Because how could she ever compare to her sweetest sister? Clara was calm and kind, and it was clear that Alejandro was more introverted than his daughter. She was exactly the type a busy, widower doctor would need, young and strong and kind.

  Charity wasn’t anything like that.

  She was all edges and rough fingers. Chapped skin and hangnails. She was covered in dirt as often as she was covered in manure, and that wasn’t even mentioning sweat.

  She knew she was getting ahead of herself, but it was so easy to see Clara in an apron in the doctor’s kitchen, kissing his cheek as he returned from work and serving him an amazing dinner.

  Charity was aware she was letting her imagination go too far. The doctor wasn’t going to run off with her sister any more than he was going to run off with her. He was just a guest, staying for dinner, and she was getting carried away with the warm and fuzzies. She was just lonely, that was all, and had forgotten what it was like to be around people she hadn’t known from birth.

  So, she stomped down on the silliness and told herself to get it together. She wasn’t a high school girl who needed to crush over the nearest attractive, non-related man. Ugh.

  The meal ended on a pleasant note, of course, with Charlie and Papa excusing themselves along with Cass. The only one missing was Cici, who was back at college and no doubt kicking butt on the dean’s list. Naturally Clara packed up to-go containers for their guests and packed them into one of her extra baskets. Clara loved giving people things in baskets or harvesting in baskets, and she had a truly impressive collection of them that she ordered whenever she found a sale or purchased outright every year at the corn festival.

  “This was amazing! Can I come over next weekend too?”

  “Don’t you want to hang out with any of your new friends that are your age?” Charity asked. Not that she didn’t want Savannah to be around, but she was still a bit sore over the jealousy that had been trying to take hold in her chest.

  “What friends could I possibly have?” the girl said, much more sharply than Charity had expected. “I just moved here, and I don’t like talking to new people because they call me a know-it-all. I’ll make friends eventually, but… I don’t know, I don’t like to rush it.”

  Whew, that was a lot. Charity felt a twinge of sympathy for the girl and then her mouth was moving all on its own. “You can come over anytime your daddy says it’s alright. Just let me know an hour ahead of time to make sure I’ll be home, okay?”

  Savannah nodded, grinning again, and then Alejandro was stepping forward.

  “Thank you,” he said, tilting his head, and wow, those eyes were heady and dark, pulling her attention to them like a lightning rod. “Is there anything I can do to repay you? I haven’t seen Savannah have this much fun in ages.”

  “Please, no. I don’t mind at all. This has gotten me out of my shell for a while. I have to be careful, otherwise I might just actually turn into a hermit one day.”

  “You’d certainly be the most attractive hermit I’ve ever heard of.”

  Wait.

  What?

  Alejandro’s cheeks colored and she watched his Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed. “Come on, Savannah, let’s go home. Thank you all again.”

  He strode quickly out, Savannah waving the whole time, leaving Charity to stand there and blink after them.

  It was just a compliment. That was all. He’d complimented Clara too and way more. She needed to get herself together and stop being desperate.

  Sighing, she rubbed her face and headed in.

  10

  Charity

  “Okay. Now loop the rope like I showed you… then you’re done!”

  Savannah jumped up, pumping both of her fists in the air. “I did it! I roped a calf!”

  “That you did. It’s more complicated to rope a full-sized animal, but you can wait until you grow up for that too.”

  “And I can do it on a horse?”

  “Sure, if you want to learn how to ride a horse, that can come after.”

  Charity hadn’t taught someone how to do any sort of ropework since Cici was quite small, and it was nice to spend the entire afternoon walking Savannah through it. She was enthusiastic, and she absorbed information like a sponge. She asked interesting questions too, ones that none of Charity’s other siblings had ever thought to mutter.

  “Aw yeah! I’m gonna be the world’s first doctor-astronaut-cowgirl!”

  Charity laughed, because how could she not? “That’s quite the ambition you have there.”

  “I know, but I figure I might as well dream big while I can. Most adults don’t seem to be able to. I think it’s bills. Bills seem terrible.”

  “Oh, they definitely are for most people. But you’re right—let’s not talk about bills. How about we go grab some popsicles and sit on the porch?”

  “Aw yeah! That sounds great!”

  “Alright, well let’s untie Moo-rybeth, who has been such a good girl for us.”

  “Right, right. That makes sense. How do I do that again?”

  Charity showed her and she picked it up like a champ, then they walked back to the house. It was a Saturday afternoon, so Clara was in the kitchen excitedly making supper for Savannah—and Charity expected a cake too—and Papa was in his garden. Charlie was off with his friends from the next town over at the quarry, and if she had to guess, Cass was probably sleeping.

  So, the house was quiet as she headed into the kitchen, and Clara kissed her cheek as she passed Charity two ice pops made from the lemonade from yesterday, mixed with apricot juice. It was a tart, sweet mixture and Charity was sure that Savannah would like it.

  They sat on the porch, quiet for a while, and she was happy to see that the young girl did indeed enjoy the popsicle, saying it was better than anything her dad used to buy in the store. And then there was that flicker of pride again, warm in her chest. But there was more than that, and after a moment’s thought, she realized that she just liked seeing Savannah be happy. The girl deserved it.

  “Why don’t you think I’m annoying?”

  Well, wasn’t that out of left field? “Why would I think you’re annoying?”

  “Because I’m a motormouth. I ask too many questions. Because I always have to be doing something. Take your pick.”

  All of those things definitely sounded like stuff other people had told her, not things that she actually thought about herself, and Charity’s heart squeezed. “I don’t think you’re annoying at all, Savannah. I like how much you talk. I like that you’re enthusiastic and you always have so much to say.”

  “I… thanks. I like you too. You know so much cool stuff and you’re nice.”

  “Well, I try to be.”

  There was quiet for another moment, but Savannah must have been in a blurting sort of mood because her next question was just as much of a non sequitur.

  “So, I’ve met your Papa Miller twice now, but never a Mama Miller.”

  “Uh-huh,” Charity said cautiously.

  “Did you lose your mom too?”

  “Yeah, yeah I did.”

  “When?”

  “A long time ago.”

  “What happened? I mean, I looked it up online. I know she had Huntington’s. But what I mean is… what was it like? Was it…” The girl swallowed hard, and it was so easy to see herself sitting there instead. “You’re so brave, and you seem to know everything. But… was it scary?”

  It wasn’t something Charity usually liked to discuss. There was certainly plenty of pain around that topic, a bone-deep sort of ache. But she wanted to share. Because if she could show Savannah that she had survived it, that she grew up to be okay, maybe it would give the girl more ammunition for all the troubles she was going to have to face.

  “Yeah, she had Huntington’s. She was normal, and then she started to get headaches, then she started to forget a lot. By the time we realized that something was wrong and took her to the doctor, we didn’t have a lot of time left. She slid away in pieces, sometimes little bitty chunks, sometimes huge patches of her would be gone, and there was no way to tell which would happen.

  “By the end, she couldn’t do much of anything and there wasn’t a lot of her there. It was kind of like watching her become a ghost, except she wasn’t quite dead yet. She was just… fading.”

  Savannah nodded, her face serious. “It was kind of like that with Mom too, I think.”

  “You think?”

  “I didn’t really know her. Not well. I remember her being there. I remember her singing to me and feeling safe. I… I think I remember her smile. But I was somewhere just past two when she died. I don’t even think I understood what death even was or that she was really gone for a long while. I don’t exactly have a ton of memories from then.

  “Sometimes I feel bad about it, like I should hurt more. And sometimes I feel nothing, because I can’t even remember who I’m supposed to miss. And then I feel guilty because my dad… my dad loved her so much and he’s still so hurt. He won’t talk about it, most of the time, but I know. And I can’t help but think that he’s so lonely, but I don’t really know what to do about it.

  “Is he supposed to date? Am I supposed to help him find a new stepmom for myself? Is it bad that I don’t want to share him with anyone? It’s been just us for so long, I can’t imagine anything else. But at the same time… I don’t know if just him and me is enough. I want him to be happy like he makes me happy. I think I remember when he used to be happy, but he hasn’t been, not really, since my mom died.”

  “That’s a lot for a kid to handle.”

  “I think that it’s a lot for anyone to handle.”

  “Fair point.”

  Savannah nodded, falling quiet for a while. It was pretty obvious to Charity that the young girl was thinking, and she felt herself falling into her own thoughts.

  She thought that she had had it bad when she found out the love of her life was cheating on her. She thought she had it the worst when he tried to squeeze her family dry of money and extort her from millions during their messy divorce. But she would rather go through that all over again than watching anyone she loved slowly succumbing to an illness that ravaged their body and left them a shell of their former self. Watching their days become more and more painful as their energy sapped.

  “I’m sorry, love. I wish I could say it gets better, and it does, but your and my situations are a little different. I was a pre-teen when my mom left, so I remember her. There isn’t any ambiguity with us.”

  “What’s ambiguity?”

  Oh, right. Charity had forgotten just how incredibly young Savannah was. “It means, uh, open to different interpretations, kind of wishy-washy.”

  “So, nebulous?”

  Of course, Savannah would know nebulous but not ambiguity. “Yeah. Nebulous.”

  “It does make me feel better that you understand though, even if your situation was a little different.”

  “No problem. I’m not the smartest person around, but I am the eldest of five siblings, so I learned quite a lot from just helping to raise us all.” Despite the soft, sad smile on her face, Charity could still see the pressure pulling down at Savannah’s shoulders. She needed a distraction so her young, still-forming brain could process all that was going on inside of that incredible head of hers. “Hey, you want to go meet a pony that would probably be just right for you to ride?”

  Savannah practically choked on her ice pop as she whirled.

  “Do I wanna what?”

  “I’ll take that as a yes. Come on.”

  Hand in hand, they jogged off together.

  11

  Alejandro

  Apparently, corn could have its own festival.

  When Alejandro had first moved to town and heard Cassidy Miller and Mrs. Whittaker talk about the “corn festival,” he’d thought it was a nickname, or a joke. Later he thought maybe it was some sort of potluck.

  But nope. It was a real, honest-to-goodness festival where most of the town was shut down and the main street was lined with different tents. It was quite an affair, that was for certain, and he hadn’t realized just how much of a to-do it was until Savannah dragged him there.

  “Wow! Is this a carnival?” Savannah asked, bouncing along beside him.

  “Almost. Less hazardous rides, but fried food and I think I see a ring toss booth down there.”

  “Ooooh! I wanna ring toss, Dad! Can we go there!”

  “Sure, we’ll make our way down, but let’s see what’s on our way there.”

  “And maybe buy junk food?”

  “And maybe buy junk food.” He could smell the distinct scent of funnel cake in the air as well as other fried treats. While Alejandro generally didn’t have much of a sweet tooth, he did have a soft spot for fair treats. There was just something inherently joyful about them.

  Also, there was a very small list of things he wouldn’t do for homestyle fried okra. He could destroy a plate of that in seconds flat.

  They walked up to the first tent and saw pretty paintings, the artist an older woman with comically thick glasses. Alejandro bought something he thought would look nice in his office, a pretty landscape, and then they moved on.

  The next tent had homemade jams, and he absolutely bought up several jars of that. Peach, red chili, prickly pear, mango pepper, then some classics like strawberry and blackberry. The young woman there seemed quite happy with his purchase of eight different jars and gave him a heavy, supportive canvas bag to haul his find.

  “Dad,” Savannah said as they stepped out. “Didn’t you always teach me to walk around once before buying anything?”

  “You’re not wrong,” he said with a wry grin. “But I’m planning to support almost all of these stands that I can.” They entered the next one where they found custom fresh salsas. “Especially if they’re all so delicious.”

  He spent… much more money than he should. But with pineapple salsa, mango salsa, fresh salsa verde, roasted green chilis… it was a veritable smorgasbord.

  Alejandro had learned how to make salsa when he was young, of course, but he wasn’t the best at it and he didn’t often have the time to prep the tomatoes, roast all the ingredients, then actually can it. So when he had a chance to buy a year’s worth of homemade, delectable salsas in a variety of flavors, well he was going to do it.

  It wasn’t until he was trying to cram the ten jars of salsa into his bag with the eight jars of jam that he realized he might have forgotten something important.

  “You wanna borrow my cart?” the man behind the table asked, chuckling lightly.

  “Oh, I couldn’t,” Alejandro said, feeling his cheeks color.

  “You’re the town Doc, right? My wife has an appointment with you next week. You can just give it to her when she comes in.”

  Huh, Charity was right. Small towns really did look out for each other.

  “I would appreciate it greatly. I didn’t quite count on there being so much here.”

  “You haven’t seen anything yet. We’ve got a lot of crafty people here. And make sure you check out the Millers’ stand. They basically give products away for free and they grow the most interesting things.”

  “I’m familiar with the Millers,” Alejandro answered with a smile. Savannah spent almost every Saturday for the past three weeks at their ranch, and Alejandro had visited again with her. During that time, Papa Miller had indeed taken them on a garden tour and showed them some of the more exotic things he was growing. “Lovely family.”

  “That they are. Our town has certainly benefited since their Papa moved here. I remember my parents weren’t quite sure what to think about them at first, since they were clearly rich, but it didn’t take long for them to integrate. ‘Course it helped that they instantly donated enough to fund all of the school’s extracurricular programs for four years.”

  Alejandro nodded. So the Millers really were as fantastic as they seemed. Huh.

  “Anyways, you enjoy yourself now!”

  “Thank you, we’ll try our best.”

  Pull-handle of the cart in one hand and Savannah’s in his other, Alejandro strode along. The sun was finishing setting, but stringed lights between all the tents lit up, shimmering like stars. It was beautiful, in a simple, country way, and Alejandro couldn’t help but stop, looking at the twinkling all around him.

  It was like being in a fairy’s circle, or some other enchanted place. It felt otherworldly and mystical, something too good for mere mortals. And yet there he was, with his daughter. He’d moved two months ago, and he never would have guessed he would wander into such a scene.

  “Come on, Char, aren’t you tired of cleaning us out every year?”

  “First of all, only my family calls me Char. Secondly, absolutely not. It’s a time-honored tradition to clean your booth out every year and I’m not ending that now.”

  Alejandro turned to the familiar voice, surprised to see Charity and two of her siblings at a tossing game, a comically large pile of stuffed prizes at their feet.

  Charity tilted her head back, laughing after the guy at the stand sent her a rude gesture that was obviously in jest, and she looked beautiful. Not that she wasn’t always attractive in a somewhat intimidating way, but there were spots of color bright on her cheeks, her hair was piled high atop her head in a braided, fancy bun, and she was dressed in a rockabilly sort of dress with matching reddish cowboy boots.

  “Oh! It’s Charity!” Savannah said excitedly, pointing. “Let’s go say hi!”

  His daughter practically vaulted over to Charity, throwing her arms around the woman in a very enthusiastic hug.

  Clearly the move surprised Charity because she fell back a step, arms flailing and dumping her drink on the person walking behind her.

  Oh no.

  “I’m so sorry,” she said, pulling herself out of Savannah’s embrace and whirling to the person behind her.

 

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