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“I want things to beourdecision,” she says. “With this, I was just worried you’d tell me I was walking away thinking I only got it because of you.”
I start the ignition. “I think you made the right decision.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.” I pull out of the parking lot and start driving on the main road, wondering how long it will take her to figure out I’m not heading back to her dorm or my house. “How was your exam?”
“Fine.” She pauses. “After tomorrow, there’s just one semester of college left. It’s crazy.”
I nod, flicking on the stereo for some background sound. Lennon yawns again, then leans back against the seat.
As soon as I turn onto the highway, she sits up straight. “Where are we going?”
“Home.”
“Caleb. I have a final tomorrow.”
I nod. “Me too. We’ll be back by then. I promise.”
She still looks confused and uncertain, but doesn’t question me again until we’re in Landry and I continue past the turn-off for my family’s—my, technically—property.
“What the hell is going on?”
“You’ll see.”
Lennon inhales sharply, when I flip my blinker on and then turn into the driveway that leads to Matthews Farm. “We’re trespassing.”
I say nothing.
“Seriously, Caleb. This is sweet. But we can’t…” Her voice trails as we pass the barn and the farmhouse comes into view. I park in the center of the yard, overgrown with dying weeds, and climb out of the truck.
Lennon scrambles out after me a few seconds later, spinning around in a slow circle as she looks around.
“They haven’t changed anything,” she says. “I was sure…” She glances at me. “Well, I figured it would be a pile of rubble by now. The house is too small and the barn could blow down. It’d be easier to rebuild everything. I didn’t think—” Her voice catches. “I didn’t think I’d ever see it all in person again.” Lennon visibly composes herself, then turns toward me. “We should really go. This is illegal.”
I lean against the side of the truck. “You sure? Last I checked, you could do whatever you want on your own land.”
All of a sudden, I’m staring at a statue. Lennon looks at me, her face frozen in total shock. Finally, she breaks through it, glancing at the farmhouse, then me. The barn, then back to me. “You didn’t.”
I open the truck door, grabbing the piece of paper from the glove compartment and then walking over and handing it to her. “Technically, it’s your land. Still. I kept the deed in your name. And if you decide to sell it a second time, I won’t interfere.”
Lennon takes the paper, glances at it, bites her bottom lip, and then looks out toward the east pasture.
“But if we’re making decisions together, for whatever it’s worth, I think you should keep this farm.”
“For what?”
“To live on. To get married on. To raise a family on.”
She turns toward me then, raising a hand to tick fingers off. “You don’t want to live in Landry. You could get drafted anywhere in the country. This farm needs a ton of work. There’s—”
I grab her hand before she can lift another finger. “I think you rushed on selling this place, Lennon. If it’s not what you want, that’s fine. But don’t put it on me. Don’t say it’s not where I want to be. Don’t assume you have to live wherever I get drafted. And last I checked, you have plenty of money.”
“Fromyou.” She huffs. “I never would have taken it had I known—”
“I know you wouldn’t have. That’s why I had a real estate attorney bury the sale through one of the corporations my grandfather left me, in case you looked. But it’s done. And you can undo it, if you want. But I hope you won’t. People don’t retire from professional sports at age sixty-five, Lennon. Me playing won’t be forever.
“You’ve got roots here. But so do I. Just as many. Perception is all about perspective. I didn’t have any when we were younger. Not when it came to Landry. To me, it was a town full of nosy snobs who revered the man who barely gave me the time of day if we weren’t in public. I see it differently now. I can picture our lives here. Holidays and weekends and regular days. Kids.”
