Beauty and The Beastly Rancher. Judy Christenberry

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      Chapter Two

      Anna settled Julie into her bed after reading her one of her favorite storybooks. “All right, sweetie, time to go to sleep.”

      “Okay, Mommy, but—I want to say thank you to God for the big man. He saved us today.”

      “Yes, he did. I think that’s a nice idea.” She listened to her daughter’s prayers, hoping Julie wouldn’t have nightmares. Then she kissed her good-night.

      In the poorly furnished living room, Anna sat down in the second-hand rocker she’d rocked her babies to sleep in. She hoped the rocking would ease her fears. She’d been so stupid five years ago when she’d let Derek talk her into marriage. She realized now that he’d married her because she wouldn’t sleep with him. Once he’d had her, he went on to new conquests, ignoring his marriage vows. By then, she was pregnant with Julie. So she told herself he was young and he’d eventually settle down.

      But he hadn’t. And he’d canceled the insurance she’d thought he had. When he died, she discovered there was no money at all. He’d spent every penny they’d had. Even more. His parents were furious with her. He’d taken money from them and blamed the need on Anna.

      After his death, they’d moved to Florida and wanted nothing to do with her or their grandchildren. The land wasn’t paid for, there was no money in the bank, and he had no lasting friends. She’d had to sell every piece of machinery on the place to settle his debts.

      She’d found it difficult to face the community, embarrassed by her situation. So she’d withdrawn. And hoped she could sell something to pay off the bank.

      She’d tilled the garden by hand and raised a good crop. But how was she going to sell them?

      She’d tried to brazen her way through Joe Crawford’s questioning, but she knew she couldn’t go back to today’s fiasco.

      A knock on her door startled her. She crossed the room in the shadows, grabbing her broom as some form of protection. “Who is it?”

      “Joe Crawford.”

      She didn’t want to let him in, but he’d saved her today. She had to at least do that much. “Come in, Mr. Crawford,” she said, opening the door.

      He stood on her front porch, hat in one hand and a cake container in the other. “I hope I haven’t come too late.”

      “Too late for what?”

      “Before Julie’s bedtime.”

      “Come in,” she said again. He stepped past her and turned to face her. “I’m afraid Julie just went to bed. You can leave a message for her if you want.”

      “I’d better leave this instead of a message. My mom baked it. I thought Julie might need something to distract her from what happened today.”

      His thoughtfulness made her want to cry. But Anna wasn’t one of those ladies who melted. It made her angry that he could make her want to weep on his shoulder. Stiffly, she said, “It’s very kind of you to think of Julie.”

      “And you. I don’t expect Julie to eat the entire cake.” He grinned a little, something he hadn’t done much earlier in the day.

      She drew a deep breath. “Thank you again.”

      He stood there awkwardly. It reminded her of her manners. “Would you care to sit down, Mr. Crawford?”

      “Yes, I would, Mrs. Pointer.”

      He continued to stand, looking at her, and she realized he was waiting for her to sit down first. Amazing, Derek’s few friends had treated her like a servant.

      He sat down, holding his hat between his legs as he rested his elbows on his knees, his gaze lowered. “I need to talk to you.”

      “Please, Mr. Crawford, don’t bring up the subject of my returning to the produce stand. I have no intentions of doing so.”

      His eyebrows rose. “Glad to hear it.”

      “Yes, well, it was kind of you to be concerned,” she said as she stood. “Thank you again.”

      He blinked several times. “Is this a bad time?”

      “No, of course not, but I thought—Is there something else?”

      “Yes, ma’am. I wondered why you’re not working the land.”

      It was her turn to blink. “I—I don’t have any tools. I had to sell them. I was embarrassed by Derek’s debt and wanted to pay it off as soon as I could.”

      “Ah. I see. Well, then, would you consider renting the land to me? Not all of it,” he hastily added. “My brother Pete would like half of it.” He named the going figure for good land.

      All Anna could do was stare at him. She’d placed a small ad in the local paper two months ago, but she’d gotten no response. “Why would you be interested, Mr. Crawford?”

      “I don’t like to see land go to waste. With a little work on my part, I can have a bigger harvest.”

      “And your brother?”

      “He’s got two kids to feed. He always needs a bigger crop.” Again, he smiled at her.

      He looked much friendlier when he smiled. “I—I advertised my land a couple of months ago. No one contacted me.” She lifted her chin to challenge him.

      “I didn’t see it,” he said simply.

      “I don’t want charity!” she snapped.

      “Mrs. Pointer, I won’t pretend that I need your land to survive, but I can make a profit off it. If you’re willing to rent it, why shouldn’t I do so?”

      “You’re sure you want to lease it?” She was trying not to jump from her chair and sing and dance because he’d solved her major problem. “I can make it one way or another if you—” She couldn’t really but he wouldn’t know that.

      “My brother and I are both interested.”

      “Then, of course, I’d be delighted to rent it to you.”

      “Great. I’ll have my lawyer draw up a lease agreement and bring it by tomorrow. We’d like to split the lease between us. Pete is taking the land that meets with his place and I will use the other side.”

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