, he was filled with memories of his dad, thoughts of his grandpa, stories of his great-grandpa. This was Dawson land, tamed and cultivated and grown by Dawsons. His own blood, sweat, and tears had combined with generations before to make it what it was.

As they rode up to the highest pastures that rested along the hillside, he drank it in and knew he wanted to live, breathe, and die knowing that this land was still in Dawson hands.

But did he want to actually live on the land? He thought of New York. He was perfectly happy to leave it for a time, but he wanted to know he could always come back.

Faith pulled up beside him. “I’m feeling actual pain at the thought of giving all this up.”

His eyes flitted to hers in relief.

“But I think I’m going to have to do it.” She looked away.

He couldn’t stop the words that came out. “You can’t do it.”

She shook her head and turned from him, guiding her horse to face the opposite direction. “You have no right to say that.”

“But I do. I’m telling you as a friend, as a…fellow great-grandchild of the original owners of this land. You will be half a person if you lose all this.” The words didn’t sound exactly right coming out of his mouth. They sounded almost untrue. But he defiantly carried on. “Is that what you’re gonna tell the people in our town hall meeting? That you’re caving? What did Randall offer you? Something sweet I’d imagine.”

He just kept on talking, and the longer he spoke the more he knew he should stop. But he was filled with a sudden passion for the beauty around him and a sudden fear that by selling out she would be lost to him forever. That she would leave Willow Creek and their connection would be gone.

“Look, Deck, I don’t think I have another choice.” She rode away, slowly at first and then picking up her pace until she was galloping down the fence line, the border between their two properties.

And he just stood and watched her go.

What had come over him? Why could he not just keep his feelings to himself?

Because half the time he didn’t even know what they were.

Chapter Seven

Faith worked furiously in her barn. She cleaned out stalls, watered horses, fed animals, sprayed down the place, and then got out the wood stain and began work on the older sections of the barn and the fencing. She lugged some planks and nails onto her driver mower and out to the fence to start mending weak spots in the split rail.

They had hired hands and helpful neighbors, but the more she could do herself, the more money they saved. And this was just the kind of thing she needed right now. Good, hard work.

By the time lunchtime hit, she needed to hop in the shower and prep for the town hall meeting. She could barely move her limbs. Lifting her toothbrush felt like a heavy weight system on the end of her arm.

She dressed in a light and flowy dress. She was feeling pretty and, for some reason, wanted to feel comfortable. She’d been wearing barn clothes and work clothes all day. So her nice strappy shoes and soft, cool dress were just the thing. She left her hair down, and it fell softly against her shoulders. She laughed to herself. She hadn’t been on a real date in years, but something about this evening felt like one.

And that was simply because she knew Decker would be there. She shook her head. She had to stop thinking this way. He was not into her. He was too hard on her. And insensitive on top of it all.

Did she really believe that?

She tried not to, but his pressure, his insistence, that she not sell had seemed too harsh. He acted conflicted, but when it came down to it, he was scared to sell, afraid to lose their land, afraid to lose their lifestyle. And she didn’t blame him. If she didn’t want to sell, but the Dawsons did, she’d be stuck with their new construction bordering her property. Who knows what they would build there. Businesses? Homes? Instead of the beautiful stretch of land separated only by some barbwire, buildings would obstruct her view. And that was likely exactly what Decker was thinking when she talked about selling.

She parked her truck and made her way through a surprisingly full parking lot and into the town hall.

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