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“Maybe in a bit,” I said. “And that all depends on what Aggie and Aubrey have to say.”
“Fine with me,” Aggie said as she passed out mugs, the group taking seats around the big farmer’s table in the center of the room. “But I need some food in me first before I think about anything else.”
Aubrey and Aggie let us go wild on their leftovers, the six of us putting together some big, hearty sandwiches.
Over the course of our meal, we got to know Aggie and Aubrey a bit. We learned a little more about Downing, how it’d been in Aubrey’s family for centuries. As Aubrey spoke, giving us a brief history of the farm, I found it impossible not to notice just how beautiful she was.
“Dad died less than a year ago, so Downing’s my job now.”
“How long have you had the place for?” Mac asked. “And my condolences about your father.”
“Thank you. And… let’s see… by the time the legal stuff was all said and done, it was…”
“February twenty-fourth,” Aggie said with a grin. “Sorry, scheduling’s kind of my forte.”
“There you have it,” Aubrey nodded. “But we didn’t jump into running the place right away. We had to buy the llamas and do some repairs before the day-to-day stuff could begin.”
Marcus leaned back, crossing his arms over his chest. “So, this is the first real winter you’re going to deal with?”
A touch of worry formed on Aubrey’s face. “Yep. Most of the money here’s wrapped up in livestock, so it’s just a matter of keeping them warm for the winter. But come spring thaw, we’re going to have to hire a mess of staff if we want to get the crops up and running.”
“That reminds me,” Aggie said with a grin. “You boys got anything going on this spring? We’re going to need quite a few hands, and it looks like you’ve got more than enough between the four of you.”
“I have hands!” Henry stuck his palms up as he spoke, as if to illustrate his point.
“Grown-uphands,” Hattie said, shaking her head.
That got a laugh out of everyone. As we chuckled, however, I noticed a tinge of worry flash on Aubrey’s face again. Something about the subject of hiring hands for the spring season made her tense.
“We’d love to help,” Mac said. “But we’re booked up solid for the spring. And our winter’s looking packed, too.”
Adam cocked his head to the side. “Huh? What do you mean?”
Mac formed his mouth into a flat line. I got the impression he’d said something that he hadn’t meant to.
“We’ll talk about it in a little bit. In the meantime, there was something else we wanted to discuss with you, Aubrey.”
“Yeah? What’s that?”
Aggie raised her eyebrows. “Is this something private? I can leave.”
Aubrey raised her hand. “Nope, not at all. If it’s about me and the farm, then Aggie’s going to be here for it.”
“It’s nothing dire,” I said. “Just a proposal.”
Before we had a chance to continue the conversation, Hattie pushed her plate away and sat up.
“Can we play with the llamas again?”
“Yeah!” Henry called out. The boy took after us, which meant that his plate was already clean.
“In a bit,” Marcus said.
Aggie got up. “How about this—I can take the twins and let them hang out with their new best friends while you guys discuss business. We’ll be just out back, so you guys can keep an eye on the kids through the window if you want.”
Aubrey opened her mouth to speak, likely to tell Aggie that she could stay.
“I got it!” Aggie said with a smile. “Come on, dudes, you want to see the llamas?”
