Page 62 of Sawyer
“The fence is cut.I put this fence in years ago, but you can see it’s sturdy and in good condition.No one comes out here.As I said, there’s no access…” He looks up and around.
“Could this have been opened by an animal?”I have no idea what wild animals roam around here.
“It’s heavy-duty steel.There’s no animal on this earth that would chew through it.This was done by a man.And bolt cutters.”
I swallow.Annabelle hasn’t said anything, but by the looks of how well the soil is ploughed into rows, she knows.
“I’m headed over there now, so I can talk to Annabelle about the fence.She’ll fix it, you know what she's like.”I smile, just from thinking about her.
He shakes his head.“I can do it.”
“You offer that?”I ask, wondering if fencing is a service he does in Whispers.
“Not as a service, but I would do it for Annabelle.Neighborly thing to do, especially since she’s on her own,” Bob admits, and I admire that.Their familiarity has me wondering…
“Did you know her husband?”
“No good son of a bitch, that one.Not many people mourned his death.”
“What do you mean?”I press.Maybe he can give me more insight than the guys did.
“He grew up here.Was troublesome.Annabelle grew up here too, one of those good girl falls for the bad guy situations.He was always a bit shady.Drinking, gambling, you know the type.”
“I'm starting to get the picture,” I murmur, needing to talk to Tanner about it all.
“I don’t care about fixing the fence, happy to do it.But I’m never out here; that’s why I want to sell it.Preferably without the added cost of putting an access road in.”
Annabelle can’t afford to buy any more land, yet I do know that if the Van Cleef deal goes through, and with a few tweaks to her finances, she could afford it eventually.
But I can afford it now, and while I know she has a lot of pride, maybe I can strike a deal with her.
“How much do you want for it, Bob?”I ask, and he looks my way with wide eyes as we get into the truck.All the way back to his place, we talk about numbers, and I leave him with the promise I’ll get the contracts drawn up and the money in his bank by Monday.
28
Annabelle
Imiss Sawyer.It’s a dangerous feeling for a woman like me.It’s been a hell of a week, and there’s nothing I want more than to fall into his embrace.My body is weary, my mind a mess.Anxiety is a friend I’ve had for a while, but what’s been happening around here lately has taken it to a whole new level.
It’s been days, and I still don’t know what to do.It’s clear someone was on my land.I’ve lost half my crops to what looks to be a deliberate act of sabotage.My lavender was cut haphazardly, trodden on, ripped up.Like a bunch of kids came through on bikes and had a field day.But I know it wasn’t kids.There were no bike marks, and kids would not be all the way out here, at night, cutting fences and ruining farmland, just for the fun of it.
I probably should’ve called the sheriff, let him know, and started an investigation.But that’ll just take time, scare my kids, bring people onto my land who’ll ask me questions, which will have them worried about my mental state, because I can’t connect anything about what’s happening on the farm to anyone.I have no enemies.I have nothing of value.No one has any reason to want anything from me.
The kids and I have spent every night after school trying to clean up the mess.Burning the damaged bushes, raking the soil, and now the entire half of that field is barren.Thank God it's on the side of the farm no one sees.It can't be seen from the house or the road.Bob’s the only one who would notice it, but he’s barely on that side of his land, and since he hasn’t said anything, I'm assuming he hasn’t seen it.It’s hard to miss now, with half a field just brown soil, the other half flourishing with lavender bushes.
Now my yield for this year will be much lower than we expected, unless I can plant more over the next few weeks and somehow get more bushes into the ground.As it is, I’ve run out of room.I would love more land to grow more and have different varieties.But with no money and no chance of a loan, I’ve had to squeeze in as much as I can into the footprint of land I’ve got.
I’m relieved the soil is resilient and still in excellent condition, but I’ll need to spend the next few nights after work making cuttings from the healthier plants I have and replanting them, watering them well, and hoping and praying they take.And unless I get some growing soon, the lack of lavender will have a direct impact on how many soaps I can make for distribution next year, and therefore decrease the income that I could receive.
The whole thing leaves me feeling sick to my stomach, especially now that Saturdays are taken up with baseball, leaving me with only Sunday and late nights after school to get everything done.
I’ve never had a break or taken a vacation, and right now, I feel like I really need it.
My body is sore.I’m tired, having worked twenty-hour days since Sawyer left.My hands are a mess, digging in dirt and pulling bushes, leaving me with a few scratches and broken nails.Poor Kevin is just as exhausted, but every night after school, he’s with me, as is Noah, the three of us a formidable team.
The sun is starting to set, and even though we have a lot more to do, I need to get the kids bathed and fed and put to bed.I set the casserole to cook while we were down in the lavender fields.I’m not sure what time Sawyer is coming, but I assume it’ll be late.
But as we walk up to the house, I see him standing by his truck, looking at his phone.
