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“Sorry.”
“She sounded worried about you.” Mathias took a bite of his sandwich.
“She treats me like I am ten still most of the time.” She stirred her soup but didn’t take a bite.
He smiled at her. “Can I tell her about your tattoo?”
“No, she will give me her disappointed face and tell me I know better.” She laughed and finally ate a spoonful of the soup. How was it better when he made it than when she did? It came from the same can.
“How much older is she than you?”
“Eight years. Mama said that when I was born, she put her doll in the closet and carried me around instead. So, she worries about me.” She ate a few more small spoonfuls of soup.
“Sounds adorable. Cora was mad that Juniper was a girl; she wanted another brother. They are seven years apart.” He continued to eat.
“The good part is that Cora might not get married at eighteen and start having kids right away. Maybe she will go to college.”
He shook his head. “I can’t imagine Cora having kids anytime soon. She can’t even take care of herself.”
“How old is she?”
“Fifteen.”
“Is it as crazy as they say to have a teenager?” She knew so many teenagers but couldn’t imagine having one of her own.
“Yes. She’s constantly mad at me.” He took a bite of his sandwich.
“She gets that from you.” She smiled at him.
“That hurt, Thorn.” He pressed his hands to his heart and leaned back like she had shot him.
Laughing, she said, “Sorry I did not give you that loan. I had my reasons.”
Suddenly, she wished she hadn’t said anything because he had lost his smile. “It’s okay; I am working with a bank in Grand Forks. They seem to be more interested in loaning me money.”
Pushing her half-eaten sandwich plate away from her, she said, “Please do not take it, Mathias. If you get a loan and have a few bad years, you could lose your farm. I am serious. I have looked at the numbers over and over again.”
“The land is right next to mine. It’s perfect,” he argued, the smile now completely gone from his blue eyes.
“But the timing is not. Wait until you can put twenty percent down on it. Do not put a mortgage on the land you own. Rent for now. Then you could lose it all,” she explained.
“I will not have a bad year,” he insisted.
“Be serious. There are always bad years in farming. You just have to be able to weather them. This could take it all away from you, from your children.” She stood up herself as she argued. He knew better. Why couldn’t he just admit she was right?
“Well, with that, I will leave.” He stormed over to the door and grabbed his jacket. After opening the door, he stopped and added, “If I want your advice, I will buy it. Oh, wait, I already did. Keep your nose out of my business.”
She stayed at the table, watching the door for a long time, wishing she hadn’t said anything. Wishing she hadn’t reminded him who she was. They got along so well when he didn’t remember who she was.
Finally, she got up but left the half-eaten food on the table. She was no longer hungry. Shutting off lights as she went through the apartment, she shed her clothes and climbed back into bed. She could do nothing but sleep off the remaining medication in her system and try not to think about Mathias Nordskov.
CHAPTER9
Easter Sunday promisedto be a warm one, and Math knew that soon he would be in the fields. But today was a day for church and then family time. This was his first Easter with the kids since his divorce. Last year, Karen had taken them.
Sadly, only Juniper was excited to attend the holiday services. Even he wasn’t that into spending an hour in church. It hadn’t helped that he had been in a bad mood since he had left Tess’s apartment on Thursday.
Tess. Why hadn’t he believed her when she’d said wheat gave her hives? Maybe because it sounded like such a bad excuse. But thinking back, why would she not want to do that task? She’d been willing to clean up cow poop and lift heavy hay bales. He should have realized that something was wrong when she had forgotten her shoes. What did she wear home if she’d left her shoes?
