Ch.17, Pt.4: Something in his voice sounded different…
Something in his voice sounded different to Katherine. “Sure. How’s this Sunday? You could stay for lunch if you like. As usual. I mean, we always have lunch together.” She wondered why she felt awkward suddenly. “And bring Chess and Bingo if we’re going for a walk.”
That Sunday morning, Noodle gave a bark as Bennett drove up with two big dogs a blur of waving tails in the back seat. Bennett let them out to mill around and scent some bushes, and he reached into the passenger seat to take out a box of green leafy vegetables. “Here’s some produce for you. Maybe a salad for lunch?”
“Perfect.” Then Katherine noticed a bottle at the side of the box. “What’s this? Some wine? Are we going to get fancy for lunch?”
“A day off, a beautiful summer day,” Bennett began. “We’re allowed a glass of wine, don’t you think?”
“It’s fine with me! Maybe we can even eat outside.” They went into the kitchen, leaving the dogs outside. Bennett set the box on the counter. Katherine put the wine in the fridge. “Shall we take our inspection tour now?” she suggested.
The dogs boiled around each other with joy as they started off. Katherine opened the gate in the fence at the edge of the fields, but Bennett held it and motioned her to pass through first. A warm breeze fanned them with enough force to keep mosquitoes away. Bird calls could be heard in the moments when the dogs stopped their loud play. The faint perfume of early summer flowers wafted on top of the earth-and-manure smell of the fields. It was a gorgeous day to be outside.
“This is what I love about the country.” Bennett stopped at a rise from where they could see the brown and green fields stretching to hedgerow with forest beyond. “This is so beautiful that it’s worth any amount of fighting for.”
Katherine was surprised to see a tear in his eye. A swell of emotion rose up in her and she reached out to put her hand on his shoulder in sympathy. His arm went around her and they stood looking out together. Katherine felt safe and comfortable.
“Sorry about that,” he said suddenly, taking his arm away and swiftly wiping his eyes. “I didn’t mean to get all soft on you.”
“Don’t worry about that. I like you that way. It’s wonderful in a man.” Katherine cautiously put her hand against his cheek. Looking away, he took her hand and kissed it before striding on ahead. “Come on, you lazy dogs,” he called hoarsely before clearing his throat. “Let’s go for a walk.”
Katherine followed slowly, her hand tingling from the kiss. This is an amazing man, she thought.
Bennett stopped and turned, waiting for her to catch up. When he did, he held out his hand. She slipped hers easily into his warmth and comfort, and they walked on.
“Stonyfields is the name, all right,” he said, knocking a rock with his boot. “This field has been ploughed for more than a hundred years, and you still get a good crop of rocks each spring. All the land around here is like this. Yet it’s highly fertile, despite the government’s agricultural classification. There’ll come a day when we need land like this for food. We’ve got to keep it productive. Will you let me help you do this?”
Katherine pulled him to a stop and silently turned to him. She studied his ugly, familiar face, then slowly stretched up to kiss his big nose. As his arms gathered her close and they moved into their first kiss, her hands went to his straggly ponytail. She was still holding it when they came up for air. “This pony tail has got to go,” she said.
“If you cut my hair I’ll lose all my masculinity!” he cried with a grin, his arms tightening around her.
“I’m going to take some scissors and cut it off when you don’t expect it.”
“That will only be when I’m asleep.” He kissed her again.
“Don’t ever fall asleep before me, then.” She walked off down the field. “I’m cutting your hair.”
“Organic farmers don’t have short hair. It’s bad for business!”
“Do you know how cute you’d be if you cut your hair?” She called back.
He moved after her. “But it’s my hair, and I’ll do what I want with it! I don’t tell you what to do with your hair!” They grinned at each other.
“You’ve reached the time in your life when you have to give up the long hair,” Katherine said.
Bennett grabbed her hand and swung it as they walked on over the fields together, arguing.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The End~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You’re kidding - this is the end of Stonyfields? You’ve only begun to scratch the surface of Katherine’s adventures. What happens to Rick and his evil plans? Does Stonyfields end up surrounded by fancy big estates? Do things work out with Bennett or does another handsome or not-so-handsome fellow come along? I’m sorry, I’m just not ready for Stonyfields to end. Get to work on the sequel!
What a marvellous story. I enjoyed every Chapter and part.
Thanks so much, Diane (and Sue) for sticking with this to the end. That is not an easy thing to do online.