Page 6 of Over the Verdant Hills
“Chickens usually only lay one egg a day. So there were probably three different chickens in this nest, and then this hen got in to sit on the eggs, because she’s what we call broody. That’s when a chicken wants to sit on eggs and hatch them herself.”
“Can we let her do that?” Lana asked, showing excitement for the first time that day. Claire wanted to put her hands over her mouth and thank God that there was some kind of sign of happiness and that life might be worth living from her daughter.
“We’ll do that later this summer when it’s warm out. If the chicks hatch when it’s too cold, they’ll die. Now, the mom keeps them warm by keeping them close to her, but sometimes the chicks run away and don’t do what they’re supposed to. In that case, it needs to be warm enough that they’re okay for a few minutes without the heat of their mom.”
It was all Claire could do not to close her eyes and smile, savoring the memories of her childhood. Her grandma had told her almost the exact same thing back when she was little. She could remember it like it was yesterday. Coming here definitely felt like the right thing to do.
Grandma gathered the eggs, using the apron, and then she helped the children get the eggs out of the apron and put them in the basket.Once the eggs were safely in the basket, she handed it to Claire and then showed the kids how to feed the chickens and fill up their water.
Claire stood watching her kids take turns being grossed out and interested.
It solidified the thought she’d had just a few minutes prior—that coming here was the right thing to do. Not just for her, but for her children too. She thought all of them would benefit.
There was a sadness that burdened her heart, just because her husband wasn’t there, but… He’d made his choice. Over and over and over again. As much as it broke her heart, there was nothing she could do to make him make a different choice, although she wished she could.
Regardless, it was thirty minutes later when, with her basket of eggs, they walked back into the kitchen.
No sooner had they set the basket down and washed their hands than there was a knock at the front door.
“My goodness. Whoever could that be? This is just the busiest my house has been in years,” Grandma said as she got her cane and hobbled to the front door.
Claire almost offered to answer the door for her, but she felt like maybe she would be overstepping just a bit. After all, this was her first day here. Should she act like the house was hers too?
She and Grandma had talked about her paying some type of rent, and Grandma had said that once she got there, they would figure it out. Claire definitely did not intend to stay here without compensating her grandma in some way, although she probably couldn’t pay what renting a six-bedroom farmhouse was worth.
It was seven bedrooms if she counted the fact that Grandma had turned the old parlor into her own bedroom.
“Josiah McMurtry,” Grandma declared as she opened the door. “I completely forgot that you were here to fix that leaky toilet.”
Claire wanted to sink through the floorboards. Josiah McMurtry? Figures he would be the first person she ran into on her first day here.
She slowly turned and realized his eyes were boring into hers.
“I see your granddaughter showed up like you thought she was gonna,” Josiah said in his slow, methodical way. “Only I wasn’t expecting her until tomorrow.”
“My goodness. I just have my days all mixed up.” Grandma waved a hand, and Claire wondered exactly what she was doing. She didn’t seem to be the slightest bit addled any time except when it came to the day that Claire was going to show up. Had Claire messed up and told her the wrong date? Or was Grandma doing something different?
Regardless, Claire steeled herself to face this ghost from her past.
Chapter Three
Josiah stared at Claire Baney.
Well, it wasn’t Claire Baney anymore. Whatever her married name was, he didn’t know. But she looked just the same as she had in high school, when he’d had a bit of a crush on her. Of course, he’d been skinny with glasses and a nerdy reputation, and someone like Claire wouldn’t have looked at him twice. She didn’t really look at him twice now, although he’d changed a good bit since their school days. He was one of those kids who hadn’t really started to grow until their senior year in high school. He’d filled out a good bit after that too, but of course, Claire hadn’t been around to see it.
“Hello, Claire,” he said as she continued to stare at him.
She seemed to shake herself.
“Hello, Josiah,” she said, looking like she was forcing herself to be polite. “It’s good to see you. Unfortunately, I have bread rising in the kitchen, so I’d better go check on it.”
He stood there while she turned around and walked into the kitchen.
Then his gaze turned toward Miss Mattie—most people around here called her Grandma.
Miss Mattie shrugged and then said, “That toilet is back here,” andshe led the way to the bathroom, where he could hear the toilet running long before they got there.
There were a couple of kids watching him from inconspicuous places, and he assumed those were Claire’s children. He’d heard she had two, but he wasn’t exactly well plugged into the underground gossip vines of Raspberry Ridge, and he wouldn’t be surprised if his information was inaccurate.
