Katie's Courage by Indiana Wake

Author:Indiana Wake [Wake, Indiana]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Join my newsletter
Published: 2019-06-17T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

“I thought you were tending to the south fields?” Katie said the following day as Clay dismounted his horse.

“Do you need any help?” he asked, ignoring the question and nodding at the basket she was using to collect the beans she picked.

“If you like,” she said and shrugged, half wondering why he had sought her out.

He set to work immediately and so quickly it was as if he had been picking beans his whole life. She had to admit, albeit a little begrudgingly, that Clay was sort of a man who could turn his hand to anything. He learned things quickly and had the sort of strength that was dexterous and skillful rather than blunt.

They worked in silence for some minutes, Katie surreptitiously peering at him now and again. Although he was concentrating on the task at hand, she was certain that there was something on his mind. His eyes were a little narrowed, and she thought his brow just a little too furrowed to be just concentrating on picking beans.

“What is it?” she asked, finally unable to wait for the whole thing to play out at his speed.

“Nothing gets by you, does it?”

“Not very often.” Katie smiled nervously; she had a great sense of something to come. “So?” she prompted, throwing a long bean pod into the basket and placing her hands on her hips as she turned to face him.

“I found out a little something about the dropping prices,” he began tentatively.

“Dropping prices?” she echoed. “What dropping prices? Do you mean fresh produce prices?”

“I do,” he said and stopped picking beans long enough to run a hand through his thick hair. “Most particularly the dropping prices here. The produce here, on the farm.”

“There’s nothing different here than anywhere else, Clay. The buyers know that the farmers will expect more or less the same prices. Their biggest decision is in quality.” She frowned and glared at him. “Are you suggesting that our stuff is not as good as everybody else’s? Because if you are, let me just tell you—”

“No, no,” he said quickly, and threw a bean pod into the basket before holding his hands out to stop her. “That is not what I mean.”

“Then what do you mean?”

“I’ve done a little digging, Katie, and I found out that this farm is earning a lot less than the others.”

“How do you know that?”

“Look, times aren’t quite so tight for everybody. I went to the saloon bar last night looking for information and I found it in the form of Jed Davies.”

“And what did Jed have to say for himself?” Katie felt suddenly a little unsteady; what had Clay found out?

“He pretty much told me that all the farmers are getting the same for their produce.”

“I just told you that,” she said, relying on her waspish note to keep her burgeoning sense of disquiet at bay.

“What I mean is that they are all getting the same price for their produce. They are, not my father.”

“He’s getting less than everybody else?” Katie said slowly, confusion and anger fighting for control.

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