just kept getting longer.
5
IT WAS A PERFECT summer night. The sky was clear, the sunset turning the western horizon orange and pink. Rachel stood at the screen door, staring out into the quiet yard. The first crickets had started to chirp, a pretty counterpoint to the sound of the baseball game coming from the truck radio.
Dermot sat on the porch steps, tossing a little ball into the yard for Benny, who danced around it playfully before picking it up in his mouth and carrying it back to Dermot.
It was a testimony to how easily Dermot had found his place on the farm and a special connection with the animals. Benny usually did whatever he wanted, causing as much trouble as he could along the way. But now he seemed to be content to play a goat version of “fetch,” a brand-new trick for him.
She pushed open the screen door and it squeaked. Dermot glanced over his shoulder. “Mariners are ahead, six to four. And I didn’t know goats could fetch.”
“Neither did I. He’s never done that before.”
“Really?”
Rachel nodded. “Do you go to baseball games when you’re at home?” she asked.
He nodded. “My brothers and I have season tickets. I usually get to at least one game a week when they’re in town.”
She sat down beside him and wrapped her arms around her knees. “Tell me what you’d be doing if you were home. I want to be able to imagine your life after you’ve left.”
He reached out and caught her chin. “Do you think I’m just going to disappear from your life when my six weeks are up?”
Rachel shrugged. “I—I don’t know. I’m not sure what’s going to happen. Are you going to disappear?”
“No,” he said. “I think we’ll talk. And maybe you could come to Seattle to visit me. I could take you sailing. Or I could visit the farm. It’s not like I’m going to be living on the moon. There are planes that fly back and forth between Chicago and Seattle.”
Rachel sighed softly. As much as she needed a vacation, she knew the reality of her situation. “You know how difficult it is for me to get away. The dairy requires me to be here every day of every week.”
“Then we’re going to have to find someone to help you out after I leave. And he’s going to be old and toothless and preferably gay.”
Rachel laughed. “Oh, so you don’t want me hanging around the bus stop and hiring another Dermot Quinn?”
“I’m one of a kind. You’ll never find another farmhand like me.”
She stood up and walked down the steps. “I’m going to get the mail. Do you want to come with me?”
Dermot shook his head. “No, I think I’ll just stay here and watch.”
As Rachel walked to the driveway, she swayed her hips provocatively and he gave her a wolf whistle.
“Work it, baby,” he called.
She usually avoided the mail for as long as she could, sometimes letting it build up for a week. It was always the same thing—bills, bills, bills. The power, the feed store, the vet.
She opened the box and pulled out a stack of envelopes, then walked back down the driveway, flipping through them. One piece of mail caught her attention and she pulled it from the bunch, staring at the return address. Minneapolis.
When she reached the porch, she sat down again and waved the envelope at Dermot. “A letter from my sister, Jane,” she said.
“Really,” he murmured. He grabbed the envelope and examined it. “Are you going to open it?”
“I know what’s inside. She’s going to try to convince me to sell the farm. I’m sure she could use the money for a new car or a vacation to Mexico. She lives in a neighborhood where money is very, very important.”
“Don’t open it,” Dermot said.
But Rachel didn’t want to shy away from the conflict any longer. She felt stronger now, as if she could finally stand up for herself and state her case. Her father had left the decisions about the farm to her. She was the executor of his estate. “I want to see what she has to say.”
Rachel ripped open the envelope, pulled out a three-page letter and began to read. But the subject wasn’t at all what she’d expected. “Oh. She and her husband are having problems. They’re getting a divorce. He took all their money and ran off with… Oh, no. He ran off with another woman.”
Dermot slipped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close. He took the letter from her and continued reading. “She needs time to sort out her life. She wants to send her boys to live on the farm to get them away from all the gossip.”
“I don’t even know them. I met them six or seven years ago when they came for Christmas when my mom was still alive. They haven’t been to the farm since then. They’re probably teenagers now.” Rachel leaned over to read the rest of the letter. “When does she want to send them?”
“As soon as possible,” he said. “She wants you to call her.”
A long silence grew between them. How could she refuse? This was the first time any of her siblings had ever asked her for anything—beyond their demands to sell the farm. She wanted to believe she might one day have a relationship with her brothers and sister, but this was not the way she wanted it to happen.
“What are you going to do?” Dermot asked.
“She’s family. And she needs my help. I can’t say no.” She met his gaze and felt a surge of emotion. “What do you think?”
He nodded. “I think you’re absolutely right. This will be a good place for your nephews to be while all that turmoil is going on at home. And maybe you and your sister can become a bit closer.”
“I’ve never had many opportunities to deal with teenage boys before,” Rachel said. “What if they’re naughty?”
“Don’t worry. I’ll help you out. I was once a teenage boy. I know what’s going on in their heads.”
Rachel slipped her arms around his neck and kissed him. “Thank you,” she murmured.
It was so simple to depend upon him, and yet, she knew that in a few more weeks he’d be gone. Life seemed so much easier when she had Dermot standing in her corner, backing her up, ready to catch her when she fell.
“When they come, they’ll have to stay in the house,” she said.
“I didn’t expect that you’d put them in the barn.”
“Which means you’re going to have to move back in with Eddie.” He opened his mouth to protest, but she put her finger across his lips. “It just wouldn’t be right. I have to set a good example. And Jane is very conservative when it comes to her children.”
“Well, then, we’re going to have to find a place to
