Page 38 of Seeing Harper

“You’re very welcome. It’s a pleasure to be here, so you’re actually doing me a favor. We’ll be leaving about five this afternoon, if you want to come out and make sure everything is done the way you like it.”

Mr. Bigsby shook his head. “I haven’t had to make sure of anything you do in a long time. You’ve got it, and I know you do. Take your time and I’ll see you next time,” he said.

Harper hugged him quickly, then watched as he and Clay shook hands.

Mr. Bigsby turned around and waved once more when he was halfway to the house.

Both of them waved at him.

“I like him. He’s a nice man,” Clay said.

“I love him. He’s like a grandfather to me.”

“I can see why. You about done?” he asked.

Harper laughed. “Seriously? I’ve only done the perimeter fencing and I’ve got about a hundred feet of that left to do. Then I have to check the interior pasture fences.”

“I have to cut out front, then I’ll come help you if you’re not finished yet.”

“Thank you,” she said, as she jogged off back the way she came.

Chapter 8

Hours later Clay stood up from repairing fence, straightening and stretching his back in the waning sun of the early evening. He looked around for Harper and found her only about twenty feet away, working her way toward him. “Hey!”

She looked up at him, her dirt smudged, slightly sunburned face beaming with happiness as she swiped a sweaty curl away from her line of vision, and smiled at him.

“We finished after this?”

“Yes!”

“You hungry? We still have that lunch we didn’t get to yet.”

“Oh! I forgot about that!”

“No problem. It’s on ice and still waiting to be eaten.”

“You want to run get it while I finish this little bit?” Harper asked.

“You sure?” Clay asked.

“Yeah. There’s a small pond over there, beyond the trees. It’s where Mr. Bigsby put Mrs. Bigsby’s gazebo, but they never go out there anymore. I don’t think she remembers that it’s there and gets upset when she realizes that. We could eat over there.”

“I’ll go set it up,” Clay said.

“I’ll be there in about ten minutes.”

Clay took his time going back to the car, got out his ice chest, and a blanket he’d brought so they could have a picnic, and strode off past the barn toward the area of the property that Harper had directed him to. He followed a natural path between the trees on either side, whose branches actually reached toward each other overhead and created a shaded path to follow. When he stepped into the clearing and saw the pond, he slowed to a stop and took a moment to appreciate the view. A small pond sat in the distance, surrounded by a field dotted with wildflowers. To the right of the pond sat the gazebo that Harper had told him about. It was a decorative one, with a high roof covered in scroll work in all the corners and crevices. It looked to him that it had been an Octagon of sorts with multiple smaller flat sides connected to form a circle. There were steps that led to its raised floor and there was a bench for sitting all around the interior walls. There was a small table in the middle with two chairs, on either side of the table, and the entire thing had been varnished to a shiny honey color, leaving the natural grain of the wood visible.

Clay continued to take in the scenery as he picked a place for their picnic, choosing a spot on a small rise from where they could see the gazebo and pond clearly. He spread the blanket and began unpacking their food, relaxedly sipping from one of the jugs of ice water as he imagined himself living here with Harper, and waited for her to arrive.

It wasn’t long before she came through the trees, singing to herself as she made her way toward him. She laughed when she saw him sitting on the blanket waiting for her.

“Why are you laughing?” he asked.

“I was hoping you’d choose somewhere other than the gazebo to eat. It’s almost like we’d be intruding on Mrs. Bigsby’s memories, you know?”

“I thought the same thing,” he said. “Come, sit and eat with me.”