Hearndon’s face softened as she leaned over to touch her cheek to Miss Sally’s in a quick embrace. “Would we ever! It looks delicious.” She took the pie and moved back to let them come into the living room. “Please come in. Alex and Noah are out in the field. Alex says the more rocks he picks up, the more rocks come to the top of the ground. You didn’t seed the fields with rock, now did you, Mr. Harvey?”
“Somebody must have before I bought the place. I’ve picked several tons of them up off the fields myself.” Mr. Harvey smiled at her. “Are they down in the long acre field where he’s intending to put in the first trees?”
“They are. He’s hoping to do the first wave of planting in a couple of weeks. It’s sort of scary thinking how long it will be before the trees start bearing. We’re looking to other things before then, but of course it’s too late this season to grow anything. Or so Alex says. I’m afraid I’m a novice when it comes to farming.”
“You could try hogs,” Mr. Harvey said. “They pay off pretty quick if the market stays steady.”
“Hogs,” Mrs. Hearndon said. The word didn’t seem to fit naturally in her mouth. “My friends in Chicago would never believe it.”
“What did you do in Chicago?” Jocie’s dad asked as he sat down on one of the chairs Mrs. Hearndon carried in from the kitchen. Mr. Harvey took the rocking chair while Miss Sally, Leigh, and Aunt Love settled on the couch. Jocie leaned up against the wall and looked around for some sign of the twins or Cassidy.
“I taught English in one of the high schools there,” she said. “Alex worked for the city, repairing streets mostly, but he grew up in the country and has always wanted to own his own place. And I think he was hoping getting me this far out in the country would slow me down a bit, maybe keep me home and out of jail.”
The word jail seemed even more foreign than hogs coming out of Myra Hearndon’s mouth. Jocie stared at the beautiful woman who was smiling a little as if she knew she was shocking them and the idea pleased her.
11
David prayed the Lord would put the right words in his mouth as he followed Mr. Harvey out of the yard and across the barn lot down toward the field where Alex Hearndon and Noah were working. They’d left the women and Jocie back at the house where they’d gotten a surprisingly warm welcome from Myra Hearndon, but David had no idea what her husband would think or say when he saw them coming across the field. On another day wearing other clothes besides his Sunday preaching garb, David might have been able to impress the man with his willingness to get his hands dirty by helping clear the field. David knew about hauling rocks. That had been one of those never-ending chores when he was a boy growing up on the farm.
“I’ve been wondering about something,“ David asked as he and Mr. Harvey walked past the barn. “How did the Hearndons find out about you having your farm for sale? Do they have family in Hollyhill?”
“No, it’s the other way around. I have family up in Chicago. My aunt Clara’s boy, Ben. He worked with Alex up there. Ben told Alex about me having the place for sale, and then Ben called me up and said he knew a good family that was looking for a farm to grow some apple trees.” Mr. Harvey looked over at David. “He didn’t bother to tell me they were colored folk. I guess that was something he thought might be better for me to find out after the money had changed hands.”
“Would it have mattered?”
Mr. Harvey looked over at David. “I could pretend it wouldn’t have, Brother David, but that would be just pretending. It’s not that I have anything against colored folk, but I’d have worried about upsetting the neighbors.”
“Are they upset?”
“Some of them.” Mr. Harvey reached down and broke off a long stem of grass and put the end in his mouth.
“And were you upset? With your cousin, Ben?”
“Not that much.
“Somebody must have before I bought the place. I’ve picked several tons of them up off the fields myself.” Mr. Harvey smiled at her. “Are they down in the long acre field where he’s intending to put in the first trees?”
“They are. He’s hoping to do the first wave of planting in a couple of weeks. It’s sort of scary thinking how long it will be before the trees start bearing. We’re looking to other things before then, but of course it’s too late this season to grow anything. Or so Alex says. I’m afraid I’m a novice when it comes to farming.”
“You could try hogs,” Mr. Harvey said. “They pay off pretty quick if the market stays steady.”
“Hogs,” Mrs. Hearndon said. The word didn’t seem to fit naturally in her mouth. “My friends in Chicago would never believe it.”
“What did you do in Chicago?” Jocie’s dad asked as he sat down on one of the chairs Mrs. Hearndon carried in from the kitchen. Mr. Harvey took the rocking chair while Miss Sally, Leigh, and Aunt Love settled on the couch. Jocie leaned up against the wall and looked around for some sign of the twins or Cassidy.
“I taught English in one of the high schools there,” she said. “Alex worked for the city, repairing streets mostly, but he grew up in the country and has always wanted to own his own place. And I think he was hoping getting me this far out in the country would slow me down a bit, maybe keep me home and out of jail.”
The word jail seemed even more foreign than hogs coming out of Myra Hearndon’s mouth. Jocie stared at the beautiful woman who was smiling a little as if she knew she was shocking them and the idea pleased her.
11
David prayed the Lord would put the right words in his mouth as he followed Mr. Harvey out of the yard and across the barn lot down toward the field where Alex Hearndon and Noah were working. They’d left the women and Jocie back at the house where they’d gotten a surprisingly warm welcome from Myra Hearndon, but David had no idea what her husband would think or say when he saw them coming across the field. On another day wearing other clothes besides his Sunday preaching garb, David might have been able to impress the man with his willingness to get his hands dirty by helping clear the field. David knew about hauling rocks. That had been one of those never-ending chores when he was a boy growing up on the farm.
“I’ve been wondering about something,“ David asked as he and Mr. Harvey walked past the barn. “How did the Hearndons find out about you having your farm for sale? Do they have family in Hollyhill?”
“No, it’s the other way around. I have family up in Chicago. My aunt Clara’s boy, Ben. He worked with Alex up there. Ben told Alex about me having the place for sale, and then Ben called me up and said he knew a good family that was looking for a farm to grow some apple trees.” Mr. Harvey looked over at David. “He didn’t bother to tell me they were colored folk. I guess that was something he thought might be better for me to find out after the money had changed hands.”
“Would it have mattered?”
Mr. Harvey looked over at David. “I could pretend it wouldn’t have, Brother David, but that would be just pretending. It’s not that I have anything against colored folk, but I’d have worried about upsetting the neighbors.”
“Are they upset?”
“Some of them.” Mr. Harvey reached down and broke off a long stem of grass and put the end in his mouth.
“And were you upset? With your cousin, Ben?”
“Not that much.
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