“This is the western border of the property.” I looked out over the land on the other side. “And I’m bringing you up here to show you that this area is off limits.”
“Past these trees,” I said, pointing to a towering row of pines separating the working farm from the wild forest that lay beyond. “You cannot go past here. I don’t maintain the road and the woods get very thick. Do you understand?”
I made eye contact with each child as they nodded at me.
This area was completely wild save for the blackberry bramble I’d planted. I’d put it here for the sole purpose of distracting Betsy Ross and thus keeping her from visiting the farm. My bear defense system. I had cameras, of course, but this worked better than other deterrents I’d tried.
I’d been with them for close to an hour, but the inane questions had drained me far faster than any manual labor. And I was disturbingly sweaty. Maybe it was the end of summer heat or maybe it was the disquieting sensation of having Celine’s eyes on me.
“Can we have a sleepover in one of the barns?” Maggie asked. “Not the scary one where Julian almost got hurt, but there are a bunch.”
“You wanna have a sleepover with the chickens?” I teased.
“Um, that would be awesome,” she replied.
“Do you have raccoons?” Ellie asked, eyes lighting up. “Do they have rabies?”
I took my hat off and ran my hands through my hair. I had absolutely no idea how to answer that question.
“Can we name the tractors?”
“When can we pick the apples?”
“Do the trees cry when you hammer the thingy into them?”
The questions were endless, and Julian had joined in as well, bringing tractors into the conversation.
A prickly unease took over. These kids had already eaten up a good chunk of my afternoon and too much of my attention. This wasn’t like me. I finished my to-do lists. I stuck to my routines. I didn’t get sidetracked. I didn’t get attached. I didn’t get… anything these days.
But here they were, worming their way in without shame. Suggesting cutesy names for farm equipment as Wayne trotted happily between them like an emotional support linebacker.
And their mom. Fierce eyes and wiry strength, but not a stitch of trust for me.
Once I’d left them at the cottage, a wave of relief hit me. But there was irritation there too.
Mostly because I was slightly intrigued by the little family.
Celine’s walls were high and fortified for a reason, and that only sent my instincts to protect into high gear. Yet at the same time, I wanted to retreat to my house and stay there, because I was pretty sure it would take days to recover from this farm tour.
“Wayne,” I hollered to my dog, who’d lagged behind, looking forlornly at the retreating kids. But when I called him a second time, he trotted over, head down. And with him at my side, I strode back to the barn to restart my workday.
“Don’t get attached,” I said to him. “They are tenants. Not friends.”
He picked up his pace, leaving me in the dust, as if he didn’t agree.
Chapter 5
Celine
With my eyes closed, I took a deep breath, attempting to steady myself. I was a professional. I just needed to get my head together.
The kids were in the cafeteria with coloring pages, iPads, and enough snacks to last them several hours. Ellie could handle things while I got my classroom set up, and when we got here, Julian and I had walked back and forth to my room three times so he knew where to find me.
It took forty-five minutes to get them prepped and for me to set expectations, but I was finally ready to start my day. My classroom was at the end of a long hallway that had been decorated with cheery signs. A rainbow stripe cut down the middle of the linoleum floor, leading me to an old-school classroom with super high ceilings, giant industrial windows, and a few inches of dust on every surface.
The room was filled with out-of-date materials, and there were a few broken chairs, but on the far wall, the holy grail.
A brand-new smartboard.