Fragile Hearts (Poplar Falls #4) - Amber Kelly Page 0,13

happy to,” Miss Elaine assures me.

“Then, we’ll talk to Brandt, and if he agrees, you can call your daughter and make arrangements,” I tell her as she beams at me.

“Thank you, dear.”

Once the men finish up in the barn, Pop and Foster walk Brandt up to the house to fetch his mother.

Momma forces stew on him, after he cleans up a bit, and he humors her and has a big bowl and a slice of corn bread.

We discuss me filling in for Miss Elaine while she takes a trip home, and he readily agrees.

“Thanks. I can use the experience,” I tell him as I walk with them to his SUV before they head back to town.

He looks back at his mother while she hugs my momma.

“Actually, thank you, Bellamy. She could use this break. She loves it here in Colorado, but I know she misses the kids and her friends back home. It’ll be good for her to get away and see them.”

“Do you? Miss home, I mean,” I ask.

“Oregon? Nope, not in the least,” he says matter-of-factly.

“Good, because I think Poplar Falls wants to keep you,” I tell him.

That gets me a happy crinkle at his eyes.

“Brandt,” Pop calls as he approaches with his hand extended. “I appreciate all you did today.”

Brandt takes the offered hand and shakes it firmly. “My pleasure. Just keep an eye on her for the next hour or so, and if she has any problems passing her placenta, give me a ring, and I’ll come check her out.”

“Will do.”

Miss Elaine joins us, and Brandt opens the door for her. She climbs in and looks back at me.

“Drop by the clinic anytime you have a few minutes to spare, and I’ll run over the basics with you,” she tells me.

“Perfect. I’ll swing in sometime this week.”

Brandt rounds the Rover, and they back out. We stand and wave until they make the turn out of the gate.

“I think we got a good one with him,” Pop observes.

“Yeah, me too,” I agree.

“Well, cowgirl, are you ready to finish this day?” he asks as he wraps his arm around my shoulders and pulls me into his side.

“I am,” I say, and I let him lead me back to the barn, where the evening chores await us.

Brandt

“Thank you, sir.”

I shake Mr. Stroupe’s hand before he stands and passes me a manila envelope with all the paperwork tucked inside.

“Congratulations, Brandt. You got yourself a fine piece of property. I think you are going to love raising a family there,” the bank manager offers as he walks me to the door of his office.

I just purchased an old estate fifteen minutes from downtown. I had driven by the place a dozen times while making calls, and there was just something about it that spoke to me. The property is overgrown, and the house is in a state of severe disrepair, but I can tell that it was once magnificent. I know in my gut that it can be again even if I don’t know the home’s story. I just felt compelled to buy it and help restore it to its former glory.

I’m not sure what I was thinking, and I have a brief moment of regret as I toss the envelope into the passenger seat of my vehicle. It’s probably going to take a lot of time and money to fix that place up. Of course, I have nothing better to do. The small apartment above the clinic is not what I promised Mom when I convinced her to move with me. I want her to have a real home to retire in. Somewhere she has a yard to fill with flowers and for her dog, Lou-Lou, to run around in. One with a big kitchen and maybe a she-shed in the back for her to make her soaps and lotions.

As I turn down Main Street, Mr. Phillips waves as he exits the hardware store, and Mrs. Pickens looks up and smiles at me as she sweeps the gazebo outside the courthouse. Then, I see Mr. Henderson leaving Bountiful Harvest Bread Company with Beau Wilson, tightly gripping one of his hands, while Beau licks the ice cream that’s dripping from a cone off the other. And I know that Poplar Falls is where I want to lay roots.

I feel that numbing pain in my chest at that thought. Roots. I planted them once before, and they were yanked from the soil that was my life. They’ve been exposed and withering ever