New Farm by A. Frank Bower

Author:A. Frank Bower
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Young Adult Adenture, Books to Go Now, eBook Publsiher, ebook, Romance, phone apps, Droid, authors, short stories, short story, author, writers, writing, AmazonPDF, wwwbookstogonow.com, digital publisher, Seattle, romance, romantic, sensual, story, stories, ebook, e-book, pdf, lit, html, publish, publishing, publisher, publication, publications, submit, submission, submissions, buy, buy here, purchase, sale, cart, shop, shopping, download, read, reads, reader, reading, royalty, royalties, contract, author, authors, digital, electronic, book, books
Publisher: Books to Go Now
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

III

It’s taken me a month to make up my mind. Each day I’ve seen the men working outdoors, I thought about my choices. Mom doesn’t really need my help around the house; I’ve never been any good at farming, and surely not the kind they deal with now. Every week more black ice gets chopped to increase plantable space. Tina Gordon and Burl have been living together for over a year. I began my present train of thought when Tina got pregnant four months ago, but I remained indecisive.

The episode with Bill in the barn shook me out of complacency. He had a point when he said there’s nobody else. Sooner or later, I’d need to choose between him and his brother. Why wait?

I discussed this with Mom this afternoon. Of course she tried to talk me out of it, but exhausted her arguments quickly. I told her, “I’m not looking forward to telling Dad, but I have to.” She hugged me and said, “As soon as you’re ready.”

After supper they sat on the porch as always, enjoying dusk, bundled up to resist the chill. I waited for Mom to come in for a refill of their sassafras tea. I smiled at her. “Let me take that to Dad.” She nodded and handed his mug to me.

“Dad, here’s your tea.”

“Thanks, Princess. Where’s your mom?”

“Inside. I told her I want to talk to you.”30

He sipped from the mug, studying my face. “What’s on your mind?”

I swallowed and licked my lips. “I need your advice.”

“Go on.”

“Well…it’s about Marty and Bill.”

Dad sat upright. “What about them?”

“Oh, you know. Sooner or later, I have to choose.”

“Not necessarily.”

I rolled my eyes. “Daddy, the Gordons are the only family we’ve found in three years. We would’ve run into more if we kept going east, but we would’ve been fighting people for a homestead. That’s why you stopped here, where we first saw green. Nobody else wants this farm on the edge of wasteland.”

“Except the Gordons.”

“Exactly.” I sat on Mom’s chair. “They’re survivors. Like us. Like you.”

“They’re good folks, willing to struggle with frozen ground rather than impose on others.” He drank tea and pursed his lips. “But now we have a new problem, don’t we?”

“When Burl asked Tina to marry him, we were all happy.”

“There wasn’t anyone else.”

“Exactly. Dad, if there’s going to be a future, we have to pair off.”

My idea hit him hard; he winced. “Your brother’s nineteen; Tina’s twenty. You have plenty of time.”

“Normally, you’d be right. These aren’t normal times. You men built a home on our property for them. Next, you’ll have to make one on Gordon land for me.”

“I think,” Dad sputtered, “we should head east and find a different life for you.”

I touched his cheek. “Dad, get serious. Remember why we went around Des Moines? When we got to the outskirts and heard gunfire in every direction? Urban areas aren’t an option.

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