Cultivating Love

Chapter 2: Mayfield-1

Chapter 2: Mayfield

Ed stepped out of the lawyer’s office with his arms loaded with paperwork. He raised his face to the sun and took a deep breath of the clean fresh air. A bird chirped in a nearby tree, and its cheerful call reflected his mood. He looked around the town square for Joe. The old-time styling of the well-maintained shops and the aged brick-paved streets were appealing, and it appeared that the buildings were all occupied. Mayfield looked to be a nice little town. It was easy to picture he and Joe being happy here.

He placed the load of papers on the seat of Joe’s pickup and walked up the street to look around. He wandered past the hardware store and the pharmacy toward the grocery store since he didn’t know what food there’d be at the farm for their lunch. He found Joe checking out the prepackaged deli meat options and crept up behind him.

“Great minds think alike,” he whispered in Joe’s ear.

Joe started at the sound of his voice and dropped a package of ham. “Jesus, Ed. I wasn’t expecting you yet.” He glanced at his watch. “Well, I guess it has been an hour and a half.”

Ed picked up the ham. “Yeah, plenty long enough for me. What else do we need? Bread, mustard, chips?”

“Yeah, and maybe some Gatorade since we’ll be out wandering the property.”

“Good idea.”

They found what they needed and brought it to the checkout counter.

“Good morning.” The middle-aged woman at the register eyed them curiously. “Find everything you were lookin’ for?” As strangers in a small town, he expected they’d be scrutinized. She paid particular attention to him, though, and kept peeking at his face with captivated interest.

“Yes, ma’am.” Ed shuffled his feet a bit but resisted the urge to grimace. He might as well just get it over with. He took a deep breath and gave her his best friendly-guy smile. “I’m Ed Jamison, and this here is Joe Durham. We’re possibly settling here in Mayfield.”

Her eyes crinkled as she smiled in return. “I’m Ruby Owens. I’m not surprised to hear your name is Jamison. Figured you was kin. You look a lot like a younger version of Fred Jamison. Terrible tragedy, that. Dying so young. You settling out on his farm, then?”

“Yes, ma’am. I inherited the place.”

“How’re you related, if you don’t mind my askin’?”

“He was my father.”

Her eyes registered genuine shock. “We all knew he was married for a short time, over in Omaha, but I don’t think anyone knew he had a son.” She shook her head. “Secrets like that are hard to keep in a small town like this.”

Ed nodded. That was no lie. She’d likely be the star of the town gossip grapevine this afternoon.

“How is it that you never visited while he was alive?”

Joe’s eyes widened, but Ed knew he understood the small-town score, too. Better to give the straight facts rather than let the gossip mill fabricate its own. Ed took a calming breath and pressed on. “My mother told me he’d died before I was born. I never had any reason to disbelieve her. I don’t know why she did that, and since she died eight years ago, I can’t ask her. I’d rather like to know why he never contacted me.”

“Huh. So you’ve learned that your father was alive only recently?”

“Yes, ma’am. Lawyer had papers delivered to me yesterday. That’s the first I knew of it. I guess he never remarried, then, since I’m the sole beneficiary?”

She seemed somewhat amused by the question, her brows rising slightly and her mouth quirking at the corners. “No, he never remarried.” She squinted at him, flashed a peek at Joe, then back to him. “How about you? You married?”

Ed’s shoulder’s tensed, and he cast an uneasy glance at Joe. They didn’t want to live in a closet, but how much should they give the townspeople up front? He’d hoped to be friendly and get folks to like them a bit as people before letting that particular cat out of the bag. “No, ma’am.”

“So, have you done much farming, Ed?”

He drew and expelled another breath, relieved she’d let the subject drop. “Uh, no ma’am. I’m an auto mechanic, but Joe was raised on a farm and has been doing seasonal farm work. He’ll be in charge of running things while I learn the ropes.”

“Ah, I see.” She smiled at Joe. “Well, Fred ran the farm well. It’s in good shape, although I hear the second hay cutting is overdue now.”

Joe replied. “Thank you for the heads-up, ma’am. We’re heading out there now to assess the situation.”

Ed paid up, and Ruby handed him the bag with a smile. “It was very nice to meet you boys. Welcome to Mayfield.”

“Thank you, ma’am. Nice to meet you, too.” They both smiled and bobbed their heads politely before making their exit.

Ed carried the bag as they walked to Joe’s pickup. “I figured I must look a little like him, the way she kept staring at me. Maybe there’ll be pictures at the farm. I’d love to see a photo of him.”

A man and woman executed a double-take as they strolled past on the sidewalk, then had their heads together whispering before turning a corner.

Joe looked back. “Yeah. I imagine there’ll be some.”

Ed tossed the bag of groceries on top of the paperwork in the middle of the bench seat.

Joe nodded toward the papers. “How’d it all go at the lawyers?”

“Fine. Lots of stuff to sign. Oh, we need to stop by the bank to complete the account transfer. We need to add your name to that account, too. You’ll need access to it for running things.”

Lines formed between Joe’s eyes as he opened then closed his mouth. He took a moment before replying. “Well, I guess that’s true. I hadn’t thought about that stuff. I feel a little weird having my name added to your account, though.”

Ed’s stomach clenched. Had he read too much into Joe’s willingness to move here with him? Was he not interested in some kind of partnership? “Well, I don’t know how else to handle it.”

“No, I guess you’re right. I just hadn’t thought about it.”

What should he say? After signing dozens of papers, he’d asked the lawyer to work up whatever was needed to add Joe’s name to the property. It wasn’t a done deal yet, of course. The paperwork had to be generated, then they’d both have to sign it. His instructions to the lawyer wouldn’t mean anything if they decided against going forward with their plan, or even if Ed decided he’d jumped the gun and misjudged the strength of their relationship.

He hadn’t done anything to earn all this himself; it had fallen into his lap. Going forward, they would be working equally hard running the farm, so it seemed only fair that Joe should be a full, equal partner.

But if Joe was troubled at the idea of having his name added to the bank account, then how would he react to all that?

“I figure we’ll both be giving up our paying jobs to run the place, so besides needing access to the account for farm expenses, it’s only fair we share the profits for personal spending. It made more sense to me than treating you like some kind of employee with a set wage.”

Joe’s nose wrinkled, as it often did when he reflected on something. He paused, then gazed carefully into Ed’s eyes. “Thanks. I do appreciate that. I just hadn’t thought about the finances. Now that I am thinking about it, I guess I see your point.”

Ed swallowed hard, feeling like he was going out on a limb. He had to know, though. They couldn’t go forward with this move if Joe didn’t feel some level of commitment toward him. “We’re partners, right?”

Joe’s expression became inscrutable. It took him a moment, but then his easy, warm smile put Ed at ease. “Yeah, I guess we are.” He put the truck in gear and drove around the square to the bank.