Page 45 of Cowboy Falling Hard

He held out his hand, and Dwight took it.

“My pleasure. You can call me anytime you need something. If I’m around, I’ll give you a hand.”

“I hope you find what you’re looking for,” Mr. Brown said, prompting Orchid to wonder what in the world he was talking about. She made a mental note to ask Dwight later.

“Thanks. I found some of it.” His eyes were on her as he spoke, and again, she wondered what he meant. Maybe she’d get a chance to talk to him alone, since he was staying.

That was kind of unbelievable. Normal people didn’t choose to sit in a kitchen and snap beans on a beautiful day like today.

But he pulled up a chair, Mrs. Brown told him where the bowls were, and he watched what they were doing for a few minutes before he grabbed a knife and began.

“Cut the ends off first. Make sure they don’t get in with the good beans, then cut the bean into pieces, drop it in the bowl, throw the ends away, and get another one. That’s all there is to it.”

“It’s not hard, as long as you don’t get the ends mixed up with the good beans. People get a little upset when they open up a jar and there’s inedible stuff in it.” She gave him a goofy look. “Ask me how I know.”

Mrs. Brown laughed, and then she said, “Some people don’t use knives. They just snap the ends off and then snap the beans into pieces. That makes my fingers sore, especially with this many beans.”

“Same here. And I can do it faster with a knife. As long as the knife is sharp.”

“The sharper the knife, the more likely it is I’m going to lose a fingertip.” Dwight seemed to be only half joking about that, and while she laughed, more than once she’d cut herself and ended the day with several Band-Aids on each finger.

She held up the thumb of her left hand.

“I didn’t quite lose a tip, but I lost some blood.”

He grinned, although she thought maybe that serious undertone in his eyes was a little bit worried. “Looks like you took a chunk out of your bandage, too.”

“Yeah. Normally it’s the right thumb I have trouble with, since it’s usually on the other side of the bean from the knife, but today this one’s been getting in the way for some reason.”

“Oh, is that what it’s called, getting in the way?”

“The knife has the right of way, every time.”

“And the sharper the knife, the more right of way it needs, yes.”

“Something like that. You’d think my brain would get the memo, but as many years as I’ve been doing this, I always cut myself at least once.”

“I, for one, appreciate your sacrifice,” Mrs. Brown said with a small smile.

Orchid smiled, but in her head, she had to wonder why Mrs. Brown had changed so much when her husband came in the room. If she was as nice to him as she was to Orchid and Dwight, surely their relationship would be much warmer.

Things happened in relationships, hurts, slights, neglect. Maybe even betrayal. Things that were hard to forgive. She knew all that, but it just seemed hard to comprehend when both Mr. and Mrs. Brown seemed like such nice people. How could they not work it out and get along again?

The idea that they were too proud to apologize, both of them, made her sad.

But she shook it off.

It was shaping up to be a great day. Dwight was fun and funny, and she was enjoying his company. He made Mrs. Brown laugh, and her as well.

And by the end of the afternoon, they had all the beans snapped and ready for the canner. They had four batches finished and a fifth batch in the pressure cooker, with water heating on the stove so they could blanch and freeze some of them, since they were running out of jars.

Orchid stood, stretching her back and legs. It had been a long day. Her shoulders were aching and tired. Her hands were cramped from holding the knife, and she was ready to take a walk.

“I think everything’s going to be good for a few minutes. If you don’t mind, I think I’m going to get out and walk around outside for a bit. I need to move a little.”

The kids had been in and out all day, but they had food and friends and a great place to play, so they hadn’t seen them much.

Then, just an hour ago, Paisley had come to pick them up. When she’d seen what was going on, she’d offered to take Powell with her too, letting her stay overnight and sending her to school in the morning.

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