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She smiled at him, glad when he returned it. “Okay, Cord,” she said. “Well, if you’re around tomorrow afternoon, say around four o’clock, I’m going to be handing out cookies after our riding lessons.” She turned and started for the door. “I guess that’s what I wanted to talk to you about.”
She turned back at the door and smiled in his direction.
“I like cookies, Miss Jane,” he said, and while it wasn’t a yes, she suspected she’d see him tomorrow afternoon.
24
Gerty made the turn Mike had almost three weeks ago, glancing over to her father. He likewise looked at her, a wariness in his gaze.
“What is this place?” he asked.
Gerty took a breath and said, “This is my new farm, Daddy.”
Daddy choked, as she expected him to. “Your what?”
“I’m going to need some help getting my stuff from Montana,” she continued, glancing into the rearview mirror to see what her mom thought of what she’d said. “Will you guys go with me?”
“To Montana?” Mom asked.
“Yeah,” Gerty said. “Most of what I own is in a storage unit there.” The thought of returning to that state had her stomach in a knot, but she had to do it. It had been three weeks since her birthday, and she’d come out to this farm at least a dozen times since.
She’d spoken to Aunt Gloria, and she’d been praying every day and night since. She knew now that the Lord loved her, and that she wanted to live on this farm, fixing it up and getting it back to the place it deserved to be.
“How did you buy a farm?” Daddy asked. He folded his arms and trained all of his attention on her.
“I, uh, didn’t buy it,” she said. “It was a gift.”
“A gift?” Daddy and Mom asked at the same time.
“Yeah.” Gerty cleared her throat. “Don’t freak out, okay?”
“I hate it when you start stories like that.” Daddy sighed.
“Mike bought it for me for my birthday,” Gerty said in a rush. “He’s a billionaire, and he said he’d sell it if I didn’t want it.” She glanced over to her father, then back into the rearview mirror.
Mom wore a surprised look that held some horror in it, and Daddy gaped openly at her. “He bought you a farm for your birthday?”
Gerty nodded, her voice now lodged in her throat. “And I’m thinkin’ that Dusty is strong enough to move now, and I’d like to move him over here.” She focused on the road in front of her though there wouldn’t be anyone out here. “I’dlike to move out here and start fixing it up. You’ll see, it needs a lot of work.”
“Are you and Mikey going to live here together?” Daddy asked.
“Not until we get married,” Gerty said airily. “Ifwe get married.”
“If?”
“We’re dating, Daddy,” she said. “I told him I needed to go slow, and that’s what we’re doing.”
“The boy bought you a farm,” Daddy said, his voice a bit too loud.
“First,” Gerty said firmly. “He’s not a boy. Second, I made sure he knew where we stand, even as I accepted the gift.”
“Gerty,” Mom said, and she glanced at her as the road went to dirt. “Are you sure about this?”
“Yes,” she said just as quickly and firmly as she had correcting her father. “I’m not a kid anymore either, and I’ve been making sure I’m doing the right thing every step of the way.”
“Shoot.” Daddy turned toward the window, unrest streaming from him. But when he looked at her again, a hint of glassiness sat in his eyes. “You are a good girl, Gerty, and I trust you.”
She grinned. “Thank you, Daddy. So you’ll come with me? Well, me and Mike. He wants to go to Coral Canyon to see his folks, and I’d drive with him to Wyoming, then switch over to your truck for the rest of the trip.”
