everybody? She lifted her hand to knock again when she saw a note on the door addressed to her.
âIn the field. Moving bales. Mom sleeping.â The words were hastily scribbled on a small piece of paper and stuck to the door with a piece of masking tape.
Nicole blew out a sigh. Which field? How was she supposed to find them? She could almost hear the clock ticking down the precious seconds on her visit.
She paused, listening, then heard the sound of a tractor. Thankfully, it sounded like it was coming closer.
She jogged across the yard, past the chuck wagons. As she raced around a corner of the barn, a tractor lurched into view pulling a wagon loaded up with hay. Smoke billowed from the stack and the engine roared, a deafening sound in the once-stillness.
The sun reflected off the glass of the closed-in cab of the tractor, but as it came closer, Nicole saw Kip driving and Justin and Tristan standing behind the seat.
With a squeal of brakes the tractor came to a halt beside her and Kip opened the side door. âYouâre late,â he yelled over the noise of the tractorâs engine.
Like she needed him to tell her that.
âYes. Sorry.â What else could she say?
Justin leaned over Kipâs shoulder and waved at her. âHey, Ms. Williams,â he shouted.
Ms. Williams? What happened to Auntie Nicole?
Nicole just smiled and waved, quite sure Kip had something to do with the change.
She walked to the tractor, raising her arms to take the boys out. âHey, Tristan. You boys helping Mr. Cosgrove?â Two could play that game.
Tristan gave her a puzzled look. Nicole could tell that Kip understood exactly what she was doing.
âWe just have to unload these bales.â Kip closed the door before she came any closer and before the boys could get out. He put the tractor in gear and drove away.
She was left to trail behind the swaying wagon, fuming as bits of hay swirled around her face. With each step her anger at his pettiness grew. He was depriving her of valuable time with her own nephews so he could prove a point.
She easily kept up with the tractor and followed it to where she assumed he was going to pile up these bales. But neither he nor the boys got out of the tractor. Somehow he unhitched the wagon from inside, turned the tractor around and started to unload the bales. One at a time.
She was reduced to watching as the clock ticked away precious minutes of her visiting time.
Kip reminded her of her biological father and how he used to make her wait in the motel room while he busied himself with who knew what in his truck while her aunt fumed. Older, buried emotions slipped to the fore. As she had done the first few years at Sam and Norahâs, she fought them down. She was here and she had a job to do for her father. That was all she had to focus on.
She waited until the last bale was unloaded and then she marched over to the tractor before Kip could decide he had to go for another load and leave her behind.
But just as she reached the tractor, Kip shut it off and the door opened.
âYou finally came,â Tristan called out.
The âfinallyâ added to her burden of guilt, and she gave them a quick smile. âYes, Iâm sorry I was late,â she said as Kip lifted Tristan up and over the seat.
âGot busy with work?â he asked as she reached up to take Tristan from him.
âForgot to set my alarm,â was her terse reply as she set Tristan down on the ground. He didnât need to know that to some degree he was right and she was surprised that he had guessed, at least partially, why she was late.
He made a show of looking at his watch. âYou city people keep crazy hours.â
âI was working late and grabbed a nap,â she said trying not to rise to his goading.
âSo you were working.â
âI have to do something while Iâm waiting around for my appointed visiting times,â she snapped. âJustin, honey,
âIn the field. Moving bales. Mom sleeping.â The words were hastily scribbled on a small piece of paper and stuck to the door with a piece of masking tape.
Nicole blew out a sigh. Which field? How was she supposed to find them? She could almost hear the clock ticking down the precious seconds on her visit.
She paused, listening, then heard the sound of a tractor. Thankfully, it sounded like it was coming closer.
She jogged across the yard, past the chuck wagons. As she raced around a corner of the barn, a tractor lurched into view pulling a wagon loaded up with hay. Smoke billowed from the stack and the engine roared, a deafening sound in the once-stillness.
The sun reflected off the glass of the closed-in cab of the tractor, but as it came closer, Nicole saw Kip driving and Justin and Tristan standing behind the seat.
With a squeal of brakes the tractor came to a halt beside her and Kip opened the side door. âYouâre late,â he yelled over the noise of the tractorâs engine.
Like she needed him to tell her that.
âYes. Sorry.â What else could she say?
Justin leaned over Kipâs shoulder and waved at her. âHey, Ms. Williams,â he shouted.
Ms. Williams? What happened to Auntie Nicole?
Nicole just smiled and waved, quite sure Kip had something to do with the change.
She walked to the tractor, raising her arms to take the boys out. âHey, Tristan. You boys helping Mr. Cosgrove?â Two could play that game.
Tristan gave her a puzzled look. Nicole could tell that Kip understood exactly what she was doing.
âWe just have to unload these bales.â Kip closed the door before she came any closer and before the boys could get out. He put the tractor in gear and drove away.
She was left to trail behind the swaying wagon, fuming as bits of hay swirled around her face. With each step her anger at his pettiness grew. He was depriving her of valuable time with her own nephews so he could prove a point.
She easily kept up with the tractor and followed it to where she assumed he was going to pile up these bales. But neither he nor the boys got out of the tractor. Somehow he unhitched the wagon from inside, turned the tractor around and started to unload the bales. One at a time.
She was reduced to watching as the clock ticked away precious minutes of her visiting time.
Kip reminded her of her biological father and how he used to make her wait in the motel room while he busied himself with who knew what in his truck while her aunt fumed. Older, buried emotions slipped to the fore. As she had done the first few years at Sam and Norahâs, she fought them down. She was here and she had a job to do for her father. That was all she had to focus on.
She waited until the last bale was unloaded and then she marched over to the tractor before Kip could decide he had to go for another load and leave her behind.
But just as she reached the tractor, Kip shut it off and the door opened.
âYou finally came,â Tristan called out.
The âfinallyâ added to her burden of guilt, and she gave them a quick smile. âYes, Iâm sorry I was late,â she said as Kip lifted Tristan up and over the seat.
âGot busy with work?â he asked as she reached up to take Tristan from him.
âForgot to set my alarm,â was her terse reply as she set Tristan down on the ground. He didnât need to know that to some degree he was right and she was surprised that he had guessed, at least partially, why she was late.
He made a show of looking at his watch. âYou city people keep crazy hours.â
âI was working late and grabbed a nap,â she said trying not to rise to his goading.
âSo you were working.â
âI have to do something while Iâm waiting around for my appointed visiting times,â she snapped. âJustin, honey,
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