Tina wasn’t particularly hungry, but she was teetering on the edge of control and didn’t want Doc to witness a full-blown breakdown. Moments after he left, the floodgates opened, and the tears came.
She was so angry. A trip to Sumneyville First National Bank, a dozen phone calls, and some rudimentary online sleuthing had confirmed that Rick hadn’t been exaggerating. Obermacher Farms was indeed on the brink of financial collapse.
They were going to lose everything. The farm. The crops. The houses. The equipment. And for what? Because they’d had to get greedy? Because making an honest living hadn’t been enough?
The whole mess sickened her. Worse, it looked as if there was nothing she could do. It had gone too far.
The feeling of helplessness was overwhelming, and she gave herself over to the racking sobs. She wasn’t used to feeling so powerless. There were only a few times in her life when she had, and each of those had involved the death of someone she loved. For everything else, there had always been options, other avenues to pursue, a way out.
But not this time.
After several minutes, Tina took a deep breath, got shakily to her feet, and went into the bathroom. She splashed cold water on her face until some of the puffiness abated and the ugly red splotches faded.
“No matter how bad it is, you have to pull yourself together and deal with it,” Tina said to her reflection, recalling the words Lottie had said to her at the funeral home at her grandfather’s viewing. “You’re an Obermacher, and Obermachers are made of strong stuff. We endure because sometimes, that’s all we can do.”
The words gave her some small comfort, as did the knowledge that for tonight at least, she wouldn’t have to endure alone.
That was something else she wasn’t accustomed to—the feeling that she could lean on someone even if it was only for a little while. Someone who didn’t make her feel weak simply for feeling bad.
Perhaps it was wrong of her to put so much faith in Doc, especially in these early stages of their relationship. Ceding control and exposing vulnerabilities were things she’d learned not to do. Not at home. Not in college. Not in business. There were always those lurking in the shadows, looking for weaknesses and opportunities to take advantage.
But Doc, he wasn’t like that. All he wanted was ... well, Tina wasn’t quite sure what he wanted, but she knew it wasn’t her land or her patents or her business, and that was a great start.
Tina heard the trailer door open and close a moment before Doc called out his return. “Tina?”
“In here. I’ll be out in a sec.” She patted her face, pleased to see that she looked slightly better than she had when she came in, and stepped out.
“Are you okay?” The look of concern in his eyes was like a balm to her ragged soul.
“Not yet, but I will be. What do you have there?”
He started removing items from the bag and laid them out on the table. “Broccoli cheese soup and some sandwich fixings. I wasn’t sure if you preferred turkey or ham, so I—”
Tina cut him off, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him into a kiss.
He returned the kiss with equal fervor and then asked, “What was that for?”
“For being you,” she said simply.
Over soup and sandwiches, she gave him a condensed version of what had happened. She hadn’t planned on telling him everything, especially not about the guns, but once she started talking, she couldn’t seem to stop.
“I was so angry after I got back from the bank. I went to the office and found Gunther and Kiefer there, discussing offers with Rick. I got even angrier when Gunther started shoving papers in my face and told me I needed to sign them. Like I would ever trust him after this! I told him I wasn’t signing anything until I had a lawyer look over it and that it sure as hell wasn’t going to be anyone from Sumneyville. Gunther didn’t like that at all, which made me think he was trying to slide something else shady through. Rick would sign anything if Gunther told him to. He’d never take the time to read through the fine print, and neither would Kief.”
Doc listened quietly and patiently while she got everything off her chest. It was only after she’d talked for an hour that she realized he didn’t seem