He had been quiet all the way here, in spite of the pretty cool covered bridge they’d rattled over, the big sign for the farm, and even the fields dotted with cows as far as the eye could see.
“How are you feeling?” she asked him, keeping her eyes on the snow flurries dancing down on the little house in front of them.
The cottage itself was twinkling with Christmas lights, and a plastic snowman stood by the front walk to welcome them. But to Cody, she suspected it might look as intimidating as a fortress.
He didn’t answer for a moment, but she kept her mouth shut.
“Nervous, I guess,” he admitted, his voice a little husky.
“That’s completely understandable,” she said. “I’mnervous too. I’m just trying to remember how much they wanted us to come. And that if we want to leave, we can go at any time.”
He nodded.
“We can even just go now, if you want,” she added.
“How?” he asked, chuckling. “I think they’re watching us out the window.”
Sure enough, she spotted a face peeking out from behind one of the curtains.
“I’ll just text Cash that I changed my mind,” she told him firmly. “I’m an adult, so no one tells me what to do. And I don’t mind being the bad guy if you aren’t comfortable with any of this.”
“That’s okay,” Cody said, sounding amused and much more like himself. “Let’s save our battles.”
He took off his seatbelt and opened his door before she could even think of how to react to such a mature statement.
“I’m proud of you,” she said as she joined him in the driveway. “I think this will be fun. The Lawrences are nice people.”
“Cody,” yelled a little girl that Bella knew from reading hour, flinging open the door and clattering down the steps in a too-big pair of cowboy boots, her two ponytails flying. “You’re my cousin. Do you want to see the baby cows?”
“Wait for us, Elizabeth,” an older girl told her, laughing. “He’s our cousin too.”
Bella and Cody watched as a pair of familiar, blond-haired boys raced out after the girls. One had glasses, but that was the only noticeable difference between them.
A dark-haired boy and another teen girl brought up the rear.
“That’s Olivia,” the tiny girl said, pointing at the bigger girl. “And that’s Nick and Cal—they’re twins. That’s Chance and Delphine. And I’m Elizabeth.”
Bella already knew them all, at least in passing, because they had all spent time at the library. She was happy to see so many friendly faces here to greet Cody.
“Nice to meet you guys,” Cody said. “Did you say something about baby cows?”
“Well, hello there, young man,” Maggie Lawrence said, coming down the stairs. “If you’d like, we can feed the calves.”
“Definitely,” Cody replied, a hint of awe in his voice. Bella forgot just how much of a city boy he was sometimes.
Maggie’s warm smile grew warmer, and she approached him slowly, as if giving him time to shut her down if he didn’t want to be touched.
“We’re so glad you’re here, Cody,” Maggie said, reaching out to wrap an arm around his shoulders and squeeze gently before letting him go again. “Your grandfather has a very nice meal going, so we’d better get over to the barn so we can finish up before dinner is ready.”
“Okay,” Cody said.
“Hi, Cody,” Cash called out from the porch. “Hey, Bella. I left something at my place that I wanted Cody to have. Want to walk with me and see a bit more of the farm?”
She glanced over at the teen, but he was already heading off with his newfound grandmotherand the gaggle of cousins. It was an impressive crew, for sure, and Cody didn’t seem to be intimidated in the least.
“Sure,” she told Cash.
He smiled, and her heart squeezed a little in her chest.
