A New Hope by Robyn Carr Read Free Book Online Page B

cut them up and freeze them. She protects her best laying hens. It’s about time for her to hatch a bunch of eggs, replenish the henhouse—there’s an incubator in the barn.”
    “I would love to see that, baby chicks,” Ginger said, a little breathless. “I don’t think I’d like killing them, either.”
    “Maybe you’re just not a farm girl. Not everyone is. Peyton can do anything there is to do on the farm but she doesn’t like it. She’s funny, she loves the farm—she wants the fresh food, wants to snuggle the new lambs—but our Peyton, her majesty, does not shovel shit. She’s what we call a gentleman farmer—wants the land and animals, wants to pet the animals and eat the food, and other people have to do the work.”
    “Can’t you be a farm girl and not like killing chickens?” she asked.
    “The cycle of life is important on a farm,” he said. “You grow it, eat it, grow some more. We’re a commercial farm. It’s not just about fresh eggs for breakfast, it’s a business and has to support a lot of people. It has to support the land, too. We can’t deplete and not replenish or it will be a one-generation farm.” He paused and silence hung between them. “I’m sorry, I’m boring you.”
    “No! No, you’re not. I’m really interested, believe it or not. I probably don’t have any intelligent questions to ask but I like hearing about it.”
    “But you’d like to see the chicks or new lambs?” he asked.
    She sighed. “I would love that. Maybe I’ll visit my parents on a weekend when that’s happening and I could come by the farm on my way back to Thunder Point. If that’s all right?”
    “It would be great. You have to eat, however. No one comes to the farm without eating something.”
    “I wouldn’t want to impose...”
    “Didn’t you notice how much my family loves feeding people? Not everyone enjoys it, by the way, but it’s possible Scott married my sister for the food.”
    “Tell me about the classes you teach.”
    “I just guest lecture in the biology department. I usually talk about either plant biology or animal husbandry. I can lecture on the biology of the farm, the microbiology of soil. The students love talking about cloning and two-headed sheep. We’re making great progress as a biological as opposed to organic farm because we still use small amounts of chemicals and we immunize the sheep, but we’re cautious. We fertilize mostly with chicken manure, kill pests on the trees organically, stick to nature where we can.”
    “Sure,” she said. “You have to take care of the fruit...”
    “We have to protect the bees. If we kill the insects and the bees disappear, we’re doomed. The balance is delicate and the health of the plants and animals and consumers is... Am I putting you to sleep?”
    “No!” she nearly shouted. “I never thought of farming as a science...”
    “It is indeed a science. Paco is not a scientist but his experience and instincts are flawless. Everything he taught me holds up scientifically. Almost everything, at any rate. It is not true that if you put a statue of Saint Isidore the Farmer in the yard you will have a good crop year.”
    “Is there a statue of the saint in the garden?”
    “My mother has one in the garden, yes. Also Saint Maria and the Virgin. Not overwhelming in size, but obvious. And her garden is plentiful.”
    They were quiet on the phone for a moment. “Matt? Why did you really call me?”
    “Peyton asked the same question.”
    “What did you tell her?”
    “I told her there was a special bonding moment when I groped you and you knocked me out...”
    She laughed almost uncontrollably for a moment.
    “Really,” he said. “It’s because you felt like a friend. Strange as it might feel to you, I think we somehow became friends. I hope you’re okay with that.”
    She smiled. “Everyone can use a friend.”
    * * *
     
    Ray Anne had a sweet little hideaway on top of the garage, a deck. From there she had a great