Page 63 of Hounded

The human body really was so amazing, and Mitch hated that he couldn’t speak to Lily in this moment.

Good news, right? she said, her eyes shining with those unshed tears.

He nodded and then gathered her into his arms. The best, he thought just before he lowered his head and kissed her.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Edith couldn’t let go of Finn’s hand as he drove down the dirt lane away from Coyote Pass. “So the price is too high?”

Finn sighed out all of his air it seemed, and he sure wasn’t happy today. Edith wasn’t either, because Levi had passed away three years ago today. They were currently on their way to the cemetery, and Edith had a bouquet of wildflowers and a couple of figurines of horses. Things Levi loved, so he’d know he was loved.

She’d taken pictures to send to his parents and hers, and Edith really just wanted the next hour to be over with.

“It’s really high,” he said. “Number one, I’m trying to buy it in the middle of the harvest. So they have to charge me for that. Otherwise, this whole year is a loss for them.”

“And the cattle,” she said, all the dots coming together into a complete picture. “They haven’t gone to market yet.”

“No,” he said. “And he’s got probably eighty-five thousand dollars worth of cattle on that ranch. It’s his entire year’s worth of income.” He glanced over to Edith. “So Jerry said they have to add that to the price. Or I can wait to buy it after that, but then I can’t control what cattle Kevin decides to keep or sell.”

He rolled his neck as he came to a stop at the highway. “And interest rates are expected to rise next week, and I’d really just like to get this done before too much longer.” He made the turn and glanced over to her. “In fact, Jerry says I have to put in an offer by Tuesday, or Kevin and Bethany Ann are going to list it.”

“They can’t do that,” Edith said. “You’ve been over there all month, talking to them and working with them. They know you want it.”

“Wanting something and being able to get it are two different things,” he said, clearly exasperated. “It’s okay.” He shook his head. “This isn’t what you need today. I’m dealing with it, and everything is going to be fine.”

Finn looked over to her for longer. “Edith, I’m real sorry. It’s going to be fine. I’m not going to say another word about it.”

“It’s okay,” she murmured. “I’d be frustrated too.” She was frustrated for him, because she knew how excited he was to get Kevin Bentley’s ranch. He’d said on more than one occasion that it felt like God had orchestrated an accident a year ago, so that Finn could somehow have the perfectly sized ranch at a decent price.

But now, it felt like things had just inflated until they were too big for either of them to hold.

Finn continued the drive to town and then over to the little white church where they went each Sabbath Day. The cemetery sat behind it, and today, on a benign Thursday afternoon, the parking lot didn’t hold a single vehicle.

He pulled in and put his truck in park. Neither of them moved, and finally Finn looked over to her. “Do you want to go out alone first? I can follow you in a few minutes.”

Edith liked that idea, and she nodded. “Yes, thank you.” With that, she collected the things she’d brought for Levi and slid from the truck. Her legs operated, but they felt like wet straw, like they might collapse underneath her weight at any moment.

Employing all her muscles, she made it past the church and out of sight of Finn. That caused some of the pressure on her to lessen, and she didn’t know what to think about that.

Levi had been buried along the back fence of the cemetery, which made for a long walk there. “I’m here, Levi,” she said when she was still several rows away. “It’s such a beautiful day today. Hardly any wind.”

He used to sit on the back deck with a blanket over his legs, because he was always cold. When she’d come in from the farm, he’d give her the best smile he had inside him and say, “Hardly any wind today, Edee.”

Tears filled her eyes, because she’d forgotten about those times on the deck. So much of Levi had faded, and a sudden tug of guilt pulled through her that she’d removed his pictures from the spare bedroom.

She made it to the last row and turned right, with Levi’s headstone only a few down. Edith arrived, and she dropped to her knees. “Hey, baby.” She set down the flowers and horse figurines next to her and pulled out the utility rag from her back pocket. “Your face is a little dirty.”

She sniffled as she brushed the dirt and dust and debris away from his headstone. She rubbed the rag over the letters of his name and the numbers of his birth and death dates. When she finished, she twisted to get the flowers.

“I brought flowers,” she said. “Because you said you’d never seen so many until you came to Texas.” She leaned them against the granite and smiled. “They look good. You’d like them, especially the orange ones. They’re something from the farm. Remember how we planted all those wildflowers? They grow up along the west fence, and they’re so amazing.”

She sighed and looked past the headstone. “Sky’s blue today. It’s hot and then hotter. We survived a flood this year.” Her throat closed, because one really huge reason she and Alex had done so well after the flood was because of Finn.

How did she talk to Levi about Finn?

Tears flooded her eyes, and she bowed her head. She couldn’t speak, so she simply prayed inside her mind. Lord, I don’t know what I’m doing. Tell me what to do.

She didn’t get any answers as she wept. A slight breeze kicked up, and Edith reached up with both hands and wiped her hair back off her face. “I miss you so much,” she said as she exhaled. “I brought you some horses.” She collected them and set them up on the base of his grave. “One looks like Cocoa, the horse I’ve been working with. She graduated, and I got another one. Reagan. So the second one looks like him.”