Homeward Page 27

  Finally the sun began to come up, but she knew it would be some time before the temperature warmed up, so she went inside and boiled some water on her propane stove for a cup of instant cocoa. When she came back out she noticed that the ice had softened and was starting to melt from the plants. Before long, she turned off the sprinklers. She still wasn’t sure how the plants could have survived the freeze, but as the air grew warmer, she noticed that they appeared to be just fine, with their white blossoms intact. She had done it! She breathed a thank-you prayer and fell into her sleeping bag, exhausted.

  Meg didn’t wake up until after ten o’clock. By then the sun was high in the sky, and the bog looked as if last night had never even happened. Like a proud mother, she returned to town, took a shower, then went over to the Feed and Seed to tell Cal about her success.

  “Good for you, Meggie,” said Cal. “I knew you could do it.”

  “Do what?” called a familiar voice from the front door. Meg turned to see Matthew coming in. He was wearing a nice gray suit and looked out of place next to the farm tools.

  “Meggie saved the bog from freezing last night,” Cal said proudly.

  “That’s great,” said Matthew.

  Meg smiled. “I just hope it doesn’t freeze again tonight. I don’t know if I’ll have enough water. You know, I didn’t even check the level of the pond this morning,” said Meg. “I guess I’d better run back up and see, not that there’s anything I can do about it.”

  “Yep,” said Cal with a curious twinkle in his eye. “You’d better go check.”

  “Can I give you a lift?” asked Matthew.

  Meg looked at him with raised brows. “You sure? You look like you’re ready to go sue someone.”

  “Thanks a lot,” said Matthew. Then he grinned sheepishly. “Actually, I just did. And I think it went rather well. But it wound up much quicker than I’d expected, and now I have some free time. I sure could use some fresh air and sunshine.”

  “That’d be great,” said Meg. “And I could probably use some company. Last night, I started to feel a bit like a hermit living in my little old shack.”

  Cal chuckled. “See you two later.”

  Matthew had already removed his tie by the time they reached his vehicle. He opened the door for Meg, then tossed his jacket in back and undid the top button of his shirt.

  “Ah, much better,” he said as he climbed into the driver’s seat. “Sometimes, I think I should have been a farmer, too.”

  Meg laughed. “You make it sound like farming is easy.”

  “No, that’s not what I meant. I just get tired of the suit-and-tie routine sometimes, and all the rules and formality of the corporate world.”

  “Yeah, I understand,” said Meg. “Actually, it wasn’t so long ago that I was one of those people, performing every day for the corporate world.”

  “Do you ever miss it, Meg?”

  She thought seriously about it for a moment. “Maybe sometimes. Just a little. I think I really am a people person, or at least I used to be. I suppose it could get lonely being a farmer. But then there’s the gallery. And friends. And—” Meg broke off and turned to look out the window.

  “And?” Matthew glanced at her from the corner of his eye.

  “And…I guess I wouldn’t trade my life for just about anything right now.”

  Matthew grinned.

  They reached the bog just then and climbed out. Meg breathed in the aroma of the fragrant blooms. Their scent was even stronger than yesterday. “Doesn’t it smell just luscious?”

  Matthew took in a deep breath and sighed. “I had almost forgotten that smell, Meg. But there isn’t anything else like it on earth. Someone should bottle that and sell it as perfume.”

  “Eau de cranberry.” Meg laughed. “I’d be their best customer!”

  “What’s this?” asked Matthew as he stooped down to examine some broken glass.

  “Oh, I almost forgot about that.” Meg frowned. “I don’t know for sure, but I think it was Abner on a drunken rampage. Last night I got a scary wake-up call about one o’clock in the morning.” Meg bent over and began to carefully pick up the broken shards of glass.

  “Doesn’t this worry you a little?” asked Matthew. He looked into her eyes with concern.

  “Of course. I was completely terrified last night—at least for a few minutes. After that I got pretty consumed in fighting off the freeze. But I just don’t know what to do about him. The fact is, yesterday I was ready to have him tarred and feathered for letting most of the water out of the sump pond.”

  “So he’s the one who did that?”

  “Well, I don’t know for certain. But that would be my guess, and Jason said he saw him messing around up here. I had planned to talk to Grandmother about it, but she was acting sort of odd last night, so I didn’t want to bring it up. I didn’t want to upset her.”

  Matthew shook his head. “It just seems to get messier and messier. I wish you had something legal written up. Your grandmother seemed interested the first time I mentioned it to her, but when I drafted a document, she backed off completely. I told her to take some time to think about it. But she’s never gotten back to me on it. I hate to hound her.”

  “She needs to make up her own mind,” said Meg. “Hopefully, I’ll catch her in a better state of mind, and maybe I can explain what’s going on with Abner. I’m sure everything will be okay.”

  “I hope so. But I think you should be careful when you’re up here alone at night.”

  “I’m only up here when there’s danger of a freeze.”

  “Which could be again tonight.”

  Meg nodded solemnly. “I have my cell phone with me, so I’m not completely isolated. And really, I don’t think Abner even knew I was up here last night. My lantern had gone out by then. Besides, I’m sure he was pretty wasted.”

  Matthew held up a piece of a gin bottle. “Judging by these, you’re probably right. But I don’t see how that makes the situation any better.”

  Meg tried to push thoughts of Abner from her mind as they dumped the broken glass in a trash pile. Then they went up to check on the pond.

  “I can’t believe it!” Meg exclaimed when she saw the water level of the pond. She began to walk faster. “I thought it would be nearly empty now, but look, it’s almost half full. How can that be?”

  Matthew joined her. “Looks as if water is coming in to fill it up again.”

  Meg shook her head. “But how?”

  “Maybe Pop let the other farmers know about your misfortune.”

  “You think so? Do you think they would actually care enough to help me out?”

  “Sure, Meg. These are good folks around here. Farmers usually stick together. Besides, almost everyone in these parts thought the world of your granddad. And I’m sure they respect what you’re doing here.”

  Meg felt tears building in her eyes, and she swallowed hard as she shook her head in disbelief. “That’s about the nicest thing I can imagine, Matthew. They must be a little worried about having enough water to protect their own plants from freezing. To think that they would actually share with me…”

  Matthew put his arm around her shoulders and gave her a gentle squeeze. “You’ve come home to quite a place, haven’t you, Meg?”

  She sighed. “Yes. Quite a place.”

  “Hey, I have a crazy idea, Meg.”

  “What’s that?” She turned to face him. His blue eyes were sparkling with excitement.

  “How about a dog?” he said.

  “Huh?”

  “If you had a dog up here, he could be like a burglar alarm. You know, to ward off unwelcome intruders or drunken relatives. A watchdog.”

  Meg thought about it for a moment. “But where would I get a dog like that? One that’s trained and everything.”

  “The animal shelter is always doing TV spots about pets you can adopt. I’ve often thought about it myself. Usually the dogs are full grown, and some are even trained. In fact, I saw this beautiful d
og just today on the morning show. Some kind of a shepherd mix.”

  Matthew’s enthusiasm was contagious as he described the dog. Meg could already picture it.

  “What do you think, Meg? I’d be happy to drive you over and check them out. But I don’t want to talk you into something you don’t want. This is a perfect place to keep a dog, though. Lots of room to run—”

  “All right, all right!” Meg laughed. “Let’s go check out this dog.” Suddenly the idea of a good dog to keep her company did sound comforting. She wasn’t sure how many nights she’d need to spend up here, but having a dog with her might be nice.

  They found the dog Matthew was talking about, a loving two-year-old named Toby. Toby proved to be more than just a watchdog. Part German shepherd, part black Lab, and 100 percent loyal, Toby quickly became Meg’s best buddy, and she took him almost everywhere she went. With Matthew’s help, she put up a run with a sturdy doghouse right next to the sump pond, but before long she was letting Toby spend an occasional night in her apartment. He was very well mannered and good company, and although Meg had never had a dog before, she couldn’t imagine being without one now.

  The sump pond remained full, and she managed to keep the cranberry plants from freezing. Soon the blossoms dropped off, and little buds began to grow. Summer fell into a comfortable routine for Meg between working in the gallery and out on the bog. Her free time was divided between Erin and her family, and Matthew and his. There were sailing trips and gallery showings, and the days seemed to speed by.

  Often Meg found herself worrying that her wonderful life was only a vacation, a brief interlude, and that one day she would be forced to return to the busy city and the old working grind. So much of her previous life had been spent as a workaholic that she often felt guilty for having fun.

  But as summer drew to an end, she became more and more comfortable in her new life, and she finally allowed herself to relax and settle in. She was at home, and it felt right.

  THIRTY ONE

  One day in late September, Meg walked up the hill toward the Beach House to meet Erin and Ashley for lunch. Erin’s girls were all in school now; even Ashley had started going half-days to kindergarten this fall. The air was cool, and a brisk breeze was blowing in from the sea. Normally, Meg loved this time of year because it meant harvest time was around the corner. But with no buyer for her berries lined up, autumn made her nervous. She had heard that some cranberry growers were already harvesting, but they had earlier varieties of berries, and she knew her McFarlin berries still had two to three weeks to go.

  She found her sister and niece in the parking lot, and Ashley ran up and threw her arms around Meg.

  “Hi, Aunt Meggie!”

  “Hi, Ash. How’s school?” asked Meg.

  Ashley pressed her lips together and furrowed her brow. “I don’t like it.”

  “Why not?” asked Meg as they entered the restaurant. She glanced at Erin for clues, but Erin just grinned.

  “There’s this boy,” said Ashley, rolling her eyes.

  “Ah,” said Meg. “A boy?”

  “Yes,” said Ashley with exasperation. “His name is Jonathan Murphy, and he just won’t leave me alone!”

  Meg nodded. “I see. Sometimes that’s what boys do when they like you.”

  “I know,” said Ashley patiently. “But the teacher made him move to another table.”

  “So what’s the problem?” asked Meg.

  “Because, Aunt Meggie,” said Ashley, as if it should be perfectly obvious, “he doesn’t get to sit by me anymore!”

  Meg nodded, trying not to laugh. “I see.”

  “Meg, how are your berries doing?” asked Erin.

  “They’re looking really good. They should be ready to harvest by mid-October.”

  “Great! So you have a buyer lined up?”

  Meg frowned. “Cal still hasn’t got anything nailed down. I’m trying not to worry about it, though. I keep telling myself that God is in control.”

  “Sounds like good advice,” said Erin. The waitress took their orders and filled their coffee cups.

  “But it’s hard not to worry,” Meg continued. “I’ve put so much into those berries, Erin. I know it must sound ridiculous, but I think this is the closest thing to a pregnancy that I’ve ever gone through. Now my due date is so close, and I don’t really know what’s going to happen.”

  Erin laughed. “I think you’re right; it is a lot like a pregnancy. I never thought of it that way before. Should we give you a baby shower or something?”

  Now Meg laughed. “No. Just promise to come help me deliver my baby. Or perhaps I should say babies.”

  “We wouldn’t miss it for anything, Meg. I can’t wait. Have you had any run-ins with Abner lately?”

  Meg sighed. “As a matter of fact, I was just out in the barn yesterday, cleaning and sorting what’s left of Grandpa’s old harvesting equipment—the things that Abner couldn’t sell off. He stopped in to say hello.”

  “Oh dear. Did he make a scene?”

  Meg glanced at Ashley, who seemed preoccupied with coloring the children’s menu, and continued in a quiet voice. “He asked me what I thought I was doing, and I told him. Then he told me in no uncertain terms that I had totally overstepped my boundaries and that he had engaged a lawyer to put me in my place. Of course, he didn’t say it that nicely or coherently. In fact, by the smell of his breath, I’d bet that he doesn’t even remember exactly what he said.”

  “Are you telling Grandmother any of this, Meg?”

  “Erin, you know how she’s been lately. She seems to go back and forth. Either she’s sharp and witty, or dull and depressed. But whenever I bring up the subject of Abner, she always resorts to the latter. It seems useless to try to talk to her. But I figure Grandmother has authorized me to work on the bog, so what can Abner possibly do to change that?”

  “Probably nothing, other than make your life miserable.”

  “Well, he only makes it miserable once in a while. And I’m a big girl; I can take it. Besides, for the sake of Phoebe and Jason, I’d really like to work things out with Abner. Phoebe’s almost done with the cranberry cookbook, and it’s actually looking pretty good. If only I could befriend Abner somehow. I’m just not sure how to go about it.”

  “I don’t know, Meg. Tom said talk in the construction circle is that Abner’s acting like Briar Hedge is going to be sold for sure. He says development will begin by next spring.”

  Meg shook her head. “Maybe I need to get Matthew to come over and talk to Grandmother again.”

  “Couldn’t hurt, Meg.” The waitress set down their food, and their conversation moved more comfortably to the new exhibit that Sigfried was putting together for the gallery next month.

  “It’s going to be a pictorial history of cranberry growing on the Oregon coast,” explained Erin. “At first, Siggie wanted to surprise us with it, but then he decided he needed your help. He wants you to go out and photograph some current pictures of how they harvest nowadays. I told him I was sure you’d be willing.”

  “I’d love to,” said Meg. “In fact, this week I’m going out to the Henningers’ to look at their beater and elevator. I need to see how it’s run. Cal set it up for me to rent some equipment from them for my harvest.”

  “Perfect. And now that you know what Siggie is up to, you should see the old photos he’s lined up for the exhibit. They’re really great, Meg. Some are from Sunny’s collection from Briar Hedge when it was just starting out.”

  “You know what would be great for the exhibit?” said Meg. “We could get Phoebe to make some of her cranberry recipes. Maybe we could even get the cookbook printed before the exhibit and sell it at the gallery.”

  “Isn’t she having it printed and bound locally?”

  “Yeah, but I promised her some black-and-white photos to put in it, and that I’d help her with the layout. We’ll have to see if we can get going on it. That would be a great way for her to start selling them.”


  “Sure would. Siggie wants to run the exhibit for at least a month.”

  “Well, this sounds like fun,” said Meg. “Maybe it will help keep my mind off other problems.”

  “Don’t forget to talk to Matthew about seeing Grandmother, Meg. I understand wanting to befriend Abner, but you need to be smart about it.”

  “Don’t worry, Erin. I’ll talk to him tonight. We’re going down to Gold Beach to see a play.”

  Erin’s brows went up. “You sure have been spending a lot of time with him. Are you still going to tell me that it’s nothing serious, Meg?”

  Meg took a sip of coffee. “Listen, Erin, if it ever gets serious, as you say, you’ll be the first one to know, okay?”

  “I just don’t get it, Meg. Every time I see you two together it seems so perfect. I watch him look at you, and I could swear he’s in love. Doesn’t he ever say anything? Don’t you?”

  Meg sighed. “I think maybe he still hasn’t completely gotten over losing Gina. And besides that, he’s so well set up with Abby to take care of the house, and Clive only has two more years of high school. I just don’t know…”

  Erin shook her head. “Neither do I. And I suppose it’s none of my business. I just don’t want to see my little sister get hurt.”

  Meg smiled. “Don’t worry about me. I have my eyes wide open. And I enjoy every minute that I spend with Matthew. Even if we only remain friends, he’s one of the best friends I’ve ever had.”

  Erin rolled her eyes. “And I’m sure you don’t want anything more than that.”

  “I can wait,” said Meg. “If it’s meant to be, it’ll be.”

  Erin laughed. “Well, you sure have come a long way in the last six months, Meg. I’m impressed.”

  “Don’t be. I’ve got a long way to go.”

  Erin glanced over at Ashley’s drooping eyelids. “I think this little schoolgirl is ready for a nap.”

  They parted in the parking lot, and Meg walked down the hill, suddenly reminded of the time she had stormed down the same hill after that last unpleasant lunch with Sunny. So much had changed since then. Now thinking of Sunny filled Meg with a pleasant warmth, mixed with only a trace of lingering sadness.