Hart's Hollow Farm

Book 4: New Americana Series

by Janet Dailey

Genres: Contemporary Romance

Synopsis

For some folks, Hart's Hollow farm has seen better days. But for the Hart family matriarch, it's a home worth fighting for.
From the moment Kristen arrives at Hart's Hollow, the place speaks to her soul. So when 73-year-old Emmy Hart asks Kristen to help return the farm to its former glory, she accepts despite her fears about getting involved with Emmy or the two kids in Emmy's care. Then there's there is Emmy's ruggedly handsome grandson, who stirs feelings Kristen believed were long gone. When Mitch Hart left home at 18, he thought he'd kicked the red dust off his boots forever. But he's haunted by the loss of the sister he couldn't save. Now he's determined to see his orphaned niece and nephew in a better life. Emmy's ideas about saving the farm only convince Mitch that his grandmother is as crazy as the town suspects. Everyone except the beauty helping her.. Something about Kristen's spirit has Mitch sticking around- and wondering if he's gone a bit crazy himself...

Release date: January 28, 2020

Publisher: Zebra Books

Print pages: 309

Sample

Kristen Daniels stood at the mouth of a red dirt road. The long path in front of her sloped eastward, weaving its way through sprawling fields to meet dark, low-lying clouds on the horizon. Warm late afternoon sunshine peeked between the gathering masses and dappled the flat landscape. The spring breeze, a gentle whisper for the past hour, intensified. It kicked up a cloud of dust that drifted across the road, sparkling briefly in the sunlight before a massive thunderhead rolled in and covered the sun completely.

Stomach dipping, Kristen glanced over her shoulder at the isolated stretch of Georgia highway she’d been traveling for hours. The paved road was unlined, the white and yellow markings having faded long ago, and the worn edges were either buried beneath weedy overgrowth or cracked beyond repair. With no cell service, landmarks, or street signs, it was impossible to tell if she’d made it to the right place—if there even was such a thing.

At this point, one road would serve just as well as the other. So long as she kept moving in the opposite direction from the life she’d had three years ago, when she was twenty-six and optimistic. When she’d been sure, without a modicum of doubt, that life had more to offer if she just believed and prayed and hoped. Even when the devastating truth had literally stared her in the face.

All the way up until the day she’d had to bury her five-year-old daughter.

The straight line of ragged pavement warped into the distance, making the earth feel as though it tilted beneath her feet. Her stance faltered, and she strained to hold on to the empty numbness she’d clung to for more miles than she’d ever be able to count.

“You break down?”

Kristen started, the shout and the slow crunch of gravel beneath tires jerking her to alertness. A rusty truck idled nearby, the male driver leaning out the window, studying her.

The wind blew harder. It swirled her long hair around her neck and spit grit in her face, stinging her eyes.

“No.” Teeth clenching, she blinked hard and dragged her forearm over her dry cheeks. “Just trying to figure out where I am, is all.” She gestured toward her beat-up Toyota parked at the edge of the dirt road. “Do you know the name of this road?”

The older man laughed and scrubbed the heel of his hand over his stubble-lined jaw. “It ain’t got a name. It’s just one long driveway.”

“To where?”

“Hart’s Hollow.” He shook his head, his salt-and-pepper hair falling over his creased brow. “Doubt that’s the direction you wanna go. There’s nothing out there.”

Kristen fumbled in her jeans pocket and retrieved a crumpled piece of paper. She pressed it flat against her thigh, then smoothed the edges that flapped in the wind.

“Hart’s Hollow Farm?” she asked. “Could you please tell me if I can find Emmy Hart there?”

“Yep, that’s the place.” He cocked his head to the side, a slow grin appearing. “And Emmy’s there, all right.”

Kristen nodded, stuffed the paper back in her pocket, then headed toward her car. “Thank you.”

“Might want to make it a quick visit.” Squeaky gears shifted; then the truck rolled forward as the man tipped his chin toward the overcast sky. “If those clouds open up, that clay’s gonna turn to sludge, and that low car of yours won’t make it out. You don’t want to be stuck in a storm with Emmy Hart.”

Her steps slowed. “Why?”

“She’s ornery enough to make a saint cuss. My own mama—good Christian woman—says she’s the damn devil.” He laughed again and revved the engine.

The big truck moved swiftly down the center of the worn highway.

Kristen returned to her car and, after staring at the red dirt road through the dusty windshield for a few minutes, decided a lot of nothing—even if it was owned and run by an ornery devil—was preferable to sleeping in the backseat and going hungry for the second day in a row. She didn’t do charity and needed a job. The last farm, where she’d worked for a year, had gone belly up due to drought and financial woes, and this position was the only promising one she’d come across that offered the silent, wide-open space she’d grown to crave.

It was, at the very least, worth checking out. Especially since she’d spent the last of her emergency stash on a full tank of gas to make the drive.

She cranked the engine and drove slowly down the driveway. The deep ruts in the dirt rattled the bottled water in the cup holder and bounced her around in the driver’s seat. The bottom of the car thumped over a pothole, metal scraping the firm ground.

Wincing, she slowed the car even more and continued to creep along. A tall pole stood near a bend in the road. She leaned closer to the window, squinting up at the makeshift birdhouse. Several battered gourds hung from the top rack, but one dangled loosely at half-mast, and the thick shell clanked against the pole with each gust of wind. There were no passerines, not even purple martins, perched on the rack. And just two buzzards circled high above the stripped field, then swooped low in tandem with the air current.

After reaching the final leg of the circular driveway, she eased around a sharp curve, then stopped the car abruptly at the edge of lush grass. Large oaks towered toward the stormy sky, framing an aging two-story farmhouse with a wide front porch and large windows. Tall red chimneys were aligned on each side of the white structure, and Gothic trim along the porch roof added an elegant air.

Kristen whistled low as she climbed out of the car. “Nothing out here, huh?”

That wasn’t altogether accurate. She strolled across the expansive lot, her tennis shoes squashing the soft grass and thunder rumbling overhead. The magnificent oaks swayed with the approaching storm, their leaves ruffling. Ducking beneath the lower branch of one, she reached up and trailed her palm across its rough bark as she passed.

Tall and sturdy. Broad, thick trunk. Long, sprawling branches.

“You’ve been around awhile, haven’t you, beauty?” Kristen whispered.

She looked at the house, its details clearer from this vantage point. Time and the elements had chipped the white paint of the house and faded the deep red tones of the chimneys. The wooden front door had lost its luster, and a hole was punched through the flimsy screen door covering it. An orange cat weaved in and out of the exquisite—but rotted—porch balusters.

Rather than strengthening with age like the old oaks, the structure presented a tired, resigned veneer. One at odds with the sweet aura of home beckoning from the wide, welcoming steps. One that clearly said the glory days of this house had passed.

Her fingertips jerked at her sides as she imagined breathing it back to life on canvas—a dab of yellow ocher here and there to re-create the shingles, long sweeps of ivory to define the walls, several pushes and drags of crimson to erect the chimneys. The structure was so reminiscent of the house she’d dreamed of as a child, when she’d lived in shelters and longed for a home—and a family—of her own.

Kristen shook her head, a heavy ache pulling at her chest. Oh, but it’d be impossible for anyone to deny this place must have once been majestic.

“Emmy!”

The screen door slammed and a man stumbled out onto the porch, clutching a briefcase to his chest, and fumbled his way backward to the front steps. A second slam, then a wiry woman stomped out after him, leaning heavily on a cane.

Kristen eased back beneath the cover of the tree’s branches, watching.

“Now, Emmy,” the man sputtered as he reached the grassy lawn. “There’s no need to get upset—”

“Mrs. Hart.” The woman—owner Emmy Hart, Kristen supposed—clomped down the stairs, her cane clacking along the way. “My sweet Joe, God rest his soul, may have died over thirty years ago, but I’m still his wife, and if he were here right now, he’d toss you out on your butt for making such an insulting offer. Joe wouldn’t stand for it. He gave his life to this place, raised it from ruin. This land was in his blood.”

“I didn’t come out here to cause trouble, Mrs. Hart. I came to help.”

“No, you didn’t. I agreed to humor you on account of thinking you were a decent man, but you suits are all the same.” Emmy stopped on the bottom step, gripped the thin handrail, then sagged against it. Her chest lifted beneath her worn T-shirt on heavy breaths. “You came to take my land. To tear down my home.” Blue eyes flashing, she stabbed a gnarled finger at him. “To steal from me.”

The suit held up a placating hand. “Now, that’s not true at all. I’m offering you a more than fair price for this . . .” He waved careless fingers toward the second floor of the house. “Establishment.” He grimaced. “Believe me when I say you won’t find a better offer. No one else is willing to pay what I am for this place, and if it weren’t for Mitch, I wouldn’t even be out here.”

The man’s cheeks reddened. He drew his head back and clamped his mouth shut.

“My Mitch?” Emmy’s mouth opened, then closed silently, the gusty wind blowing her short gray hair against her wrinkled cheeks. “What’s he got to do with this?”

He sighed. “Mitch is a friend of mine. He’s the one who asked me to come out here and make you an offer. I was surprised he wasn’t here when I arrived. Said he was flying down today himself and wanted us all to sit down and talk it over. He knows it’s just a matter of time before—”

“He wouldn’t do that to me.” A wounded light entered her eyes.

Kristen cringed and shrank back, feeling like an interloper. Sporadic raindrops smacked against the leaves overhead, shaking them.

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Hart,” the man continued. “I know this is hard for you, but Mitch is just doing what any decent grandson would. He’s trying to get you something to live on, for a short time at least.” He blinked and jerked his head as rain hit his face. “This place is done, and you’re the only one who won’t admit it.”

“No.” Expression contorting, Emmy straightened and stepped toward him. “You’re just like all them others. You came to steal from me. And you’re lying about Mitch.”

He hissed out a breath, mumbled something involving the word ridiculous, then frowned up at the black cluster of clouds. “This is my final offer. You’d do well to take it.”

She poked her cane at his chest, shoving him back. “Get off my land.”

“Please reconsider.” His tone softened. “For Mitch’s sake, if not your own. He deserves the chance to put this place behind hi—”

“Go!” Her voice broke. “You don’t know nothing about Mitch—or me. This is my home. My family still lives here. You probably never worked a day in your life. Don’t have a clue what real work is.” She continued stabbing her cane at him, backing him up until he fell into the gleaming bumper of a sedan. “You’re a thief. And a liar. Nothing but a damned lying th—”

“This place is dead and buried.” He slapped her cane away, voice curt. “Mitch is trying to help you, though hell if I know why he even bothers anymore. He won’t tell you like it is, so I’ll do it for him. Dead and buried, Mrs. Hart.”

Emmy faced off with the man. Her chin trembled, and the solid line of her shoulders, which had stood so proud before, slumped.

It was a look Kristen knew well. Her face heated, and a familiar nausea roiled in her gut. She should walk away, get back in her car and keep driving. This wasn’t her business or her fight, and the last thing she needed was to get tangled up in a stranger’s troubles. But even so . . .

“Excuse me.” Kristen sucked in a strong breath, the sharp scent of rain filling her nostrils, then ducked beneath the branches and stepped forward. Fat raindrops plopped onto her cheek and bare shoulder, cooling her skin. “I’m looking for Mrs. Emmy Hart.”

They turned toward her. Stared.

She moved closer to Emmy. “Are you Mrs. Hart? Owner of Hart’s Hollow Farm?”

Emmy nodded. The haunted look in her eyes deepened. Her focus strayed beyond Kristen to the darkening sky above, her whispered words barely discernible. “What’d you bring, girl?”

Kristen hesitated as she searched Emmy’s expression. “I’m sorry. I’m not sure what you mean.”

Emmy remained silent.

Kristen glanced at the man, who shook his head and looked down. “I-I’m looking for work. I brought two overnight bags,” she continued, gesturing behind her. “And I parked my car over there, behind the trees.”

Emmy blinked, then refocused on Kristen.

Thunder boomed again, shaking the windows of the farmhouse and the ground beneath Kristen’s feet. She flinched, then tugged the wrinkled ad from her pocket. “I’d like to speak to you about a job, if I might?”

“That my ad you got there?” Emmy asked.

“Yes. The one with decent pay and board. I was interested in—”

“There won’t be any board, ma’am.” The suit shoved off the car to a standing position and straightened his tie. “At least not for long. In six months the county will give the green light to pave a bypass on this land.” He pointed behind her. “Across those fields and right over this house. Something Mrs. Hart’s grandson thinks is important she understand.”

“Forgive me,” Kristen said softly, “but I wasn’t speaking to you. I was speaking to the owner, who’s already asked you to leave.”

He frowned, his measuring gaze raking over her from head to toe. “And you are . . . ?”

A has-been artist. Rootless stranger. Alone. Kristen swallowed the thick lump in her throat and squared her shoulders. “No one. Just a hard worker looking for a job and a place to stay.”

“You gonna steal from me?” Emmy scrutinized her through narrowed eyes.

Kristen shook her head. “No, ma’am.”

“Lie to me?”

“No, ma’am.”

“Murder me in my bed?”

Kristen’s lips twitched despite the awkward situation. “Definitely not.”

A slow smile spread across Emmy’s face. “Then I’ll show you around and we’ll talk. Which makes you my guest.” She poked her cane at the man’s chest again. “And you’re not. So take your tail on out.”

He muttered something under his breath, got in his car and left. Clouds of red dust rose behind his tires, then dissipated as the rain fell more heavily, cutting through the dirt particles and pummeling the red clay.

Emmy clucked her tongue. “You ever come across a man as arrogant and stubborn as that?”

Kristen nodded. “Unfortunately.”

“Come on, let’s get out of this.” Emmy walked up the front steps, cane tapping as she went.

Kristen followed, then stood by Emmy’s side as she leaned on the porch rail and stared at the front lawn. Trees bowed in the wind, leaves scattered across the front steps and rain splashed into rapidly forming mudholes in the driveway. The orange cat that had been circling the porch balusters trotted over and snuggled against Kristen’s leg.

“You from around here?” Emmy asked. “I know any of your people?”

“No.” Kristen focused on the ad in her hand, folding it over several times. It was damp from the rain, and the soggy corners clung to her shaky fingertips. “My name’s Kristen Daniels. I drove up from Adel. The farm where I was working went out of business, and no one local was hiring. Then I saw your ad. I was going to call but . . .” She looked up. “May I ask why you didn’t include a phone number?”

Emmy waved a hand. “I’m the only one working this land. Ain’t in the house except when I’m eating, cleaning, or sleeping, and I don’t much want to be bothered then. Rest of the time, I’m outside, and I don’t care for cell phones. Service is spotty out here. Besides, you can tell a whole lot more about a person face-to-face.” She studied Kristen’s face, eyes warming. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For helping me run that fool off.” Emmy glanced at the driveway. “I won’t lie to you. I’m struggling, and a lot of people want to get ahold of this land. They think ’cuz I’m seventy-three, I got no more use for it, and they want to pave it over. Even my grandson’s been trying to talk me into selling, though today’s the first time Mitch has sent someone out here to bulldoze me. I know he means well but . . .” She sighed. “I got a plan, but I need help. Lots of it. That ad’s been out for two months, and you’re the first person to answer it.” Her voice rose above the steady pounding of the rain. “I got crops to plant by the end of this month, or the first week of May at the latest. My garden needs attention, and my house could use”—her nose wrinkled—“a bit of everything.”

Heavy sheets of rain pummeled the land, obscuring the empty fields.

Emmy grew quiet, then said, “That ground hasn’t felt a drop of rain in weeks. Usually, if the good Lord doesn’t see fit to send us any, my sweet Joe does it for Him. But I don’t think it’s either one of them this time.” She stretched out her arm, leathery palm upward, and watched the rain bounce off her hand. “Can’t tell yet if it’ll help for planting. Too little and the soil will harden. Too much and it’ll weaken.”

The front door squeaked open. “Nana?”

Kristen stiffened at the sound of the young female voice. Heart skipping, she turned slowly in the direction whence it had come.

A little girl stood behind the screen door, her brown curls and blue eyes framed in the torn gap. “Can we have ice cream for supper?”

“Course we can, honey. Long as you and your brother eat all your greens first.” Emmy left the railing and opened the screen door. “Say hello to Ms. Kristen, Sadie. She’s gonna help us get this place back on its feet.”

Cheeks flushing, the girl glanced up at Kristen, then hid behind Emmy’s leg.

Curiosity shined in the girl’s wide eyes, but a wariness shadowed her expression. She had the same height, build, and shy disposition as . . . Anna.

When I get better, we can go back home, can’t we, Mama?

A sharp pain tore through Kristen’s chest, stealing her breath, the memory cutting deeper than ever. She couldn’t speak but forced herself to nod in greeting.

“That’s another reason I need help,” Emmy said as Sadie darted back inside. “I have two great-grandkids I need a hand with.”

Kristen clenched her fists, the paper crinkling in her grasp. “There was no mention of taking care of children in your ad.”

“Well, I’m mentioning it now. Sadie’s five, and her brother, Dylan, is ten.” Emmy shoved the door open wider. “Come on in. I’m expecting Mitch soon and was about to cook supper. Figure if his mouth is busy chewing, he won’t be able to gab all night about why he thinks I should sell. We can discuss particulars while I fry up some chicken.”

Kristen turned away and watched the rain form red rivers in the clay driveway, stomach growling at the mention of food. Clearly, Emmy was juggling more than she could handle, and ordinarily, Kristen wouldn’t hesitate to take the job, to make ends meet and keep her mind off painful memories. But that was before she knew kids were part of the bargain. Especially, a five-year-old girl so reminiscent of—

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Hart.” Kristen struggled to keep her words steady. “I don’t think I’m who you’re looking for.”

“You’re the only one I’ve found,” Emmy said. “I’m offering a free meal and bed for the night in exchange for a little shop talk. It’d be rude to turn me down without hearing me out first.” She scowled. “You’re not trying to be rude to me in my own house, are you?”

“No, ma’am, but—”

“Good. Then call me Emmy and come on in. You can’t leave now anyway. That clay’s too slick to drive on, and it’s your own fault.”

Kristen frowned, glancing back at her. “Why?”

Emmy smiled. A big one that creased her cheeks and brightened her cloudy eyes. “Because you brought the rain.”

“She’s superstitious. Always has been.” Mitch Hart pressed a button on the steering wheel, increasing the volume of the call, and raised his voice above the rain pounding the rental car’s hood. “Don’t take anything Emmy said personally. Hope she didn’t give you too much trouble.”

“Trouble?” Brad Swint, a friend and coworker at Harrison Architects, issued a sound of grumbled amusement. His voice cut in and out as the car descended a hill, the headlights casting long shadows over the pine trees lining the highway. “Said I had shifty eyes. Stabbed me with her cane . . . refused to listen to reason and called me a thief.”

Mitch’s neck tingled with embarrassed heat. “Sorry, man. My flight was delayed. Otherwise I’d have been there to meet you. Emmy hasn’t been herself for a while now, and it gets worse every year.”

She’d been worse than ever when he’d seen her at his sister’s funeral two months ago. Could’ve been grief. Or anger. Lord knows, he’d struggled to come to terms with his own rage at Carrie’s selfishness.

His sister had been an addict—his head understood and accepted that. What his heart couldn’t accept or understand was why Carrie had consistently prioritized getting high above taking care of her kids. Enough so that she’d dumped them at Emmy’s, then taken off for a monthlong stint, which had culminated in a deadly heroin overdose.

Mitch gripped the steering wheel tighter, his knuckles turning white. He and Carrie had both grown up watching their alcoholic father drink himself senseless and had spent almost every night of their childhood protecting each other from either the cut of his tongue or the bruising force of his fist. Yet Carrie had followed right in his footsteps, and Emmy had broken her back trying to save he. . .