Page 47 of Forever with the Farmer's Daughter
Silence fills the kitchen as we drink our coffee waiting for the caffeine to do its job. With one last tip of the cup, Craig sets his cup on the counter by the sink, prompting me to do the same. “You ready?”
“Yep, let’s go.”
We head out the door, climb in his truck, and drive the short distance to the barn.
We hop out of the truck and walk to the barn. The door is open and the light glows from inside indicating Uncle Ken is already here. We step inside and without looking up from his task, Uncle Ken greets us.
“Mornin’ boys.”
“Mornin’, Uncle Ken,” we both reply as we grab a lead off the wall and head to the horse stalls.
I lead Samson outside to the paddock, unhook the lead and give him a pat. He takes off in a run making a couple of trips around to stretch his legs. I walk back to the barn and repeat the process with Delilah, while Craig takes care of Brutus and Cinder. Craig grabs the wheelbarrow and rolls it back to the stalls while I get the rakes and shovels. As I head back to the horse stalls, I stop beside Mary Belle’s stall. “Uncle Ken?”
He looks up as he continues with the milking. “Cameron. What’s on your mind son?”
“Not much, just wanted to make sure you knew, if you ever wanted to sleep in or get away with Aunt Jane, say the word and I’ll take care of Mary Belle for you.”
“I appreciate the offer,” Uncle Ken says as he removes the milk bucket, stands and stretches out his back. “I’ll be sure to keep that in mind.” I nod and start toward the horse stalls to get to work so I can get back to my girl.
Craig and I work in silence until we each finish our first stall. It’s not until Uncle Ken leaves and we are starting on our second stall that he speaks. “So, either I slept harder than I thought, or you didn’t have any nightmares last night.”
Remembering what Samantha said last night, I take a breath and prepare to tell my brother of the source of my restless nights. When I hear him leave the stall he’s working on, I step over to the stall door and lean against it as I address him. “No nightmares.”
He leans against the shovel and looks over at me. “Really?”
I glance up at him. “Yeah. You should probably know, Samantha stayed over last night. In fact, she’s making breakfast for us.”
“Is she now?” I nod as he grins. “That explains why you didn’t have any nightmares. Did you tell her about them?”
“I did.” I rub the back of my neck nervous about what I’m about to say. “I need to tell you about them too.”
When I finish telling him what happened, Craig wipes his eyes with the back of his hand and wraps me in a tight hug patting me on the back several times. For the first time, I allow myself to feel the loss I suffered and break down in my brother’s arms. When I finally manage to get my emotions in check, he pulls away and wipes his eyes again as I do the same.
With his hand on my shoulder, Craig says, “I’m sorry you lost your friend. But I am so grateful you came back to us. I can’t imagine life without you.”
I look down, kicking at the ground with my boot. “You know, I didn’t realize how much I missed the family and the farm until I came back. Of course, I’ll probably never understand why I get to live my life and Ziggy doesn’t.”
Craig smiles and shakes his head. “You spent as much time in Sunday school as I did, you already know the answer to that. Brother, you have a bright future ahead of you and a beautiful woman to share it with. Not to mention there are countless ways you can honor your friend.” His observation leaves me speechless, so I nod confirming everything he’s said. “Speaking of your beautiful girl, didn’t you say she was making breakfast?”
I laugh, thinking of how sweet Samantha is and how my life feels fuller with her in it. “Yeah, she insisted.”
“Then we better get a move on before the food gets cold, and she decides not to cook for us again.”
“Good point.” I push off the stall and turn to head back in to finish cleaning up but stop. “Craig? Thanks for listening.”
Craig grips my shoulder and gives it a squeeze. “You’re my brother Cam, I’m always going to be here for you.”
Samantha
Once I hear Cameron andCraig leave for the barn, I head to the bathroom to shower. With my shower complete, I wrap a towel around me, brush out my hair to dry a bit and walk back to Cameron’s room to dress and search for a shirt to borrow. Dressed only in my shorts and bra, I open one of the chest drawers and find an Army T-shirt. The shirt falls to my knees, so I knot it at the side making it more form-fitting, and then head downstairs to start breakfast.
When I reach the kitchen, I pour myself a cup of coffee and pop a couple of slices of bread in the toaster. Cameron said they’d only be about an hour, but my stomach is already rumbling. While I wait for the toast, I search the refrigerator for something to make for breakfast. “I should have guessed there wasn’t much here.” During the week Cameron and Craig have breakfast and lunch at Kenny and Aubrey’s, and lately, most evenings Cameron has dinner at my house.
I pull out a carton of eggs, bacon, onion, cheese, and tomato and set it on the counter. When the toaster pops up, I add the smear of blackberry jam and eat before going in search of a skillet.
With both the bacon and the frittata I decided to make in the oven, I wash up the dishes I used. As I dry the mixing bowl, Craig and Cameron walk through the door in their socked feet and set their boots by the door. I smile because I know, like my momma, their momma and aunt insisted boots be left at the door to not track dirt all over the house.
“Man, something smells good,” Craig says as they walk into the kitchen. “Mornin’, Sam.”
