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He shrugged. “’Cause I don’t. It was cold as tits in the community center where they were doing the assessments, and I was shivering in my skivvies too much to explain without stuttering even more. But I kinda took it as a sign.” He stroked his mustache thoughtfully. “Ya see, Jon-Carl Herbert decided to sign up on the same day, and that boy stank like a fish pond. If I’d gone along with my initial plan, I’da been stuck on a bus with him all the way to basic training. No, thank you.”
I snorted. “And… do you ever wish it had worked out differently?”
His face lit up as he looked across the kitchen at his new-ish wife. “Not for one skinny minute. Not even in my ‘what if’ dreams. The life I’ve had here on this farm with these Nutters and all our friends has been the best life I could have imagined. Wasn’t all perfect, o’course, and I couldn’ta planned for most of the things that happened, good or bad. Your father alone nearly put me into an early grave with his bull-pucky, and when your grandfather and his bride died way too young…” He shook his head sadly. “Felt like all the dreams we had for running this farm died with ’em. But that’s how it goes sometimes. When the plan you had for your life goes wonky, you gotta come up with a new one. That’s your privilege and your responsibility. Life’s short; it’s up to us to make the most of it.”
“Hear, hear,” Emmaline said, shuffling over to press a tender kiss to the top of his white head.
I took a shaky breath.
My mom reached out to rest her hand on mine. “Charlie, the reason I’ve been trying to get you back here, the reason I agreed to this whole niceness bet, was because I can tell you’re not happy. You want stability in your life, and I get it. But, sweetie, stability doesn’t mean working yourself into the ground while you cut yourself off from the people who love you. True stability comes from putting down deep roots that’ll anchor you while surrounding yourself with people who’ll nurture you into the strongest version of yourself and prop you up when storms come along. It means not being afraid all the time. And if you’re starting to come to the same conclusions… maybe you’re ready to come home.”
My heart pounded unsteadily. Everything she was saying sounded right, but… I was afraid. It almost seemed too good to be true.
“Your mama’s right,” Amos said with a definitive dip of his chin. “If you were here, you and that Jackson boy could give things a real try—oh, don’t you start telling me all the reasons you need to hold back or be cautious, Charlton Nutter,” he said when I opened my mouth to argue. “Y’all care about each other—that was clear to everyone in town just by looking atcha, even when the pair of you were dancing around each other at the Stuffin’. When it comes to love, you two have enough pride and stubbornness for a whole flock of turkeys, but maybe the brains of one split between you. But that feelin’ you got for each other? It’s a gift. Don’t second guess it.”
“I… I…” My shoulders slumped. “I know it is. I’ve never felt this way about anyone before,” I admitted. “But practically speaking, I can’t just pack up and move. I have a job—”
“Mmm, and a job offer right here waiting for you.” My mother lifted one perfect eyebrow. “Buck told us about the offer he made you.”
“I told him I was thinking of moving back here eventually, if I could make it work somehow,” I admitted. “And he said he’d love for me to be in charge of logistics at his new company. Keep it all in the family. But Buck… he’s not exactly reliable, is he? If the company failed, I’d be out of luck. And if it succeeded, I’d end up in a job that’s just like the one I’m in now, doing way too much work with no personal involvement.”
“Is that actually what he said, Charlton?” Emmaline’s gently rebuking tone was so unexpected it cut deeper than any of Amos’s bluster. “From what I heard, Buck wants you to decide what your position would look like. Said he’d even be willing to hire you as a part-time consultant if you wanted to work your current job remotely or find something else when you get here.”
“Well.” I swallowed. “He… he might have mentioned something to that effect, but I know how it would end up—”
“Do you?” she asked in that same tone. “Because Buck Nutter might be a rapscallion in a lot of ways, but he doesn’t joke when it comes to his business. If he said it, he meant it.”
