Thank god. Maybe now he’d finally get some work done.
Courtney was sorting through seed catalogs in the main barn when the storm hit. For the past two weeks she’d been working like a horse, starting with the chickens at first light, followed by grading the corn, and calling their customers to make sure they had their orders in. Then there were all the jobs they never had time to do during growing season. Repairing fences, buying new seeds and livestock, as well as selling those they didn’t need any more.
And of course there was the paperwork. There was always so much of that. It had been Mary’s job when Courtney had first arrived on the farm, but over the years she’d slowly taken it over, liaising with the USDA and the IRS and every other governmental body who wanted something from them.
Creek Edge Farm was small in comparison to some of the vast fields surrounding them, the ones owned by conglomerates who farmed them to the bare bones. Creek Edge couldn’t compete with the prices they offered on their grain, any more than they could afford the kind of machinery they had. Last year, they’d bought a new crop sprayer – a huge tractor-like machine that Ellis was driving out in the freshly-reaped fields at the moment, spraying weed killer to get rid of the growth that always seemed to come no matter how hard they tried to fight it.
That sprayer had cost almost three hundred thousand dollars. They’d used up the last of the insurance money she’d gotten after Shaun had died, and had to take out two additional loans, but it had been worth it. And Ellis had been like a kid with a new toy since it arrived. It had been good to see him smile again.
The fact was, they’d all been struggling since Shaun died. He’d been the strongest of them all, laboring with his dad in the fields from dusk until dawn. Ellis wasn’t getting any younger, and as hard as Courtney worked, she’d never be able to do as much as Shaun had. Didn’t stop her from trying though.
A loud clap of thunder blasted through the air. She looked up from the catalog and frowned. In the fall, the weather could turn from a heat wave to a tropical storm in minutes. Their proximity to the mountains in the west caused them to have their own ecosystem. Hot and humid in the summer, cold and snowy in the winter, with spring and autumn never really knowing what to do.
She was wearing an old pair of jeans and a black tank she’d pulled on before the sun had even come up this morning, and the abrupt change in weather made her skin prickle into goose bumps as she ran outside to make sure there was no equipment in the yard. But before she could even look around the clouds opened up. Sheets of rain crashed down onto the warm concrete, and soaking her to the skin in seconds.
Ellis came out of the main farmhouse, pulling a raincoat on. “I left the sprayer in the field when I took a break,” he called out over the sound of the downpour. “I should bring it in.”
She took a look at his frail body, then shook her head. “I’ll get it,” she called out. “Do you have the keys?”
“Left them in the cab.” He pressed his lips together. “You sure?”
“Of course.” There was no way she was letting him get soaked. And she could run faster than him.
The sky lit up with another fork of lightning, followed by rattling thunder. She ran through the open gates to the field, her tennis shoes sinking into the soft soil, with dark clumps of mud caking against the cotton. By the time she made it to the sprayer her clothes were clinging to her skin, heavy with rain and causing her to shiver from the cold. She shook her head like a dog, then climbed into the cab, grittin
g her teeth to stop them from chattering as she started up the ignition and slowly drove the sprayer back to the metal pole barn where they kept all their equipment.
Water poured down the windshield as she steered the huge machine through the open gates and into the main concrete yard. Ellis was waiting for her inside the barn, giving her a smile as she parked the sprayer next to the tractor, and climbed down from the cab.
“Here,” he said, giving her a towel. “You’re soaked. Go into the house. Mary will make you a warm drink.”
“I’m fine,” Courtney said, trying to stop the shivers from wracking her body. “I’ll help you finish up here. Are the animals okay?”
“The sheep are spooked, but they always are. The rest are all sheltering in their stalls. Now go inside and dry off before you catch a hell of a cold.”
“Okay.” She smiled at him, rubbing the rain from her arms with the old towel he’d given her. It was sweet that he worried about her health. It wasn’t often that anybody cared for her.
But when she made it home later that evening, her head pounding, her body shivering even though it was warm and cozy inside, she realized the hot drink and steaming shower hadn’t stopped her from getting sick after all.
The day before Logan Hartson was due back in town.
Chapter Five
Courtney couldn’t eat anything at all the next day. Even the thought of food made her want to hurl. She was laying on the sofa, a blanket wrapped around her, hugging a box of tissues. If she wasn’t feeling so horrible, she’d be feeling guilty that she wasn’t working today.
And even worse, Logan hadn’t replied to her text letting him know she was sick and they’d have to cancel. Maybe he was angry. It was strange how the thought of not seeing him made her empty stomach gripe even harder. She had no idea when he was due back in town again.
The sound of a car engine rumbled over the sound of her sneezes, and she tried to turn on the sofa to look out of the window.
A police cruiser was outside. Carl’s. His parents had probably called to tell him she was sick. Courtney sighed at the thought of having to face him like this.
He rapped at the door and she called out to let him know it was unlocked, too exhausted to get off the sofa and be hospitable in her usual way.
“Hey,” he said, frowning as he closed the door behind him. “You should keep this locked. You don’t know who might try their luck and break in.”
“It normally is.”
His gaze flickered over to her. “Mom told me you were sick. I thought I’d stop by and see if you need anything.” He walked over, his brow still pulled down as he touched her brow. “You’re burning up. Are you sure you shouldn’t be in bed?”